Kasparov, a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin, is challenging Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a wealthy businessman known to be supported by the Russian president.

Ilyumzhinov, who once claimed to have visited an alien spaceship, has headed the governing body of chess, known by its French acronym FIDE, for 19 years.

The chess federation was expected to choose the winner in a closed vote Monday in the Norwegian Arctic city of Tromsoe, where more than 3,000 contestants are taking part in the 2014 Chess Olympiad.

Kasparov, who at 22 in 1985 became the youngest chess world champion, has described Putin as an arrogant dictator and in a recent AP interview he accused Ilyumzhinov of "working with Russian oligarchs in the Kremlin."

Supporters of Ilyumzhinov have said Kasparov is too political for the job and that his advocacy of human rights is insincere.

Kasparov's presence was very visible in Tromsoe, said Georgios Souleidis, an organizer of the Olympiad.

"Kasparov held a big party on Saturday and his posters are very prominent in town. Ilyumzhinov has been much more reserved," Souleidis said.

Still, he added, "applause in the main hall seems to suggest that Kasparov has much less support than the current president."

In 2010, Ilyumzhinov defeated a similar challenge by another former world champion, Anatoly Karpov, in an election marked by allegations of fraud. Souleidis said that since then some voting procedures have been made more transparent. (*****)

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