Three players are tied for the lead with 2/2 in the Frank K. Berry US Championship: Shabalov, Stripunsky, Ibragimov. (I swear to God I hope Frank's middle name is Ken. That would be the best thing evar.) No surprises in those names, or just about anywhere else for that matter. Favorites are already meeting and it's going to be a brutal slugfest all the way through for the eventual winner. Games and standings here. One of the various hats IM John Watson is wearing in Stillwater is that of putting together brief round recaps at the official site. Michael "fpawn" Aigner, one of the competitors and a Dirt regular, is blogging at the ICC website here. There we learn that the clocks provided couldn't handle the announced time control! Oops. fpawn's website is also the only place I found a handy list of all the players and how they got to the Championship. Damn right if it's your website you put your own name in big blue letters! Rock on, fpawn. The Chess Life website is finally posting items on the Championship from Jen Shahade.
In round 2, Kramnik was present on the top two boards, which finished drawn. Nakamura-Kudrin followed Kramnik-Leko from this year's Amber and the Perelshteyn-Onischuk Marshall was what Kramnik played against Aronian a few weeks ago in their rapid match. The difference was that Kramnik won both of those games. Ibragimov fended off Becerra's piece sacrifice with great sang froid. Black might have been all right had he bailed out and swapped queens, but Becerra kept looking for a mate that wasn't there and eventually had to resign as White kept harvesting material. Shabalov showed the power of the black pawn center in a Semi-Slav against Gurevich. A nice final breakthrough. Stripunsky pocketed the full point against Sevillano with a petite combination. Shulman savaged Black Belt annotator Irina Krush, ending the game with a pawn move checkmate on move 29! Ouch. I thought Black was supposed to play 10..Qd5 in this line, with crazy play after 11.Be2 Qxg2. Lower down, Sarkar-Zenyuk was a wild battle with passed pawns for a rook. Smith was busted against Airapetian, but the upset was averted when Black allowed a mate in one still with a superior position.
I do hope some people on the ground there in Stillwater are letting the players know that the Daily Dirt Reader Brilliancy Prizes are quite huge at this point. By the way, I don't think the complete prize list has been published anywhere: 1st $12,000, 2nd $8000, 3rd $5000, 4th $4000, 5th $3500, 6th $3000, 7th $2500, 8th $2000, 9th $1900, 10th $1800, 11th $1700, 12th $1600, 13th $1500, 14th $1400, 15th $1300, 16th $1200, 17th $1100, 18th $1000, 19th-20th $900, 21st-22nd $800, 23rd-25th $700, 26th-30th $600, 31st-34th $500. [We're now told that it's been bumped up a bit and the bottom prize is now $700.]
Two patrons, Bonin and Browne, brought the field up to 36 players. But from what I understand, none of their combined $8,000 fee goes into the prize fund, which means they are probably slightly hurting the earnings of other players if two more $500 prizes are added (from where?). Nicely done! Way to make the players embrace the idea of patron fees. Unless you are sleeping in a box and eating raw hot dogs for all your meals (this means you, Yermo), you're probably losing money if you don't finish in the top seven, which is a little ironic because the top five finishers also get the coveted spots in the FIDE World Cup, the first stage of the world championship. Benjamin, Polgar, Kamsky, and de Firmian all declined to participate. Defending women's champion Anna Zatonskih, who just had a baby, also declined. She recently wrote a letter that was published on the Polgar blog, which has turned into a political platform, if understandably. She refers to the US women's championship, which may be scheduled for July.
Super extra bonus info came when I was looking to see how much it might cost the players to get to and stay in Stillwater for ten nights. (Many arrived the day of the first round to cut costs. We are a frugal lot, we are.) I looked up hotels in Stillwater on Google Maps and also the Quality Inn where the tournament is taking place. The latest reviews on that Quality Inn, which has a 1/5 reader rating, are priceless: "This hotel is unkempt and dirty. The stairs are rotted out, none of the equipment in the exercise room worked. Pool table and foosball tables don't have balls. The sheets were dirty with crusty stains." -- "The back stairs are rotted out and dangerous, the jacuzzi in our suite had mildew in all of the jets, no mattress pads on the beds..." -- "I would stay 70 miles outside Stillwater if the Holiday Inn was the only available hotel. This was the worst experience I have had at a hotel."
Jesus wept. Sure, we can live with a $500 prize for 10 days at the US Championship. But no balls on the foosball tables?! That's just inhumane, man. I wonder how the internet connection is. Maybe we can donate some of the Brilliancy Prize money to sending them a few foosballs.
How bout we let susan and paul run next years championship. we start working on it now, I help sponsor and find others to sponsor, my friends in las vegas might even get interested and I have many health care companies that would luv to put up significant dollars. The trade off is the players do not denegrade the sponsors, the federation does not have board members that have hideous and disturbing matter on websites. Infighting is kept inside not outside and companies like icc, monroi, are promoted and motivated. all the pieces for success are there. The people pulling the strings must go way and it will all get better. For three decades I watched the mess, felt the pain. As I am now in the position to support change, I will be happy to pay up. Oh, for the anon that wants to bash, no one can respond to someone in the shadows. You coulde be sam sloan for all I know. Also, my bussiness would suffer by withdrawing or not completing any committment. On another note, people like kaidanov need to be supported. Trainers that motivate and keep sponsors in the game , even if they make a fair buck should get federation support, ins agents, lawyers, agents all get benifits from their efforts why not grandmasters. Short point is that money does not fall from trees. all sponsors want something, its different and were all quirkey,but its the obligation of a not for profit to be fiscally stable, if you say you want outside funds, insults, instability, disgusting associations that scare sponsors are not where you want to go. Freddom of speech is true, but the individuals can not use the organization for their gain. Also, I never ever will be a board member, officer or make any money from chess. I just want to play. Support for a non profit, or the creatoion of one run by others allows me to give more on a tax efficient way. As I get towards the point of estate choices, I want to be comfortable leaving behind large dollars that will be sheparded for good, not misused. Its a trust thing, please take the anderson, moskow, wertheim, piagorstky ,church thing seriously. Not one l;arge donor has ever not been hurt in some way. Either crawlunder a rock, or change the rock.
I'm not bashing, Eric. I think that this proposed sponsorship is great. I just think you tried to buy special treatment at the last minute, and you're peeved because people weren't willing to bend over backwards, screw up norm possibilities, etc., to accept your strings.
You have money. Do something with it. Set up a foundation that will pay trainers. Get Dvoretsky to come over and work for you full time, or as you say in your post, give Kaidanov a salary and allow him to take private students for 20 hrs a week. The point is to do it. Attach your strings, do what you want -- it's your money. (Just don't do it right before the event starts!) But remember that truly altruistic acts are truly selfless. The only thing Bill Gates gets out of his charities is the satisfaction that he's doing good in the world.
And yes, you don't know who I am -- although calling me Sloan is pretty low. :) I'm not giving up my anon identity. But I've been in and around the NY chess scene for 15 years now. I remember the Reshevsky event. I also remember that the much discussed series of events that you would sponsor became two or three norm tournaments at the Manhattan or Marshall. It's great that you sponsored what you did; I'm challenging you to do more. Why? Because you can, and I can't.
Amen, brother. I was coming up when Eric was - even played the Dragon when he did! - and I feel the pain all the way over here. It's so sad that such a well-respected game as chess can't get respectable sponsors, and keep them more than a year or two. Tennis has its nutballs - Nastase, McEnroe - but they tamp them down, and the bucks keep rolling in. We've got to get to the first rung on the ladder, people, and stay there.
That's a little cruel on the hotel. I believe it has had recent modifications and it was pleasant when I was there for the NAO FIDE event in February. I don't remember the foosball table but I know the pool table was fully working (or at least the ones in the bar were!) and they had bats and balls for ping-pong, as I painfully remember getting my butt whooped by GM Valeriy Aveskulov and little Vanessa West!
Yeah, I think we just have a bunch of 'scared to leave New Yorkers'... To go to Oklahoma! What a bunch of hicks!
Really, the midwest isn't some dilapidated 3rd world country... I've been to this Hotel several times,and really it isnt much different from other hotels in any part of the country. The Berry's have been more than generous running tournaments that feature many of the top players in the country several times a year in the same place. All of this whining (mostly from ninja readers, but Joel Benjamin in particular really irks me) about 'conditions' is absurd.. You're not the King of Siam, you're a chess player. STFU and play chess.
1. I can relate to those comments frank and frankly constructive. I move out of ct to florida and created a large series of companies because the day job takes priority. I have sponsored 14 tournaments to date all rd robin 6 in norway. 2. I need no challenges although I welcome them, I posted and offered to do something with chessdrum awaiting response from their leaders but would love to give them some means to reach their ends and need to see if they have interest.I have a stedy great relationship with greg, he comes to my home or the phone as our schedules allow. I have helped danny fernandez as well. I avoid for 30 chess exposure cause its always negative, I only stepped in because of the beating anderson took, sloans actions and website and my utter disdainfor uscf actions. I will support susan, I continue to give money in norway ask krush she was there. And if asked reshevsky memorial reunion at the marshall would be great.When watson was ill weofered to help and had the door kicked in our face by uscf. last year they told me ma 250,000k donation for us champ play was amoral, now its ok. The problem stems from a series of communications bring a huge sponsor with me and the petty reception Irecieved. I assure you as everyone knows I just wanna play, its not altruistic its selfish, my altruism goes to hospitals, colleges and jewish causes. This is purely pay to play , and hoping to avoid any taint of vanity tourneys as state, certainy 0-9 1`-8 is not vain its frankly painful.try it sometime
My round 2 blog, which will be up on the ICC website in an hour or two, addresses points made by Mig about the prize fund (it has been increased by about 15% overall, $700 minimum prize now) and the hotel (not a 4-star place, but far better than the description given here). I also annotated my round 2 draw with IM-elect Robert Hess. Watch for the cute finale: a ring-around-the-queen perpetual check.
http://www.chessclub.com/resources/event/uschamp07
I hope Dr. Moscow isn't too upset by my criticism based on the FIDE rules for norms. I do agree with him that anonymous cowards who can't stand to put their names behind their words should be ignored (or worse).
upset, lets see. how bout you play ingausdal in oct as my quest, I will treat you well, trounce you in a dragon I hope and show your buddies how I can play against people rated at my level. take the chalenge get a norm if accepted email hans olav and let him see the post he will add you to the list.
World Open has a separate 2200-2400 section this year. It's a nice opportunity to have fairly even match-ups at the master level. I've played in the only other one I know this year: Aeroflot Open "B" section and liked it enough that I would into negative territory on my vacation time at work in order to play in the World Open.
To clarify: this is Langer, not Aigner, so please don't confuse it with the response to Erik's comment above.
Thanks, but i am really happy with the rr format, just got invited to hungary (no fee) today my first invite of late so, I will avoid the mayham of the world open. We are thinking about sponsoring a yearly high dollar tournament in atlantic city to coincide with the world open call it a yearly vanity tournament.
By the way, do you know what this story from the Cushing, Oklahoma Daily Citizen is?
http://www.cushingdaily.com/local/local_story_134183905.html
It's the ONLY news story to turn up in a Google News search using the terms "chess" and "Stillwater". THE ONLY ONE!
We were complaining last year about the minimal news coverage of the championship in San Diego, but this year's is just about a mathematical zero non-story from the point of view of the US media. And I'm still not convinced we couldn't be doing better if we really tried to plan out a PR campaign!!!
Anyone who is complaining about the lack of sponsorship should bear this in mind: most commercial sponsors want to be noticed and recognized. There is, therefore, no point in sponsoring an event that goes unnoticed and gets you no recognition.
Theodulf
It would be even better if his name was "Frank N. Berry."
Sounds like the US Championship is being held in a card-board box hotel or shanty-town hotel?!
It is good to have player blogs for the US Championship. "Rock on, fpawn" as MIG says. Are there any other player blogs out there on the net?
BTW on the basis of a web search I believe his name is "Frank Kimball Berry", or "Frank Kim Berry" for short. How's that?
th.
But his middle name starts with K, so there's an actual chance it's Kenneth. I'm quite excited about it. Reminds me of that great Kalmykian player Kounchokh Ulah.
I didn't go looking for mean things to say about the hotel. I just wanted to see the rates. You can see the reviews right there (I didn't even click them to read them in full) and they were so freaky I couldn't resist.
I'm really not down on the event. They were dealt a bad hand having so many players and they took the first sponsorship package they could find. They needed qualifiers for the World Cup so it couldn't wait till the end of the year. I also understand that the AF4C proposals with online play and knockouts were too much for some of the board and the players they consulted. Fair enough. But I do get annoyed when I see their solutions always seem to come at the cost of the players. If there's a penalty it's on the players and if there's a plus it goes to the USCF. Not good.
Michael (either!), can you send or post the revised prize list? The Monroi "official" site is mostly moribund. Do the players know about the brilliancy prizes? $1000! $500! Don't keep it a secret just so you can try to play like Tal in every game and win!
Darn!
Hey Eric,
I'll happily play tournaments in Norway to try to let you get your revenge on me ;)
will do, keep up the good work, and boy did I let that one get way.
will do, keep up the good work, and boy did I let that one get way.
Eric, you might like to know that Gawain completed his final GM norm in the British league the weekend after Gausdal finished.
Hey Mig: The full prize list is just like the old one, except that 23rd-29th is $800 and 30th to 36th is $700. And no, the Ninja brilliancy prizes have not been mentioned. I doubt the other players even know.
As luck would have it, the two Ninjas squared off today in a Sveshnikov. Despite the presence of opposite bishops, neither of us uttered the 4-letter profanity overused by the USCF rulebook. In mutual time pressure, I slipped and lost.
Hey all. FYI: Kramnik has won the 2006 chess Oscar:
http://64.ru/?/ru/magazine/year=2007&no=5&part=456&article=1682
Topalov is second, Anand is third and Aronian is 4th.
Yep, Krush really did get checkmated:
[Event "ch-USA"]
[Site "Stillwater USA"]
[Date "2007.05.16"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Shulman,Y"]
[Black "Krush,I"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2464"]
[EventDate "2007.05.15"]
[ECO "D24"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. a4 Bb7 8. e6
fxe6 9. Ng5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qd6 11. Qg4 Nd7 12. Be2 Nf6 13. Qh3 g6 14. O-O h6
15. Re1 Bg7 16. Nxe6 Kf7 17. Nxg7 Kxg7 18. Ba3 Qf4 19. Bf3 Nd5 20. Qd7 Qf7
21. Bxd5 Qxd5 22. Rxe7+ Kf6 23. Qg4 Qf5 24. Qe2 Bd5 25. h4 g5 26. g4 Qf4
27. Qe5+ Qxe5 28. dxe5+ Kg6 29. h5+ 1-0
I just finished reading Mig's write-ups about the U.S. Chess Championships to date. Here are some select quotes:
"Apparently the official site is at Monroi, the maker of those little digital handheld move recorders. I imagine this means all the players will be using them. I suggested to Var Akobian, when we were on together doing Mtel coverage the other day, that he sneak in a Pocket Fritz instead to see if anyone would notice. Oh well, as long as they get the games out okay I don't care if they used Speckled Jim to do it."
"There are 36 players listed, although the prize fund explanation only mentions going down to 34th place. Maybe the last two finishers get a hearty handshake and a lifetime supply of Rice-a-Roni?"
"There aren't any off days and no one has answered my question about if they are again using he rules that prohibit draw offers before move 30."
"I'm now told that GM Walter Browne and IM Jay Bonin are there as paying patrons. Why wasn't this announced anywhere?"
"Speaking of, I'm told there will already be $100 round prizes for best game and Crenshaw prizes for things like best combination, endgame, etc. This information and other rules and such don't seem to be posted anywhere. I wonder if the players are aware of them."
"Live games are finally up here. They must have had a late start. "
"fpawn's website is also the only place I found a handy list of all the players and how they got to the Championship. Damn right if it's your website you put your own name in big blue letters! Rock on, fpawn. The Chess Life website is finally posting items on the Championship from Jen Shahade."
"I do hope some people on the ground there in Stillwater are letting the players know that the Daily Dirt Reader Brilliancy Prizes are quite huge at this point. By the way, I don't think the complete prize list has been published anywhere:..."
Gee, do you think someone is just slightly bitter about losing his job as the official U.S. Chess Championship webmaster? Your smug delight is pretty transparent. You can stop hitting us over the head with their web-information failings, we get your 'subtle' point by now.
Yes, they are doing a piss poor job of publicity, just like many chess events do (too many bare-bones, flash-induced-headaches to name). But perhaps the conclusion is that they COULD go about spending the money for a webmaster to give out all these factoids about players and prize pools and games in real-time on a snazzier site, but they realized that the smidgen of added publicity this would give them does not justify the cost. Perhaps the number of eyeballs browsing the snazzier vs the plain site are so close (and low) that they can live with the dozen people who care about who is patroned in and specific rules of this championship - instead of just the games -might boycott their coverage in outrage. It's really not as outrageous as you let on.
This, however, is:
"I looked up hotels in Stillwater on Google Maps and also the Quality Inn where the tournament is taking place. The latest reviews on that Quality Inn, which has a 1/5 reader rating, are priceless: "This hotel is unkempt and dirty. The stairs are rotted out, none of the equipment in the exercise room worked. Pool table and foosball tables don't have balls. The sheets were dirty with crusty stains." -- "The back stairs are rotted out and dangerous, the jacuzzi in our suite had mildew in all of the jets, no mattress pads on the beds..." -- "I would stay 70 miles outside Stillwater if the Holiday Inn was the only available hotel. This was the worst experience I have had at a hotel."
I'm pretty sure that if you had any official capacity at this Championship, you would never post such things try to damage their standing. I know, YOU didn't post that hotel review, but you also didn't need to feature it so prominently in your write-up, especially as fpawn has stated how misleading it is. Can you honestly say you would do the same at last year’s championship, if given the chance?
Your capacity for bitterness has not diminished with age. Your ability to rationalize the things you are involved in directly (Mexico IS the REAL CHAMPIONSHIP, Kasparov is GOD - Kramnik is a meek coward, Accounting and prize discrepancies in the 2005 and 2006 US Championships were unfortunate, forgivable, human frailty, but 2007 is a SPIT IN THE FACE!) versus those that you have political/self-economic interest in bashing is staggeringly clear and shameless. Anyone who would categorize you as a ‘journalist’ (objective) is willfully blind.
tut tut 7 draws on the top 9 boards in round 4. Sounds like one of these terrible drawish Eastern European events. Oh wait, it is...
Stern, I guess I'm less incensed than you are that when you are working for some operation you don't go around writing trenchant no-holds-barred critiques of the operation, but when you are a free agent you are more free to expose flaws and poke fun. It also strikes me as odd that your ideal of "journalism" seems to be that you should write puff pieces all the time, whether you are being paid or not, like Tony Snow talking about the Bush administration.
I actually agree that, since Aigner pointed out that the hotel is now under new management and has apparently been fixed up considerably, it would be better to move the slam reviews of the QI off the front page or at least balance them with a quote from Aigner, but it's entirely possible that Mig just hasn't gotten around to it. I might point out that Mig is wearing more hats this week than he usually is, since he is spending several hours a day doing live audio commentary on MTel on the ICC.
In any case, it's not like Mig (no offense meant) has gotten to the height of power or influence where careless words from him can ruin the US Champs or the Stillwater QI, like the Times' Walter Kerr ruining a play or Alan Greenspan ruining a country.
On another note, I want to say a word about the Monroi license. The what? Well, bear in mind that the moves from the US Champs are being recorded on Monroi devices and broadcast on the Monroi site. When you go to that site to see those games, you first have to accept the terms of a license whereby you agree not to rebroadcast them.
I think this is potentially an important development for the financial organization of chess. For years GMs and organizers have been struggling with the issue of "how do we get some compensation in the hands of the players and organizers, while the moves of the games are being transmitted everywhere for free?" This led to the whole idea of copyrighting games, which FIDE got behind for a while - let's hope they've given up on this dead horse. And for years I've been arguing here and there for an intellectual-property approach to it all. No, you can't copyright the games. But you can license access to the particular information stream that you, the organizers, are generating, and you can charge money for that.
It looks as if Monroi is doing what I have been arguing for. The license says that, no, of course the game score is not copyrightable, BUT if you are going to log on here and get the moves from us, you must first agree not to rebroadcast the moves to the wide world unless you make a separate written agreement. (You also agree that this license is to be interpreted under Canadian law.)
Well, is this having any effect? It seems to be having an effect on the ICC, at any rate, because I will bet you any reasonable sum up to whatever is in my pocket at the moment that this is the reason why the ICC is broadcasting only 5 games a day and not the entire 18, which they could certainly do technically. They haven't SAID this, but I believe it.
Of course you don't have to pay Monroi yet, but that's the next step. Will this cause kvetching among us consumers who have gotten spoiled in the last ten years and used to getting free webcasts of top-level chess from around the world? Of course! Can it be made to work, and maybe force some of us spoiled consumers to cough up a few pennies for the players and organizers? Maybe. If we don't like it, of course we can always go to Stillwater and stay at the Quality Inn and look at the demo boards all day, like in the old days! Or wait a few days for the .pgn files to get posted somewhere! But if we want real-time access, maybe we'll have to come up with some pennies, and is this so unfair?
I have been having many interesting conversations with current and ex players. The schism between the strongest players sometimes arogant and standoffish and the everyday player must narrow for chess to become mainstream who better than susan to educate the best on how to behave like the best she does it every day. second the support for the current board largely non players ie good players and certainly not a group with big league bussiness connection has been a dismal disaster. Susan when she wins and gets great support will be accountable to everyone, her partners are marketing execs, child educators and have intl conmnections. The support and involvement of a numbers cruncher with a great resume rounds out a team that will give all comfort and the new change will be the greenlight for american chess to go mainstream.
Eric, your posts will appear even if you don´t see them immediately. (Many thanks for your contributions for the chess world)
For the record, Frank Berry's middle name is "Kim."
So he´s not he best person evar.
So is it that problems don't exist or that I'm not supposed to mention them? Please let me know which it is, Stern. At least if you have time while taking your mind-reading courses that allow you to know my motives for anything.
I have nothing at all to be bitter about. I complain about the web coverage of just about every event and it's not because I'm annoyed they didn't hire me. First, I wouldn't have been available to webmaster this event this year anyway. The radio stuff I can do from home, but even that is too much of a workload since I'm full-time with Kasparov and Other Russia these days. Second, I didn't lose any job at all. I worked for the AF4C and they aren't involved with this championship. I wouldn't accept work from an organization with Sam Sloan on its board and I have declined invitations to write for Chess Life, although without feeling the need to explicitly state a reason.
If I have any bitterness it is about seeing players like Benjamin and de Firmian driven away from the event by bad policy. My criticisms are almost entirely directed at things that harm the players and their interests. (Pointing out that it seemed the games started late hardly counts as anything at all unless you're just trolling.) I have nothing but love for the person/people that put up their own hard-earned cash to support chess and so Frank Berry is #1 in my book, or at least a strong #2 after Uma Thurman. The various USCF decisions that I see as harming the players are a separate matter, and deserve to be aired. If you can't separate the two things that's your problem.
As for the hotel, it was a joke I tossed in when I stumbled into those reviews. It got a response from someone on site (whose reports I link to) and I will, as always, be happy to post that info when I do my next US Ch item. I simply haven't had time with Mtel and Garry's detention spurring a media blitz yesterday.
Lastly, if you don't understand the difference between an official site and a personal blog, what to say? Most of the junk in these reports wouldn't be appropriate on an official site. But when you are employed to represent an organization you don't use their website to post whatever you like. They can have it removed, edited, deleted, you fired, etc. You don't go around saying, "wherever I may roam I get to write whatever the hell I want." I've worked for plenty of official event sites over the years. Most hire me because they don't mind a more irreverent style; at least that's what I take for granted. And I would never lie or obfuscate on behalf of an organizer. (Last year I reported the problem with the prizes on the official website, something I'm not sure they appreciated at the time. It wasn't discussed so I just posted it.) But your job is for the organizers and to promote the event, so of course I wouldn't post those hotel reviews at the official site, for example.
look, its time to honor the benjamins, defermians, fedorowicz, rohdes they devoted their life to this game and recieved little in exchange. They were gladiators when no one cared. God knows if the uscf was a better advocate they would of had more. I on the other hand used the gifts of the chessboard and skill obtained their for personnel gain. I now want to go full circle and give back. Hopefully susan and her team will be the steward of change. I will be their as will others. The new federation will be something to be proud of and our players will then get their just do. If its not obvious I am indebted to these old friends and foes, the competition just got applied elsewhere. I will be watching susan on tv tonight with a group of bussiness leaders wishing I was in oklahoma, knowing next year I will get my chance to give, and indeed play my old friends.
Theodulf: "It also strikes me as odd that your ideal of "journalism" seems to be that you should write puff pieces all the time, whether you are being paid or not, like Tony Snow talking about the Bush administration."
Huh?!? Objectivity in journalism does not equal a desire for puff pieces any more than a desire for assassination pieces. I do not like Mig's particular coverage of Mexico (very positive [a puff piece?] in the stance that it's the legit championships, and that a tourney is ok instead of a head to head matchup seemingly advocated previously) any more than the misleading mentions of the hotel conditions.
I was a bit unfair to Mig - I've said before that I consider him more of a columnist instead of a journalist. To me, that designation gives him a much wider range to voice his opinions as he does, even encourages it. I've just seen so many bylines and quotes that call him a chess *journalist* (could very well be not his fault or intent) in others' articles that it irks me a bit, given how many financial ties he has to particular elements in the chess world. I don't know what he considers himself to be.
It is also true that the world of chess might be so small that it is just wishful thinking that someone could devote himself to true chess journalism alone, with no ties financially to it at all, and still make a living (or have the ongoing desire, given the state of US chess). So maybe chess journalism will always be compromised, since no one else would be bothering to devote themselves to reporting on the game otherwise at all.
To Mig: If age wasn't a catalyst for change, perhaps marriage has been for you, and for the better. Thanks for your response, its tone surprised me in how different our differences usually play out.
Holy heavens, Shabalov is on fire! He can even take his customary 1 slugfest loss somewhere in rds 7/8 and still win this going away!