Yow, what a week. Hurricane Kasparov landed in NY a few days ago and I've only just now made it to the relative calm of the eye. (I suppose that old hurricane joke should be shelved for a while since he's speaking to a business audience in New Orleans next week.) I caught up on my sleep last night after Garry rocked the World Business Forum audience at Radio City Music Hall yesterday morning. Only the second time any speaker has received a standing ovation, according to the HSM director. Such a relief after we spent so much time and stress working on the speech and wondering how this US audience would be different from the European ones Garry usually speaks to. Plus the sheer size of the hall, which had over 4,000 people in it and three gigantic video screens the Rolling Stones would have been happy to have. Garry was in great form and everyone I met was thrilled. Wednesday was a more somber address at a panel convened by the House Committee on Human Rights in Washington DC to honor the anniversary of the murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Lots of media, also there to hear from Larisa Arap, an activist for the Other Russia who was kidnapped and held in a mental institution earlier this year.
After a brief pause it will be on to a mini book tour to promote How Life Imitates Chess in Boston, DC, NY, and Philadelphia. (Appearance schedule here.) I think I've managed to get out of going on the tour, but I'll be at the New York signing event on Oct 18 at 12:30pm, NYC. Barnes & Noble @ 555 5th Ave (46th St.) Someone told me there's already a big sign in the window for it. Yay. If you want to say hello, and please do, I'm the tall one.
The Kamsky-led Spanish team Linex Magic won the European Club Cup in Turkey. (I love a good turkey club myself. With bacon.) The official site and ChessBase have more. including a video with Anand. Since I've been away several in the commentariat have pointed out that the very active Turkish Chess Federation is suing the European Chess Union. The very long letter explaining ("explaining" since I'm not sure it really clears things up) all this from Ali Yazici delves into a variety of the closed-door bargaining, rule changing, and secret bidding that have blackened the name of FIDE and chess organizing in general for many, many years. Of course it's not public and transparent! That would make it much harder to STEAL STUFF. This is not rocket science. It's not even Chem 101. It's blatant cronyism and larceny and has been for a long time.
TWIC, via Sport Express, confirms the field for the Tal Memorial starting Nov. 9 in Moscow. Ivanchuk, Kramnik, Leko, Shirov, Mamedyarov, Gelfand, Carlsen, Kamsky, Alekseev, Jakovenko.
But Essent is first and the top Crown Group event gets underway on Oct 14. It's the usual double round-robin with four players. This year it's Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, van Wely, and world junior champion Andriasian of Armenia. They've always done world junior champ, Dutch champ, world champ, and a woman, inevitably Judit Polgar. But I guess she wasn't available this year. Mamedyarov was also a world junior champ -- twice. That official site link says there will be live games at 1400 local Dutch time. Probably here from what I can tell.
Lately it appears that Kamsky only gets invites to the "big boys" parties if there held on his old stomping grounds.
Go Mamedyarov!
Hey Mig,
Has Kasparov seen The Colbert Report? Lynn Cheney was on Jon Stewart last night and she had never seen the show before.
I love Stewart/Colbert, but is Kasparov the type of guy to play along with the foolishness?
We talked about this in another thread, I think. Garry is very much into this sort of thing. Not if it gets totally silly perhaps, but we've been gleefully scheming soundbites. He might prefer Meet the Press but he likes a challenge, too. Plus, Garry's enjoying letting his sense of humor out more these days. He always felt he had to project gravitas as a chessplayer; even his tantrums were usually about things being taken seriously. And of course the political stuff is deadly serious today. But we've made the business speeches and media appearances a lot lighter and it's worked great. Although we wrote in many quips for the Radio City speech, several of the best lines were his ad libs. Colbert should be good fun. It's going to go by so fast we just hope he gets to say anything coherent at all. Our mission is to 1) get out the message on Putin's Russia, 2) mention the book, preferably with a good anecdote, 3) zing Stephen at least once, and 4) get out alive.
I've actually met Colbert briefly twice though I doubt he'll remember me. He participated in two fundraisers for the tutoring center I volunteer at in Brooklyn, the Super Hero Supply Store. Most of the Daily Show cast came to those and there was some mingling so I said hello. I also saw him talk in a sort of "Actor's Studio" setting at the Upright Citizens Brigade" theater a few years back. Very cool, very sharp, as any fan of his show could guess. I'll be in the green room with Garry and his wife before the show so I'll get a moment to say hello to him. Maybe have him sign a copy or two of his new book.
I think it would be funny for Garry and Colbert to get into a debate and solve it with a staring contest. Been a while since we've seen Garry's frightening stare. I wonder if Colbert could make him crack up.
Mig, are there any plans for Garry to do a book signing in Canada (e.g. Toronto or Vancouver) sometime in the new year?
What date will Garry be on the Colbert show?
This is off topic, but does anyone know the solution to this puzzle?
Recreate the game:
All pieces start in their standard initial chess place.
One side is to checkmate the other side on the fifth move of the game.
This last move is a knight taking a rook.
White starts with E2-E4
the first 3 are
1.e4 Nf6 2. f3 Nxe4 3. Qe2
On 28th July 2006 Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici filed to the FIDE Ethics Commission, a complaint against Mr. Dimitrije Bjelica. Bjelica called Yazici “slave of mafia from fide” and accused him of corruption. Now Yazici is suing ECU for mismanagement.
http://www.fide.com/news/download/Judgement01-06.pdf
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4179
The Turkish Chess Federation explain why they are suing the European Chess Union in the judicial court in Lausanne. For the European Individual Championships the TCF was offering a 140.000€ prize fund. However they were suddenly told that the US $120.000 that FIDE contributes to this event was no longer available "for European countries." Also the number of World Cup qualification places had been reduced from 34 to 23. "We invite Mr Kutin to resign," writes Yazici. "The TCF Board supports the decision of Georgian Chess Federation to raise a no-confidence vote in General Assembly of ECU in Creta, Greece next month.
I am curious what people think about it.
Bjelica is journalist, and he expressed his opinion about Yazici.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitrije_Bjelica
Bjelica is one of the most prolific chess authors in the world, with over 80 books in 180 editions and 55 videos and CDs to his name. He has organised many big events and was the arbiter at tournaments like Linares.
Did anyone else got sued or received demand letters from Ali Nihat Yazici?
What is this, "Use Mig's Blog for Your Personal Agenda Week"? Did I miss the announcement? The Bjelica item is background, but don't start posting increasingly unrelated items every 15 minutes here. Troll elsewhere, please.
Is chesspublishing.com down for anyone else? (Sorry for not staying on message, but...)
I just finished to read "How Life Imitates Chess" it is a fine and easy book to read in two days if you have the time. I like it but I think the title have to change a little bit "How Chess Imitates Life for Chess people" with not offense
Over the past decade, hundreds of reporters and editors have been indicted, convicted, or imprisoned for news coverage deemed undesirable by the Turkish state. At the end of 1998, 27 Turkish journalists were in jail because of their work--more than any other country in the world for the fifth year running. During a two-week research trip to Turkey in July 1999, CPJ investigated many new cases of press freedom violations, 27 of which are documented below. We found that the Turkish government is still using vaguely-worded laws to criminalize reporting on sensitive political topics such as the Kurdish issue and the role of Islam in politics.
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/1999/Turkey/TurkeyReport.html
Murat Kul was convicted by a State Security Court of violating Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code (revealing state secrets). He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison. Is this the same Murat Kul who works for the Turkish Chess Federation?
How journalists are treated by Turkish people is relevant. It is also Dirt topic. It tells something on "free speech" and appears informative. Isn't Garry fighting for human rights in Russia, and the world has right to know about situation in Turkey.
Mig -- you removed this post twice. Why?
Our kids need to go this November to the World Youth in Turkey.
(1) Parents and coaches need to know about "free speech", and what they can and cannot say.
(2) They also need to be informed on the Kurdish crisis:
http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/11264339?view=Eircomnet
Turkey is thisclose to attacking the Kurdish population in northern Iraq...
Fifteen Turkish soldiers were killed in southeastern Turkey on Monday and Tuesday; the single biggest loss in the war between separatist PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) guerrillas and the Turkish military since 1995. The US and Iraqi governments firmly oppose Turkish action across the border.
(3) Children and their parents need to be informed about trafficing.
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Turkey.htm
Turkey is a major destination and transit country for women and children trafficked primarily for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. A small number of men from Turkey were trafficked to the Netherlands for the purpose of forced labor in 2006. Women and girls are trafficked from Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This year victims were also trafficked from Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
(4) The Turkish Chess Federation has a history of legal threats.
Go go go !