Chess is Fashionable

Good theater and some nice publicity. Where does Kasparov get the energy to run around the world like this?! He'll need some extended R&R after the FIDE elections for certain. As for Mig, well, I'm betting on a nice New Years post for 2011! LOL

Good to hear there is time for some family in between everything else. Although things are somewhat slow around the dirt nowadays, you're doing good work!

Ha ha one of the rare sightings in migloids occasional "chess" blog of his religious proclivities. (Kasparov and fashion - surely some mistake)Surely Migloids Bacon number is always zero?? Ho ho. I do share migsters despair about chess tournament director lack of sensitivity to our multicultural conventions. As I suffer it every year in respect of the Hastings chess tournament when I am in the bosom of the extended family on January 1st - no pass given here. Alas my chinese and particularly my hindu freinds silently suffer much more as chess events (even major ones unlike this trifling)are scheduled on their major festivals and new year dates.

While we are on the non chess subject of religious affiliations I notice that Obama unlike his amusing born again fundamentalist christian predecessor Bush never dons a yarmulke or for that matter a kufi.

Happy Eid Mubarak everyone!

A Chess Butler? That must be a historic first!
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6663

I expect him to be dressed in black and white, of course.

If you have to take into account every religious holiday of every religion on earth there won't be any free dates left on the calender. To each his own, but if your religion requires you to wear your underpants on your head don't be surprised if the rest of the world does not follow suit, understand or care. Religions are stupid, ALL religions.

Ok, that was a bit of a rant and the example extreme, but never the less it illustrates a valid point imo although in real life (as opposed to in the comments on a blog) I would be more tolerant and try to accomodate the major religions even though no matter what you do it's impossible not to be unintentionally slighting somebody somewhere.

@trm

I like your first comment, I had a good laugh.

"It really does sound like an amazing event, and I would pay good money to hear Maurice Ashley do live coverage of an old person eating breakfast."
Didn't he already DO Kasparov-Short?

Mig & family: Shana tova umetukah.
Family is more important than chess anyway.

Bent died. A true giant.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//www.dsu.dk/index.php%3Fid%3D4%26NewsId%3D2431&hl=nl&langpair=auto|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8

The World looking a bit schizophrenic...

GK: this is over.. blacks activity is just temporary
M Ashley: I'm from so and so and ... I believe it aint over till its over
GK: That's because you don't play Magnus...

World not listening to audio or using Rybka?? They are ignoring GK's suggestions and picking Naka's moves..

It's amusing that they had to redo the closing ceremony. I think it is meant for the
general public, as the original closing ceremony
had too much chess analysis.

Lesson to World: Dictatorship trumps democracy in chess.

Nakamura wanted to play the Dutch at a match sponsored by a Dutch company. That was a great idea, but unfortunately, not followed...

I know I know he plays the Dutch often, but still...

"...religion provided the glue that held people together and provided each of them with a purpose in an otherwise harsh and brutal world and the promise of a better and more fulfilled life."

Or they could just eat less, and stop being fatties, right?

Star move of the game IMO was 26.Rca3. Also liked it when Carlsen leaned over the board, grabbed his queen, and smiled.

Bye bye Bent!! I hate it when one of my childhood heroes passes. I demand that someone put a stop to it.
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1106394

That Maurice Ashely guy is pretty much the perfect fit for gigs such as this. Is his regular job media related or is he just a natural?

ps. go away Luke.

I don't think it's luke...who was always annoying but not near as nasty. But whoever it is can go away.

RIP Bent Larsen. What a player!
(And somebody please teach ChessBase what "infamous" means.)

Maurice Ashley bores the crap out of me.
He's a broken record, and not an especially interesting record to begin with.
Get the showbiz hook.
I would even rather listen to Jen Shahade's winey valley-girl voice.

I'm on a curmudgeonly roll here, aren't I? Just my opinion.

Anybody else notice how chessbase.com put Larsen's head on Carlsen's torso?

Maurice Ashley.

Sits in his studio with Kasparov next to him. Ashley spends ~95% of the air time on speed talk. Kasparov gets to squeeze in a word here and there.

Who do you want to listen to talk about chess?

Oh, and by the way, Maurice Ashley is supposed to be entertaining - and that's debatable. Garry Kasparov's record is not.

"Which definition applies to Larsen's loss?"

That would be 1.
having an extremely bad reputation: an infamous city.
This is only regarding his 0-6 loss to Fischer. Why is that infamous? Because I could have acheived the same score:)

Of course, Larson was not alone in his misery. Taimanov already needed consoling when Bent was just getting started, back in '70-'71.

@floppyfish - Maurice Ashley is a chess coach in New York, but has done commentary many times before, including for ESPN. For more, see his 2010 US Championship coverage at:
http://USChessChamps.com/video

And a recent radio piece on chess commentary for NPR's "Only a Game," a nationally syndicated show:
http://www.onlyagame.org/2010/08/saturday-august-21-2010/#4
See the story called "Chess Play-by-play"

It's not the right forum but the Live Top Rating List has now hit 40 2700's. I believe this is the first time. Does anyone care to predict when there will be 50 2700's?

Andy Soltis in today's NY Post:

The chess world could be in for a nightmare scenario this month.

It begins to unfold Wednesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear world champion Anatoly Karpov's suit to disqualify his opponent, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, in an election for president of the international chess federation (FIDE).

Also next week, a Moscow court is due to consider Ilyumzhinov's defamation suit against Karpov.

And then two weeks later, FIDE's 160 or so national federations will choose between Ilyumzhinov, the incumbent president, and Karpov, the reformist-insurgent. Ilyumzhinov is expected to win in a landslide.

But if the Swiss court vetoes Ilyumzhinov's candidacy, Karpov -- with the backing of perhaps only 40 countries -- would become FIDE president.

Ilyumzhinov would likely fight back and could refuse to yield power. That would leave FIDE, the body that organizes world championships, in chaos.

It might get much worse: Ilyumzhinov, who is losing his day job as president of Russia's Kalmykia, could even try to organize a rival to FIDE out of the 90-plus nations who support him.

Who controls the Court of Arbitration for Sport? Please supply name and life history, their boss name(s) and life history, ethnicity and thus national loyalty, any illuminist affiliation, names of persons from whom they have received money-under-the-table, their sexual peccadilloes that subject them to political blackmail, etc.

Because as geopolitics goes, most these "international" organizations serve as fronts for the U.S.; none are actually independent. It looks to me Illumwhatever has been maneuvered by Team Karpov into a finishing blunder.

If Mig's twitter (top right) is true... "Confirmed: Russian embassies around the world calling local sports and chess officials urging them to support Karpov. Kirsan is non grata."

...then suddenly Karpov's chances are looking far greater, even without the court deciding in his favour. It's clear that Ilyumzhinov's been using his political position in Russia as a reason for federations to support him.

I just translated a round-up of the press coverage in Russia on Kirsan's "retirement": http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/09/kirsan-released-into-space/

Apart from the fun headlines (e.g. "The humanoids didn't save Ilyumzhinov") points made include that Ilyumzhinov desperately needs to win the FIDE election to retain legal immunity. Also some entertaining comments from both candidates:

Ilyumzhinov: "If Karpov didn’t exist you’d have to invent him. He has no program, no ideas, while 170 countries around the world is no joke! You don’t sit at the controls of a jet, or in a dentist’s chair, knowing that instead of a doctor there’s Vasya the plumber. Therefore I consider his competition frivolous."

"On the 15 September in Moscow legal hearings will be held for the case brought by Ilyumzhinov, who accuses you of libel.

[Karpov:] Not of libel, but of causing moral harm to his fantastic reputation."

Lol, if that tweet is true the Russians have flubbed the issue big-time. Soporific Slavs. Karpov, despite Russian citizenship, represents the chessic fist of American power, while Illyum, mediocrity he is, belongs to the Russians by default of retaining geopolitical independence.

hcl,

Looks more like Kirsan has gotten the boot, and lost support of the Kremlin. If he is not the ruler of a Russian Republic (which he isn't), doesn't have the support of Moscow (which he doesn't), what good, exactly, is he?

"...the chessic fist of American power."

We Americans (Rumsfeld, Cheney, Haliburton, Kissinger, the CIA, et. al) look forward to bringing the FIDE presidency under our imperialist hegemony.

Not sure we'll quite know what to do with it.

But we'll think of something.

Daaim --
I could have added that I don't much mind listening to Mig on the ICC live games, although I think his commentary sometimes sounds too clever by half, to be honest. But his analysis is good enough, judging by the agreement he gets from his higher-ranked guests.

In addition to his banter sounding limited, Ashley probably tries too hard to keep it exciting. He doesn't appreciate that many listeners are happy with a low-key approach, as long as you keep it moving. He's just too pop. I heard another guy I heard do a better job of it. Was it for Gibralter?

Be careful what you wish for...

The chess world may enjoy a pyrrhic victory with the ousting of Kirsan - assuming it becomes a reality. What if the nefarious KK duo doesn't bring money into chess?

FIDE will not be any less corrupt with the two K's & Friends at the helm, with the added "benefit" that Kirsan's money will not be around to sweeten the bitter experience.

Kirsan is bad. The alternatives are not better, I'm afraid.

I hereby nominate Liv Tyler for FIDE president.

Soltis: "It might get much worse: Ilyumzhinov, who is losing his day job as president of Russia's Kalmykia, could even try to organize a rival to FIDE out of the 90-plus nations who support him"

I think this outcome would be hilarious and hardly bad for chess. Worse will be the more likely outcome of Kirsan returning in his role as Fide dictator.

As I understand it, each member nation gets one vote, regardless of the number of active chess players in that nation and Kirsan's following of 120 or so nations actually represents a small percentage of players when compared to the number of players in nations that would support Karpov.

Kirsan has been able to easily get re-elected by simply paying off the heads of these smaller Fide member states. He is continuing his time honored tradition of bribery by following Karpov's world tour, to insure he (Kirsan) gets his bribe in after Karpov's visit.

Anyway that's my take on it. I've tried to read as much as possible, and only know what's been published on the internet.

Every time I read something positive about Kirsan, it always reminds of the kind of self-promotion seen in Dictatorships like North Korea by Kim Jong-Il. It's obviously not the as over the top, but there are similarities, in that the news appears all to positive, as if paid for.

It's not an all-American affair, there is also (at least) Svidler and Gustafsson on ICC - fluent English is essential, an accent, foreign or from e.g. Philadelphia, is generally "acceptable".

Daaim has a fair point about promoting chess to larger audiences and sponsor interests to reach such an audience. And it seems that Ashley is doing a good job in that respect, else (if a majority of THAT audience thought like kenhabeeb) he wouldn't be hired so often. Yet IMO analysis for advanced players also has a right to exist, so I fully agree with j nielsen: it was a bit irritating that Ashley was so dominantly verbose, and Kasparov hardly got his turn - he may not have a record as a commentator, but he clearly has one as a chess expert (not referring to USCF rating categories ...).

"Kirsan has been able to easily get re-elected by simply paying off the heads of these smaller Fide member states. He is continuing his time honored tradition of bribery by following Karpov's world tour, to insure he (Kirsan) gets his bribe in after Karpov's visit."

Yes, yes. But now Kasparov is armed with $4 million in bribe-money of his own, from "mysterious businessmen" - if you're able to read between the lines that's you, the American taxpayer (and me, too.)

Is this "Kasparov" fellow really that good? He's not even on the FIDE rating list. Sounds like a crank.

lwolf howls:

"Almost every player on the planet wants Kirsan out. The fact that Kirsan's still in power implies something going on behind the scenes."

You're absolutely right: there is something going on - Kirsan has been putting food on their table for a few years. Even Kasparov was a Kirsan ardent supporter when he thought that was the best way to get the title back from Kramnik.

As for players wanting Kirsan "out", it's doubtful, unless they can line up the next sugar daddy. Karpov has told everyone he has a few suggar daddies of his own, but nobody believes him.

The elections look very intriguing...

If chess is a universal game, we can't only have white man + Anand and Wang playing and promoting the game at the top level. As long at color counts for some youngsters, it's good to have people like Ashley around. He's of course invited because of his skills, not his color.

Ashley did his job. It is doubtful if any other ( particularly Susan) would do any better.

Kasparov resembled Neil Armstrong explaining in few words how easy was catching the Moon...

I like Ashley. He is enthusiastic. Like a sports commentator. I think he did a great job covering the G-Star RAW hoopla, with the many patzers kibitzing.

Of course, if he was going to comment a WC match, he would have to apply a calmer tone, with more analyzes, less talk. I think he could do that too.

if chess players such as kenhabeeb became less selfish and wanted chess to improve popularity wise, we could actually make some progress. looking at it from a non-chess perspective, Ashley is clearly superior to every possible commentator you mentioned. Objectively, Jennifer Shahade's voice is a buzzkill for commentary and shouldn't even be in the picture at all. Kasparov knows a lot about chess but he's still not a social butterfly. For sure there are strong GM's who can give a better connection to the audience. here is an experience kenhabeeb in case you have kids and/or non-chess acquaintances: record 2 minutes of commentary from each of those guys and torture the non-chess spectator with it. first impression is everything, and they will very likely pick the Ashley clip as the best. i'm not surprised though as chess players in north america definitely aren't conformists(to success). from my experience, game is played mainly by the lower tier of society

lwolf howls:

"You must be deluded. After expenses and salaries, Fide has very little left to offer players of the game. I doubt anyone that makes a living off this game, relies on Fide support (other than the employees of Fide)."

True (except for the 'deluded' part :-). And that's the problem: professional players expect to make unrealistic money, so they are always at the mercy of lowlifes like kirsan, who financed many events with his own money. Even Fischer - back in the day - relied on the generosity of the sugar daddies. The game has never been self-sufficient, because the truth is that the average person on the street does not care for organized chess, so the sposorship/expectator money that flows to other activities is non-existent for chess. Kirsan's millions are the only reason the chess establishment accepted and continues to "accept" him.

I'm not deluded, wolf.

Everybody knows that Kirsan bailed FIDE out after Kasparov's departure left it almost bankrupt.. Everybody knows that Kirsan financed many FIDE events. Yes, he is guilty of everything he is accused of. He is a lowlife. No question about it.

But it is really foolish for anyone to pretend that the lack of sponsorship is due to Kirsan's actions or persona. There has NEVER been serious sponsorship in chess - before or during Kirsan's reign.

Even Bessel Kok recognized Kirsan's financial contributions:

"And thirdly, I wish to thank a very special man present here to-day. And that man is the President of FIDE, Kirsan. I want to thank him for two things: First for your immense financial contribution he has given to this game he loves so much."

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3160

Does Mig want to "moderate" all posts that include "Kirsan", "Ilumzhinov", "scandal", or similar these days? I tried to quote a couple of things from mishanp's latest translations, and it somehow triggered the "moderation" mechanism - even after 2-3 attempts of "censoring" the post ...

Or maybe it's just impossible to discuss astronomy here, due to terms like "black hole" or similar. Duh.

"Everybody knows that Kirsan bailed FIDE out after Kasparov's departure left it almost bankrupt.. Everybody knows that Kirsan financed many FIDE events."

The question is: where did the money come from?

If it indeed was "his own" money, then fine - but if money in fact came from the Kalmykian republic's little resources (as claimed by some), it makes the money stained and secondly, it means that after October 24th this source of "income" will be permanently gone.

Did you read all of mishanp's translation? Two excerpts:

"The central authorities only took an interest again in 1997 when it suddenly emerged that in this entity of the Russian Federation a certain “black hole” had formed, through which money was rushing away. Attempts by the Treasury to explain the fate of the 200 million roubles that had disappeared from the Kalmyk National Bank ended with another protest by Kirsan, who threatened that his republic would break away from the Russian Federation."

"A few years later he was running an array of banks and countless companies, after which rumours began to appear in the media that Ilyumzhinov had taken Russian government loans for the purchase of wool – more than 10 billion roubles – which then disappeared somewhere. Similar scandals have pursued Ilyumzhinov over the course of his whole term as President – they concern both him personally, and the region he heads, though nothing has ultimately been proven."

(Link to mishanp's article removed ... I'd wish the preview mechanism would flag stuff that needs "moderation".)

The debate rages on - who is delusional?

The Answer: All of you.

lwolf gets even angrier and howls even louder:

"And what you call Intel's sponsorship of the PCA back in the 90's? Players out of the top 10 were even making some significant money for playing then."

The only one making significant money from Intel's sponsorship money - it lasted a grand total of 2.5 years! - was Kasparov, along with whomever he faced. Therest of chess professionals were starving or making peanuts as always.

"For all we know the money could have come from the Kalmykia Treasury, or it could have come from anywhere, there's no records or documents to show the source - undoubtedly by intention."

Well, we are making progress at last! Now you admit there was a was a contribution, indeed, but the argument has now switched to where the money came from. I have no idea how the money got into Kirsan's pocket, but he had it and used a lot of it to support FIDE and to put food on the players table. And that's the point I made.

If Mr. Kasparov knoes how to bring sponsorship money into chess, how come he twice failed, with the GMA and the PCA? The PCA collapsed immediately after Intel left. Why couldn't Kasparov find any other sponsors?

I'm not a Kirsan supporter, but I'm not going to play the fool pretending that the nefarious KK duo is better than the sleazy incumbent. They are all lowlifes and the chess establishment has to decide which is the lesser of two evils.

"I'm not a Kirsan supporter, but I'm not going to play the fool pretending that the nefarious KK duo is better than the sleazy incumbent. They are all lowlifes and the chess establishment has to decide which is the lesser of two evils."

Honestly??

I feel sorry for you.

"I'm not a Kirsan supporter, but I'm not going to play the fool pretending that the nefarious KK duo is better than the sleazy incumbent. They are all lowlifes and the chess establishment has to decide which is the lesser of two evils."

Honestly??

I feel sorry for you.

****
IRV is 100 percent right...and Lwolf must be new to this debate.

Anyone who has followed chess the past 20 yrs knows that in 1993 following the GK/NS breakaway, FIDE (and the 150+ national federations) were like a museum after a robbery -- the Mona Lisa (aka world title) was stolen and there was no insurance policy to pay for it.

FIDE hastily ran a replacement match (which Karpov won) but the foreign sponsorship (Oman?) was shaky -- it is unclear if it was paid.

In 1995, for the Karpov vs. Kamsky match...FIDE was broke. No sponsor for the match. USCF certainly wasn't going to do it. Kirsan was elected, and in 1996...FIDE paid for the match in Elista.

Karpov seems to have amnesia about this -- maybe he thinks he earned it. But FIDE had to get it from somewhere and that somewhere was Kirsan.

Same for the 1998 Olympiad in Elista.

Same for the work at running the KO cycles.

Flash forward to 2010. The PCA is dead. Private titles are dead. FIDE has won the war -- the world title (our Mona Lisa) is back in its display case. The 150+ national federations have their property back.

Why?

Kirsan's efforts.

And now some people want to elect Karpov -- with the help of the fellow who stole the Mona Lisa back in 1993?

It makes me sick.

And...it will make FIDE broke again.

Oh what the hell, let's call WW2 a do-over and install the Nazis again.

Gotta love Kirsan's picture permanently affixed to the main fide page, right next to the eulogy of Bent Larsen. One of five articles has more pictures of Kirsan's saintly visit to Singapore.

http://www.fide.com/

Compare to the US chess site.

http://www.uschess.org/

If one is looking for a chess commentator up to reaching out to (segments of) the mass market, Ashley is one of a handful up to the job.

It would be helpful if Ashley had multiple speeds (it took the US football announcer John Madden time to figure out how to do this). Baseball announcers might be good models. Both games have long boring stretches in between the exciting moments.

"But where did the money come from? His own pockets or elsewhere? That's not quite irrelevant, I think."

If it came from the Kalmykia Treasury, it looks like that source may have dried up.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5he7B_B7I4WnV1FrX4NClN7fa-7OwD9I2J5UG1

btw, if you read that article, is there any way you could imagine Kasparov or Karpov being described as Kirsan is there? Yet some individuals on this site seem to be making that comparison. What are they smoking?

Andy writes:

"I think some people cant digest how Gazzoid was like the best pal of Illum when it suited him and when ALL of the stuff about him was known. It is laughable to see all this moral stuff..."

Well said.

After 20 years of acrimony and mutual accusations of corruption, the two K's join forces to run on an empty "moral" platform. Are they better than Kirsan? nope. Why?

Because even though they are equally corrupt and equally dishonest, Kirsan at least brings some money to the table, while Kaspy only brings a long history of failure and delusion away from the chess board. Perhaps it would be a different story if Karpov had chosen a less nefarious running mate, but selecting Kaspy as his boss for this campaign casts very serious doubts on Karpov's ability to make sound decisions in the political arena. Kaspy almost single-handedly destroyed FIDE and then proceeded to mismanage and destroy the GMA and PCA, followed by becoming an ardent Kirsan supporter (when he wanted to cheat his way into a championship match). Why would anyone want Kasparov involved with FIDE as anything other than a professional chess player?

Problem is, we don't know who will really serve as COO (chief operations officer) of FIDE should the Karpov ticket obtain. It's not Karpov. No way any sane person would allow a destabilizing combination like Karpov - of amoral ambition, high intelligence and no institutional sense - to direct FIDE. These ex-Soviets ALWAYS screw up good Waspy organizations. They make good mercs but bad leaders.

Who's this never-heard-of-before Richard Conn? *Who does he really work for?* This guy must be U.S. intelligence - I'm 100% certain of it.

Maybe Mig will run things? He's obviously main advisor to Kasparov and highest-level operative on Karpov team. You'd notice Karpov coolly smiling for photo-ops as Kasp and Mig fly around do the heavy lifting. But probably not Mig - Kasp and him will go back to overthrowing Putin after this election.

So much conspiracy garbage being spouted by boneheaded morons. They are doing an excellent job of making themselves look stupid, delusional, and pathetic. Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about, so let's just sweep all that clutter and juvenile garbage out of the way.

I think Maurice Ashley did a great job with the microphone at the G-star event.

Hag

Is there anyone more annoying and stupid than greg koster?

The Answer: Yes, Hag is, but just barely. Chesshire cat is a close runner-up.

When the NED pays for a faction they insert trusted operatives into said faction.

Who is this person touted by the Karpov camp as the "well-known Richard Conn", previously unheard of in the chess world and a modest USCF-1900 rated?

Who is Richard Conn? Why is he running for FIDE VICE-PRESIDENT?

Could someone answer that? (I'm really curious who this guy is and how he's qualified to make FIDE VP.)

Dude, this Richard A. Conn has done NOTHING for chess.

He has the resume of someone in U.S. intelligence, and especially on Russia. This is not a chess guy:

"A longstanding member of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, Mr. Conn regularly consults with the World Bank, Members of Congress, and the Administration regarding Russian economic issues. He Co-Chaired the U.S.-Russia Business Council and American Chamber of Commerce (Moscow) joint initiative to facilitate Russian accession to WTO."

http://main.uschess.org/content/view/10307/319/
https://www.usrbc.org/aboutus/

(I can't help but suspect "Hag" as nothing more than an USCF-800-rate player. The inability to engage facts, to pattern-recognize, to reason - it ain't there. Two minutes of googling has produced a facts-avalanche. Yes, this Conn is 100% U.S. intelligence - the ordinary chess players here may not know, but these USA-Russia Business Council or USA-Japan Business Council serve as arms of U.S. intelligence. If the Karpov team wins we WILL have a U.S. government agent as the FIDE #2.)

"It broke its promises
It broke its policies
It broke its own rules
It broke its contracts."
--FIDE did all those things, but the zonal-interzonal-candidates-WCC structure kept cranking along, incomparably better than the anarchy that replaced it.

"And so Kasparov broke from FIDE to play a credible opponent."
--Oh please. Kasparov was going to play Nigel Short either way. GKK calls his break from FIDE the worst mistake of his chess career. Enough said.

Eric, a more apt use of your analogy would be: Kasparov didn't steal the Mona Lisa. He WAS the Mona Lisa. Kasparov had clearly established himself as the strongest player. He had defeated Karpov in several matches. He had the World's highest rating and best tournament record.

Just as Boxing fans don't care which sanctioning body (WBC, WBA,IBF, WBO, WBF) declares a fighter a champion, they only care about who can knock out their opponent.

Yes, FIDE sanctioned the Chess World Championship for 40 years. Then, FIDE lost its credibility.

****

Except that the boxing title belongs to the WBC or WBA or IBF or WBO or WBF ...not those fans and not the titleholder.

So if a fighter runs off...he is stripped of his title.

In chess it was even worse -- the title belongs to FIDE. FIDE is comprised of 150+ national federations. It is not just FIDE -- it is the combined interests of those 150 member states. And if you are a member of a national federation (i.e. USCF), then you have a stake in FIDE. And in FIDE's property. Ergo, in the world title.

Kasparov didn't just run off with FIDE property. He ran off with YOUR property. My property. Everyone's property. Certainly NOT his property.

And I'd tell him that to his face -- he stole the world title from millions of people. Thnak god - and thank Kirsan -- that we finally got it back after a decade.

###

"Thnak god - and thank Kirsan -- that we finally got it back after a decade."

Amen! Hallelujah my Brother! I have seen the light! All bow down to Kirsan, for he is the chosen one!!

For a quick break from chess politics... here's an interview with Ruslan Ponomariov. Apart from the Olympiad there's also Ponomariov on music, Rubenesque women and Topalov's culinary tips: http://tinyurl.com/369xcbl

(Thomas, I added the bit about Karpov from the earlier German interview - as you'll spot they're pretty similar!)

Great publicity and all that (I suppose) but when are we going to have a top competition again, with all the big guns?? Call me old fashioned, but Carlsen modelling leaves me cold; Carlsen the Chess player is fascinating.

Maurice Ashley makes me cringe. What about an event where nothing has to be hyped, and its all about the Chess on the board? If this is the price that you have to pay to make top events happen, and the best stay in Chess, fine. But wake me up when some Chess is being played.

Question: d_tal wants to be woken up when some Chess is being played. What should we do?

The Answer: Let him sleep. It will be good for him and good for us.

The Kraziness continues:
http://www.chessdom.com/news-2010/fide-chess-center-twin-towers-new-york

"FIDE has requested the New York authorities to sell the land of the Twin Towers to create a chess center, announced FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov at a press conference on Thursday."

A Chess "Mosque" is coming to Ground Zero and Kirsan is offering the super large sum of 10 million? For this money he can rent a small space to use as a launchpad for an alien spacecraft that will take him away for good this time.

Embarassing nutjob stikes yet again: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Russian+chess+chief+bids+Ground+Zero+mosque+site/3533339/story.html

"I'd prefer for the USCF to quit FIDE straight off; probably other national federations will follow suit."

If Kirsan remains in charge of Fide, I agree with Doug. Kirsan is just 48 years old. With the rigged Fide election system, he could be in charge for another 30 years, and that would be a pathetic joke.

The guy is absolutely nuts and everyone knows it. No sane business would invest any significant money sponsoring Fide events, so long as that lunatic is in charge.

Bail from Fide, start a rival organization. It sucks having to do that, but Kirsan isn't going to step down on his own and he has the system rigged to keep him in power.

lwolf howls:

"The guy [Kirsan] is absolutely nuts and everyone knows it."

True. And Kaspy is not far behind, denying one thousand years of history. One was abducted, the other one is deluded.

"No sane business would invest any significant money sponsoring Fide events, so long as that lunatic is in charge."

They didn't invest before the lunatic, either. Sad :-(

"Bail from Fide, start a rival organization."

Kaspy tried that, brand-new rating system and World Title included. It was called the "PCA" - suffice it to say that it failed miserably and Kaspy has since admitted that leaving FIDE was the worst move he ever made; he even went pro-Kirsan in a misguided effort to get the title back from The Painter.

"Kirsan isn't going to step down on his own and he has the system rigged to keep him in power."

True, but he will be loved for as long as he can spread some much-needed money around. Your only hope for "complete removal" is that he goes broke or is abducted again. Death is not a possibility, because he will just re-incarnate again.

You're poorly informed, Wolf - and we are far from agreeing (but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy your passionate posts!)

Kasparov is as delusional as Kirsan, being an ardernt fan of fomenko and his "New Chronology" (look it up).

As for me needing a "course in logic", I don't think it is necessary in light of Kaspy not being able to produce the sponsorship you so desire when he had ample chance. The PCA has everything that FIDE was "lacking", including the leadership (Kasparov & hand-picked cronies) you wish for FIDE today. How come the sponsorship was not knocking on the door beyond the Intel money (specifically allocated to big matches and events featuring Kasparov, not chess in general)?

What makes you believe that Kaspy will succeed now when he failed miserably in two previous tries (in all fairness, it should be said he has failed at everything he tried beyond the 64 squares)? Why do you think he called his anti-FIDE maneuvers "the worst mistake of my life"?

"Why do you think he called his anti-FIDE maneuvers "the worst mistake of my life"?"

Not sure Irv, but too me that gives him more credibility not less. He admits making a mistake. What's wrong with that?

Like I said before though, it doesn't matter what you think Irv. In the world media neither Karpov or Kasparov are perceived as delusional. In fact, I think you are in a very small minority on that one.

lwolf howls:

"Not sure Irv, but too me that gives him more credibility not less. He admits making a mistake. What's wrong with that?"

I never said admitting his mistake is wrong or bad. I stated that his repeated failures are a very reliable indicator of his incompetence. That's all.

I guess we have reached a point where you have clarly expressed your position and I have expressed mine. So, I'll leave it alone for a while. Readers will draw their own conclusions, and that's a good thing!

Thank you, Wolf. Your input is appreciated.

My neck is getting sore from watching this tennis match.

"Yes, Kasparov did suck up the $$: the benefits largely redounded to him."

You could say he sucked up the $$, but that makes it sound like he took some kind of excessive management fee or something. He got paid for winning events. If someone else had won those events, they would have sucked up the money. It was fair at least. I'm sure you are aware of that btw, but just wanted to clarify.

Another note about all these so-called failures, including his political ambitions. In all cases, Kasparov has been an underdog to larger organizations trying to impede his progress. The odds were always against him regarding the chances of long term success. Yes, he screwed up big time playing Big Blue with Intel sponsoring PCA. The WC split from Fide was a miscalculation to say the least. But I can put a finger on these issues, and Kasparov has acknowledged these errors. I have a hard time holding that against him myself. That was a long time ago.

LWolf howls:

"Here's a pretty good article with differing viewpoints on Kasparov's involvement with GMA, PCA, the Short/Kasparov match, and Intel's sponsorship.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=253"

Oh, Wolf, Wolf, Wolf....that's Kasparov's own version of events, written by Mig, his longtime employee. But you probably knew that, didn't you?

"Your freakish loathing of Kasparov is disturbing."

Actually, I don't hate Kasparov at all - I have great admiration for his supreme skill as the strongest player ever (not the most talented, though - I think Karpov and Capa share those honors). But I have to be objective about Kasparov the politician - and the truth is not pretty in that respect, I'm afraid. Wish it were different, though...

"Have you been talking to Aliens lately, Irv?"

Nope, but I admit it must be a fascinating experience.

Perhaps this is the link you had in mind, Wolf:

http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/bareev-kasparov-karpov

"at the Bled Chess Olympiad, having his turn for a move, but just seeing Ilyumzhinov in the playing hall, Kasparov rushed to hug and kiss him under the approving roar of the audience. The same year Kasparov in fact started a campaign against Ilyumzhinov’s “chase” by media, praising the achievements of the latter in his capacity as Kalmykia’s state figure and a unique world chess leader. “Kommersant” newspaper wrote: “ The most expensive present was handed to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov by a chess player Garry Kasparov – his assurances in sincere friendship and his support of all the initiatives as FIDE President, and recognition of his being wrong in the past”. Quote from “Moskovsky Komsomolets”: “Kasparov underlined that now they are connected by business and commercial relations, which sometimes are stronger than friendly ties”.

The result of these in my opinion, humiliating speeches of Kasparov was the famous Prague Agreement and the right for a FIDE World championship title without any sporting qualification, which actually was canceled the last moment. Ponomariov refused to play the match due to very strong pressure from Kasparov himself and a number of FIDE officials. Karpov at that period was accusing Kasparov in destructive activity: “Kasparov has made many mistakes. The situation in FIDE and the fact that the former harmonious World Chess Championship system is now turned into something incomprehensible – this is the result of Kasparov’s intrigues and activity”. Then chess circles had the following ironical saying: “President of FIDE and Kalmykia now has only clean banknotes. So Kasparov can play for them with his conscience being clear”.

2004. After Kasimdzhanov becomes new World knockout Champion, Kasparov of course receives a right to play a match for the title against him. Ilyumzhinov refused to personally provide the prize fund, and Kasparov failed to attract other sponsors. Years of public humiliation were wasted, he did not manage to return his title, and Kasparov again joins Ilyumzhinov’s opposition.

********************

http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/bareev-kasparov-karpov

A new alternative organization to FIDE should also be a Federation, and should aim to poach the major (Western) Federations from FIDE. It would be much more stable that a mere organization of lone wolves ...er...Elite players

***
No, it would suffer the same problem -- that the elite players believe a federation (aka FIDE) should devote 100% of its time and resources to their issues (i.e. help them make money).

But the western national federations are *not* unions for titled players. Most are dedicated to amateur chess...and spend only a fraction of their resources on elite events or issues. In fact, if they spend too much time on them, they tend to go broke from lack of funding to their core amateur businesses.

So the friction (elite = pay me vs. amateur business model = promote chess) is always there.

PCA was for the elites -- it failed because the elites cannot govern themselves (they would rather play chess)...and because they cannot agree to defer small advantages jockeying for power now in order to reap the rewards of cycle stability.

FIDE has the burden of servicing the issues of the elites (e.g. world title cycle) along with promoting chess (e.g. various lesser regional events). It also has the responsibility of saying "no" to the elites when it comes to keeping the title cycle constant and free from frequent manipulation. It has to govern these activities...not just do whatever the elites want this minute...next minute.

This is the same friction USCF faces -- it is funded by amateurs buying memberships and earning ratings...yet faces the constant drumbeat of "why can't the top US players earn a living at chess" or "why aren't more US players earning titles" or "why is so little effort being made to create new elite US players"...etc.

But USCF is not a titled-player-generating machine.

FIDE is not one either.

Both organizations are designed to set rules, run cycles, and let players play. If they do that, then the players take care of themselves by playing in fair events.

PCA vs. FIDE is not a fair comparison because PCA never had the burden of running all those amateur events...providing governance structure for 150 federations...or rating services for non-elite events. And it still failed -- primarily due to personality issues at the top.

People are too glib to say "throw FIDE away" -- the FIDE model works...but not in a sexy way. It works in a quiet....marathon....keep things running kind of way.

###

Irv, you and your cohorts Chesspride and Hcl, post all this negative stuff primarily about Kasparov. What's the worst thing you can come up with?

- hijacking the World Championship?

- losing intel's sponsorship?

- being part of a couple of failed chess organizations?

You guys are unbelievable. You have a known crook running Fide now. A loose cannon, that has to negotiate with Khadafi and Saddam Hussein for sponsorship because no legitimate organization wants to be seen with him.

And you would prefer this maniac to remain in charge??

I think Susan Polgar is also on Kirsan's side, maybe she knows him personally or something.

I'm just flabbergasted that there's any doubt this guy needs to go. A world champion as the head of Fide would be an vast improvement PR wise. Kirsan is poison and you can't even see it.

Amazing.

Here's GM Mikhail Golubev on the story I mentioned before of Ilyumzhinov meeting arguably the most influential Russian "godfather" the day before he was shot yesterday: http://detiarbata.livejournal.com/235557.html

You could add that some reports mention Usoyan is officially registered in Kalmykia and started his "career" in Southern Russia.

Q. Kirsan or Karpov?

A. I hate Kasparov I hate Kasparov I hate Kasparov

The general Assembly of FIDE 2010 will take place during the Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. The Agenda can be downloaded here: http://tiny.cc/ar2c4

Under post 5.2.1 Ukraina has proposed the following change in the FIDE Electoral Regulations (Annex 7): “No person can be elected to a position of FIDE President for more than two consequential terms”. http://tiny.cc/iqttu

Here is the reply form Kirsan & Co:
-The Presidential Board recommends rejection of this proposal.

----------

As can be clearly understood, Kirsan is not satisfied with his 4 periods (1995-2010 = 16 years) …

When people occupy powerful positions for too long time, they become house warm. Knowing that nobody will replace you in the near future allows more corruption and dishonesty. 2 cycles should be enough for an organization like FIDE, out of elementary democratic reasons.

The dates for the events according to chessvibes calendar http://www.chessvibes.com/chess-events-calendar/

Nanjing: Oct 20th -- not known end date
This leaves Anand and Carlsen only 5 days from end of Bilbao.

Tal Memorial: Nov 5th-14th

"Nope. I don't want Kirsan to remain in charge. I want a replacement that offers real hope of bringing positive change to FIDE"

Irv, that's just bs you are vomiting up now. You sound like some politician with nothing to say. "real hope" "positive change", jeez.. do you have any more meaningless platitudes you'd care to puke out?

"just like the NBA would not benefit from naming LeBron James NBA President"

The NBA has no problems promoting their sport, and they don't have a known criminal running their operation, so the LeBron analogy is just asinine. I think you really should take a course in logic as I suggested earlier. Some of the stuff you are spewing now doesn't even make sense.

"He is not mentally qualified: his adherence to Fomenko's "New Chronism" (denying thousands of years of history) sohw Kasparov to be as lunatic as Kirsan's penchant for alien contact"

This is the second time you brought up this subject, and I had to look it up. Here's the exact article Karparov wrote that bolster's your claim:

http://www.new-tradition.org/view-garry-kasparov.html

You either haven't read Kasparov's article or you are intentionally disparaging him by making duplicitous statements like the one above. I'm hoping you haven't read the article, because otherwise, you are flat out lying now to support your arguments.

"getting rid of Kirsan and replacing him with the KK Duo is going from bad to worse."

Irv, there's nothing you've said that would make me think this to be true. You obviously dislike Kasparov, and therefore deem Karpov unworthy of replacing Kirsan. Do you realize how convoluted and confused that sounds? But that's what I'm hearing when I read most your posts friend.

Kasp's iffy article does make me question his judgment, but only 1/100 as much as Illyum's space travels...

But more generally, this exemplifies why I don't want ex-Soviets in responsible positions (this goes for Kasp, Karpov, and also Illyum)... they're mindfudged, brainwashed, and disorientated by hardcore communism, including the statist rewriting of all history from a crazy perspective.

For them, political backstabs, lying, and the Orwellian rewriting of history is a normal workday. They don't have the mentality to function like stable humans in an organization.

But, I understand the ease of the Russian Chronist to delete 1,000-year swathes of human history, as Russia was only founded as a minor city-state in, what, ~950AD, and required another 400-plus years to attain viability. Given the country did not exist, does not have the historical records, one could too easily say the period 1AD to 950AD SIMPLY DID NOT HAPPEN.

Do you blieve the blizzard of press on the Ilyumzhinov mosque-stite issue. Anybody who thinks for a second that this offer should be seriously entertained doesn't understand the facts:

-- This is only a sick publicity stunt. FIDE doesn't have $10 million. This offer was made "on behalf of the FIDE Presidential Board." While Ilyumzhinov himself may or may not have looted that kind of money from the treasury of impoverished Kalmykia, he would not need the Presidential Board's approval to spend his own money. There is simply no money to make this acquisition or to build or maintain any chess center. Period.

-- Ilyumzhinov said that if this outlandish bid were accepted, FIDE "will be built in the form of a chess figure, the king, of glass and concrete, which will decorate the city of New York." To the chess world, unfortunately well acquainted with Ilyumzhinov's delusions, this is reminiscent of prior fanciful claims. Ilyumzhinov previously promised financial support for chess through the establishment of 150 FIDE-owned hotels around the world built in the shape of chess pieces. Not one scintilla of that hallucination ever materialized, never will, and never could.

-- Even if FIDE had this type of wherewithal, which it manifestly does not, this offer would be a gross misjudgment. The mosque issue does not concern FIDE and offering a super-premium price for real estate in Manhattan and committing to a huge project at the spur of the moment would be a terrible abuse.

In short, this offer from a man who insists he was abducted by aliens should not be taken nor be discussed seriously other than to condemn the grotesque publicity stunt that it is.

Surely THIS should be the final nail in the coffin of that clown who is a never ending embarrassment to chess, Ilyumzhinov. This plainly shows why he should be kicked out for good. Somehow he probably believes that this asinine grandstand stunt, in all its resplendent stupidity, is actually good for chess. To say that this is a man of abbreviated mental faculties is an understatement. His grasp of reality is so slight and so arbitrary and so grotesque, an inadvertent surrealism becomes his guiding philosophy. The Kremlin apparently reached the sound conclusion that Ilyumzhinov is a nutjob that is beyond any control. How could any chess federation in the world think otherwise? Keeping him any longer at FIDE would be a valediction to all good sense.

Anyone know whats going on with Leko? His game seems to have taken a hit lately, but with the affluence of upcoming big league events, surely someone has called on him?

If the Kasparov essay only meant to casually opine - to that I have no objection.

But as a scholarly attempt... no good.

To observe Kasparov his reasoning ability, take just his first example:

- From Gibbons' estimate of a Roman army size of 375,000 (which Gibbons clearly states is his own extrapolation, not based on actual figures), Kasparov assumes this wholly conjuctural number as fact.

- Then Kasparov builds his castle in the sky in the following manner: the 375,000 soldiers would require a total population of 20 million, or 40 million, or 50 million to support, Kasp says. Where did he come up with these numbers? He made them up wholly of thin air, without any methodology.

- In the next step, he claims these population figures, which he made of thin air, show generally-accepted history is false.

- Even then, his whole reasoning apparatus collapses because Roman troops built farming colonies everywhere precisely to feed themselves (which Kasp apparently doesn't know - so thin is his historical knowledge… and yet he pontificates.)

- Then he makes some dubious claim that the soldiers’ alleged ability to do an emergency march of 20 miles in 6 hours - at a brisk but reasonable 3.3mph – is undoable and indicates a physical degeneration of humanity through the ages, though every year 25,000 ppl run the 26.2 mile NYC marathon in as little as 2 hours…

...and so forth.

"Though Fomenko's theories hold no water and are easily disproved, it has not stopped the public from buying his books or indulging in speculation. Russian chess master Gary Kasparov became a willing convert, opining that Fomenko's theories were a revelation because there "were too many discrepancies and contradictions that could not be explained within the framework of traditional chronology." (11) While it is exhilarating to think that accepted knowledge could be wrong, and that humanity is on the verge of a major revision of its history, in fact the entire enterprise is constructed on a foundation of flaws, inconsistencies, and errors. "

http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id13.html

"As a professional historian, I am of course happy that mr. Kasparov is interested in history and has made an effort to familiarize himself with it; however, as I hope this following rebuttal will show, I am afraid that he has read neither enough nor the right history books.

Mr. Kasparov is known as a supporter of the pseudo-historical theory complex known as New Chronology, which has been developed by the Russian matematician Professor Anatoly T. Fomenko. Briefly put, New Chronology attempts to prove through the use of statistics and other methods that all of known human history has taken place in the period between 1000 CE and today. Thus, any source or artifact believed to be older than one thousand years is either misdated or a forgery.

Professor Fomenko's New Chronology will be discussed in greater detail elsewhere. Here, we will limit ourselves to a discussion of mr. Kasparov's arguments and the assumptions behind them"

**************

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Essay:Kasparov's_Mathematics_of_the_Past

Richard A. Conn, Jr. is Managing Director of Conn International Group LLC, a Moscow/NY-based financial and legal advisory firm. Prior to founding CIG in 2003, Mr. Conn practiced international corporate law for nearly twenty years as an equity partner with the international law firm Latham & Watkins. He founded the firm's Moscow office in 1992 and managed it for four years prior to returning to U.S.

A longstanding member of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, Mr. Conn regularly consults with the World Bank, Members of Congress, and the Administration regarding Russian economic issues. He Co-Chaired the U.S.-Russia Business Council and American Chamber of Commerce (Moscow) joint initiative to facilitate Russian accession to WTO. He now serves as Strategic Advisor to DLA Piper US LLP, a 3,500 lawyer international law firm with 67 offices worldwide.

A graduate of Dartmouth College and Fordham University Law School, Mr. Conn clerked for the Honorable Gordon Thompson, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, authored Collier Labor Law and the Bankruptcy Code and is fluent in Russian and Spanish.

Sergey Shipov's preview of the Olympiad at Crestbook (in my English translation): http://www.crestbook.com/node/1316

Well... here was mine from last week... predictions that is.

http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2010/09/12/predictions-for-2010-chess-olympiad/

-- This is only a sick publicity stunt. FIDE doesn't have $10 million. This offer was made "on behalf of the FIDE Presidential Board." While Ilyumzhinov himself may or may not have looted that kind of money from the treasury of impoverished Kalmykia, he would not need the Presidential Board's approval to spend his own money. There is simply no money to make this acquisition or to build or maintain any chess center. Period.

-- Ilyumzhinov said that if this outlandish bid were accepted, FIDE "will be built in the form of a chess figure, the king, of glass and concrete, which will decorate the city of New York." To the chess world, unfortunately well acquainted with Ilyumzhinov's delusions, this is reminiscent of prior fanciful claims. Ilyumzhinov previously promised financial support for chess through the establishment of 150 FIDE-owned hotels around the world built in the shape of chess pieces. Not one scintilla of that hallucination ever materialized, never will, and never could.

-- Even if FIDE had this type of wherewithal, which it manifestly does not, this offer would be a gross misjudgment. The mosque issue does not concern FIDE and offering a super-premium price for real estate in Manhattan and committing to a huge project at the spur of the moment would be a terrible abuse.

****

I thought the FIDE "offer" of $10M for the plot in NYC was marketing genius.

It gets FIDE in the paper.

It gets chess in the paper.

IF Kirsan didn't have this image issue (i.e. aliens), they people would see it for what it is -- publicity.

Donald Trump certainly doesn't want to buy the plot either -- but his offer was for publicity too.

I think people read too much into these things...it was wicked good marketing for free space in the newspaper.

Interesting that neither Daaim nor Sergey Shipov mention the fifth seed Hungary _at all_. Both Leko and Judit Polgar seem out of form and/or past their prime - on the other hand, maybe Leko's last excellent result was .... at the 2008 Olympiad.

Writing from the Netherlands: The Dutch team may be in for a surprise - they often overperform in team events and they have Giri as a not-so-secret weapon on board 4. But a medal would be too much to ask or expect!?

And if I were to bet, my money for gold would be on Ukraine - because not much money can be won betting on Russia?!

Another good interview with Kramnik: http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/09/kramnik-99-of-the-chess-world-was-rooting-for-anand/

Oddly enough he hadn't realised Carlsen was going to be at the Olympiad. There are some entertaining, if predictable, responses to Topalov/Danailov's recent comments on the Candidates Matches.

e.g. "For me it’s totally obvious that if it comes to our match – and we can only meet in the final – then Topalov will, of course, play. But in the meantime, as is his habit, he likes to make a lot of noise and scandals. I don’t intend to judge him, it’s his choice, but such a style disgusts me."

So, a world championship challenger is "good". Nice to see you keeping the standards high, like so many here.
And intelligent, witty people can't be aholes? Where'd you pull that from?

1. All those players are near WC class. If these are only "good", you are already running out of adjectives for 2500 GMs, and what words will be left for players of your own rating? Don't know about you, but for me an FM is already "good", since he would usually win against me. I think that applies to most posters, though a few masters and above post too.

2. I did not say he was an ahole. I have an opinion on that, but the subject does not interest me and I will refrain from giving it. I said it was possible to be intelligent and witty and still be one. Your post implied the opposite. You can research him on the web and judge for yourself, either way.

@hansie
'I do not know what Short has done to be called an ahole. If you have any reasons for calling him so, please enlighten me too'.

Here goes, hansie.
1. Penning a most disrespectful obituary of Tony Miles.
2. Talking openly about sleeping with Tony Miles' grilfriend, as a gesture of revenge, notwithstanding the discomfiture of that lady who is still alive.
3. Throwing a tantrum in an open tournament a few years ago and refusing to play a re-paired game.
4. Breaking away from FIDE with GK to form the PCA.
5. Making disrespectful remarks about Jan Timman's analytical abilities.
6. Leering at and chasing my friend's friend's girlfriend at the 2009 London Chess Classic.

There's a few more but most British chessplayers can fill you in.
BTW, I do like Nigel Short, all considered.

***BEGIN AUDITOR REPORT***

Our records indicate that the Georgian representative to World Blitz tournament was called "Nazi Paikidze." This Nazi is beautiful, we reckon.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6685

***END AUDITOR REPORT***

Kasparov's reason for wanting to distance himself from his country is simple: he wants to be perceived as "Russian" by real Russians, so that he stands a better chance of becoming somebody in his political "career".

This attempt, of course, is a silly one. as silly as his attempts at denying so many other things. silliy becuse they can't be denied. A few quick examples:

1. He denied releasing the knight in the infamous game against Judith Polgar. Video footage of the game proved Kasparov was lying.

2. He denied his association with Kirsan and his praise of the lunatic FIDE President AFTER it was common knowledge Kirsan was a lunatic, crazy and criminal person. There is ample evidence - including pictures, witnesses, video and audio - of Kasparov prasing Kirsan, fully aware of Kirsan's serious crimes.

3. Kasparov single-handledly alienated IBM with his crazy accusations of cheating after his match with DeepBlue. A large amount of evidence surfaced that clearly proved Kasparov's accusations were completely unfounded. To this day, he has not apologized or accepted responsibility for his egregious behavior.

4. Kasparov was a supporter of Fomenko and his "New Chronology" theories - but he denied it ( in writing!) when it became obvious is was the stuff of lunatics. Too late: by then, he had written the infamous "Mathematics of the Past" article and had an interview published by the Telegraph where he admitted to fully supporting Fomenko's theories.

There is a more of this pattern of conduct, but you get the idea...

Are people just trolling or seriously meaning that Kasparov (together with Akopian) should feel like an Azeri because he was born in Azerbaijan?! Hopefully the former, as with the statements about Romanians and Bulgarians not claiming that they were born in the USSR (?!), otherwise it's just too sad. Kasparov is a Russian citizen since a long time and Azerbaijan isn't "his country". Obviously.

Hello to every body here I am. I am gone away for 2 moth and now I back to look a round and see what I see. Not many peoples left to talk. It good to see some bad peoples gone away but too bad some new bad ones taken the places. I do nto say who they are beucase then they yell at me and I not want peoples yelling at me. Anyway I may nto stay very long they told me staw away from bad peoples but who can say.

HEY MIG!! We need an Olympic thread. You can just open it and say here it is and save the pithy commentary for after the election:)

Did Yemen end up deliberately forfeiting its match vs. Israel? They were paired to play Israel in the 1st Round, and the results show 4 Forfeit losses. Senegal was paired, but never showed up, so Singapore (with GM Zhang Zhong as 1st Board!) also got a 4-0 win. Sao Tome and Principe (STP) is apparently Registered, but was not paired for the 1st Round. Neither Senegal nor Sao Tome are paired for the 2md Round. But Yemen is paired against Cameroon for the 2nd Round. It appears that Yemen was was present for the 1st Round Match against Israel--it just refused to play.

The strange thing is that some games were relayed, which were purported to be between the Israeli and Yemeni players. Perhaps the games were actually played, and the Yemeni Team Officials insisted that the official results be listed as Forfeit losses.

Does anybody have the story behind this match?

Bo. 11 Israel (ISR) Rtg - 85 Yemen (YEM) Rtg 4 : 0
11.1 GM Sutovsky Emil 2665 - FM Al-Hadarani Hatim 2264 + - -
11.2 GM Smirin Ilia 2657 - IM Al Qudaimi Basheer 2428 + - -
11.3 GM Rodshtein Maxim 2632 - CM Abdul Moula Sabri 2189 + - -
11.4 GM Mikhalevski Victor 2610 - IM Al-Zendani Zendan 2400 + - -

A bit of a controversy has erupted over the fact that Russia has fielded 5 teams in the Men's section. Previously, the policy had been to allow the host Country the privilige of having 2 teams, plus yet a 3rd Team if it was needed to Even Out the pairings. Those 3rd teams were almost always necessary, aince the fields usually turned out to have an odd # of teams .

But 5 teams is unprecedented, and there has been some grumbling on the part of other Nations.

You the man, Sam!!

http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/39th-chess-olympiad-khanty-mansiysk-2010/grischuk-concedes-draw-on-top-board-for-russia-on-day-1

Don't know if it posted, so will post again just in case, apologies if double posted:

http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/39th-chess-olympiad-khanty-mansiysk-2010/grischuk-concedes-draw-on-top-board-for-russia-on-day-1

Ireland abu!! Well done Sam! Draw as Black v a 2760, must be the biggest scalp in Irish chess playing history? IM Kelly (bout 2420 then I think) beat Federov (above 2600 then) some years back, GM Baburin (about 2500 at the time) drew with White v Ivanchuck (above 2700 at time) , no other games come immediately to mind, if anyone else knows any...
I like these olympiads, watching the big names tear apart weaker opposition is very nice to watch, I find such mismatched games instructive as the top GMs pounce on the smallest inaccuracies and unleash lots of pretty little combos etc (apart fom the odd mishap, like here, which also is interesting).

Russia board #2 game (Svidler) is also weird. The final position looks like black is only slightly better, but white has resigned. The time also looks fine. Anybody know why?

I am also a trained mathematician, and my newest research shows that in all likelyhood some years around the change of millenium were simply skipped! My research is based on the following sequence of numbers from historical (chess) records:

..., 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010

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