Board pairings posted with nearly two hours to spare, all right! Any early word on the live coverage, or lack thereof? We're still on upset alert as round two gets underway. The top board isn't between all-GM teams, although Scotland is just one away against Ukraine on board one, no insult to the estimable Mr. IM Stephen Burns-Mannion, who is giving up nearly 300 points to Moiseenko on board four. There is plenty of hot GM-on-GM action further down the table, however, where many of the strong teams nicked for draws in the first round are facing off. Russia 1 gets the tough Serbs and China won't have a cakewalk against Brazil. Azerbaijan, one of the top favorites, will get an early test from Vietnam, at least on the first two boards. Defending champ Armenia got nicked for two draws and will face Australia. We should definitely have a match upset or two. Official site.
Brazil would have been even tougher if they hadn't kicked their best player and reigning national champion, Giovanni Vescovi, off the team a few days ago for daring to work for the Karpov2010 campaign. A great opportunity to work on your Latin and Portuguese language skills and find out how to say "Take your Gens Una Sumus and shove it!" in Brazil. Stay classy, Kirsan and Darcy Lima, stay classy.
I should have mentioned last night that the board points have one other useful function, at least early on, that of the pairings. For a top team, going 4-0 got you a considerably weaker opponent in just about every case compared to scoring 3.5. Naturally, this is reversed for teams like Scotland on the other side of the coin, but who aren't going to complain about a shot at Russia. These earliest rounds are the usually the only chance the teams ranked below 40 or so have to make news at the Olympiad. Full board pairings for round 2 here.
Magnus Carlsen heads to the board for the first time, against Portugal. There's a steep drop after Hammer on board two for Norway, so Carlsen will be lucky to get an all-GM diet in Khanty-Mansiysk. Only Anand, many years ago, comes to mind as an example of such a strong player on such a relatively weak team. He was the only GM on the India squad in 1990. But with the rise of Sasikiran and then Ganguly, Harikirshna and Negi, he doesn't have that as an excuse anymore, and it's sad to seem him sit out for the second time in a row. Topalov will also be in action, for the first time since his match loss to Anand, I believe.
USA isn't resting its stars Nakamura and Kamsky. Perhaps they felt they needed to get into form? But with only one reserve these days -- a sad change but one more understandable than the silly decision to actually expand the women's teams -- it's not as if anyone gets much rest. I just noticed Zhang Zhong is now playing for Singapore. Good for him. I brought him up a few times as an example of the strong veteran players frozen out by China's constant quest to send out only the most promising young ones.
Any more info about the Vescovi story? That sounds extraordinary, that supporting a particular candidate in an election should be treated as a crime by a national federation.
He's been battling with the guys who run the federation for quite a while. Lots of bad blood. But he won the national championship again and was still board one. But he's been working in LatAm for the Karpov campaign for a while now and I guess that was too much for them to take. Brazil is a very important country for Ilyumzhinov. Not because it's influential, but because it, along with Chile, nominated Marinello on Kirsan's ticket. Of course this was done on false pretenses since she's never been a member there, but they are working hard to cover that up. (E.g. adding her to the latest list in one place but forgetting to add her on the downloadable lists, etc.) And because she's the only woman on the ticket, and each ticket must have at least one, if her nominations are invalidated his entire ticket is dead.
So Kirsan and his guys have spent a lot of time trying to keep the lid on tight there, as with Argentina and Mexico (where Kirsan was nominated, similarly illegitimately) and Chile. Of course it's still ridiculous that they've actually removed a player from the national team over this. It wouldn't surprise me if its actionable.
Invariably, when Topalov is playing, I glance at his game if no other, and usually my faith is rewarded with a really interesting fight. Today he's taken it upon himself to bust a favourite of every Club player, the Alapin variation against the Sicilian. Currently an exchange down (sac).
Grishuk managed to hang on for a draw against Collins (Ireland) round 1. Go Ireland!
It's a known (though rare) line. Actually Stevic was mixing things up with 7.Nc3!? rather than 7.Be2. I used to play the Alapin myself and won several games - obviously at a lower level - after 7.-Bf3:?! 8.Bf3: Qd4:?? 9.Bc6: check!! Eventually I gave it up because it became too theoretical (surprise effect gone) and too drawish.
Topalov refused to regain the exchange (17.-Nb3+ with a drawish endgame), I wonder if he went too far ... but who am I to tell?
In the meantime, another minor upset: Smerdon (2526) - Akopian (2691) 1/2 - not the first time that the Australian held a stronger opponent to a draw at an Olympiad.
Yes Topalov is nto good game and shuold lose. He big mistake when he not play 10...Nc2+ and if he do that he better just a little. Other upside game is Nakamura awfulposition and must soon lose. He wear his name on back of shirt so all will know who he is.
Mig wrote:
-----
Mig wrote:
"[...] this was done on false pretenses since she's never been a member there, but they are working hard to cover that up. (E.g. adding her to the latest list in one place but forgetting to add her on the downloadable lists, etc.)"
Hard to say, because i remember perfectly well your fights with some posters who claimed you were an 1800-rated player as your performance and official USA rating confirmed. You maintained you were a member of the Argentina Chess Federation, where you had a 2300+ rating, but you (or anybody else, for that matter) never produced any evidence of such rating or membership. The only records ever found were the USA records.
Now, I don't know - or care - who is telling the truth regarding the infamous "Mig's Real Rating" affair. My point is that Marinello may very well be a legitimate member of those federations, but her records - just like yours - never surfaced. That's what they call "magic realism" in South America...
I think cutting the number of Reserve players down to 1 is a good thing, on balance....
Consider:
1) The Olympiads are trending to be shorter. This will be only 11 rounds, rather than the 14 rounds that was customary in previous Olympiads.
1a) Thanks to Kirsan, the games themselves are have shorter time controls than before, which means that they should be less physically taxing (if more error prone)
2) The 2nd Alternate (6th Board) often was only utilized for a token game or two.
3) Conversely, the presence of two alternates allowed for teams to have a greater scope to manipulate the Board pairings, to advantage one of their players trying for a Board Prize.
It's likely that the policy was implemented for mere practical considerations: because of the anticipated shortage of accomodations, and even space on the charter flights, not to mention the added expense for less affluent Chess Federations associated with adding a 2nd Alternate.
Probably, most Federations would prefer to save the money, rather than have the opportunity to bestow a prestigious honor (of being picked for the national team) on one additional player, or to be able to provide experience for an up-and-coming GM, etc.
These changes - 11 rounds rather than 13 or 14 and only one reserve player - were already introduced at the last Olympiad in Dresden, when at least charter flights were not an issue. I remember reading that they were proposed by the big (and rich) federations. Apparently financial issues prevailed over maximum chances of success: a second player should favor bigger chess countries because they are more likely to have six players of roughly equal strength, hence additional rest days for the top boards would help rather than hurt their chances.
Anyway, while they somehow scored 1.5/2 today, Nakamura and Topalov still need to get into form. The following quote might apply to both of them: "We are optimistic and play without worries. This can be our strength, but also our weakness." But it's actually van Wely in a Dutch newspaper, on himself and the Dutch team.
And therein lies the drawback of playing such direct forcing tactical lines against much weaker players; it's easier to find the correct line! Played to bare kings. What a major result for Stevic, drawing against Topalov.
Difficult to spice things up vs c3 Sicilian, though. I like 2...Nf6 and 2...Qa5!? myself.
You really should be playing a stronger opposition.
How or how did Gundavaa contrive to lose that against Nakamura??
How oh how...
Mig wrote:
"Azerbaijan, one of the top favorites, will get an early test from Vietnam, at least on the first two boards."
Azerbaijan failed the test - 1.5-2.5. Surprisingly the Vietnam won game came from board three where Nguyen Anh Dung (2500) upset Mamedov Rauf (2660).
Ha!
Azerbaijan left out Gashimov (2733) from the team because of a stupid trainer's personal decision.
Reducing the team from 3rd to 7th rank, Elo strength wise.
Now they pay the price for their stupidity.
Source: http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/gashimov-out-of-olympiad-team/#more-29518
Vietnam! Gashimov and I are going out to eat a nice bahn mi sandwich or two to celebrate! That's instant karma for you. England looking to underperform again, sigh. Norway making me eat my words with a 4-0 sweep, nicely done. And Tirta Purnama taking out Smirin to split the match with Israel.
Aww, you're so adorable Irv. Still trolling the same crap after so many years. YEARS! Imagine! Look at yourself! Years of your life and still trolling a chess blog. Wow. Wait, I'll see if I can reproduce my exact my response from 2007. "I never claimed to be a member of FADA. In fact, I have pointed out many times that it was nearly impossible for foreigners to get a FADA rating since we don't have DNI (like an SSN). My friend Terrence, also an American, played there for nearly 15 years and never appeared on the official list until he got his DNI; we (along with some Chileans, etc.) were rated provisionally. The only reason my rating "claims" came up in the US were for pairing purposes since the rules call for all other established ratings to be known. Which is why Doyle at the World Open contacted Vignoles at the Club Argentino in Buenos Aires and got my 2310 provisional rating, thus entering that number into legend. I'm sure I could have gotten away with playing in the B section, and considering my lousy result maybe I should have!" Ah, memories of trolling past.
Back to 2010 and last I checked, I wasn't nominated for a FIDE position that requires a national federation membership in good standing. I'm sure I wouldn't have been eligible either. As Watergate showed, it's rarely the crime that brings you down, it's the cover-up. Had they stayed mum it might have gone better. But they tried to retroactively 'fix' the lists since they never expected to be challenged, and that looks bad. Hubris from a long time in power. Hell, they didn't ever bother to cover up in Argentina, where FADA doesn't actually even have individual members! It has the rating list and it has honorary members, so the idea that Kirsan was a regular member was silly on the face of it. So retracting that nomination was a quick save, I'd say.
Well, you cannot always choose your opponents in big Swisses or blitz round-robins - but such "games" were obviously nothing more than 'incidents'. Most awkward was an opponent playing on a queen down as if nothing had happened ... .
Regarding chesshire cat's and d_tal's previous comments: What's the best opening choice with black against a weaker opponent who is perfectly happy with a draw? Maybe it's better to play something simple, solid and not too ambitious - avoiding early simplifications and postponing the fight to the middlegame or even endgame?
Maybe the lower Vietnamese boards are underrated - just like the entire team was at the Dresden Olympiad when Vietnam first appeared as a rising chess country?
Again, it wasn't the only upset:
Israel (seeded 11th) - Indonesia (67th) 2-2 [time for Gelfand to start playing?]
Croatia (28) - Bulgaria (8) 2.5-1.5
France (10) - Slovenia (29) 2-2
Bosnia (32) - England (12) 2.5-1.5
Does this already say something about the form of some possible medal candidates? Not that the USA impressed, despite beating Mongolia 3.5-0.5 ... . And tomorrow, the nominally strongest match between France and Israel will be on the 17th table.
Definitely. And for these super GMS, its not just a weaker opponent who will be happy with a draw, but a much weaker opponent who will be delighted silly with a draw that will probably keep him in drinks for the next 10 years. Look at the way Gata won his first round game: just kept some pieces on the board and let his opponent hang himself. Speaking from direct experience, the weakness of the weak player is in strategy, and long term plans. Even I could play direct forcing lines when there wasn't much choice. Give me a complex set of strategic choices, and bye bye birdie.
Was was Nakamura busted there? Looks horrible, but I've learned never to assume in his games. He takes extraordinary risks sometimes. But wow was that ugly-looking for a long time. ..Bc5 looks crazy.
Okay, actually looked at it before posting (rare for me, I know). Yah, looks like he was doomed in many lines. 35.Qh7 looks terminal, but White has to find the quiet move with the king after that, stepping out of the pin to threaten Ne4. Still, it took hard work on both sides for White to lose that.
Other game highlights yet, anyone?
"Other game highlights yet, anyone?"
--------
Aronian, definately. Rh1, exchange sack and mate attack. That was quite something.
Topalov also had a wild game, including exchange sack and lucky escape in worse endgame.
Carlsens win, however, was "by the book". Slow squeeze.
Someone already mentioned this. Vietnam could be the dark horse (again) and may end up in top 10 (again).
About Azerbaijan. When it comes to national prestige it's
better to put aside personal differences, unless your country is Russia with many talents to spare :-). Gashimov must be smiling when he learns of today's result.
Some Bosnian journalist claims that Kasparov has stated in Sarajevo that he in case of victory for Karpov will be the actual president of FIDE while Karpov will be his puppet.
http://www.chessdom.com/news-2010/dnevni-avaz-fide-elections
Funny! This is obviously false, planted by Kirsan-followers, as a part of the on-going propaganda war.
It's easy to understand for anybody out of sheer logic. If there was "a secret plan" between Kasparov and Karpov, it would be plain stupid to reveal it in the presence of a journalist before the election.
When Kasparov is maneuvering his Knight in move 17, he doesn't TELL his oponent about his intention to start a queenside attack or whatever. If any, 2 former World Champions knows that much about tactical behaviour!
LOL
Yes, the article doesn't give the impression of being Pulitzer material.
Some more games, also within the overall theme "how to beat a weaker player":
Kramnik-Sedlak 1-0 looked like a routine destruction of the KID: white picked up queenside pawns, black never got a kingside attack
Vuckovic-Grischuk 0-1 was an example of the favorite prevailing in complications, even if engines may have laughed at both players
Leitao-Wang Yue 0-1 first didn't go that well for the Panda - but white became too ambitious, first declining a move repetition then wrongly sacrificing an exchange
Shirov-So 1/2 was, well, not a highlight (Petroff ...)
And there were a few upsets such as Smirin-Purnama 0-1, Saric-Georgiev 1-0 and Buhmann-Bologan 1-0.
Very strange that a US tournament director would insist on using an un-verifiable foreign rating for a US citizen who also happens to have a USCF membership and an established USCF rating.
But we know the truth: our old Migster was pushing for a 2300 rating without having to do his work, so, instead of telling the tournament director: "Here's my USCF rating - I'm playing in the open Section", you asked to be seeded with a 2300 rating (to look far more "respectable" than your actual skill - as confirmed by your abysmal result).
There is no legitimate, rational reason for calling somebody in Argentina to verify an un-verifiable rating! among other things, because you had an established, verifiable rating and you were playing in the open section, where sandbagging was not a possibility for someone like you.
And, yes, you were the one touting your own non-verifiable rating:
http://www.chessninja.com/dailydirt/chess/
(scroll down to June 28, 2003).
In any case, your claim of an un-verifiable 2300 rating is as legitimate as Marinello's claim of membership in some South American country. And that was the point of my post.
If that makes me a troll, so be it.
Irv, this topic was beaten to death long, long ago and I'm sure we'd all rather Mig spent his time writing up the Olympiads than piddling around with it again.
If you absolutely cannot stop yourself then at least keep it short, as in, "Unverifiable? Yeah, like Mig's rating. Ha ha ha." And get on with your life.
My Vietnam prediction from yesterday looking pretty good about now :)
Whether it makes you a troll, I hesitate to say.
A troller you definitely are.
"It's not what you know, it's what you can prove." - From the Movie 'Training Day'
1)USCF - http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?12525629
Not certain whether this is Mig.
2) Argentine Chess Federation - http://ajedrez.com.ar/rankarg.htm
I don't see a Greengard listed in Argentina since at least 2002.
I've played Mig 166 times on playchess.com and he won 106 to my 56 wins with 4 draws. I'm a 1900 player USCF OTB (and on playchess.com), so it would seem Mig is at least around 2200 USCF. His playchess.com rating is/was around 2300 for what that's worth.
Oh yeah, and he gets free lessons from "The Boss"... (Neat-O!)
"If you absolutely cannot stop yourself then at least keep it short, as in, "Unverifiable? Yeah, like Mig's rating. Ha ha ha." And get on with your life. "
But this is fun, Greg!
Credit for Indonesia's 2-2 upset against Israel should be given to the entire team. Notice that every player in the Indonesian team is 150-250 points lower than his Israeli opponent, and yet altogether they managed to get one win and 2 draws. The 2 draws are, in my opinion, also contributing surprises, although Purnama's win clinched the match. Congrats to the Indonesians.
The Vietnamese win against Azerbaijan is different. Le Quang Liem is already around 2700 and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son is becoming a familiar name. Although they are up against 2 formidable super GMs, it's not too surprising for me that they held draws. In fact, I won't be too surprised even if Le Quang Liem had defeated Mamedyarov. The real and biggest surprise came from the lower boards, especially Nguyen Anh Dung.
BTW, Nguyen Anh Dung is already over 30. So this is not a case of a new rising star (like the much younger Le Quang Liem or Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son). His is more like a talented player who never got the chance to prove himself at bigger international events.
Another interesting thing. The encounters Mamedyarov vs Le and Shirov vs Wesley So are the first high level encounters in this Olympiad (i.e. involving two top 100 players). Looking forward to watching more of them.
More on upsets.
Here is a list of upsets in the first 2 rounds, ordered by the rating gap. The number in parenthesis is the rating gap.
Smeets - Munoz 0-1 (278)
Purnama - Smirin 1-0 (257)
Mamedov - Nguyen Anh Dung 0-1 (160)
Buhmann - Bologan 1-0 (127)
Saric - Kir. Georgiev 1-0 (118)
Draws across a wide rating gaps can be considered mild upsets.
One draw occured across a 400+ rating gap:
Rublevsky - Simont.
Several others occured across 300+ rating gaps:
Shukuraliev - Li Chao
Samhouri - Balogh
Arias - Akopian
Mamedyarov - Solomon
Stevic - Topalov
Kir. Georgiev - Abu Sufian
Mas Hafizulhelmi - Adams
Two of the upsets involve Kir. Georgiev. Probably time for the Bulgarians to give him a break. However, their reserve is a much lower rated 14 year old Berbatov. Not sure why he is selected for the olympiad team. He doesn't even make top 20 in his country.
There was also an upset by a 1750ish player against 2500 GM. That was the biggest thus far
"the silly decision to actually expand the women's teams "
Not a single person has commented on this, so maybe the massive blind spot is mine. But if it were truly silly, it should be obvious to a fan why it is a mistake. I fail to see why this is even wrong, let alone "silly." Is it silly that Women's Olympic Basketball is 5-on-5, just like the Men's? Enlighten me.
"There was also an upset by a 1750ish player against 2500 GM. That was the biggest thus far"
Oh yes. The one against the Turkish GM. What I listed before are only upsets involving top rated players. 2600 or above.
Link to the 1750-GM upset game?!
True, fine play by Indonesia to score the Upset Draw but Rodshtein's win over FM Novita was sparkling. He let Black gorge on pawns, and then sacced a piece to start a classic King Hunt.
A result like this indicates that the Israeli players were a probably a bit demoralized and flustered by the whole drama involving the Yemen team in the 1st Round.
Count it as a moral victory for the Yemenis...
They probably resisted having Gelfand because it had been their plan to rest him for their first match, and they didn't consider the walkover to be a match.
Smirin's form has been spotty in the past few years; this is just the type of game that he flubs. Israel might have done better with Roiz or Avrukh on the squad.
Now they have to play France for their trouble. How did Fressinet get a 2718 rating? A pity that Bacrot opted out for them...
By the way, it is looking like Judit Polgar is in decent form, and might be ready to claw back some ratings points. I'd be seriously surprised if players the likes of Fressinet and Vachier are truly better than her.
Two more upset cases:
Iljiushenok - Stellwagen 1-0 (223)
Filippov - Roussel-Roozmon 0-1 (125)
Serious question for Mig about the upcoming FIDE election:
We all know that Kirsan is corrupt, but how do we know that a Karpov regime won't be even more corrupt? Consider:
1. This the same person whose team paid off a Kasparov second for his opening preparation during the 86 world title match.
2. This is the same Karpov who for years was backed by the corrupt Russian regime, manifesting in several instances of at best dubious ethics -- his tilting the playing field in the 98 FIDE world championship against Anand was disgraceful.
3. I don't understand how Karpov being president will prevent future similar abuses of power at the highest chess level.
I would be pleased to hear you reply about this matter, since I'm sure you've worked on the campaign so long that by now you could give a clear concise answer in your sleep. Thanks in advance for your help.
I think that Mig is Irv, and vice versa. Every once in a while a deep-seated psychosis erupts within Mig, and he posts, as Irv, about his rating. Then he refutes himself. It's like Gollum, in the Hobbit, talking to himself. It's the only explanation for the persistence of the Mig-Irv colloquy.
Bold prediction:
The court is not going to disqualify Kirsan or his ticket. They will let the constituent National Federation delegations determine the winner by a vote. even if the Court does rule in Karpov's favor, how will the verdict ever be implemented or enforced? I suspect that Kirsan, with a bit of Russian support, can effectuate a move of the FIDE headquarters to Kalmykia...
Assertions have been made by Karpov supportors that Kirsan's claim to have commitments of support from a majority of Federations is inaccurate. If so, that would make moot the need to disqualify Kirsan; Karpov would have enough votes to win. We shall see soon enough.
(Best case scenario: Kirsan wins, and Karpov uses the claim of "election irregularities" to justify the formation of an entirely new World Chess Federation, to rival FIDE. 2nd Best scenario: Kirsan loses election, but (claiming irregularities!) bolts with the rump of his supporting Federations, thus setting off a spate of internecine strife that will utterly bankrupt FIDE, and finally result in its complete destruction)
With over 25 years under the FIDE Reich, it is merely a simple and absolute necessity for International Chess to experience its "Null Stunde"
It is amusing, but not all that surprising, that the FIDE leadership can't manage to navigate all of the Federation's arcane election rules.
Why is it necessary for more than one national Federation to nominate a Candidate? Why must that Candidate be a member of 3 different Federations?
doesn't make any sense.
Additionally, it is pathetic that FIDE had to resort to picking Beatriz Marinello. There are no other Women Chess Politicos available?
Finally, it is disgraceful that Marinello would even be willing to be part of the Kirsan ticket. She is the former President and Executive Board Member of the USCF, and the USCF has officially endorsed and committed to vote for the Karpov ticket. It seems to me that the decent thing for a former Federation President to do is to show some loyalty to the Federation that she/he has led, by not seeking to publicly undermine its "International Relations".
Hopefully, she will be shunned from any future role in USCF governance.
Mig, did you mean "bahn mi" as in the Vietnamese sandwich? I think it is spelled "banh mi". How the heck does Gashimov know about Vietnamese sandwich?
For example http://www.thechessmind.net/storage/chess-posts/oly2010_rd1.htm .
Yet another upset is Gajadin - Hillarp Persson 1-0 (2179 vs. 2517).
I'd like to see liverating start to document Toppy's slide.
Stockfish has Nakamura's R2 opponent up by more than a rook (5.81) at one point. Amazing save!
Zhang Zhong has being playing for Singapore for some years now. At least 5-6 years now. He got married and moved to Singapore with his wife Li Ruofan.
Asish,
All the games can be followed at the official website: http://www.ugra-chess.com/results.php
The particular game you are talking about is from round 1: Jason Lin - Emre Can, Chinese Taipei vs Turkey, board 3.
Zhang Zhong is currently in Singapore, but was still in the Chinese Olympiad team in 2006. He was part of the team that brought China to the 2nd place. Also, he was playing in the chinese league at least until 2008 - although he could've played as a foreigner.
Part of the reason Zhang Zhong moved to Singapore is probably related to what Mig mentioned. He probably wouldn't be picked as part of the current Chinese Olympiad team. But in Singapore he is definitely 1st board. He is king.
Additionally, it is pathetic that FIDE had to resort to picking Beatriz Marinello. There are no other Women Chess Politicos available?
Finally, it is disgraceful that Marinello would even be willing to be part of the Kirsan ticket. She is the former President and Executive Board Member of the USCF, and the USCF has officially endorsed and committed to vote for the Karpov ticket. It seems to me that the decent thing for a former Federation President to do is to show some loyalty to the Federation that she/he has led, by not seeking to publicly undermine its "International Relations".
Hopefully, she will be shunned from any future role in USCF governance
****
Quite the reverse -- she should be commended for doing the right thing.
It is the sitting board members who should be shunned for their disgraceful endorsement of the Karpov ticket....when their own former board member is on the other side. THAT is disgraceful, not the reverse.
And for USCF to back Karpov after he works with Kasparov -- FIDE's worst enemy -- that is disgraceful. Clearly, USCF is not working for FIDE's best interest here.
And Mig's diatribe about Ms. Marinello -- claiming with very little evidence that her candidacy is somehow invalid -- is equally disgraceful. And he has the nerve to get his panties in a bunch when Irv brings up his non-verifiable Argentine rating claims? Puh-leeze!
If Karpov is a member of the German federation, then Beatriz is a member of the Chile federation. Her family is from Chile, for pete's sake.
IMHO FIDE should make it clear that federation-shopping by candidates is improper and not allowed -- otherwise, I should join the Mozambique federation tomorrow and prepare for the next election!
Yet another player using another African country in these examples.
So Chesspride, you are now going to defend the idea that *former* leaders of the USCF (but who are now out of office) should be able to didctate policy, but that the actual (current) Board Members ought not do so?
The USCF should be working to advance the USCF's best interests. The USCF could quit FIDE tomorrow, or FIDE could go defunct next week, and 99% of USCF members wouldn't care less.
Only "professional" Chess Politicians, such as Marinello (and for that matter, you. Yes, you too are a "professional" Chess Politician: You just happen to be really F*ckin' bad at it!) seem to care about FIDE's survival.
[Of course, most people in this forum would maintain that by supporting Karpov and his crowd, the USCF is, supporting the "lesser of two evils", and therefore actually working in FIDE's best interests. Of course, you seem to think that whatever is in Kirsan's best interests is, perforce, in FIDE's best interests as well...]
_________________________________________________
****
Quite the reverse -- she should be commended for doing the right thing.
It is the sitting board members who should be shunned for their disgraceful endorsement of the Karpov ticket....when their own former board member is on the other side. THAT is disgraceful, not the reverse.
And for USCF to back Karpov after he works with Kasparov -- FIDE's worst enemy -- that is disgraceful. Clearly, USCF is not working for FIDE's best interest here.
So Chesspride, you are now going to defend the idea that *former* leaders of the USCF (but who are now out of office) should be able to didctate policy, but that the actual (current) Board Members ought not do so?
The USCF should be working to advance the USCF's best interests. The USCF could quit FIDE tomorrow, or FIDE could go defunct next week, and 99% of USCF members wouldn't care less.
Only "professional" Chess Politicians, such as Marinello (and for that matter, you. Yes, you too are a "professional" Chess Politician: You just happen to be really F*ckin' bad at it!) seem to care about FIDE's survival.
[Of course, most people in this forum would maintain that by supporting Karpov and his crowd, the USCF is, supporting the "lesser of two evils", and therefore actually working in FIDE's best interests. Of course, you seem to think that whatever is in Kirsan's best interests is, perforce, in FIDE's best interests as well...]
****
I think that when USCF has zero money to toss around in FIDE elections...it is MADNESS to even try to do so.
SO...if the federation is cash poor, it makes zero sense to support an untested new slate.
It makes zero sense to oppose the team that has won the last few elections, that has funded FIDE's programs, that has developed a "backup" site in Elista for FIDE activities.
You are mistaken if you believe my support for Kirsan is given happily. It is realpolitik.
Kirsan gives FIDE the best chance of survival -- in 1995, in 2000, and (unhappily) in 2010.
Kirsan gives USCF -- thru Marinello -- the best chance of influence within its financial means.
You are correct that 99 percent of USCF members would not care about the FIDE election -- only the top 100 or so players ...and perhaps a few hundred more who would like to earn a FIDE rating or (as juniors) play in FIDE world events...would care.
THAT IS PRECISELY why supporting Karpov is dumb. DUMB. DUMB policy for USCF.
The issue -- for USCF is small. So the expenditure should be equally small.
Toss FIDE's greatest foe (Kasparov) into the mix and USCF is not working for its intersts or FIDE's interests...it is again being a Kasparov tool sucked in by cult of personality.
PS I'm flattered by your suggestion that by typing a few words and running a club that I'm a chess politician. If you mean that I have consistently defended positions over the years...sure, I'll take that as a compliment.