Tidbits
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I found the following cute video today at the excellent portuguese blog http://aladerei.e-xadrez.com/ It appears to be part of a 1982 series on chess for children. I am impressed with the originality of the content.
Episode 34 (1982)of the children series Yeralash, (The world of chess) with Oleg Krokhin, Alina Gurevich and the dog Viking.
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WHAT IS NEW WITH THE FIDE ELECTION?
Since my blog entry yesterday, there is nothing of substance to report to my readers. But the Karpov website (http://www.karpov2010.org/) had a number of unsigned articles that aimed to fling shit at Ilyumzhinov’s reputation and distort information and facts.
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
–GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
The first of the two articles mentioned was titled: Kirsan’s Inaction: Broken Promise in Khanty-Mansiysk. Essentially, the un-named author tries to make a mountain out of bump: the hotel complex being built especially for the Olympiad (a 4-star complex called Olympiyski ) is a bit behind schedule. The article tries to make it seem as though the FIDE representative from Israel (Gelfer) showed up to assess the progress being made and that he was more than a bit disappointed when he found out that it had not yet been finished.
Ofcourse, the article does not quote Gelfer in any way at all, and so we can only assume that the author’s imagination was running wild in an attempt to discredit the FIDE president. The article goes on and insinuates that even if the hotel is finished in time, there will not be enough food to feed all of the players. That even if there is enough food , that the players will still have to travel the 7 km to the tournament site (naturally, the author insinuates that there will not be enough buses). You get the drift…
It is just an amateurish hatchet job (Good thing there is no name attached.) And ofcourse, several pictures were included in this kindergarden-level article that painted a distorted view of the actual progress of the state of the hote. Surprisingly, several links were provided (how did they get included?) that provided additional information.
Here are the pictures of the state of the hotel today: the reader can draw his own conclusion as to progress that has been made to date:
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I recall that when I arrived in Elista for the 1998 Olympiad the playing hall was not 100% complete. The workers were at it 24 hours a day and the olympiad had to be delayed 1 day. No big deal: everyone loved the hospitality of Chess City and history records that Olympiad as one of the best ever.
I have no doubt that the Hotel will be finished before the Olympiad begins….
Update: earlier today chessdom (http://www.chessdom.com/) carried a partial interview with the FIDE president where he said that he was ‘worried’ about the unfinished hotel, but that he felt it would be finished on time for the Olympiad.
Update: earlier today chessdom (http://www.chessdom.com/) carried a partial interview with the FIDE president where he said that he was ‘worried’ about the unfinished hotel, but that he felt it would be finished on time for the Olympiad.
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The second of the articles that appeared on Karpov’s site was entitled: ”Can we believe Kirsan?” Once more, the article is unsigned and is nothing but another hatchet job!
The article mixes a few facts and a lot of fiction. I mean, really, if you want to criticize the mistakes and shortcomings that Kirsan made over the past 15 years (and there are many, I assure you) then is it necessary to smear his reputation in the process? (Why can’t he believe in UFOs?) The man took over a sick and feeble FIDE and did things his way. Sure, he made enemies along the way. Who wouldn’t? But the fact is that the overwhelming majority of grandmasters in the world SUPPORT Ilyumzhinov over Karpov!
The article shoots itself in the foot when it is written:
”False claims. Kirsan still falsely claims he was nominated by the Russian Federation, when in reality the only official nomination from Russia went to Anatoly Karpov. Kirsan and his single ally, Dvorkovich, then used physical force to take over the Moscow Chess Club and the Federation. But no matter what they announce now or how much physical force they exert, the only legitimate nomination that came from Russia went to Karpov, not Kirsan.”
Really? I suppose the author is referring to the time in May when Karpov and Kasparov went to Moscow , hijacked the Russian Chess Federation and held an illegal vote (not surprisingly 17-0–in true Stalin style) nominating Karpov (!) for FIDE president? I don’t think that , TODAY, there are more than 12 people out of the 6 billion on earth who are fooled by this! The Russian Chess Federation–the last time I checked–supports Ilyumzhinov. It is only Karpov and his team who delude themselves…
Another part of the anonymous hatchet job is this:
”Campaign tricks: In fact, many of the federations that Kirsan currently claims to have the support of are simply too afraid of reprisals to make their opposition known. Several of them have expressed their support of Karpov’s candidacy confidentially and are biding their time to announce their decision in due course. This casts serious doubt on the total vote count claimed by Kirsan’s campaign. This disgrace must end!”
This contains serious allegations, but again no names, no examples, no facts…and clearly no way to refute it before the actual election in September. Numerous countries have not made up their minds, and no doubt a lot of pressure is being put on them–from both sides!
Ofcourse, Canada’s Hal Bond is sitting on the fence for his own personal reasons. He could not care less who wins the FIDE presidency, as long as his own ambitions are not affected. Could he be one of those who are playing both sides? If so, this is a dangerous game. He could find himself with no friends in FIDE no matter who wins…
Ofcourse, Canada’s Hal Bond is sitting on the fence for his own personal reasons. He could not care less who wins the FIDE presidency, as long as his own ambitions are not affected. Could he be one of those who are playing both sides? If so, this is a dangerous game. He could find himself with no friends in FIDE no matter who wins…
I recommend the reader to visit the Karpov site (http://www.karpov2010.org/) to read the entire shameful article. It is clear to me, atleast, that Karpov would never put his name on this crap. But someone should own up to it…
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS