Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

What was so wrong in 2004? Probably all discussion was buried in old chesstalk

The Canadian Closed Championship was a 69 player swiss system event. The fact that so many players were allowed in , as well as swiss system pairings needed , made the format unique for a Canadian Championship. In such a case as this, players can little prepare against known opponents, and the colours of the pieces can come as a shock! Some players even end up with 2 more whites than blacks! There are easy pairings for some. Tough pairings for others. Little can be proven in the way of payoffs to TD's. Although suspicions always remain high.

Link to CFC website Canadian Closed 2004

http://www.chess.ca/xtable.asp?TNum=200409031

What went wrong in 1994? Everything. It should have been a 10 player event as cited in the CFC rules.

802. Format:

The tournament shall be a nine round tournament held over not less than seven days with pairings to be determined in accordance with the swiss system of pairing.

In the Canadian Open of 2004 ( Kapuskasing ) many players spent more time making deals than playing at the board! Disgusting behaviour! And once again the uncertainty of the swiss pairing system ( which is needed ) wreaks havoc in both selection of colour of pieces and opponents.

Unfortunately, the above is only the tip of the iceberg. Many cheating issues came about from both these tournaments and were discussed about 4-5 years ago.

[Roger Patterson]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

"....Although suspicions always remain high."

So, HAVE you stopped beating your wife yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Baseless innuendo doesn't amount to "rampant corruption"

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

"....Although suspicions always remain high."

So, HAVE you stopped beating your wife yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Baseless innuendo doesn't amount to "rampant corruption"

Lets call it circumstantial evidence then ( Canadian Championships of 2004 ) instead of calling it suspicion. The crosstable of pairings at each tournament will have the evidence in black and white. It displays ratings , wins , losses and colours. It doesn't take a genious to see when a 'hometown favorite' is pedestalled to the top by pairings ie., black pieces for weaker opponents, white pieces for stronger opponents. Get the drift?

Circumstantial evidence can be jusified. But it all starts with suspicion.

Computers play chess well! They do not have suspicions, or complaints.

But instead of pointing our fingers at events of the past (2004) we should be aware of the difficulties of tomorrow re:cheating ( and thank those like Kevin Spraggett ) who are trying to stop the cheating.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Lets call it circumstantial evidence then ( Canadian Championships of 2004 ) instead of calling it suspicion. The crosstable of pairings at each tournament will have the evidence in black and white. It displays ratings , wins , losses and colours. It doesn't take a genious to see when a 'hometown favorite' is pedestalled to the top by pairings ie., black pieces for weaker opponents, white pieces for stronger opponents.

Colors might be retrieved from the PGN games.
Whose were suspicious?

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Today another great essay by Kevin Spraggett.

Nikolai Krylenko: The bastard who re-shaped world chess Part 1 , Part 2

It's the true story ( albeit a sad and painful one ) of the founder of Soviet chess. Kevin explores chess in the early days of the Russian Revolution and the horrific period better known as the Terror --where people, like chess pieces after an exchange, simply disappeared. Some, luckily, escaped to other countries, ie. Fyodor Bohatyrchuk to Canada.

There was also the Russian White Terror at that time:
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Terror

The worst atrocities committed by the Whites were a wave of pogroms carried out by the White Russian forces (mostly by the armies of Anton Denikin in the Ukraine) in which 50-250,000 Jews were massacred. By the end of the war there were an estimated 300,000 Jewish orphans in the Ukraine


Part II looks at the events, and the players of Soviet Chess, and the promotion of chess that Krylenko did in the Soviet Union. Those that wish to promote chess as a sport should look into the implications of this essay!

And of course, ( and with great comic relief ) we have some great humour.


Recently uncovered in CFC cellar

link:http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

A PICTURE GUIDE TO CFC POLITICS

Kevin Spraggett's entertaining parody on the CFC is a must "see" for those interested in Canada's strongest GM's opinion of where the CFC has gone and where it is going. It must be emphasized that this pictorial essay is "just for fun".

PART I : The politics of greed, incompetence and betrayal is definitely an eye opener!



''There has also been a lot of debate on the Discussion Boards about the Tournament memberships.''

Link: http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com

Warning: Some may find the pictures offensive.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

A PICTURE GUIDE TO CFC POLITICS

Kevin Spraggett's entertaining parody on the CFC is a must "see" for those interested in Canada's strongest GM's opinion of where the CFC has gone and where it is going.

Kevin, being a young man, probably doesn't recall the state of the CFC before the 1970's or 1960's.

Possibly returning to their roots is a good thing for an organization.

Reality is always better than parody.

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

For those interested in the history of the CFC, Kevin Spraggett takes a brief look at the origins of the world's first national chess federation! --The Canadian Chess Association (CCA) of 1874. ( Later to become the CFC )

Take particular notice of the clothing at that time-- all pictures are of finely dressed people with dignity.




Canadian Chess Association championship; Montreal 1898

Also. Ever wonder where or why St. Patrick's day came about? Kevin writes a very informative essay on the origin of the celebration on March 17

Let's raise a glass to the CFC.

[Stephen Wright]

Sources need to be checked

The CCA was founded in 1872, and several national associations/federations existed prior to that date (notably in Britain and the U.S.).

[Hugh Brodie]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

The American Chess Association was founded in 1857. It was responsible for the "First American Chess Congress" - a knockout event evntually won by Paul Morphy (over Louis Paulsen).

Other founding dates:

British (now English) Chess Federation: 1904.
Scottish Chess Association: 1884.
Irish Chess Union: 1912.
New Zealand: "in the 1870's".
Australia: around 1885.

(New Zealand has had a championship every year since 1889 except 1942 - allegedly the most annual championship tournaments that any country has held).

[Stephen Wright]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

British Chess Association, 1857

[Stephen Wright]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Incidentally the 1898 CCA championship was in Toronto, not Montreal, just about readable in the bottom line of the photo caption.

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

How to do the right thing?

Interesting correspondence between Canada's highest ranked player and the CFC president.

It leaves many unanswered questions:


Why are there only 'three people who are currently doing all the heavy lifting' at the CFC?
Is this an excuse for : - not having a National Championship?
- not preparing for the FIDE cycle?
-which is more important? a balanced budget or upholding the FIDE requirements?
-why is there presently not an 'Executive position of International Tournament Coordinator'?
-will the next GL #5 ( soon to be released ? ) answer many of these questions? And if not , what then?

Some people believe that Kevin Spraggett "no longer has a hand or cares about" Canadian chess. His blog reveals the opposite to be true. His tone is of disappointment and dismay.

[Luke Peristy]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Godwin's Law rears its ugly head yet again...

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Hi Luke:

Godwin's Law??? What is it?

Bob