Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

[Larry Bevand]

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending some time with Phil Haley, a man I truly admire! My idol is now 90 years old and his mind is as sharp as ever. His wife, Betty-June is doing well and is still as witty as ever.

Phil still plays chess on Mondays when a friend comes over. And yes he shares his love of chess with that of bridge where he is still active.

This is what appears on the CFC website:

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2000 Canadian Chess Hall of Fame

1977 Received Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal for contributions in the field of chess (The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (French: Médaille du jubilé de la reine Élisabeth II) was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Elizabeth II's accession in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The medal was physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada, where it contained unique elements; as an internationally distributed award, the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal holds a different place in each country's order of precedence for honours.)

(Question from Larry: I was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, this commemorative medal served to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. During the year of celebrations, 60 000 deserving Canadians were recognized.

To ensure that a variety of fields of activity were recognized, partner organizations were invited by the Government of Canada to nominate candidates from their community or organization for this national honour. )

I wonder if we are the only two? Historians please help :)

2001 First place, Under 2000 Section, Dutton Chess Club May Day Active

1994-2001 Canada's FIDE Representative

Chair, Pairings Committee, Olympiads (1976, 1978, 1980, 1982)

1973 International Arbiter

Co-signed with Mayor Jean Drapeau Montreal's bid for the 1972 Fischer-Spassky World Championship match

1971-73 President, Chess Federation of Canada (CFC)

1959 Alberta Champion

1959-67 Chair, Chess Foundation of Canada

1956 Founding Trustee and first donor, Chess Foundation of Canada

1945 Played in Canadian Championship

Pioneered use of (controlled pairing) Swiss system of tournament pairings in Canada and at FIDE Olympiads: pioneered tournament direction, pairing philosophy and features which have become standard, e.g., methods to ensure the best players quickly rise to the top; a method of accelerated pairings; an arbiter recording whose flag fell first; and pairing rules which assign players colours automatically (avoiding coin tosses)

Active in CFC and FIDE for many years as player, tournament director, executive member

Engineer, manager at Imperial Oil for 37 years

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Message to the CFC: I think we should give this gentleman a lifetime contribution to Canadian Chess Award and organize a presentation to honour this incredible man!

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He kindly donated (we gave him a nominal amount) a number of boxes of chess stuff from his collection. A lot of it would only have value to chess collectors. People like J.K. McDonald and Hugh Brodie I would have no problem giving them anything that is missing from their collection.

I opened up a box of goodies this afternoon and the first thing I stumbled on was 19 of the bulletins from the World Chess Festival in Saint John New Brunswick (Jan 23 - Feb 20, 1988)

[Hal Bond]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

You scared me there for a minute Larry. I'm glad all is well with Phil and Betty June.

Phil was given a lifetime achievement award by FIDE at the 2012 Olympiad. I had the honour of accepting it for him and delivering it soon thereafter. Jonathan received a similar award in Norway this year but I am afraid I'll have to send his by post.

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

You scared me there for a minute Larry. I'm glad all is well with Phil and Betty June.

Phil was given a lifetime achievement award by FIDE at the 2012 Olympiad. I had the honour of accepting it for him and delivering it soon thereafter. Jonathan received a similar award in Norway this year but I am afraid I'll have to send his by post.

Hi Hal,

Actually he will probably outlive both of us! I was astonished how sharp he was...hasn't lost a beat :). I am really happy that FIDE has given recognition to our special people!

Larry

[Hans Jung]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

Nice to know Phil is still going strong. Maybe you could do a futurity tournament with Phil as the honorary arbiter (heading a complete team). Thanks for the update on Phil!

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

Phil also played some correspondence chess with the CCCA.

[Ian Findlay]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

I too always admired Phil. He was a great FIDE representative and truly understood international chess politics. I wonder what he thought of the Chesstalk debate on the last FIDE election. One of my lifetime thrills was going home from NYC in 1986 after coming 1st 2nd with Viny Puri in the under 2400 section of the NY Open. Phil was on the same plane. He broke it to my father that I won, but my father like myself, showed little emotion, which I think Phil found puzzling.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

It is great to hear that Phil is still playing chess and that he and Betty-June are doing well. Phil was our FIDE Rep for some of the time when I worked at the CFC, and he was very active in the Toronto chess scene as well. He was always available to answer questions, or offer advice and encouragement. And I always looked forward to our chats when I was in Toronto on chess business. Depending upon the time of day they took place over coffee, or beer, and Phil was always full of interesting old chess stories. I think the game has kept Phil young.

[Denis Allan]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

I first heard of Phil and saw some of his games before I found a chess club. The Saskatoon Public Library had some chess books, many by Fred Reinfeld, but a few copies of the 1945 Canadian Closed tournament book. It had been played in Saskatoon with Abe Yanofsky and Frank Yerhoff from Regina tied first place and Phil was one of the players. I certainly met Phil when I moved to Toronto in 1965, but may have met him at the Canadian Open in 1964 in Scarborough, and got to know him better at 1968 in Lugano, where he would have been assisting John Prentice, who was our FIDE Rep. His chess activities have been well documented but I will always remember how he demonstrates his love for chess by playing it. (I tend to be a little suspicious of chess officials who are never seen playing). I don't know if anyone can determine who has played in the most Canadian Opens, but my best guess would be either Phil or Hugh Brodie. Phil is one of the most cheerful and positive persons I have known, certainly capable of recognizing problems, and need for change, but never speaking of anyone in an unkind way. Thanks Larry for updating us on Phil and reminding me personally of the need to re-connect with him.

[Hugh Brodie]

Re: Phil Haley...a Canadian Gem!

Denis wrote:

I don't know if anyone can determine who has played in the most Canadian Opens, but my best guess would be either Phil or Hugh Brodie.

My count is 32: 1968, 1974-2002, 2005, 2009. I have been slowing down in recent years (surgery prevented my 2014 appearance) - my non-appearances are usually due to something about the event I disagree with.