If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Policy / Politique
The fee for tournament organizers advertising on ChessTalk is $20/event or $100/yearly unlimited for the year.
Les frais d'inscription des organisateurs de tournoi sur ChessTalk sont de 20 $/événement ou de 100 $/année illimitée.
You can etransfer to Henry Lam at chesstalkforum at gmail dot com
Transfér à Henry Lam à chesstalkforum@gmail.com
Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
General Guidelines
---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
Some Basics
1. Under Board "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) there are 3 sections dealing with General Forum Usage, User Profile Features, and Reading and Posting Messages. These deal with everything from Avatars to Your Notifications. Most general technical questions are covered there. Here is a link to the FAQs. https://forum.chesstalk.com/help
2. Consider using the SEARCH button if you are looking for information. You may find your question has already been answered in a previous thread.
3. If you've looked for an answer to a question, and not found one, then you should consider asking your question in a new thread. For example, there have already been questions and discussion regarding: how to do chess diagrams (FENs); crosstables that line up properly; and the numerous little “glitches” that every new site will have.
4. Read pinned or sticky threads, like this one, if they look important. This applies especially to newcomers.
5. Read the thread you're posting in before you post. There are a variety of ways to look at a thread. These are covered under “Display Modes”.
6. Thread titles: please provide some details in your thread title. This is useful for a number of reasons. It helps ChessTalk members to quickly skim the threads. It prevents duplication of threads. And so on.
7. Unnecessary thread proliferation (e.g., deliberately creating a new thread that duplicates existing discussion) is discouraged. Look to see if a thread on your topic may have already been started and, if so, consider adding your contribution to the pre-existing thread. However, starting new threads to explore side-issues that are not relevant to the original subject is strongly encouraged. A single thread on the Canadian Open, with hundreds of posts on multiple sub-topics, is no better than a dozen threads on the Open covering only a few topics. Use your good judgment when starting a new thread.
8. If and/or when sub-forums are created, please make sure to create threads in the proper place.
Debate
9. Give an opinion and back it up with a reason. Throwaway comments such as "Game X pwnz because my friend and I think so!" could be considered pointless at best, and inflammatory at worst.
10. Try to give your own opinions, not simply those copied and pasted from reviews or opinions of your friends.
Unacceptable behavior and warnings
11. In registering here at ChessTalk please note that the same or similar rules apply here as applied at the previous Boardhost message board. In particular, the following content is not permitted to appear in any messages:
* Racism
* Hatred
* Harassment
* Adult content
* Obscene material
* Nudity or pornography
* Material that infringes intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any party
* Material the posting of which is tortious or violates a contractual or fiduciary obligation you or we owe to another party
* Piracy, hacking, viruses, worms, or warez
* Spam
* Any illegal content
* unapproved Commercial banner advertisements or revenue-generating links
* Any link to or any images from a site containing any material outlined in these restrictions
* Any material deemed offensive or inappropriate by the Board staff
12. Users are welcome to challenge other points of view and opinions, but should do so respectfully. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Posts and threads with unacceptable content can be closed or deleted altogether. Furthermore, a range of sanctions are possible - from a simple warning to a temporary or even a permanent banning from ChessTalk.
Helping to Moderate
13. 'Report' links (an exclamation mark inside a triangle) can be found in many places throughout the board. These links allow users to alert the board staff to anything which is offensive, objectionable or illegal. Please consider using this feature if the need arises.
Advice for free
14. You should exercise the same caution with Private Messages as you would with any public posting.
The ChessTalk site costs CMA money. I doubt Larry and company make back the money and especially time they spend on maintaining the site through sales. He is providing tournament organizers with a free service. If he imposes this condition and tournament organizers don't like it, they don't have to advertise here. You can't argue on the one hand that tournament volunteers should receive special treatment and on the other say hey we know CMA is volunteering their resources but so what. It's not like CMA is asking for the moon. Larry has in the past only asked for a short report, nothing more.
Hi Tom as I stated earlier we will not be posting any more Niagara Falls Tourneys on this site.
There is too much AOP (Available Objections Played)
See you in the funny papers. They have real good notices on Chess events.
Yes Rene it has everything to do with your post. Your son or you contacted John Erickson and asked for a discount we said there was none and the reply was thanks. We assumed Razvan was not coming.
Then you or Razvan wait till the last minute to see our field and then enter.
Maybe a good lesson should be that if IM's enter late then we structure the prize fund that U2300's are eligible for First - seventh prizes and that IM's get a top IM prize of $100.
entering an IM late in a tournament does not help us bring in more players. What is does is shows us that an IM wants to pick up some easy cash.
Sorry Rene but you say we are patzers then why the heck was Razvan even at our event, if for nothing more than reaping a cash grab.
You feel that we want to be bullied. Well sorry you came to the worst corral for bullying.
The first time I ever saw Razvan play was in Niagara Falls, four or five years ago. He was a great kid then, still is, and it seems to me that, instead of expressing what you did here, you should instead take some quiet pride in having organized events that help kids like Razvan develop.
Yes Rene it has everything to do with your post. Your son or you contacted John Erickson and asked for a discount we said there was none and the reply was thanks. We assumed Razvan was not coming.
Then you or Razvan wait till the last minute to see our field and then enter.
Maybe a good lesson should be that if IM's enter late then we structure the prize fund that U2300's are eligible for First - seventh prizes and that IM's get a top IM prize of $100.
entering an IM late in a tournament does not help us bring in more players. What is does is shows us that an IM wants to pick up some easy cash.
Sorry Rene but you say we are patzers then why the heck was Razvan even at our event, if for nothing more than reaping a cash grab.
You feel that we want to be bullied. Well sorry you came to the worst corral for bullying.
John,
I want to apology for quoting Bent Larsen from that 1974 interview with Chess Canada. I didn't want to post only the Swiss prizes are to pay the better players for giving lessons to the weaker ones and I didn't realize some players will be offended by the first part. I had no intention to bully anyone. If fact you were the one who bullied the IM in your reply to Egidijus Zeromskis.
I can't believe you're blaming a 15 year old kid, who played in over 100 CFC tournaments (sorry the CFC site is down to proof it), for winning a tournament. That's all I have to say.
Hi Walter ;
I feel that IM's want to take our money and run.
You think that having Razvan at our tournament created Pride? I drew with Razvan in those early years you mentioned.
I'm sorry Walter but come where it lies Razvan came for a cash grab he did not come to bring us pride. If he came to bring us Pride he would have offered to give us patzers
some analysis. Frank Puskedra came to visit and I take more Pride in his advice than a cash grab IM.
Last edited by John Brown; Sunday, 10th May, 2015, 05:56 AM.
Reason: typo
I want to apology for quoting Bent Larsen from that 1974 interview with Chess Canada. I didn't want to post only the Swiss prizes are to pay the better players for giving lessons to the weaker ones and I didn't realize some players will be offended by the first part. I had no intention to bully anyone. If fact you were the one who bullied the IM in your reply to Egidijus Zeromskis.
I can't believe you're blaming a 15 year old kid, who played in over 100 CFC tournaments (sorry the CFC site is down to proof it), for winning a tournament. That's all I have to say.
Good luck with your future tournaments.
Rene
Rene;
I apologize for thinking that tournaments have to be run so that Great players have to take all the money.
Our tournament is for the non great players. It does not matter if Razvan was 15 or 45 he is an IM and that is the problem. Why does any IM want to come to a low rate tournament
like ours unless he is there for a cash grab. Sorry but I do not know why you came? Even if Bent Larsen or Bobby Fischer came we would still feel that they came for a cash Grab.
I have no love loss for Eggi and he knows it. So what I say to him has nothing to do with Razvan as a person .
I'm willing to let these posts stop here. If you agree that is the end as well.
Last edited by John Brown; Sunday, 10th May, 2015, 05:54 AM.
Reason: typo
Can't believe that the greedy, money grabbing IM would have the audacity to inquire about a free entry. What did he think?? That the Niagara Falls Open would be like every other tournament on this planet and offer free entries to IMs?! The Nerve. To add insult to injury he still decided to enter the tournament and didn't even have the common courtesy to lose a few games here and there. I'm foaming at the mouth with anger just thinking about it.
I enjoyed the Niagara Falls Open for what it was - a local tournament organized by dedicated volunteers. It was a great opportunity to see some of my Ontario chess friends. I remember thinking at the time that it was nice that a couple of strong players made the trip to Niagara Falls to support the event.
Can't believe that the greedy, money grabbing IM would have the audacity to inquire about a free entry. What did he think?? That the Niagara Falls Open would be like every other tournament on this planet and offer free entries to IMs?! The Nerve. To add insult to injury he still decided to enter the tournament and didn't even have the common courtesy to lose a few games here and there. I'm foaming at the mouth with anger just thinking about it.
Go foam someplace else, please. You're responding to a post of mine that has nothing to do with what you're talking about. Happy non sequitur!
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey
Can't believe that the greedy, money grabbing IM would have the audacity to inquire about a free entry. What did he think?? That the Niagara Falls Open would be like every other tournament on this planet and offer free entries to IMs?! The Nerve. To add insult to injury he still decided to enter the tournament and didn't even have the common courtesy to lose a few games here and there. I'm foaming at the mouth with anger just thinking about it.
Rene did not ask for Free entry he asked for a discount. That thread is closed. You are stirring up a burnt pot.
I would like to thank John Erickson and John Brown for running another successful Niagara Falls Open. The NFO has been one of my favourite tournaments of the year, I always look forward to it. It attracts a wonderful selection of regular players. The competition is good, the games are friendly, and analysis over a beer and roast beef sandwich is a nice touch. Breakfast at the Flying Saucer with the regulars has become wonderful tradition. Bowling last year was a nice addition. The moment of silence for our fallen comrade Jamie Solis, was a special moment of remembrance.
John Erickson and John Brown pour their heart and soul into this tournament each year. There desire to give back to the chess community with the NFO is sincere and appreciated by those who frequent the tournament year after year. Those who would criticize their efforts and decisions, should at least acknowledge their dedication and work while doing so.
The elegance of the Canadian chess community is in the variety of tournaments offered. Everyone has their own ideas of how it should be done, but often fail to respect those who disagree.
Last edited by Bob Gillanders; Sunday, 10th May, 2015, 05:01 PM.
Can't believe that the greedy, money grabbing IM would have the audacity to inquire about a free entry. What did he think?? That the Niagara Falls Open would be like every other tournament on this planet and offer free entries to IMs?! The Nerve. To add insult to injury he still decided to enter the tournament and didn't even have the common courtesy to lose a few games here and there. I'm foaming at the mouth with anger just thinking about it.
You guys all need to take a step back. Seriously. Razvan is a great chess player, and from my co-operation with him many times, a great person too. Why are you hating on him because he won a prize? After all, he's 15, how is he supposed to support his chess studies without money? From my experience, actively participating in elite tournaments is a big financial burden, and not everyone is crazy rich. Plus, Razvan is a much more elite player than I am, needless to say, so I can't even imagine how much his expenses may be...
So don't bother to get angry because he went and won some prize money. Chess isn't about making money. You're all adults, you know that. You all have jobs, and we're not even in university yet. You guys make money, we don't. But I can put a solid wager that the amount of time, effort and money that we put towards chess is multiple times than most people. I'm not against the idea of having tournaments for lower-rated people, but don't hate on one of Canada's prodigies because he won some prize money. Chess is supposed to be fun, and I'm sure that adults make a ton more money at their day job than at some weekender. Sure, Razvan probably wouldn't play this tournament if he won the lottery one day, but because chess is not hockey; majority of expenses come from our own pockets. Even I can't play in all the tournaments I want to, such as WYCC, because it is too expensive.
If you truly enjoy chess, then you will play it regardless. Chess isn't business, it's a game. It wasn't invented for business, it was invented to be a game. I'm planning to study business in the future to make money. I play chess because I like playing chess. If I saw the expense summaries throughout the years I spent on chess, I'd probably faint. So don't talk with such a rude tongue towards Canada's most talented junior and one of my best friends.
HI Michael Song;
You had two great points Chess is a Game and people Enjoy playing it.
However you do not seem to see that adults also have expenses to play in tournaments. They have the Hotel bills, the gas bills and the meal bills.
We could graduate our entry fees based on rating. The higher your rating the more you pay. Hey most higher rated players take most of the money anyway.
Organizers have expenses that are taken out of entries. We at the Niagara Falls Opens (I believe this is our 13th or 14th year at this) decided that we would not make a big prize for First Prize.
We would rather have more prizes distributed over more players to help them with their expenses. First Prize this year was $400. We had 2-7th totaling $900. We spread the wealth with those who came so they could get some of their expenses back. You have expenses I agree but you are one person so why should you get all the prize money?
The Niagara Falls tournament has always been a "go against the norm tournament." We want players to enjoy the game they love and we want it to be a tournament where anyone can have a shot at a prize. Otherwise we'd have the usual $80 + entries and have Guaranteed prizes, but this would not make John Erickson or myself happy.
We enjoy seeing the new smaller juniors coming to play and the look on their faces when they win an upset prize or a unrated prize it's worth more to us than you can ever imagine.
It also gives satisfaction to their parents when they see that their Hotel bills and other expenses did not go for nothing. They came home with a smiling happy child.
That smiling child is Someone who may be the next Grandmaster of Canada.
I have nothing against Razvan. I have a hate for IM's coming to make money from a non significant tournament. If our tournament was a stepping stone to going to the World Junior then I'd have no problem with that.
Rene never told us why he decided to show up at the last minute and I think that is his own private reason. But when he tried to quote Bent Larsen he set himself up for ridicule.
I feel that mistake has been settled. Hey I make lots a bad ,wrong and stupid posts here.
The Niagara Falls Open is John Erickson's and John R. Brown's pet tournament. If you don't like what we do then I say to anyone. Don't come.
But when players and non players attack us because we make a late report then, please start running tournaments the way you want them and see what hidden expenses and ridicule
you'll have to put up with.
John Erickson is also my friend so I hope you understand that as well.
Last edited by John Brown; Sunday, 10th May, 2015, 06:34 PM.
I think the problem all started with someone asking to see the report of the tournament.
I and my son attended the tournament and we have fun playing in the tournament. Both Johns tried to make sure that the tournament is well organized and they did it in their own way ( some people may not agree but who cares - it is their tournament ) I ( rated 1500 ) managed an upset win against a 1900 and won an upset prize which is a bonus. My son had a game against FM Roman S in the last round and he enjoyed the tournament throughout the tournament. Not all people may agree with how the organizers run the tournament but like John said - if you dont agree, then dont play in their tournament. I would play again as i always like to go to Niagara Falls and to play relax chess
I would like to say that Rene and Razvan Preotu are nice people. They asked for a discount for the tournament and I said I don't do that. They accepted that and came to play anyways.
If you look at the past Niagara Falls Opens, you will notice that a report was posted within a day or so of the event. This year, it wasn't and I get criticized for that. So thirteen years is good, but miss one year and get slammed for that. That seems uncalled for.
The Niagara Falls Open is sent to the CFC, the night of the last round. Not all TD's do this, but this is done so that it can be rated as soon as possible. I have never posted a crosstable on this site. If you stay til the end of the tournament and ask to see the cross table at the event, I will gladly show anyone who asks and have done so in the past. I also show some how their rating may change. I have never collected score sheets from the event. That is another expense that I am not willing to incur. If you want to see the games, ask the participants for that.
We are a small tournament, unaffiliated with any club. The St. Catharines club does help with boards and pieces, which is much appreciated. John R. Brown and I may not always agree on everything, but he has made me a better TD and organizer.
I had knee surgery on Tuesday April 28th. I was unable to bend my knee at all until Friday. It is still sore. I don't have a laptop internet capable computer, so was unable to be online to post a recap. This stress has made my recovery slow as I can't believe the backlash over a small tournament.
I have enough trouble getting a weekend off from my work and would like to run another tournament later in the year. I have been asked this many times over the last 5 years or so. I am playing in the Ontario Open, as that was one of the few weekends I was able to get off from work.
Comment