Re: The Chess World Cup 2017
Hello,
Assuming all that's been published is true...
Appeal what exactly?
--
The arbiter came to a player before the game to talk about dress code.
--
The player was confused about colours and asked the arbiter to verify. The arbiter verified, the player didn't dispute. Player-Arbiter relations were seemingly restored, with no obvious consensus on what to do immediately about the shorts.
--
The arbiter didn't take any actual action against the player in terms of what happened on the board itself.
Lets assume for a minute that wearing shorts violated the dress code, which apparently it does not (?), or the organizers didn't specify that they weren't accepting shorts for this tournament.
When an arbiter notices an infraction, or believes it's an infraction, the arbiter should act on it immediately.
In this case, being dress-code, there is probably a significant range or leeway of what is acceptable, what is not, what is on the fence. Perhaps this is all very mainstream at this type of tournament, but I confess to be rather ignorant on the intricacies of what is defined as acceptable or not. The logical approach should be to be certain that shorts are unacceptable as per handbook or organizer's specific guidelines on these, before approaching the player.
A printout should be on hand of either, should the player protest.
Provided the arbiter didn't interrupt the game, which he did not, I don't see that the timing was so inappropriate.
A simple reminder to the player along the lines of: "Mr. Kovalyov, wearing shorts is not acceptable according to the dress code, we expect you to wear pants in future games" should suffice.
In a polite, professional manner.
Perhaps it would be optimal to catch the player as he is exiting the hallway, letting him know of the rules for future rounds.
With that said, the arbiter needs to be ready and formulate a case the moment he notices an infraction.
What happens if the arbiter decides to postpone his decision, and around move 40 during the game, Mr. Rodshtein complains his opponent is not dressed accordingly?
It wouldn't be acceptable for the arbiter to respond: "I noticed it 15 minutes before the round started but done nothing about it, instead I am waiting until the game ends to let him know".
Not exactly what you want to hear from an arbiter.
With that said, if the arbiter noticed it after move 1, he could add to his argument that he chose not to interrupt the game, taking into account that it was the type of infraction (dress-code) that doesn't bring the game itself into disrepute.
Giving the chief arbiter the benefit of the doubt, which seems strange (about not having noticed the shorts in the previous 4 days Kovalyov played), it is also abundantly clear that, the arbiters' team was not on the same page on this. Or that this had not been discussed prior.
This "infraction" seems not so flagrant as to be dismissed, accepted, ignored or at best unnoticed in the previous rounds by arbiters.
--
Then comes Azmaiparashvili, the chief organizer, blindly and aggressively defending (?) the arbiter and doing what he did to the player.
--
Kovalyov seemingly abandoned the tournament due to his interaction with organizer Azmaiparashvili.
--
Again, what is there to appeal?
I am under the impression that appeals are made against arbiters, for questionable decisions, with the organizing committee.
How do you appeal against an organizer? With who? And how about when the organizer is a FIDE VP, or FIDE itself?
Perhaps there should be action, sure. But the forfeit result won't change, and how could it?
I am guessing what we're talking about is Canada's affiliation with FIDE. Perhaps a letter condemnining Azmaiparashvili's behavior, towards FIDE, and see how they respond. My guess is that it will likely be buried, or at best Azmaiparashivili get an insignificant reprimand, and CFC-FIDE relations be severely tarnished in the process. On the other hand, maybe they should, as this is hard to swallow.
A letter about the arbiter's interaction should also perhaps be written, if it is found that Kovalyov's shorts are acceptable dress-code.
However, I think it's important to keep the two issues separate. The arbiter's (wrong?) intervention is one thing. The organizer's verbal attack is something else.
Alex Ferreira
Originally posted by Vlad Rekhson
View Post
Hello,
Assuming all that's been published is true...
Appeal what exactly?
--
The arbiter came to a player before the game to talk about dress code.
--
The player was confused about colours and asked the arbiter to verify. The arbiter verified, the player didn't dispute. Player-Arbiter relations were seemingly restored, with no obvious consensus on what to do immediately about the shorts.
--
The arbiter didn't take any actual action against the player in terms of what happened on the board itself.
Lets assume for a minute that wearing shorts violated the dress code, which apparently it does not (?), or the organizers didn't specify that they weren't accepting shorts for this tournament.
When an arbiter notices an infraction, or believes it's an infraction, the arbiter should act on it immediately.
In this case, being dress-code, there is probably a significant range or leeway of what is acceptable, what is not, what is on the fence. Perhaps this is all very mainstream at this type of tournament, but I confess to be rather ignorant on the intricacies of what is defined as acceptable or not. The logical approach should be to be certain that shorts are unacceptable as per handbook or organizer's specific guidelines on these, before approaching the player.
A printout should be on hand of either, should the player protest.
Provided the arbiter didn't interrupt the game, which he did not, I don't see that the timing was so inappropriate.
A simple reminder to the player along the lines of: "Mr. Kovalyov, wearing shorts is not acceptable according to the dress code, we expect you to wear pants in future games" should suffice.
In a polite, professional manner.
Perhaps it would be optimal to catch the player as he is exiting the hallway, letting him know of the rules for future rounds.
With that said, the arbiter needs to be ready and formulate a case the moment he notices an infraction.
What happens if the arbiter decides to postpone his decision, and around move 40 during the game, Mr. Rodshtein complains his opponent is not dressed accordingly?
It wouldn't be acceptable for the arbiter to respond: "I noticed it 15 minutes before the round started but done nothing about it, instead I am waiting until the game ends to let him know".
Not exactly what you want to hear from an arbiter.
With that said, if the arbiter noticed it after move 1, he could add to his argument that he chose not to interrupt the game, taking into account that it was the type of infraction (dress-code) that doesn't bring the game itself into disrepute.
Giving the chief arbiter the benefit of the doubt, which seems strange (about not having noticed the shorts in the previous 4 days Kovalyov played), it is also abundantly clear that, the arbiters' team was not on the same page on this. Or that this had not been discussed prior.
This "infraction" seems not so flagrant as to be dismissed, accepted, ignored or at best unnoticed in the previous rounds by arbiters.
--
Then comes Azmaiparashvili, the chief organizer, blindly and aggressively defending (?) the arbiter and doing what he did to the player.
--
Kovalyov seemingly abandoned the tournament due to his interaction with organizer Azmaiparashvili.
--
Again, what is there to appeal?
I am under the impression that appeals are made against arbiters, for questionable decisions, with the organizing committee.
How do you appeal against an organizer? With who? And how about when the organizer is a FIDE VP, or FIDE itself?
Perhaps there should be action, sure. But the forfeit result won't change, and how could it?
I am guessing what we're talking about is Canada's affiliation with FIDE. Perhaps a letter condemnining Azmaiparashvili's behavior, towards FIDE, and see how they respond. My guess is that it will likely be buried, or at best Azmaiparashivili get an insignificant reprimand, and CFC-FIDE relations be severely tarnished in the process. On the other hand, maybe they should, as this is hard to swallow.
A letter about the arbiter's interaction should also perhaps be written, if it is found that Kovalyov's shorts are acceptable dress-code.
However, I think it's important to keep the two issues separate. The arbiter's (wrong?) intervention is one thing. The organizer's verbal attack is something else.
Alex Ferreira
Comment