My resignation as FIDE Rep

[Peter McKillop]

.... I dont remember anything of that event except Hal's chess set. ....

Opening up Chesstalk and being reminded that you finished in the thick of it with the then-cream of Canadian chess - that's got to be a nice surprise!!! That it happened nearly 40 years ago is a sobering thought. Hope you haven't started saying "today, tomorrow, or next Tuesday" to your opponents. :)

Hans - Hal's chess set - are you referring to the 'chess tube'?

[Hans Jung]

Bob, that will narrow years of interest.

Chess Canada Bulletin #58 (1983 1-2) 11830 Bond, Hal Gu 1462/13 (yyyy/xx usually meant a provisional rating and a number of games)

En Passant #62 (1983 9-10) page 3: the ad of Guelph Royal City Open, Nov 18-20, at Guelph University. TD Ron Holmes, though ENT (where to mail entries) - Hal Bond

En Passant #64 (1984 February) - page 61 - the crosstable of the tournament. TD R.Holmes, Org, Rep: H.Bond. The tournament top 4: Raymond Stone and Deen Hergott (4 points); Brian Hartman and Hans Jung (3.5 points).

Wow almost 38 years ago! I dont remember anything of that event except Hal's chess set. I had one for years and I still have individual pieces mixed in with my outdoor sets.

[Aris Marghetis]

Henry, your post got me to thinking: You are just a young fella, as such you likely have no idea how long Hal has been a pillar of Canadian chess. I see Frank has tagged 1989 in his post, it's at least 3 decades and perhaps more? That precedes our tournament database! Just ponder that a moment. As long as I can remember, I could always count on a Guelph chess tournament for my regular fix. I would be interested if anyone knows when Hal ran his first chess tournament.

BTW Henry, you should login to your CFC Go membership account and update your date of birth. I am sure 2099 is not correct!

I was reading recently that middle age now starts at age 65. So I hope Hal is not considering retirement any time soon. I look forward to the next Guelph ProAm this fall. Hal, just add my name to the pre-registered list.

I hear ya Bob! I've only played Guelph a few times (I haven't played that many tournaments in general since becoming an Arbiter), and they've been just so wonderfully mental-health rejuvenating!

As I write this, the only trophy I have on my desk is from the 2019 Guelph Spring Pro-Am U2000 section. From the moment Hal presented it to me, he points out that in the literally decades of running his events, that I have the distinction of the lowest score winning such a trophy LOL - I hope that you and I will get paired at the first Guelph after this seemingly endless pandemic.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

I see Frank has tagged 1989 in his post, it's at least 3 decades and perhaps more? That precedes our tournament database! Just ponder that a moment. As long as I can remember, I could always count on a Guelph chess tournament for my regular fix. I would be interested if anyone knows when Hal ran his first chess tournament.

Bob, that will narrow years of interest.

Chess Canada Bulletin #58 (1983 1-2) 11830 Bond, Hal Gu 1462/13 (yyyy/xx usually meant a provisional rating and a number of games)

En Passant #62 (1983 9-10) page 3: the ad of Guelph Royal City Open, Nov 18-20, at Guelph University. TD Ron Holmes, though ENT (where to mail entries) - Hal Bond

En Passant #64 (1984 February) - page 61 - the crosstable of the tournament. TD R.Holmes, Org, Rep: H.Bond. The tournament top 4: Raymond Stone and Deen Hergott (4 points); Brian Hartman and Hans Jung (3.5 points).

[Frank Dixon]

I want to give a short summary of my encounters with Hal, over 3+ decades, in the many different scenarios which have unfolded.
1) 1989: Fellow-competitor: I met Hal for the first time in Ottawa at an Eastern Ontario Chess Association Grand Prix event in 1989. Our last round game would decide the U2000 section. In a spirited battle, Hal held the draw, which, with his half-point lead, secured first prize; I tied for second. We became friends during the analysis afterwards, heartened by a beer in the RA restaurant, and we have stayed friends for 32 years.
2) 1992: CFC Executive Director: When I was Head Organizer and Deputy Arbiter for the 1992 Zonal in Kingston, I worked closely with Hal, CFC Executive Director and magazine editor, throughout that Championship. He was commuting back and forth from Ottawa, balancing his duties running the national organization. I made sure to get the game bulletins done as soon as possible; these went to the players, organizers and spectators; Hal got the news out to the country, and then promptly into the magazine with the tournament report and article. IA Alex Knox of Toronto served as Head Arbiter and did an absolutely super job, for an event which was, overall, a success. Hal was helpful in a dozen different ways. He quickly and professionally solved a significant problem at the end of the event that was out of the control of the organizers.
3) 2004: Canadian Open bidder: As a CFC Governor, I was present at the 2004 CFC Annual General Meeting in Kapuskasing, where I also served as Deputy Arbiter for the Canadian Open. Hal presented a bid for the 2006 Canadian Open to the meeting. It was to take place in Kitchener, with himself as lead organizer. Two years in advance, the bid was well organized and planned, filled with important information on all aspects, and was well received. No decision was made at that time; that took place a few months later, with strong approval.
4) 2006: Canadian Open organizer and arbiter: I served as a Deputy Arbiter for Hal's very successful Open in Kitchener.
5) 2007: As an event Arbiter, I was at the 2007 Canadian Open in Ottawa. Bill Doubleday and I had submitted the original bid. Hal had to explain to the AGM about certain problems from the 2006 CYCC in Kitchener, which he had largely NOT been responsible for. He did so very well, and the matter was sorted out.
6) 2009: Problem-solver as Arbiter: I was helping to organize the 2009 University Teams event in Kingston, with Alex Lambruschini in the lead role. Unfortunately, only a few weeks before the event, Alex's professional schedule was changed, making him unavailable for the Championship. Being realistic, I felt that my problematic health situation would not allow me to take over his duties and make the event the success it deserved to be. I thought of Hal: I contacted him, learned he was available and interested, but of course as a professional arbiter, he would require a salary and conditions, far more than Alex was budgeted for. Due to the exceptional kindness of the Queen's University student governments, sufficient last-minute funding for this was arranged. Hal arrived, was briefed and up to speed; he took charge, and the event was a complete success, with me assisting him.
7) 2010: FIDE Arbiter Course Instructor: In conjunction with the 2010 Canadian Open in Toronto, Hal partnered with IA Stephen Boyd to present the first FIDE Arbiter Course ever offered in Canada. I registered as a student. Their efforts compared favourably with any similar event I have ever been involved with, across non-chess topics as well. I learned an enormous amount in the course, passed the exam, and received a FIDE certificate.
8) 2019: Appeals Committee Chair: At the 2019 Zonal in Kingston, Hal was a competitor in a lower section; I was on tournament staff as Fair Play Officer. Hal served as Chair of the Appeals Committee, while I was a member. IA / IO Aris Marghetis and his team put on a wonderful event. No appeals resulted across nine rounds with about 100 players, so no Committee meetings!!

Hal and I have also enjoyed many friendly casual conversations over those years; I have always emerged from those better informed and happier, since Hal is such an upbeat person!! In every scenario when I was around Hal, as described above, I always saw from him highly professional knowledge and effort, utmost consideration for multiple points of view, friendly people skills, and a forward-looking outlook on what would be best for Canadian chess. While I never contemplated chess involvement for myself at anywhere near Hal's level, he has inspired me to become more involved in Canadian chess, and I believe I have made, and am making, a positive contribution as a result. I know for a fact that Hal has inspired and mentored several other important organizers in Canadian chess. Hal is one of my favourite people in Canadian chess!

Hal has also served as an Arbiter at higher levels in important events with FIDE than any other Canadian has done. He has run a successful series of International Tournaments at Guelph for many years. Hal is well respected as a teacher and proponent of youth players.

I believe that CFC President Vlad Drkulec, in some of his postings on this board covering this important topic, has been somewhat disrespectful of Hal's efforts, skills, qualifications, and contributions. These actions by Vlad have been both unfortunate and disappointing; they have not contributed to a solution, while making what was already a bad situation even worse. Hal has been an organizer in Canadian chess for 30+ years, at the national and international levels, while Vlad is at about a decade of involvement at that level, with nowhere near the breadth and depth of contributions that Hal has attained. Hal is well known and highly respected around the world in chess. Hal could attend any important chess event in the world, and find friends!

Respectfully submitted,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

[Victor Plotkin]

Actually, it was a well-known conflict Assaubaeva-Solozhenkin. This story became really famous in 2017. I have my personal opinion, but maybe I am just biased, because I know GM Solozhenkin for last 40+ years.

Interestingly, that current FIDE Legal Advisor Alexandr Martynov worked for this case (as a lawyer of GM Solozhenkin) in Russian Civil Court.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

I guess "Uruguay" must be some sort of inside joke that none of us are supposed to get?
Come on, stop dancing around and either post nothing or post something of value.

I only can suspect what Vlad meant by that country.

Though, the connection between Uruguay and Hal Bond is that he was an chief arbiter during the World Youth Chess Championship held in Montevideo in September, 2017. The championship went into a history for open allegations of cheating towards one player.

Hal Bond's report on the tournament to FIDE: https://www.fide.com/images/stories/...s/Annex_69.pdf

Hal Bond contacted Ken Regan to look at games during tournament and later Ken prepared a full report for Ethics comm. A lot to read at http://chess-news.ru/sites/default/files/3.pdf
Why Ethics comm? Because the accused player's parent asked FIDE Ethics committee to deal with the accuser. Details https://ethics.fide.com/images/stori...sion_final.pdf

Wiki reports that matters went to even the Appellate Moscow Court in 219. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibisara_Assaubayeva



Personal - in February of 2017 I attended an FIDE arbiter's seminar organized by Hal Bond in Toronto. One of the subjects was cheating. It was still quite fresh thing, iirc FIDE just released how to deal with it, also what kind of complains shall be written, otherwise arbiters can ignore or keep an eye on them. It is a really complicated thing if the complain is an "anonymous" type. We had a good discussion about it. Seems that Hal was ready and used that in his own practice later in September.

[Kerry Liles]

Nah! I think I've been quite clear. Hal Bond didn't want to go full public, veins in our teeth all out war. We left it to him. I can't help it if he is incompetent in these matters. I offered to help like an elephant in a fine crystal store. Total Destruction is my middle name. We would have got some attention. Of course there is Uruguay which doesn't fit the narrative unless our supposed nemesis could travel through time.

I guess "Uruguay" must be some sort of inside joke that none of us are supposed to get?
Come on, stop dancing around and either post nothing or post something of value.

[Victor Plotkin]

I played in Guelph from 2005. I believe, I played in Guelph more than anywhere else, more than 20 times, including 3 Canadian Closed (2009, 2011, 2015). Always a great tournament!

[Bob Gillanders]

Hal you've always been a tremendous support to me as a chess player and a big role model. thanks for all you've done for chess in Canada during your time as the CFC rep. and good look to victor

Henry, your post got me to thinking: You are just a young fella, as such you likely have no idea how long Hal has been a pillar of Canadian chess. I see Frank has tagged 1989 in his post, it's at least 3 decades and perhaps more? That precedes our tournament database! Just ponder that a moment. As long as I can remember, I could always count on a Guelph chess tournament for my regular fix. I would be interested if anyone knows when Hal ran his first chess tournament.

BTW Henry, you should login to your CFC Go membership account and update your date of birth. I am sure 2099 is not correct!

I was reading recently that middle age now starts at age 65. So I hope Hal is not considering retirement any time soon. I look forward to the next Guelph ProAm this fall. Hal, just add my name to the pre-registered list.

[Henri Hughes]

Hal you've always been a tremendous support to me as a chess player and a big role model. thanks for all you've done for chess in Canada during your time as the CFC rep. and good look to victor

[Peter McKillop]

Nah! I think I've been quite clear. Hal Bond didn't want to go full public, veins in our teeth all out war. We left it to him. I can't help it if he is incompetent in these matters. I offered to help like an elephant in a fine crystal store. Total Destruction is my middle name. We would have got some attention. Of course there is Uruguay which doesn't fit the narrative unless our supposed nemesis could travel through time.

I resigned because of the conduct of Vadim Tsypin, and President Vlad Drkulec’s response to that conduct, since 2018. The pattern of behaviour is of growing concern.

Vlad the Impaler? Vlad the Obscure? Vlad the Roiler of Waters? If it's your intention to be clear then why toss in the reference to Uruguay? Is this supposed to make everyone think that Hal did something disreputable in connection with Uruguay that would have to become public knowledge if you were going to fully support him on the forged email matter? You're CEO of the CFC. The CFC's relationship with FIDE is an important one. If important people at FIDE think that Canada has chosen a racist to represent its interests, then that reflects poorly not just on Hal but on the CFC and its members, doesn't it? As CEO, and regardless of whether Hal wanted to look after the matter himself, it was your job, along with the CFC's executive team, to set the terms under which the CFC would permit Hal to attend to the matter on his own. And then it was your job to follow up with Hal regularly to determine how the matter was proceeding and, if the matter was not moving quickly toward a satisfactory resolution, then it was also your job to take over from Hal and bring it all to a conclusion. I hope that's clear.

If I haven't said it already, thank you to Frank Dixon for his tribute to Hal.

[Brad Thomson]

I think this thread's general tenor (onward from Feynman:)
follows Simon's "The Boxer".....

“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.

Brad?

True. But if one hears nothing then one makes a bunch of noise and listens carefully to what happens next.

[Francis Rodriguez]

I think this thread's general tenor (onward from Feynman:)
follows Simon's "The Boxer".....

“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.

Brad?

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.

Richard P. Feynman

[Francis Rodriguez]

I think this thread's general tenor (onward from Feynman:)
follows Simon's "The Boxer".....

“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.

Brad?