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Some interesting comments on that forum. In chess, competitive players are always hoping to find opponents stronger than themselves. In poker, it seems the main money-making technique is to find fish. "Bum-hunting", as one commentor put it.
It is remarkable how often the late Bryon Nickoloff is mentioned herein. And to some extent it sickens me. For so very few of you knew who Bryon truly was.
You are right Brad. For example, the incident earlier alluded to ( Macedonian Labour Day 1992 ) most people found Bryon's behaviour deplorable. ( the shouting of obsenities, the rude gestures and the lack of respect for other players ) However, these same people did not see the root cause of the problem.
Perhaps I will state the root cause here bluntly:
A well known and strong player at the tournament found a 26oz bottle of Smirnoff vodka in the subway system on his way to the tournament and presented it to Bryon before his morning round game.
After Bryon consumed the contents he was not in control of himself. The incident in question happened during the start of the afternoon game which Bryon was not phyically able to play due to total inebriation. His shouting would have lasted more than 15 minutes however he retired to the skittles room and slept for several hours.
It was a clear case of one player taking advantage of another player's weakness. Bryon, being the good-natured person that he was , never blamed this player for his apparent lack of judgement. Vodka becomes lethal at a certain point and this was probably never considered.
By the way Brad, you did the right thing in 1995 by forfeiting Bryon. The problem is that all players have rights, even if they misbehave. Bryon knew his rights because he needed them to survive.
Last edited by Anthony Cheron; Saturday, 24th October, 2009, 02:46 PM.
Originally posted by Heather Carbone (NickolofView Post
As an afterthought,it occured to me that your observations,Zeljko,support my argument.The chessplayer in question(a) should have been confronted about his behaviour,and/or(b) ejected from the tournament.As neither happened,the behaviour was re-inforced and continued unabated.
On Sundays, at the Scarborough chess club we used to play mostly speed chess. I was president or vice president for 5 or 6 years. Once or twice each year I had to ask a player, or pair of players, who were "overdoing it" to leave. Speed chess and a bit of a side bet to keep it interesting and not being over the night before kind of stuff. It got loud and nasty.
This was the worst part of the whole job. I was not afraid of being beaten up. What worried me was if I defended myself and the person didn't get up. Anyhow, it never came to that.
I know about calling the police, but I think it was necessary to ask them to leave first.
Hey Tony,are you ghostwriting Kevin's expose on corruption in Canadian chess?I noticed under his "coming attractions" he refers to the "dirty war" waged against the CFC and" Canadian chess Legend(???) Kevin Spraggett".Either his ego is extremely inflated or someone else has composed this entry.You have mentioned your enjoyment of "report writing" and it might explain your almost slavish devotion to this man.Just curious!
Originally posted by Heather Carbone (NickolofView Post
Hey Tony,are you ghostwriting Kevin's expose on corruption in Canadian chess?I noticed under his "coming attractions" he refers to the "dirty war" waged against the CFC and" Canadian chess Legend(???) Kevin Spraggett".Either his ego is extremely inflated or someone else has composed this entry.You have mentioned your enjoyment of "report writing" and it might explain your almost slavish devotion to this man.Just curious!
Heather,
Am I ghostwriting? One would expect this type of question from one who is suffering from drug addiction or delusion. Not from you.
Let me say this:
I read Kevin Spraggetts blog every day.
About 50% of the blog is composed of jokes and comics, hense, alot of it is fiction. HOWEVER , THE REMAINING ARTICLES ARE NON-FICTION. It does not take a genious to tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
My report writing is technical work in ethernet cabling, co-axial RG60 , really boring stuff!
As an added note: I am in agreement with Kevin Spraggett as regards CFC related material.
Last edited by Anthony Cheron; Sunday, 25th October, 2009, 09:07 AM.
Lol!It is not as far fetched an idea as you suggest.You told me yourself some of the juicy tidbits he confided in you.You just were not aware that it was "old news",as he had confided same to anyone in the chess community (myself included)that he thought might provide a sympathetic ear to his drivel.
Originally posted by Heather Carbone (NickolofView Post
Lol!It is not as far fetched an idea as you suggest.You told me yourself some of the juicy tidbits he confided in you.You just were not aware that it was "old news",as he had confided same to anyone in the chess community (myself included)that he thought might provide a sympathetic ear to his drivel.
I kind of miss getting together with my old friends: Bryon, Kevin , Bill , Brad, Sam etc. We all go back a long way. Every tournament we would have a beer or two between rounds and would freely speak our minds.
For the final time: I AM NOT WRITING ANY BLOGS! ( not yet anyway )
If Bryon were alive today,and had a blog , I would promote it too.
I dont see how Kevin could have hurt Bryon as you indicate. Was Bryon really ready for a trip overseas to represent Canada? Heather, I would have liked to see it too, however, was he really ready?
No Tony he was not ready nor did he deserve to go(because of past behaviours),despite qualifying by rating ,and I told him so! I guess my anger stemmed from the fact that K.S.went behind his back and did not confront him with the real reason he was not chosen.I do not blame the CFC.OCA or any individual for Bryon's "problem".He came to realize his behaviour dictated the results.I used to get angry with his friends (ask Brad-lol) whom I felt were encouraging his drinking,but ,he himself acknowledged that no one forcefully poured alcohol down his throat.Being a friend sometimes means telling someone the truth,not making excuses (someone gave him a bottle).I knew why he drank,and as his best friend so did you .But,we both knew he wasn't dealing with his demons through alcohol and nothing changed.When he got ill and faced the prospect of dying he came to know this.He still cherished his family and friends ("they did the best they could" ),but he wished he could go back and change things.He also made amends where he could. I don't wish to sound preachy(I guess I do),but,honesty from his friends would have gone a long way to help him realize this a lot sooner and be more content with himself.As it stood,I became the "bad guy",the"manipulator" and sundry other epitaphs and cleaned up the messes.It would have been so much easier if those who labelled themselves "friends" had done the same.In retrospect,I wouldn't have given up my time with him for anything because he was so much more than how he was defined by drinking and even chess.I am protective of my friends and you as a friend know this.I don't want to see you manipulated by someone who has ulterior motives.
By the way Tony,Bryon did get to go to that particular Olympiad supported by Ontario governors and the OCA.The CFC was forced to go along.Up until that time Kevin more or less chose the team despite the existence of an olympic selection committee.He didn't get his way this time and I notice shortly thereafter he began to attack certain individuals whom he had once referred to as friends.Furthermore he slammed Bryon and Lawrence in a future issue of En Passant when he analyzed that particular olympiad ,as being too old for the team.He proposed a youth movement.Well we all know what he had to say about those same "youth" in future diatribes.
[QUOTE=Heather Carbone (Nickolof;15934]I used to get angry with his friends (ask Brad-lol) whom I felt were encouraging his drinking
It is true that I did get an ear full or two from Heather from time to time. And to an extent I confess guilt. But when I was with Bryon at tournaments I always refused to drink with him before games, and did everything I could to stop him from drinking until the games were over for the day. I also got in the face of anyone who tried to get him drunk before the games, and there were a number of them who persistently tried to do this. And when the bars closed I would sometimes forcibly drag him back to the hotel room, or to his home, against the wishes of those who wanted to escort him to some all night booze can.
I won't apologize for doing this to an already OT thread, but the CBC Radio young adult pop talk show DNTO two days ago had this sometimes thought-provoking and laughter-provoking podcast
I won't apologize for doing this to an already OT thread, but the CBC Radio young adult pop talk show DNTO two days ago had this sometimes thought-provoking and laughter-provoking podcast
Originally posted by Heather Carbone (NickolofView Post
Kevin more or less chose the team despite the existence of an olympic selection committee.
While I'm no apologist for Kevin Spraggett, as a past member of the selection committee, this was not my experience in any way. We did a full evaluation of players ratings, recent results, and past results playing for Canada - no consultations of any sort that I recall were made with the automatically qualified team members (in fact, I believe this became a bit of a sore spot with Spraggett, though my memory is a bit fuzzy).
It's true at that time we did not select Nickoloff despite his rating being worthy of, at minimum, consideration. The committee was unanimous that he was not trustworthy to be a good representative for our country after the just passed Canadian championship events. In fact, he was not even on the final top 10-15 list of possible selections. I'm not sure if this is the Olympiad you are referring to, but I suspect so.
It was a member of the olympic selection committee that actually advised us of the goings on behind the scenes.Many of us witnessed the debacle on the Ottawa site and the subsequent withdrawel of the top rated player and his attack on Brian Hartman et al on a subsequent event.Kevin had expressed to myself and Bryon his disdain for the selection committee in overlooking him,but we were advised by an unimpeachable source that Kevin threatened to withdraw from the team if Bryon were chosen.As I have said before I felt Bryon should have been told why he was not wanted on the team,The selection committee violated the terms of the CFC Constitution by overlooking someone who qualified by rating.A tournament of his was left deliberately unrated to permit another player to edge out his rating(this player's same tournament was in fact rated).This is in why the Ontario governor's and the OCA took up the cause I understand.They tried the same on Tom O'Donnell as he has mentioned in the past.It is up to you whether you feel Kevin manipulated the CFC to choose a team he approved of,but,I happen to believe my sources and his future behaviour certainly adds credence.I reiterate,Bryon should have been told outright that past behaviours disqualified him,not a few rating points.
Originally posted by Heather Carbone (NickolofView Post
Bryon should have been told outright that past behaviours disqualified him,not a few rating points.
I believe Heather, that the root of the problem is this. No one had enough courage to toss him. For it would have involved confronting his problem. Also, it would have meant interpreting certain rules and regulations in certain ways, and then standing by one's decision come hell or high water. Regardless of the potential concequences. Simply because it was the right thing to do. The only move.
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