Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

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  • #16
    Re: then this is something else for the CFC executive to consider

    Originally posted by Aris Marghetis View Post
    Excuse my ignorance, but how has this funding philosophy been working? If not at all, then, and I know some might find this sacriligious, should we be spending such sums of money on incoming players, or at least set up some realistically mitigating guidelines?

    Just an idea. If it's a bad one, feel free to explain why without swinging an axe at me! ;)

    I think Aris has some valid questions, but they seem to hinge on the premise that the CFC pays for transfers of federations? Is this the case? I do not know. IF the CFC does pay (the apparently high fees) I think Aris has a VERY good question: is it worth it? If the CFC doesn't pay, then who cares? It is the player's money (or their parent's money).

    Aris, feel free to correct me if I do not understand... Anyone who knows about the fees, please chime in.
    ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

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    • #17
      Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

      Quote:
      Originally Posted by Jonathan Berry View Post

      So far as I can tell, in our 141 years, the only chess pros who have ever emigrated to Canada are ones who also had a "day job". The different factors in this case seem to be: 1) the abject state of the CFC; 2) the extreme youth and promise of Kovalyov.

      Be careful what you say Jonathan, you never know what the future may hold...

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      • #18
        Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

        Originally posted by Hugh Brodie View Post
        As I wrote in a previous post, no application has been made to FIDE (as of July 1) for a federation transfer for Kovalyov.
        The fact that the CFC didn't apply to transfer Kovalyov does not tell us why, after taking the significant step of moving to Canada, Kovalyov is not with us. Except maybe in a tautological sense.

        Originally posted by Hugh
        What about Igor Ivanov?
        Igor did not emigrate to Canada. He sought asylum and was accepted by the Canadian Government. As a result, he couldn't leave, and Canada couldn't kick him out, at least not for some years. Igor did indeed follow the career of a chess pro. He and Kevin were the top players in Canada, during a period of pretty good (for Canada) opportunity. Yet before long he moved his career to the United States.

        Unlike Shamkovich, who was refused by the government gatekeepers, with Igor his chess career was purely a matter between himself and the Canadian chess community.

        I don't know whether the example of Igor refutes the statement ... or reinforces it.

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        • #19
          Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

          Kevin (Spraggett) posted a clarification at the Dark Board

          Jonathan,

          You wrote, over on the 'pink' board (for lack of a better term, :
          ''The fact that the CFC didn't apply to transfer Kovalyov does not tell us why, after taking the significant step of moving to Canada, Kovalyov is not with us. Except maybe in a tautological sense.''

          For purposes of clarification only, the entire Kovalyov family moved to Montreal in 2007 (not just his mother).

          Anton made initial efforts to contact the CFC about possibilities of changing his federation from Argentina to Canada, but his emails went ignored and unanswered by the CFC prez and office.

          ( I can understand this. I seem to recall that most of us had similar experiences with the CFC the past 3 years or so. Emails to the CFC were routinely ignored and unanswered, telephone calls were unanswered and the general membership was completely and deliberately cut off from contact with the CFC.

          Last year, needing the CFC to respond to me concerning the Continental Championships in Columbia, considering the general problem with the Executive, I sent the entire Executive an email making very clear that I was intending to sue the Executive for financial losses inccurred if their non responsiveness meant that they would not send in my requested application to Fide. After about one week--but with the help of the Masters Representative, Eddie Urquart-- the CFC prezident finally responded, and ironically seemed a bit offended by my attitude!)

          Returning to Anton´s case, months afterwards--while playing in a tournament in Portugal--and with still no contact from the CFC or any discussion of any type about federation change, he learns that the CFC had sent into Fide a request for change of federation for him!

          Already very exasperated with the attitude and disrespect of the CFC, Anton very angrily informed the CFC , upon his return to Montreal, that there was not going to be any federation change without Anton having some type of dialogue with the CFC. And rightly so: the CFC had responsibilities, and some of them legal and requiring Anton´s consent.

          Apparently several emails were exchanged, and Anton decided to have nothing to do with the CFC Executive.

          When I got involved and brought in a sponsor for Anton, and requested the use of the CFC tax charity status for 15k, the bad blood that had already been created by the CFC president made it clear that there was no practical way that Anton would be able to be convinced to play for Canada before the 2010 Olympiad.

          However, as has already been indicated here in some of my posts, the exceptionally curious behavior of the CFC that followed (and led to the sponsor walking out in disgust of the CFC president) has meant that is very likely that Anton will never play for Canada again, inspite of him likely becoming a Canadian citizen in coming years.

          I hope this is useful information to you.

          Kevin

          I posted this reply

          Thanks for the clarification, Kevin. With new management at the helm of the CFC, I suppose that recruiting Anton to the CFC side need not be an impossibility, just later and more expensive in terms of FIDE transfer fees. He was an IM-elect when this drama began, he will be no less than a full GM when it ends. Looking at the FIDE regs:

          http://www.fide.com/info/handbook?id=19&view=category

          (and search for the word Transfer), they aren't worded in an abundantly clear way, but it looks to me like the hit need not be too large. An IM with 10 months' residence in Canada would pay 1600 Euros, but a GM with 24 months' (by the time everything gets settled) residence in Canada would pay only 1300 Euros. A best-case scenario. But that interpretation is based only on a cursory look; moreover, FIDE documents don't always mean what they say.

          Maroczy and Shamkovich were both at the end of their playing careers when they didn't come to Canada--not the case here!

          With regard to sponsorship and tax receipts, there must be considerable precedent with regard to athletes, as we saw on TV in relation to the recent Olympic Games in Beijing. The Sports Tower on River Road is just a couple of miles from the CFC office....

          Admittedly, I'm assuming that the new management will allow things to proceed, that nothing HumptyDumpty-ish has happened. If not, it's not so bad to live in one country and play for another, eh?

          though I might have rephrased the last paragraph and not used the ambiguous verb allow.

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          • #20
            Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

            Originally posted by Jonathan Berry View Post
            ....snipped some stuff

            Looking at the FIDE regs:

            http://www.fide.com/info/handbook?id=19&view=category

            (and search for the word Transfer), they aren't worded in an abundantly clear way, but it looks to me like the hit need not be too large. An IM with 10 months' residence in Canada would pay 1600 Euros, but a GM with 24 months' (by the time everything gets settled) residence in Canada would pay only 1300 Euros. A best-case scenario. But that interpretation is based only on a cursory look; moreover, FIDE documents don't always mean what they say.


            ...more stuff omitted
            This may have been answered elsewhere, but who pays the $ or Euros or whatever? Does the CFC pay it, the player, or the sponsor? (I presume that is the point of a sponsor in this case?)
            ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

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            • #21
              Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

              Kerry,

              Whether the CFC pays these fees is hidden within the CFC financial statements. If anybody knows, they haven't been telling.

              Ultimately, the important thing is that somebody needs to pay the money.

              To pay this transfer fee is almost certainly not the point of a sponsor coming on board. To review, Anton Kovalyov is 16 years old, he has just tied for the championship of a Grade A Large chess country, and he has fulfilled the requirements for the GM title. The figure bandied about for a first year's sponsorship was $15,000. Think training, travel, professional player, strong GM, maybe even super-GM (how do you know if you don't try?), Maroczy and Shamkovich.

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              • #22
                Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

                Originally posted by Jonathan Berry View Post
                Kerry,

                Whether the CFC pays these fees is hidden within the CFC financial statements. If anybody knows, they haven't been telling.

                Ultimately, the important thing is that somebody needs to pay the money.
                I agree that someone needs to pay the fee, but if the CFC usually does so, it represents at not-so-insignificant amount of money. Especially so considering the current CFC financial situation... Elsewhere in this topic I think Aris asked the question whether such expenditures (on the assumption they are made by the CFC) were worth it. An additional question would be this: are there any strings attached to such payments? For example, remain affiliated with the Canadian zone or play in the Closed etc etc.

                As for sponsorship, I don't have a sponsor so I can only imagine what the need might be... :) Of course there are a lot of things a sponsor can pay for; the FIDE fee(s) was just a fer'instance...
                ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

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                • #23
                  Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

                  A little off topic here, but I assume FIDE sets these fees high to discourage players from changing countries every week. Would this be a correct assumption?

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                  • #24
                    Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

                    No, there are also rules for how frequently you can switch. This is just a cash grab.
                    Christopher Mallon
                    FIDE Arbiter

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                    • #25
                      Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

                      I assumed it might be a cash grab as I couldn't find any other rational to justify the hefty fee, I didn't look at the rules required to change flags.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Anton Kovalyov in ch-ARG

                        Yeah, it has something to do with how recently you represented your previous country, and how old you are. I don't remember the exact rule.
                        Christopher Mallon
                        FIDE Arbiter

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