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Better late than never I hope! Here are my first 4 articles crammed together in case I get kicked out of the press centre. Oops - it´s too much. I´ll try splitting it. Will keep on writing as best I can. FIDE Congress committees start tomorrow so who knows.
Jo-Anne my Dear, if you read this can you dig up my sympatico email password for my next phone call home? My laptop has become an introvert. So we'll have to settel for webmail.
THESE TRIPS ALWAYS BEGIN WITH A RIDE to the airport on our local service Red Car. My last chauffeur, Reggie, arrived for pick up about 20 minutes early and managed to arrive at the airport half an hour before I could check in. This gave me some much needed time to practice being tall. Perhaps of greater interest his past association with Stompin Tom Connors, who alleges to be quite the chess player. At least he was good enough to win 6 straight games, quickly, from Reggie. To Tom’s chagrin, Reggie promptly ended the match. Thereafter they stuck to billiards, cribbage and a card game developed by Tom called 454. Apparently Tom is quite a head strong old cuss and the two are no longer buddies, but Reggie did let it slip that Tom lives in Southwestern Ontario. Maybe someday I’ll track him down for a few games.
Travelling with us was a University of Guelph student who knew a chess player – none other than SWOCL President Michael Von Keitz. She told me that Mike is also the President of the U of G Math Club, the German Club, and of course the U of G Chess Club. I noted this information and later warned Michael of the dangers of over commitment, burn out et al.
This trip has begun differently. The Red Car was on time and the ride was very quiet. We got here plenty early - about 3.5 hours before the flight, but I was able to check my luggage right away. The little contrasts are rather common, and despite being incidental they still form part of the overall impression. At the World Cup in 2005 the weather was warmer than Toronto upon arrival, before dropping to -30C and I never adapted to Siberian time. In 2007 the weather pattern was the opposite and I adapted almost immediately to the local clock. Funny how memory works.
12:55 Frankfurt time, Wednesday November 12.
The flight was fine and well below capacity. . The plane was newer – a monitor at every seat and a wide selection of movies. The food plan was quite good but the Swiss steak was slippery and that became relevant soon enough. I had 2 seats to myself with a window but this was just enough space to experience the futility of aero slumber. Sleep on the plane, wake up in pain.
Once in Frankfurt, the gate for the Dresden flight came at the end of a circuitous route -down six flights of stairs, along a 300 meter corridor to an elevator which took me back up to the surface. My itinerary lagged most of the team by about 4 hours, so it was a pleasant surprise to run into Pascal and Irina at the departure zone. Pascal has recently left the employ of Canadian Chess Patron Sid Belzberg and now works for a hedge fund, in the harried field of merger arbitrage. He looks forward to a reunion with the Canadian Olympic team and venturing into battle for 2 weeks.
Visible from our departure gate was one of those accordion walkways connecting to the plane so I expected to be spared the indignity of a commuter bus that schleps so many passengers at the Frankfurt Airport to their plane. Wrong again. The circuity of the route to our departure gate paled to the mystery tour of our magic bus that took us to our aircraft. The premium paid for my last minute plane ticket finally bore fruit. I was seated in business class. Not only did this mean pine nuts in the salad, but I scored a copy of the November issue of The Economist, wherein Garry Kasparov was quoted along with several academics on the question “Does the free market erode moral character?” Garry replied “Yes, but other systems are worse... it is still superior to all other economic arrangements that have been tried.” This turned out to be an advertisement for the John Templeton Foundation and Garry’ book “How Chess Immitates Life” was tagged. It was still pretty cool though. He was in good company.
The flight to Dresden took but 45 minutes. The platoon of chess players filled the plane and the luggage carousel worked overtime to discharge all the precious cargo. My suitcase seemed to take forever. I started thinking about the crazy bus ride to the plane and allowed myself to doubt that my luggage had made the flight. Then I remembered the slippery Swiss steak – too much of which ended up on my only shirt. Luckily I broke into a sweat. Next, someone dislodged my glasses as he lunged in front of me to get a better look at the latest release from the carousel. I pondered my response – a stern warning, an armlock or maybe a simple choke hold. Before I could decide, the name tag that my wife made for my suitcase came into view. All that angst for nothing. Thanks Jo-Anne! And that knob who violated my space bubble thanks you too!
An accreditation centre was located in the arrivals area of Dresden Airport, and buses were on hand to transport players to their respective hotels. Hmmm. I told the Olympiad people on Monday, November 10 that I was coming for the FIDE Congress. Registration had only closed 2 months ago so this was bound to be a cake walk. First I played the Canada - card. Nothing. Then FIDE Delegate – nothing. “I might be an Arbiter” I bluffed. They check again. “Ah yes! Here you are Mr. Bond. Let me prepare your Arbiter accreditation card.” As it turns out, a Russian Arbiter fell ill at the last minute. The Deputy Chief Arbiter Klaus Deventer , a colleague from the 2007 World Cup, learned of my imminent arrival and slotted me in. Thanks, I think.
As the bus rolled into the Westin Bellevue Hotel where team Canada is staying, Pascal and I were greeted by most of the team, who were returning from a restaurant. The euphoria of the moment was soon lost when I reached the reservation desk. I had been assured that a reservation was made for me but no record was found. I was able to reserve 3 nights here until we can figure out where I will stay.
Too soon thereafter came the Opening Ceremonies at a hockey arena. A stage was centered on the ice rink where some local cheerleaders opened the show with some spectacular throws and other eye catching moves. They were replaced by several drummers who played around and then broke into the simple signature beat of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. This was cool, I’m a long standing fan. Then out comes a Freddie Mercury mimic on skates. He nails the tune and follows with “We are the Champions” from the stage as a foursome of speed skaters with dry ice fumes billowing from their funny hats add an odd visual effect. I caught up with the singer soon after to congratulate him. He is Johnny Zitilny (I think) from Montreal! No wonder he can skate! He stays pretty busy with his Queen tribute routine. Later on he delivered “Play the Game” . The rest of the ceremony included a number of musical/chess treatments with more skaters. It was interesting but a tad long. The speeches, which tend to mark the end of the ceremonies, were welcomed.
Before I could sample any of the food and free beer I earned of an arbiters meeting at the playing venue. Chief Arbiter Ingatious Leong of Singapore chaired this meeting and he braced us for some new rules, subject to the Captains meeting the following morning. First, there is no one hour grace period for tardy players. Zero tolerance is the new rule. If you are a minute late, you forfeit. Second, no draws before 30 moves. Deliberate short book three folds may be double forfeited! Any 3 move repetition before move 30 must be accepted by the sector chief arbiter. This feels like a slippery slope. Must Arbiters now memorize the book of short book three folds? If a player’s cell phone rings during play, the player forfeits. If a Captain’s phone rings, he/she leaves the hall and misses the next round. If an arbiter’s phone rings, his/her gig is over – the stipend is prorated and no more work. The time control has been lengthened to 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by 30 minutes to mate, with a 30 second Fischer increment from the first move. The pairings are being accelerated for the first 3 rounds, and standings are based on match points, not game points. This means both Canadian teams are paired up in the first round but no pairings will be posted until after the captains meeting on the morning of the first round. Evening pairings for the following day are expected thereafter.
Jo-Anne my Dear, if you read this can you dig up my sympatico email password for my next phone call home? My laptop has become an introvert. So we'll have to settel for webmail.
THESE TRIPS ALWAYS BEGIN WITH A RIDE to the airport on our local service Red Car. My last chauffeur, Reggie, arrived for pick up about 20 minutes early and managed to arrive at the airport half an hour before I could check in. This gave me some much needed time to practice being tall. Perhaps of greater interest his past association with Stompin Tom Connors, who alleges to be quite the chess player. At least he was good enough to win 6 straight games, quickly, from Reggie. To Tom’s chagrin, Reggie promptly ended the match. Thereafter they stuck to billiards, cribbage and a card game developed by Tom called 454. Apparently Tom is quite a head strong old cuss and the two are no longer buddies, but Reggie did let it slip that Tom lives in Southwestern Ontario. Maybe someday I’ll track him down for a few games.
Travelling with us was a University of Guelph student who knew a chess player – none other than SWOCL President Michael Von Keitz. She told me that Mike is also the President of the U of G Math Club, the German Club, and of course the U of G Chess Club. I noted this information and later warned Michael of the dangers of over commitment, burn out et al.
This trip has begun differently. The Red Car was on time and the ride was very quiet. We got here plenty early - about 3.5 hours before the flight, but I was able to check my luggage right away. The little contrasts are rather common, and despite being incidental they still form part of the overall impression. At the World Cup in 2005 the weather was warmer than Toronto upon arrival, before dropping to -30C and I never adapted to Siberian time. In 2007 the weather pattern was the opposite and I adapted almost immediately to the local clock. Funny how memory works.
12:55 Frankfurt time, Wednesday November 12.
The flight was fine and well below capacity. . The plane was newer – a monitor at every seat and a wide selection of movies. The food plan was quite good but the Swiss steak was slippery and that became relevant soon enough. I had 2 seats to myself with a window but this was just enough space to experience the futility of aero slumber. Sleep on the plane, wake up in pain.
Once in Frankfurt, the gate for the Dresden flight came at the end of a circuitous route -down six flights of stairs, along a 300 meter corridor to an elevator which took me back up to the surface. My itinerary lagged most of the team by about 4 hours, so it was a pleasant surprise to run into Pascal and Irina at the departure zone. Pascal has recently left the employ of Canadian Chess Patron Sid Belzberg and now works for a hedge fund, in the harried field of merger arbitrage. He looks forward to a reunion with the Canadian Olympic team and venturing into battle for 2 weeks.
Visible from our departure gate was one of those accordion walkways connecting to the plane so I expected to be spared the indignity of a commuter bus that schleps so many passengers at the Frankfurt Airport to their plane. Wrong again. The circuity of the route to our departure gate paled to the mystery tour of our magic bus that took us to our aircraft. The premium paid for my last minute plane ticket finally bore fruit. I was seated in business class. Not only did this mean pine nuts in the salad, but I scored a copy of the November issue of The Economist, wherein Garry Kasparov was quoted along with several academics on the question “Does the free market erode moral character?” Garry replied “Yes, but other systems are worse... it is still superior to all other economic arrangements that have been tried.” This turned out to be an advertisement for the John Templeton Foundation and Garry’ book “How Chess Immitates Life” was tagged. It was still pretty cool though. He was in good company.
The flight to Dresden took but 45 minutes. The platoon of chess players filled the plane and the luggage carousel worked overtime to discharge all the precious cargo. My suitcase seemed to take forever. I started thinking about the crazy bus ride to the plane and allowed myself to doubt that my luggage had made the flight. Then I remembered the slippery Swiss steak – too much of which ended up on my only shirt. Luckily I broke into a sweat. Next, someone dislodged my glasses as he lunged in front of me to get a better look at the latest release from the carousel. I pondered my response – a stern warning, an armlock or maybe a simple choke hold. Before I could decide, the name tag that my wife made for my suitcase came into view. All that angst for nothing. Thanks Jo-Anne! And that knob who violated my space bubble thanks you too!
An accreditation centre was located in the arrivals area of Dresden Airport, and buses were on hand to transport players to their respective hotels. Hmmm. I told the Olympiad people on Monday, November 10 that I was coming for the FIDE Congress. Registration had only closed 2 months ago so this was bound to be a cake walk. First I played the Canada - card. Nothing. Then FIDE Delegate – nothing. “I might be an Arbiter” I bluffed. They check again. “Ah yes! Here you are Mr. Bond. Let me prepare your Arbiter accreditation card.” As it turns out, a Russian Arbiter fell ill at the last minute. The Deputy Chief Arbiter Klaus Deventer , a colleague from the 2007 World Cup, learned of my imminent arrival and slotted me in. Thanks, I think.
As the bus rolled into the Westin Bellevue Hotel where team Canada is staying, Pascal and I were greeted by most of the team, who were returning from a restaurant. The euphoria of the moment was soon lost when I reached the reservation desk. I had been assured that a reservation was made for me but no record was found. I was able to reserve 3 nights here until we can figure out where I will stay.
Too soon thereafter came the Opening Ceremonies at a hockey arena. A stage was centered on the ice rink where some local cheerleaders opened the show with some spectacular throws and other eye catching moves. They were replaced by several drummers who played around and then broke into the simple signature beat of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. This was cool, I’m a long standing fan. Then out comes a Freddie Mercury mimic on skates. He nails the tune and follows with “We are the Champions” from the stage as a foursome of speed skaters with dry ice fumes billowing from their funny hats add an odd visual effect. I caught up with the singer soon after to congratulate him. He is Johnny Zitilny (I think) from Montreal! No wonder he can skate! He stays pretty busy with his Queen tribute routine. Later on he delivered “Play the Game” . The rest of the ceremony included a number of musical/chess treatments with more skaters. It was interesting but a tad long. The speeches, which tend to mark the end of the ceremonies, were welcomed.
Before I could sample any of the food and free beer I earned of an arbiters meeting at the playing venue. Chief Arbiter Ingatious Leong of Singapore chaired this meeting and he braced us for some new rules, subject to the Captains meeting the following morning. First, there is no one hour grace period for tardy players. Zero tolerance is the new rule. If you are a minute late, you forfeit. Second, no draws before 30 moves. Deliberate short book three folds may be double forfeited! Any 3 move repetition before move 30 must be accepted by the sector chief arbiter. This feels like a slippery slope. Must Arbiters now memorize the book of short book three folds? If a player’s cell phone rings during play, the player forfeits. If a Captain’s phone rings, he/she leaves the hall and misses the next round. If an arbiter’s phone rings, his/her gig is over – the stipend is prorated and no more work. The time control has been lengthened to 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by 30 minutes to mate, with a 30 second Fischer increment from the first move. The pairings are being accelerated for the first 3 rounds, and standings are based on match points, not game points. This means both Canadian teams are paired up in the first round but no pairings will be posted until after the captains meeting on the morning of the first round. Evening pairings for the following day are expected thereafter.
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