Last call for Dresden

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  • Last call for Dresden

    Hi folks

    I just got home and now file my last report. I pick up from my previous post which is now on page 2 of the Chess Talk. This was a wonderful experience on so many levels and from what I can quickly see there has been quite an appetite for Olypmic news. Here goes...

    I neglected to finish the arbiting issues surrounding the final game of England Wales in round 10. Soon after I told the Welsh player that she must not write her moves in advance, she got her opportunity to claim a threefold, which she did correctly – she wrote down the move, told me her intention and did not touch any pieces. We then stopped her clock and I asked her opponent if she accepted the claim. The English player said “I am not sure if it three fold repetition but I agree to draw.” After all the scoresheets were signed I called the Welsh player aside and told her that she shouldn’t call “check”. You are only supposed to speak to your opponent if you are adjusting your pieces or offering a draw. She ahd been quietly calling check for the past 30 moves. It was meek enough that her opponent was not disturbed but it isn’t allowed and she appreciated being told.

    The Montenegro reception was nice albeit relatively modest. The evening wound down by around 2am. The following day was a rest day for the players but a full day for the FIDE Congress. Afterwards I caught up with Frederic Friedel and this white haired guy named Boris Spassky. We retreated into the piano bar. It was about 5:30 and I was expecting an early night. The first story was initiated by Friedel because he is having knee trouble and I know something about this after 4 surgeries. We had been discussing his woes for the past few days and I had to conclude last night that his troubles are of a different nature – I watched him walking and his gait and leg alignment is different from mine. Boris listened to my discussion about the progess knee surgery has made, especially regarding torn anterior cruciate ligaments (acl’s). My first scar is about 15 inches long because they harvest part of the thigh tendon to use as the new acl. 20 years later the platellar tendon is harvest site of choice and the scar is 2 inches long. Boris said “Ah fantastic progress, I hope soon we can go to the hospital to get a new head.”

    As some 60’s big band music played in the background Boris mentioned his old friend Bobby Fischer. One of Bobby’s favourite tunes was “The green green grass of home”, which Boris came to appreciate as well. Apparently Bobby died prematurely because he refused medical treatment. His refusal to see a dentist was also well known. If a tooth bothered him enough he pulled it out. What a shame to be trapped in such a paranoid view of your surroundings.

    Boris then mentioned Feodir (sp?) Bohatirchuk, who left the old world to retire in Toronto. I wish I knew more about him. From Boris he certainly sounded like an interesting man. Mr. Spassky also knew that there was a project surrounding either his memoirs, which were published in Russian, or a biography. The CFC has been contacted regarding the use of some photographs from En Passant. The conversation drifted into war stories. I wish my brother Willard was on hand for it since he is the war buff in our family. As I was preparing to leave for Dresden Willard was busy publishing his video for fellow Guelphite, Colonel John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields”, which he put to music rather well. He managed to get it onto You Tube. If you have any affinity for the poem you may want to check it out. A few people have tried putting it to music with less effect IMHO.

    The time was ticking by but how do you not stay and make the most of your time with Boris Spassky? We went on to talk about Robert Hamilton, whom he remembers fondly. Boris was quite impressed with Robert’s ideas and accomplishments, such as the World Chess Festival in 1988. He was also saddened by the obstacles that Robert would hit, like the spectacular troubles he encountered with the gangster/Hollywood producer John Emr during the World Blitz in Calgary. Boris and Robert had some quality time together during the Spassky Tour which Robert arranged in 1996.

    Frederic and been coming and going during this time and when he returned finally to take Boris to their next function we had a chance to discuss one of my favourite subjects – corn. Freddy also loves corn and by the time we finished discussing our respective approaches he was ready to come to Canada during corn season for a comparison. We shall see about that. Corn season coincides with our summer chess season so anything is possible.

    As they were leaving the Norwegians arrived. Morten Sand is a former FIDE official now helping out with their 2014 bid, Berge Robertsen is the project leader working for the municipality, and Joran Aulin-Jansson, the Norwegian Chess Fed President was also on hand. After a few rounds they invited me to dinner in the hotel restaurant. They were a little surprised at the cost of their reception - 13,000 euros - and in the discussion I learned that Joran is a successful entrepreneur in his own right. We also discussed chess in our countries. They have a similar structure to ours, including an independent scholastic group. Their membership is about the same as ours if one includes the FQE and their population is only about 5 million.

    Morten and I lingered after they left and we talked about his basketball career (he’s about 6’ 8”) and his interest in rock music of all kinds. Apparently there is a festival in Austin Texas which he attends annually where over 3000 concerts consume the city for a week in March. Morten’s fifth child by his third wife is due this week. He has plenty of old ghost stories from FIDE which are interesting enough but also make the organization sound more typical than terrible when one considers the scope of FIDE’s activities and people.

    By this time it was already tomorrow. I returned to the piano bar for one last look around and ended up having delightful visit with Sunil Weeramantry. Not only is he an adoptive parent of Hikaru Nakamura but a highly acclaimed chess teacher in his own right. We spoke about the regrettable legal stalemate between Susan Polgar and the USCF, Hikaru and his unique approach to the game and connection to Canada. One tale that struck me happened during a trip to Japan, where Hikaru met the World Shogi Champion. The man was quite deferring to Hikaru and they got along very well. Hikaru was surprised to learn that there is much more money for shogi than for chess – a top ten shogi player makes more that the World Chess Champion. The game of GO of course completely dwarfs chess moneywise. By 2:am I was almost asleep in my bed.

  • #2
    Re: Last call for Dresden - part two

    My report had too many words, so this is the rest of it. Then I'm sleeping.

    Today was the 11th and final round of the Olympiad and it began in the morning at 10am. I had 2 matches on the edge furthest from the river and the luxury of a table. One hour after the start of the round I was able to excuse myself with the consent of my colleague in order to attend the final FIDE session. England was upset by Estonia and the German 2nd team reversed their fortunes on board 3 to defeat Lithuania. The closing ceremonies followed at 8m. They awarded places in 5 sections by rating for both men and women. It looked a bit weird in the first section because the “winner” of this group actually finished in 4th place. For the men this was the Ukraine and they were not on hand for the presentation. The most part memorable for me was the extended applause for the gold medal on first board for the women, which went to Maya Chiburdanidze. She lead Georgia to the team gold medal for the women. The last supper and reception followed at City Hall and I stayed for maybe an hour . My shuttle picks me up at 3am for a 6am flight. It’s 12:30am now and I must close my eyes before posting this. If you don’t see it until I get back, that’s why.

    November 26, 8:30 am, Frankfurt Airport
    I got back up at 2am and it was call I could do to report for the bus at 3am. What irks me is that I sat waiting for the laggards for almost 20 minutes before we started our milk run to the other hotels. The Ibis, being the base of the food chain, was the first stop. Had I understood the drill I could have downloaded this report at the hotel and cabbed over to the Maritim (the last stop) in plenty of time to catch it at 3:45 before finally scooting to the airport. As it was we stood at the Luftanza counter for almost an hour before they opened. When I first boarded the bus I was surprised to see Tapio Tikannen already on board. I sat across the aisle from him and we chatted idly. I noticed he now had a cold. As the bus filled I let someone else sit beside him instead of me. Is that wrong?

    GM Artur Kogan of Guelph Pro Am fame was q’ing for the same flight so we chatted about his Olympic experience. He was the coach for the Dutch Women’s team this time. They performed quite well, “losing minimum” to Russia after holding the upper hand for much of the match. Artur was the coach for Italy in Turin. Such is the lot of many GMs at the Olympiad – not quite strong enough to earn a spot on the national team but more than able to help as a coach for a paying customer. The group of us also chewed the fat about the zero default time which was used. The idea has merit I think but there are problems. Not all of the teams can reach the venue easily – requiring transfers from buses to trams to get there. Yesterday the round started at 10am which meant new logistics for them and this allegedly caused some team forfeits. The forfeit also harms the opponent, who showed up for a game at minimum and may be counting on a rateable result.

    The flight from Dresden was packed. I nodded off a few times just so I could remember what it is like to wake up with a sore neck. The shuttle bus was also packed, and the last ones to board were the Nigerian baby and her mom. I helped her with the carriage and congratulated the youngest Olympic participant, who was fast asleep in her mother’s arms. The flight back to Toronto is also sold out and the airport gate is crawling with rug rats – singing, crying, being heard. I made a pit stop in the men's room and was surprised to see that it had plenty of open urinals but a line up for the stalls. It made sense upon reflection. Starting your day at 3am is unconstitutional.

    Just 14 hours till I'm home.

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    • #3
      Re: Last call for Dresden

      Kudos Hal excellent reportage

      afaik the Bohatirchuk book in Russian was by Sergey Voronkov and he is collaborating with English-speaking Yakov Zusmanovich from Pleasanton, California on an English version. Plus Andrew McMillan has a work in progress on Bohatirchuk and was in Germany this year tracking down some mysterious historical stuff. The player in some crosstable listed Bogenko was an alias to confuse Stalin's assassins. Spooky stuff eh.

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      • #4
        Re: Last call for Dresden

        We drove Hazel and Yuanling home from the airport tonight everyone got home safe.

        The interesting thing for us is in 2006 Hazel played very well but left very unsure about investing further time in chess. This year, she played under par but is motivated to get better. So thanks to all the sponsors involved and genuine chess fans it all helps. It would not surprise me if she left Germany a stronger player but in any event life is interesting whatever happens it's all good.
        Last edited by Duncan Smith; Wednesday, 26th November, 2008, 11:13 PM.

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        • #5
          Re: Last call for Dresden

          Originally posted by Hal Bond View Post
          You are only supposed to speak to your opponent if you are adjusting your pieces or offering a draw.
          Far going thoughts from this sentence ;)
          The statement that the opponent king in check is not a chat with the player, it is an announcement of the state on the board (i.e. an offer to surrender)
          3.9 The king is said to be `in check` if it is attacked by one or more of the opponent`s pieces..."
          Another thing: How do you think the player must resign? :D Blowing all pieces from the board like Korchnoi or "I resign" (hmm, does it mean that (s)he speaks or declares?)

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          • #6
            Re: Last call for Dresden

            From what I witenessed, most players extended their hand ,and/ or stopped the clock. The odd one tipped their king. I didn't hear anyone say "I resign".

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