tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post6097545233615935415..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: An apology to Roger EdwardsTom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-16040997775765499022013-10-17T08:27:41.254+01:002013-10-17T08:27:41.254+01:00these people occasionally need a nudge in the righ...<i>these people occasionally need a nudge in the right direction</i><br /><br />I'm sure this is true. I'm not sure that the person to do it is somebody who knows nothing about either weekend tournaments or the 4NCL. And I am sure that this matters if bundling up English chess into a single saleable package is the centrepeice of your manifesto.<br /><br />But that's a real Andrew Paulson/Imaginary Andrew Paulson distinction.<br />ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-54824660546526572902013-10-16T18:46:33.225+01:002013-10-16T18:46:33.225+01:00Ejh wrote: “Anyway, thanks to all for contributio...Ejh wrote: “Anyway, thanks to all for contributions, especially those which do not coincide with my viewpoint. Do carry on...”<br /><br />Tempting! But since I wrote to a few Council members asking them to make the decision he describes as ludicrous, maybe simpler to just say I disagree with the article. So instead a couple points, attempting to be vaguely constructive:<br /><br />Firstly I think Bumfluff and Stumbler opposed the modernisation of weekend tournaments in the 70s and the 4NCL in the 90s. I like to think of myself as a progressive, so I don’t think it inconsistent to believe these people occasionally need a nudge in the right direction, while still valuing their contribution.<br /><br />Secondly, interesting as Andrew Paulson is as a character, I think this election was more about Phil Ehr. CEO matters a lot more than President.<br />Paul Cookseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-49672268156577181082013-10-16T18:13:55.982+01:002013-10-16T18:13:55.982+01:00Interesting definition of democracy you have there...Interesting definition of democracy you have there, Anonymous.Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-71453190822133951462013-10-16T15:58:11.939+01:002013-10-16T15:58:11.939+01:00Democracy's fine until the "wrong" c...Democracy's fine until the "wrong" candidate wins?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-21059319516660840462013-10-16T15:01:36.286+01:002013-10-16T15:01:36.286+01:00Wahey. Teabagging ahoy!
Or, more strictly, the re...Wahey. Teabagging ahoy!<br /><br />Or, more strictly, the remarkable athletic feat of auto-bagging.<br /><br />Anyway, the main point is that Shaun Wright-Phillips apparently went to Haberdasher’s Aske. Who’d’ve thought it?<br />John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-89674987190485471792013-10-16T13:46:23.113+01:002013-10-16T13:46:23.113+01:00Thanks. Curiously, I was just the other day wonder...Thanks. Curiously, I was just the other day wondering who was reponsible for the winning candidate's entry....ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-65969579386544124712013-10-16T13:21:51.990+01:002013-10-16T13:21:51.990+01:00The wiki comment refers to this posting by a now r...The wiki comment refers to this posting by a now retired blogger. In a previous life, he was notoriously outspoken and would no doubt have joined with the bag of wind opinion. Having breakfast with certain people seems to change your world view.<br /><br />http://stevegiddinschessblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/refreshing-honesty.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-62249392125355060692013-10-16T12:33:09.304+01:002013-10-16T12:33:09.304+01:00Thanks for that - there may be some use made of it...Thanks for that - there may be some use made of it in a posting to come.... <br /><br /><i>Thinking of which, remember that wikipedia edit?</i><br /><br />I don't. What are you thinking of?ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-69398325918050158682013-10-16T01:48:44.613+01:002013-10-16T01:48:44.613+01:00Purely as someone who is an outsider (in multiple ...Purely as someone who is an outsider (in multiple senses) but who finds this compelling viewing and fascinating (like a soap opera), let me contribute by alerting readers and bloggers to Nigel Short's take on all this in an interview with WGM Maria Manakova in Jakarta Indonesia:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UtU78pAgc&feature=youtu.besiow, weng nianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11482127422493396422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-42828322231555834202013-10-16T00:53:12.403+01:002013-10-16T00:53:12.403+01:00It is unfortunately true that had RE stood aside, ...It is unfortunately true that had RE stood aside, that "none of the above" is likely to have done just as well. A significant minority would agree with the bag of hot air comment. Unlike FIDE, the ECF does have annual elections and voting representatives who are relatively impervious to inducements. <br /><br />RdCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-29400509039588429602013-10-15T22:28:48.437+01:002013-10-15T22:28:48.437+01:00I imagine that there have been worse electoral dec...I imagine that there have been worse electoral decisions in the history of the ECF. The election of Paulson and Woolgar seem to be on the same level. The election statement read like a bag of hot air in training for a GCSE. Clearly, and it has to be said, if RE was unable to beat that, then he was not all that clever himself. Thinking of which, remember that wikipedia edit?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-21190388939224227392013-10-15T16:19:02.731+01:002013-10-15T16:19:02.731+01:00(Anyway, thanks to all for contributions, especial...(Anyway, thanks to all for contributions, especially those which do not coincide with my viewpoint. Do carry on, but I think that's my internet finished for the day....)ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-88086183894318744192013-10-15T15:07:40.451+01:002013-10-15T15:07:40.451+01:00I've mentioned before that many of my views on...I've mentioned before that many of my views on the chess world are based on extensive experience in the not-so-dissimilar world of football, in whih all sorts of people with ability (and/or money) and energy (and/or capacity for bullshit) are welcomed into organisations while doubters are shouted down. The result is quite often a hole in the ground where a football club's balance sheet used to be, and not rarely a hole in the ground where the club itself used to be.<br /><br />Having seen this syndrome far too often, I practice scepticism as a quasi-religious duty. And rarely have I seem somebody who makes my Secpticism-O-Meter flash all shades of red more than Andrew Paulson does.ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-23711570867615749062013-10-15T14:54:33.164+01:002013-10-15T14:54:33.164+01:00The thing about S&B, as I see them, is that th...<i>The thing about S&B, as I see them, is that they don’t actually need the ECF to do very much at all. </i><br /><br />No, but the ECF needs them.<br /><br />(Also, bear in mind that when you and I were juniors and lots of chess was going on, somebody had to organise it and very often, it was Bumfluff and Stumbler.)<br /><br /><i>someone who obviously has ability and energy</i><br /><br />I am sure that either of us could compose a long list of people who had ability and energy in spades and yet should never have been allowed near anybody or anything.<br /><br />ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-29525585109858971422013-10-15T14:27:46.161+01:002013-10-15T14:27:46.161+01:00The thing about S&B, as I see them, is that th...The thing about S&B, as I see them, is that they don’t actually need the ECF to do very much at all. What they depend on is the enthusiasm of local organisers, and they like the grading system. But outside that, nada.<br /><br />It’s for this reason that I always treat rhetoric about how what the ECF needs to do is to encourage the ‘grass roots’ with deep suspicion. So far as I can see there’s not a hell of a lot it either can or should do to achieve that. It needs to concentrate on its national role, where it can achieve something, or could do if it didn’t have the Council to contend with and if anyone with any initiative didn’t run a mile when confronted with the appalling prospect of, for example, sitting through endless meetings talking about the Yorkshire problem, or canvassing votes from the likes of…..well, let’s not mention names.<br /><br />The fact that someone who obviously has ability and energy is prepared to get involved with the ECF ought to be cause for celebration, not the reverse.John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-61512324796658293602013-10-15T14:17:09.677+01:002013-10-15T14:17:09.677+01:00I'd like to say something in favour of Bumfluf...I'd like to say something in favour of Bumfluff and Stumbler. Now these people may well be parochial, bull-headed and all sorts of other things, but in the first place, if they are ECF members then they are actually the people paying for the thing, and in the second place, it's not at all unreasonable for the Rutshire District League to be their priority, given that they play in it and all. (Similarly, when I was last a regular club player in England, my priorities tended to be the Surrey and London Leagues.) I actually doubt that Bumfluff and Stumbler are hostile to the idea of high-profile events taking place in England - matter of fact you'll probably see them in the audience (except at Simpsons of course). But plodders though they be, they may be a litle wary of anybody who gives them the impression that they don't mattter and that the chess they play is not of any importance. ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-86845105386720754922013-10-15T14:02:38.207+01:002013-10-15T14:02:38.207+01:00MP had been in discussions with FIDE about holding...MP had been in discussions with FIDE about holding the World Championship between Anand and X in London ( where X was later Gelfand). So the idea of holding an event in London was on the table well before AP was on the scene. The London Chess Classic had both world class players and considerable spectator interest in year or two before the Candidates, so I doubt it would have taken much additional marketing to get a full house. For that matter, Ray Keene's Staunton events were apt to claim to be the strongest in London for xx years and with the Simpson's setting, prototypes for the Grand Prix.<br /><br />RdCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-1898927852247498452013-10-15T13:44:42.472+01:002013-10-15T13:44:42.472+01:00the event came here because Aronian could not have...<i> the event came here because Aronian could not have played in Azerbaijan, and it was the Azeris who themselves sponsored the move to London. It is not as though AP lobbied for the event to come here from the start in order to promote English chess</i><br /><br />This is the sort of distinction between Real Andrew Paulson and Imaginary Andrew Paulson which is made less than it ought to be. ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-73068383692312348092013-10-15T13:41:50.810+01:002013-10-15T13:41:50.810+01:00Fair enough, John, you make a case on the evidence...Fair enough, John, you make a case on the evidence you produce. But perhaps you'll permit me to observe that had I expected anybody to take a inflexible view of the very flexible English verb "to see", I would probably have used "agree" (or some similar term) in the first of your two instances.ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-713411908973125242013-10-15T13:41:12.722+01:002013-10-15T13:41:12.722+01:00AP's motivations remain unclear to me at least...AP's motivations remain unclear to me at least. Perhaps he believes his own propaganda on the number of world chess players, including 6 million in Britain and thus the potential profits to be made. Perhaps he believes that British politicians will jump at his command and tell the Sports Council that chess is now a sport.<br /><br />But with his reputation in FIDE, on the face of it, having disappeared, he needs an official sounding post for unspecified projects in India and Africa. <br /><br />It remains to be seen and something the remainder of the ECF Board need to be vigilant about, is whether on balance he is putting money into English chess or taking it out. The Chess Sets in Schools project, for example, took money out, by virtue of the additional employee costs incurred by the ECF in trying to make it work in the relative absence of any chess sets to be delivered.<br /><br />Three days into his Presidency, nothing much has changed apart from considerable dissent as witnessed by the number of the comments.<br /><br />RdCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-76181467998644299942013-10-15T13:03:00.303+01:002013-10-15T13:03:00.303+01:00>"Putting English chess in a healthier sta...>"Putting English chess in a healthier state ......and I don't see what that has to do with hosting the Candidates in London"<br /><br />>"I see the case."<br /><br />>"I do have some idea of the disconnect between what he says on one day and what he says on the next"<br /><br />John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-69854561459121041622013-10-15T13:00:42.164+01:002013-10-15T13:00:42.164+01:00>Now, we'd all agree that MP would make a g...>Now, we'd all agree that MP would make a great president,<br /><br />Well, except the ECF Council, of course.John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-48274143143538256132013-10-15T12:56:06.376+01:002013-10-15T12:56:06.376+01:00I don't think there would have been complaints...I don't think there would have been complaints about the presentation at the Candidates, if it hadn't been for the hype about a new standard of presentation. <br /><br />If you make as your selling pitch, the presentation of chess as a spectator experience, isn't it sensible to get the elementary basics right? This would include actually allowing spectators (the Grand Prix) and having a website promoting the event ( Candidates until FIDE stepped in). <br /><br />Not all ECF voting representatives follow International chess. Those who don't wouldn't have known AP or anything about him. A briefing given to one was that AP had never played serious chess in England, but had made extravagant promises to FIDE to get the rights to the Candidates, Grand Prix and World Championship matches. This had culminated in a successful Candidates tournament but the AP's organisation and AP himself disappeared from public view until reappearing in the ECF election.<br /><br />RdCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-22882196840721179602013-10-15T12:54:16.101+01:002013-10-15T12:54:16.101+01:00As to you, Roger, that's more like it. Vague h...As to you, Roger, that's more like it. Vague hints of some dastardly plot. 'Necessary to capture the Presidency', forsooth. But then you tail off a bit. You think Agon are now going to make enormous amounts of money at our expense out of marketing English chess, is that it? Or what is it, exactly?<br /><br />I can help you with what the ECF's policy on the issues should be on the issues you raise, too.<br /><br />> such as the one man veto on GMCCA's membership of the NCCU and the reluctance of local Yorkshire leagues to be part of the English chess scene.<br /><br />Anyone who's ever run a playgroup knows the answer to this one - ignore them both until they grow up.<br /><br />> such as the extent, if any, of support for teams directly or indirectly representing England in international events.<br /><br />Fund junior chess rather than adult amateurs.John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-56353806014747041602013-10-15T12:48:55.539+01:002013-10-15T12:48:55.539+01:00obviously two posts later you do see it
I see the...<i>obviously two posts later you do see it</i><br /><br />I <i>see</i> the case. It doesn't follow that I agree with the case. (In the specific example, I don't. I'm prepared to be persuaded, but at present that's not the case.) Being aware of an argument is not, I think, evidence of being persuaded by same.<br />ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.com