Our friends from MonRoi are sending pictures from Batumi, Georgia, where the 2006 FIDE World Youth is taking place from October 18-29, 2006.
The Chief Arbiter is the highly experienced WGM Nana Alexandria of Georgia, former runner-up of a few Women’s World Championships. Former Women’s World Champion GM Nona Gaprindashvili of Georgia spoke to the guests at the opening ceremony. Local dance group gave an excellent performance. Sava Kizova SRB is a section arbiter for U16 and U18, where the MonRoi system will be implemented.
Batumi is a city in southwestern Georgia, capital of Ajaria autonomous region, a port on the Black Sea. Batumi is a transport center for petroleum from Baku, Azerbaijan, with which it is linked by rail and by pipelines. Industries include oil refining, shipbuilding, and food processing. With a subtropical climate, beaches, and scenic surrounding countryside, the city is also a popular health resort. Batumi was the site of an ancient Greek settlement. It was held by the Ottoman Turks from the 16th century until 1878, when it passed to Russia following the Russo-Turkish War. Population about (2002 estimate) 120,000. http://taboo.ru/adjara/eng/facts.shtml
Here is the MonRoi official site of the event and here is the official tournament website.
Here is the number of participants from each country:
Argentina 10, Armenia 28, Australia 16, Austria 9
Belgium 3, Bosnia 10, Brazil 3, Bulgaria 14, Byelorussia 10
Canada 14, Chile 1, China 20, Colombia 4, Croatia 13, Czechia 13
Egypt 5, Estonia 11
Finland 3
Georgia 101, Germany 16, Greece 13
Hong-Kong 1, Hungary 8
India 78, Indonesia 2, Iran 5, Israel 7, Italy 11
Kazakhstan 21, Kenya 3
Latvia 7, Lithuania 11, Luxembourg 3
Macedonia 1, Moldova 12, Mongolia 12
Netherlands 13, New Zealand 3, Norway 8
Peru, 11, Philippines 12, Poland 22
Romania 12
Singapore 3, Slovakia 11, Slovenia 3, South Africa 30, South Korea 3, Sweden 4, Switzerland 9
Tajikistan 2, Turkey 23
UAE 2, Ukraine 16, USA 24, Uzbekistan 26
Vietnam 12
It’s very dangerous in Batumi. I hope the kids will be OK.
Apparently, Russian chess federation considered Batumi too dangerous, so there are no Russian kids there.
It’s dangerous to breathe air, too, anon. It’s dangerous playing the Budapest gambit, too.
Georgians have the best women chess players in the history of chess. Many Georgian girls will will the titles in Batumi.
Russians not coming is political, not because they are afraid. Or maybe they were not satisfied with the toilets in Batumi?
Absolutely dangerous!!
I rather have my kid play the Budapest gambit and breath air than go to a place where terrorists massacred a bunch of school children and where the government is on the verge of a civil war.
Sad that parents would send their kids there just for chess.
Does anyone know where to find day to day results?
Absolutely dangerous!!
I rather have my kid play the Budapest gambit and breath air than go to a place where terrorists massacred a bunch of school children
Hmmm, I think you confused Beslan (in Russia!) with Batumi (in Georgia).
and where the government is on the verge of a civil war.
Really? Where did you get this information from?
Sad that parents would send their kids there just for chess.
Sad that some countries don’t send their children just because of politics.
P.S. Strange that we are discussig silly stuff like this and not chess.
No, haven’t been able to find full results of the first round anywhere.
The official “under construction” web site isn’t that useful, at least not yet. And the Monroi site only covers few live games.
To the person who called the very real safety concerns “silly stuff” you should be ashamed of yourself.
It is close to being a war zone where they are playing in.
FIDE has allowed the conditions of the WYCC events to get so bad that parents and players are finally seriously questioning the value of this world event. FIDE lacks common sense right now. Parents have to overrule the nonesense and make smart decisions; it is too bad that national chess federations can’t understand what is going on.
England and France I believe have boycotted the event, and probably Canada and the US should have done so as well. This was the correct decision to be made.
Chess can be played under better circumstances, particularily when it is kids.
An excerpt from an interfax report 2004- just to give you an idea of the political conditions prevailing. Absolute disgrace!! I’m a parent, whose child qualified but did not even think about going.
TBILISI. April 17 – Georgia’s Culture and Sports Minister Giorgi Gabashvili said on Saturday that a women’s world chess championship planned for next month in Batumi would have to be canceled because of “the crime situation in Ajaria.” “Georgia cannot offer the necessary security guarantees to the championship participants,” Gabashvili told the press. “The crime situation in Ajaria is extremely difficult.” Citing the State Security Ministry and other law enforcement agencies, Gabashvili said there are up to 20 criminal groups in Ajaria armed with heavy weapons, grenade launchers, mortars, and assault rifles. He said the Georgian Interior Ministry has reported on the situation in Ajaria to the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and the foreign ministries of countries planning to send players to the championship.
I think it’s particularly irresponsible to take a child to an area, where a travel advisory has been issued. Susan, what is your take on this?
I couldn’t agree more with other parents opinion here. My child is also qualified for this event. It is a a honor to receive the letter from USCF and be informed your child will represent US team to play in an international event. Unfortunately we have no choice except for declining the offer. To miss an event is much better than to take a risk (even a small risk) of putting your child close to danger. It is simple not worthy.
I think that a lot of people posting earlier are exaggerating the “dangers” and underestimating other parents’ intelligence.
I am sure that every participant and their parents have carefully thought about their journey and decided that it’s safe in Batumi.
In fact some people might find it dangerous or at least unethical playing in the U.S.
And sticking to facts, there isn’t any travel advisory or warning for Georgia at least by the U.S. State Department. (The list can be found here)
Quoting reports from 2004 April is not really useful. There was a crisis back then in Ajaria which was settled by 2004 May.
That was over 2 years ago and nothing indicates that it shouldn’t be safe there now for the kids.
From the official Canadian travel agency :
” Muggings, home invasions, carjackings, sexual assaults, and other attacks on foreigners have increased, particularly in urban areas. Kidnapping involving foreign residents and travellers is a serious problem throughout Georgia. “
A few weeks ago, Russia pulled their ambassador out of Georgia and threatened some form of civil war. I don’t know about you, but I like to miss potential civil wars by more then a few weeks in my travels.
Is the risk worth it ? Most definately not, in particular noting FIDE’s lack of quality conditions at recent tournaments and maintained high costs for accompanying persons it cannot be justified by normal means. It is only the intense desires of families to support their kids that these events survive.
Like in many instances chess players ( mostly single guys without family ) tend to comment in a highly skewed way on such topics. They simply do not relate, but they will comment from their relatively sheltered playing areas like this.
It is high time for parents to speak up on FIDE. This way new entrants know what they are getting into, and some pressure can be brought on FIDE to stop ripping people off based on their monopoly position in the market.
Safety is a huge issue, but not the whole issue.
Here is the site that shows resutls for World Youth Championship in Batumi.
http://chess-results.com/ –> click on “All details of the World Youth Chess Championship U8 – U18” link.
I guess every country is different, but Canada does indeed have a travel advisory in effect. And to continue a previous posting I quote “Canadians are strongly advised to take all necessary precautions to reduce the risk of kidnapping and other violent crime. For example, all travellers (especially women) should remain in groups, limit movement after dark, particularly on foot, and keep the doors to cars and residences locked and well secured. Vary routes travelled regularly. Remain vigilant in crowded places, such as markets and public transportation facilities.” I seriously hope every parent out there does take heed to this advisory, without bieng paranoid. For me it was commonsense to decline this offer, much as my child and me wished to go. A bit like defensive driving I guess. However after much deliberation we had to say thanks, but no thanks. And were so glad we did.
Even Canada’s travel report warns only about certain areas of Georgia (Batumi is not one of these areas). Canada’s travel warning list includes also countries like India, Mexico and Thailand. Surely that doesn’t mean that your life is threatened if you travel to one of these countries.
Of course it is up to oneself to decide whether to go or not. But please do not attack or judge those parents that decided it’s safe to go.
To the person who called the very real safety concerns “silly stuff” you should be ashamed of yourself.
I’m not. Imho your reaction is on a verge of paranoia. Bobby Fischer in his present state of mind would appreciate it.
It is close to being a war zone where they are playing in.
I think you have a perverted understanding of what close means. Is it dangerous for Susan to go to Hungary just because it neighbours Serbia which in turn neighbours Bosnia? 🙂
Parents have to overrule the nonesense and make smart decisions; it is too bad that national chess federations can’t understand what is going on.
I respect your decision not to send your kid, but there’s no need for this hysterical reaction. Other parents who sent their kids seem not to agree with you. Some areas in major US cities are certainly more dangerous.
An excerpt from an interfax report 2004- just to give you an idea of the political conditions prevailing.
You must be joking! That’s about Abashidze crisis who in Shevardnadze’s times turned Ajara into a semi-independent state ruled by his clan. But he was kicked out two years ago by Saakashvili government and local population (without any military involvement btw) and emigrated to Russia where he’s currently residing (actually this website which Susan quoted is his. Don’t know why it’s still around). This has absolutely nothing to do with modern day conditions in Ajara.
From the official Canadian travel agency
OK, here’s a homepage of a Canadian professor Kevin Tuite. Given the number of times he visited Georgia (and especially mountainous regions termed as dangerous) by this time he must dead, though he’s not. Very interesting page with lots of info btw.
“So is it too much to ask that the event be held in safe countries ? Or that you get reasonable value for your money ?”
Safe countries as in France, where the world youth tournament in Belfort was an absolute disaster by all standards? One’s money was certainly well spent there, where the arrogant organizers milked all the cash they could from the participants.
With that being said, I haven’t heard a single complaint from those that are in Georgia at the moment. In fact some are posting, what a nice city Batumi is (see the more recent post by Susan).
After all, what could be more rewarding than to see a country you perhaps wouldn’t be able to visit otherwise. Just by playing chess.
I have recently been to several WYCC and one Olympiad. The real test is when the event is finished, having the overall teams rate the event on an objective scale.
Factors woulds include facilities, cost effectiveness, availability of things to do etc. .
My experience is that FIDE events are rarely cost effective, the facilities are passable at some ( marginal three star ) and terrible at others. Because the events are often in remote locations it is not easy to see the countries involved and follow through on a competitive event schedule. In Georgia, it seems, travelling around is not safe nor recommended. The hotel might be nice, perhaps making the trip somewhat decent.
My understanding was only Crete was excellent this decade for WYCC.
For those russian xenophobes :
no need to visit this web site,
and you russians are being awated in budapes now, go straigh ahead there.