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Toiletgate!
Susan Polgar running for the USCF Executive Board!
The election of Sam Sloan! As unpleasant as it has been, having Mr. Sloan on the EB, there is a silver lining: Too many people (including myself) have passively accepted the people running for office in the USCF. While it’s painful RIGHT NOW, at least in the upcoming election I can look forward to voting for 4 candidates that I can actually SUPPORT (instead of having to choose the lessor of two evils).
1) Kramnik wins the unified title in Elista, a victory for justice and for an impeccable gentleman as well as the fitting climax of an amazing comeback year.
2-9) Some other stuff.
1. Susan Polgar running for the USCF Executive Board!
All else is meaningless compared to this.
Me, too. Good luck!
For me, the top chess moment in 2006 was “34…-Qe3????” ( 35.-Qh7 checkmate ) by Kramnik – Deep Fritz versus Kramnik, game 2, 11/27/2006.
Kramnik becomes undisputed champion by defeating Topalov in a match.
Armenia wins men’s gold in the 2006 Olympiad; Russia fails to place.
In no particular order:
Kramnik losing to a mate-in-one against Deep Fritz.
Gata Kamsky’s comeback performances at Mtel and Turin. Great drama.
The fiasco at Elista, for making plain yet again the depths to which FIDE has sunk since the Campomanes era.
Sam Sloan’s election to the EB of the USCF. While a minor disaster in and of itself, I agree with Tanstaafl that this convinced a lot of members that we have to pay attention to federation politics, lest the USCF fall apart. And it lead to four competent candidates running, who I think represent the last best chance to save the organization. A watershed moment, indeed.
Having 245 grade 5-6 students particpate in the first Mt. Alexander cluster (12schools) chess tournamnet, in Australia. It was the biggest rural and regional schools chess event ever held in Australia, and saw a local benefactor donate $8000 worth of scholarships to local students to particpate in the Victorian Youth Championship held in December in Melbourne.
1. The chess world championship is unified.
2. Deep Fritz settles the decades long man vs. machine in chess dispute once and for all.
3. Kramnik overlooks a mate in one
4. The chess world embraces the realistic possibility of electronic cheating in chess and starts to deal with the issue.
5. A chess world champion (Susan of course) continues the blog and opens communication with chess fans.
My list (with explanations)
World Championship – with Toiletgate. This championship ended the schism after 13 years. The toilet scandal started a new controversy but this one was on a different level. The looser believes that the winner won by cheating. Also,
Another cheating scandal erupted at the Asian Games in India. “Umakant Sharma was caught with a blue tooth device hidden in his cap,” according to the press report. The chess authorities are undecided what to do about it. Will cheating destroy professional chess?
FIDE election returns incumbant Kirsan Ilyumzhinov over challenger Bessel Bok. A cloud of suspicion hangs over KI. Is he a corrupt dictator? In a related story,
FIDE outsourced many of its functions to defeated challenger Bessel Bok’s new company Global Chess BV. Good news or bad? Given the suspicions hanging over President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the public can’t know.
New Women’s Champion Xu, Yuhua. The top woman players did not participate in the competition. The event was also tarnished by the nature of the competition: knock-out and rapid time controls in some games.
Fritz, the computer program beat World Champ Krammik in a match. What was especially noteworthy, was that this was not a mainframe program but a product that is affordable and readily available to the public. In another technology story,
MonRoi Personal Chess Manager Debuted this year. This hand held device records chess games on the fly and can be used for chess study.
Here in the United States, 2006 was the year that Susan Polgar and Sam Sloan shook up chess. The rivalry between these two may well determine the future of chess for years to come.
Polgar’s blog became the best one in the world. She toured America championing positive improvements in the game. In December, she startled the USCF with an announcement of what amounted to a hostile takeover bid (i.e. she will run for the Executive Board on a program of radical change in the fundamental structure of USCF governance.)
Sam Sloan took office on the USCF Board in 2006 and immediately set out to shake up the USCF, too. He reinstated Bobby Fischer as a USCF member. He pushed another EB member to resign. He has sustained a campaign of personal attacks, accusations, and requests for information that has tied the EB and the rest of the USCF management in knots.
Some well-placed commentators on the USCF forums said that they believe that the 2007 elections will put both Polgar and Sloan on the EB. This story is like Wonder Woman versus the evil Arch Villain. Will the world (USCF) be saved or ruined?
In a related story, The Goichberg-Polgar Debate occurred on April 5 when Bill Goichberg posted on the Susan Polgar Chess Blog. This exchange related to Susan’s statements about lying and mismanagement regarding the Women’s Olympic Team. This rates as a top story because (1) the public stature of the persons and (2) it is the only instance of a public exchange about USCF management where both parties avoided the Sloan effect and had a respectful and informative discussion. (At least that I know of.) Goichberg may feel that further posts on Susan’s site will do no good with Polgar partisans. If so, this may be mistaken. This particular Polgar supporter thought that while she got in her licks, Goichberg got the better of the exchange – even pushing Polgar into maintaining that Kasparov is not responsible for the actions of his foundation. – The position of a debater that had been pushed to the wall. Checkmate Goichberg. Bill Goichberg is the President of the USCF.
That story was also significant because it causes one to wonder if Polgar’s differences with the EB on other issues may be less than her statements lead us to believe. (Absent Sloan, of course.)
Larry Evans was fired from Chess Life in 2006. It is like a giant tree was cut down. An institution gone.
“Chess Bitch” by Jennifer Shahade came out in 2006. – Chess with an attitude. You couldn’t tell that she had one by her bland blog on the USCF site.
Jack Le Moine said…Here in the United States, 2006 was the year that Susan Polgar and Sam Sloan shook up chess. The rivalry between these two may well determine the future of chess for years to come.
Jack, you seem to be regular around here, so please answer the following question if you can.
I deeply respect Susan for several reasons. She is a world champion, she maintains this great blog for the fans, she even communicates with the fans, she is trying to popularize chess in a big way, she appears to be an overall nice person, and for me, she is also from Hungary (as I am). Yet, I “blame” Susan for one thing: she one day popped up with the huge anti USCF-FIDE statements and now runs for a position at USCF. Which is fine. What is not fine, that several times she accused these organizations without any specifics.I believe her, that’s not the point, but a person like I, like to know the objective reasons. Do you know them? If yes, please post them.
Gabor
Dear Susan, 1.Victory of Judit Polgar in Essent Tournament 2.Bobby Fischer calls to the TV live broadcasting in Iceland : he indicates a splendid combination in the rapidmatch Thorfinsson-Gunnarson,that winning combination nobody saw it !!! 3. Susan Polgar running for the USCF Executive Board 4.The match between Topalov and Kramnik 5. THe match between Kramnik and Deep Fritz 10. René
Gabor, thank you for your question. I’m afraid I’ve become a little TOO regular around here. Once I get started, it seems that I always have just one more thing to say.
I’ll answer your question in the “Self Destruction of USCF” post just above this one. I’m not trying to jerk you around; I’m just trying to be respectful of Susan’s topics. But here I think it’s topical to answer the question behind your question.
I have no connection with Susan whatsoever. Also, I post no comments except under my own name. I figure that if Susan can do it, so can I. Others can do as they wish; this is just my policy for just me. Unlike Susan, some of my comments have been pretty idiotic but oh, well. Come to think of it, her comment about Kasparov not being responsible for the actions of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, even though he controls it, was pretty idiotic, too – so even the best blunder from time to time.
For now, I suggest you (and everybody else) go to the Goichberg-Polgar Debate posted on this site that I referred to above. The title “The Goichberg-Polgar Debate” is mine. I think it describes the exchanges of posts. The matter discussed therein seems to be an ongoing source of irritation to Susan. They both got very specific in laying out the facts of how chess is managed in the US today.
Here’s another best chess moment
Chess player Joe Block made it to the final episode of the reality show “Beauty and the Geek”. The show drew an estimated 3.5 to 4 million viewers per episode. Because of Joe’s prominence in the competitions, chess was more visible on this season than in any other TV series in history. The final episode featured a segment of Joe teaching his partner Brittany how to play and a segment of Joe playing speed chess against an unidentified USCF master. While Joe tried to draw attention to the USCF by posting on the Beauty and Geek forums and on his own blog, US chess leaders made no attempt to capitalize on the show. They did give him an interview on one of the inside pages of Chess Life, however.
Footnote: Those lovable but clueless geeks were one-upped by Susan Polgar this season who appeared on the Sept. cover of Chess Life playing soccer in high heels.
The next season of Beauty and the Geek starts on Jan. 3 on CW.
I can’t resist just sharing with you my best PERSONAL chess moment. I discovered Susan’s blog. In order to explain its significance to me, I need to give some background.
Back in the 1970’s chess was all I did. I was President of the Seattle Chess Club. I was Business Manager of “Northwest Chess Magazine”. I played chess in every tournament and studied books all week in between. Because there were never enough tournaments for me, I organized and directed my own. Then I got married and I moved on.
To tell you the truth, it wasn’t my wife’s fault. I was pretty disgusted. The top players had nothing but disdain for the rest of us. Their only relationship to the organizers was to complain.
In the spirit of gabor’s question above, my most bitter memory was every meeting night of the Seattle Chess Club, Yasser Sierawan would show up with his entourage to draw people away to the basketball court. (It was located in the same building as the club.) Now I tried to explain to them that access to the basketball court was part of the deal that the club had worked with the church wherein the whole operation was located but their attitude was that it was not chess therefore it had nothing to do with the club. As for actually JOINING the club or otherwise supporting it, I will never forget the sneer that Yasser gave me. In those days, chess clubs were for patzers and suckers and were just objects to be squished underfoot. I remember there was actual glee when Robert A. Karch’s Seattle Chess Center folded. (Some of you old timers may remember him – he was Secretary on the USCF Executive Board.) A year later the Burien Chess Center folded. Serves them right! That was the attitude.
I had thought there would be a turn for the better when John Donaldson became Editor of the NWC Magazine (as the mag’s Business Manager, I had had a hand in that) but then he did an issue or two, got tired, and lit out for tournaments in Europe.
So anyway I married, dropped out and the years passed. I was a Life member so I’ve received that monthly Chess Life all these years. I have always liked chess; it was just chess PLAYERS that I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t stand the chess culture. And why did every rated tournament, even the smallest, have to be about winning prize money?
Now I detect just a little of this down-the-organizer syndrome in some of Susan’s rhetoric but there is a difference here. She produces a blog that is quality work. She operates her own chess club and keeps at it. She actually DOES things. And it is more than just the typical write a book, make an appearance, take your bows stuff that has characterized chess master pseudo-promoter that has been what we’ve seen all these years. Most significant, her work does not carry immediate benefits to herself but does benefit the game as a whole. This is such a change from any chess master I have ever heard of before.
About a week after I had made my first entry in this blog (about 3 weeks before right now) an old friend from Seattle wrote me. He had seen my entries on Susan Polgar’s blog. Lo and behold, he lived in Atlanta, too! He was planning on playing in the weekend chess tournament and so I came – my first chess tournament in at least 20 years.
Anyway, thanks Susan! And here’s hoping that things get better from here on.
Thank you Jack for your contributions.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
I have a favorite post from 2006. This is from the USCF forums:
Let’s all get one thing straight: in no way, shape or form am I Don Schultz’s “puppet.”
I am his pawn. And he has promised me that, as long as I remain faithful and obedient, I may one day aspire to be his bishop.
Joel Channing
1. World chess championship unified.
2. Cheating comes out of the closet.
3. The kids are here! A new generation is passing the 2700 plateau and going ever higher.
4. China is coming! They are young and growing stronger.
5. Armenia and Ukraine win gold at the Olympiads. Russia is in decline.
I’m not knowledgeable enough to name five more off the top of my head, but the first two, for me, are undisputable.
Feel free to do so anyway. 😉
1. The world title is unified! Kramnik defeats Topalov. At last the chess world has a man we can call champion without several footnotes, asterisks, and addendums.
2. The toilet scandal at Elista certainly garnered more headlines than any chess event in quite awhile.
3. The comeback of Vladimir Kramnik. With gold medal at the Olympiad, winning Dortmund, and his defeat of Topalov, Kramnik shows that he is getting his game back following major health problems that deeply affected him.
4. Decline of Topalov. Topalov’s play suffered this year compared to his domination in recent years, but more importantly than that, a very nasty side of his personality was exposed and he is no longer as appealing of a representative for the game of chess.
5. Russia faces to place at the Olympiad. How could such a superteam not even claim a medal? Extremeely disappointing for them.
6. Kramnik overlooks a mate in one vs Deep Fritz. As good a year as it was for Kramnik, he did have one huge low point here. This incident was probably more notable than the match itself – another easy win for a computer.
7. Cheating incidents increase. As technology advances, more cheaters are being exposed. The culmination of this trend was the banning of highly-ranked Indian player Umakant Sharma.
8. Rating inflation. More and more players are breaking the 2700 barrier with less than remarkable international results. We will have to change the way we look at ratings at the top level as this continues.
9. World Blitz Championship. The incredibly strong and deep field that participated shows that blitz/rapid events are really gaining momentum.
10. FIDE announces plans for future World Championship cycles. Of course, things can change but the future looks bright for the World Championship, as FIDE seems to realize tbat proper candidates cycles and MATCHES TO DECIDE THE TITLE are the best way.
And in the mudslinging, dirtmongering, negative campaigning, and dirty name-calling catagory, the year’s prize should go to (drum roll please!)
—— Sam Sloan ——
for “Trolgar”
I LIKE IT!
It’s like in the American Revolution when the British derisevly called the Americans “Yankees” and the name stuck.
First, Trolgar gives Paul some recognition – they are one of the most accomplished chess teams in history.
Second, it has that Hollywood feel to it. Kind of like “Bennifer” that the entertainment media use for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Gardiner or “Bradgelina” for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Trollgar. Keep it. Use it. Thank Sam.
The Self-Destruction of Veselin Topalov. World Championship matches are big news, but there have been quite a few of them. But never have I seen a player lose so much on a single event. He lost not only the match, but his reputation as a sportsman and a fighter, and almost his reputation as a sane human being. It’s hard to remember that only 4 months ago, Topalov was highly respected.