Many people have email me privately about my “Chess Culture” posting last week. This is a follow up post.
At my chess center, I use weighted Indian wood sets for the top 16-18 boards. I use premium weighted plastic sets for the skittles / reserve playing area which is another 8 boards. I also use premium German wood boards for the top 3 boards.
I also provide 15 clocks or so for tournament play, club play and casual blitz. Some are Polgar digital clocks, some are Excalibur digital clocks and some are the German mechanical clocks. Not everyone prefer digital clocks, especially the older players.
The same equipment is used daily at my club for adults or children. When I organize a serious event with Grandmasters, I use premium Wood sets for the top 3-5 boards and DGT clocks.
If an organizer does not want to provide chess equipment to at least the top 3-5 boards, it is his / her right. The organizer does not have to. As I said, it does not affect me so I makes no difference for me. However, it is ridiculous to say that the organizer cannot afford to provide a set and board for the top 3-5 boards (even plastic set / vinyl board which cost less than $10 total and it can be used over and over again).
I respect ALL chess players who play at my club enough to provide the basic chess equipment for everyone, even wood ones. That is how I was brought up as a chess player. For those of you who have met me, you can also judge for yourself on how I dress, how I speak and how I conduct myself.
How can our sport be respected by the mainstream folks or corporations when we do not even respect our own world-class chess players? It is not a problem carrying my own equipment. I even carry chess equipment for my sons. I am sure it is also not a problem for many other GMs. However, the point is about a minimum level of respect toward the best players in our field.
The problem with supplying equipment for only the top couple of boards is who knows if they’ll be playing on those boards? I suppose if you’re the highest rated then you will sit at the top board in round 1 but whether you stay or need to quickly buy a board depends on whether you can beat your opponent.
I wonder if some part of the respect problem is jealousy and an overabundance of testosterone. I peruse several chess blogs each day and nearly every one of them contains disparaging remarks about various players, from Kramnik (avoiding serious title defenses) to Leko (boring chess style) to Nakamura (arrogant, immature) to even yourself (self-promoting). I do not understand how these comments will further the game of chess in America. I have met two Grandmasters in person (Bent Larsen and Gregory Kaidanov) and both were incredibly polite and respectful, clearly wishing to promote the game of chess. Even if a prominent player isn’t “perfect” in the yes of a critic, s/he still deserves respect for his/her chess acumen, if for nothing else. Chess players as a group seem by nature to be highly competitive and adversarial (makes perfect sense, given what chess is), and these traits, in my view, tend to spill over into interpersonal discussions.
If one looks at other sports, there seems to be a mixture of practices. As far as I know, soccer players do not have to supply their own ball, whereas tennis players supply their own rackets, while the balls are supplied by the host.
Since the quality of the pieces and board, (or suitedness, if that is the right word, to a player’s body or style), given that they comply with FIDE rules, has little to do with the quality of the players performance, I cannot see why the materials should not be supplied by the host. After all, he/she receives entrance fees and publicity.
Just my 2c
C Els
RSA
That should be “in the EYES of a critic.
Although as a mother of a young player, I always like it when tournaments provide boards (as my daughter tends to lose at least one piece per tournament when she brings her own), I think it’s a little much even for a GM to complain about carrying their own board. World class musicians (except for pianists) carry their own instruments with them to concerts and recitals.
in europe they show the players respect and supply chess sets and sponsorship money.
GMs shouldn’t need board or pieces…they should just play blindfold chess sans voir! (just kidding!)
I am suprised to hear that clubs do not have unified sets. Some of the most famous clubs as I understand have sets that do not match one another, and at times you need to borrow a piece from another set to have all your units. That’s just wild. Really wild. Of course, I’m new to this so maybe it’s not insane for this to happen. I would love to provide an ebony/boxwood set for each board, but frankly … some triple weighted plastic seems to get plenty of compliments!