Working with women is easier

Official website: http://chess2012.ugrasport.com

The chief arbiter of the World Championship met the journalists at the press-center.

– Mr Bond, how is the championship going from your point of view?

– Everything is just fine. We have a very good team of experienced arbiters, working together from the first day. I am visiting Khanty-Mansiysk for the fifth time and am always happy to be here, because the level of organization is very high. And the level of chess in Ugra capital never fails to impress.

– You obviously worked here at the World Cups. What other major competitions you attended?

– I was an arbiter at three World Cups and the Olympiad-2010. I also worked with the organizing team at the World Championship matches Anand-Kramnik in Bonn and Anand-Gelfand in Moscow. And I was a chief arbiter at the World Mind Sports in Beijing in 2011, which also gave me great experience. These are the highlights of my chess arbiter’s career.

– You said you did not experience any difficulties here. What kind of issues are the most common for an arbiter?

– Usually it involves a threefold repetition or problems with clocks. These issues are the most common, but in Khanty-Mansiysk everything ran smoothly. War on cheating is another important aspect of our work, however, I rarely encounter this problem, and certainly not here.

Last year in Beijing I worked at the women’s blindfolded tournament. We had to work hard to keep the ideal conditions and eliminate all distracting factors. At some point a computer glitch occurred, and we had to stop the games for some time. However, none of the participants had any complains. Working with women is easier.

– How many years do you work as a chess arbiter? Is this your main job?

– I also teach children to play chess, so one can say all my activities are chess-related. I love chess and it is my main job, although it doesn’t make me much money. My first tournament as an arbiter was back in 1982, I was also one of the organizers. Since 2001 I started to work at international competitions.

– Could you say a few words about chess in Canada? What kind of competitions do you have? What about junior chess?

– Junior chess is growing in Canada, as more parents begin to realize that chess is useful for children. There are many different projects that bring children to chess. Unfortunately, we have little to brag about when it comes to professional chess. Usually if someone wants to become a chess professional, he has to leave the country. Our famous grandmaster Kevin Spraggett is a good example. Strong players must either get a regular job or start teaching children.

– Do you like movies about James Bond?

– Of course I like them. I really like Daniel Craig, who plays Bond for the last few years. I think he became a very good Bond. I also like the film about my name – Hal, directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1994.