Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
David Robertson

Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by David Robertson » Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:47 pm

Andrew Paulson wrote:I was quite new and alone in the chess world, I was looking for guidance
:shock:

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
A little high, little low
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me

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Gerard Killoran
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Gerard Killoran » Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:26 pm

David Robertson wrote:
Andrew Paulson wrote:I was quite new and alone in the chess world, I was looking for guidance
:shock:

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
A little high, little low
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me
When I thought the level of debate could not get any lower - it just did.

David Robertson

Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by David Robertson » Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:37 pm

Ah! Gerard Killoran - of the Rupert Jones & Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Glee Club. Welcome back :)

John McKenna

Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by John McKenna » Wed Feb 19, 2014 5:56 pm

Here's another blast from the past, David -

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain


That is more appropriate to Andrews plight than your rhapsody.
Perhaps he was not expecting to meet such animal behaviour here in England.
Although he has found himself in a house of ill-repute, when all is said and done.
And, he has not actually shot anyone, yet.

We could start a lyrics Forum Radio (requests on a post, please).
You can be Smashey and me Nicey (or vice-versa if you can behave).
Wouldn't that be just a "poptabulous rockumentary, mate? Not 'alf!"
What do the pop-pickers think - shall we give it a good (me) bash (him)?

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Carl Hibbard
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Carl Hibbard » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:28 pm

I cannot be online all the time to delete some of this utter tosh.
Cheers
Carl Hibbard

Simon Spivack
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Simon Spivack » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:35 pm

To avoid trouble with the limits on embedding quotes, I have snipped some of the discussion. The reader can read up-thread for the context.
Andrew Paulson wrote:Malcolm Pein, Sean Hewitt and Alex Holowczak, among others, were eager to be put on Commissions under this initiative.
From an email dated 30th January, Malcolm Pein wrote:2) I have met with the main Chess in Schools organisations in Western Europe recently. The general consensus is that the FIDE Chess in Schools Commission is damaged beyond repair.
We are probably forming an umbrella organisation for Europe to coordinate research and fund raising. FIDE is toxic from that viewpoint. In the unlikely event of a complete clear out many people might come forward. I think the FIDE brand might remain toxic for some time to come but so I would be unlikely to put my name forward.
Andrew Paulson wrote:Malcolm's documentary evidence (an email exchange with me from January 30) that you cite does not contradict my recollections of our January 3rd meeting in my flat, it simply updates his position. Between January 3rd and 30th, Kasparov began to execute his UK strategy.

Malcolm came to my flat and we discussed many things in a very relaxed and friendly manner as we always had. We discussed my standing with Zurab on the ECU ticket, which he was outraged by; however, we agreed to disagree on this issue. We discussed the usefulness of creating the Anglophone Committee as a lobbying force within FIDE and independent from the current candidates. We shared our strong reservations about Kasparov as a potential President of FIDE and compared a Kasparov future to a Kirsan future; Malcolm acknowledged that Kasparov would lose, but that he had to support him on ethical grounds, which I fully accepted. We discussed the ECF initiative to bring UKCA and Michael Basman back into the ECF, which he supported. We discussed space for an English Chess Heritage library. We discussed the proposal for Charity Status of the ECF and the makeup of the Board of Trustees. And, I asked if he would be willing as part of the Anglophone Committee initiative to be a member of the Chess in Schools Commission. He answered, "yes". There was no hesitation or reservation. I have no problem with my memory on this.
Andrew,

The point is that Malcolm's rejection in the email of his proposed membership of the Commission does not support your contention of eagerness to join, it suggests the reverse. Furthermore, you were flatly contradicted by Malcolm up-thread.

Irrespective of this, I would posit that your account doesn't seem tenable. Why, after you had "outraged" Malcolm, would he be "eager", at your prompting, to join a body he did not respect? Or are you saying that the Azmaiparashvili topic came up after Malcolm had eagerly (sic) agreed to have his name prospectively put forward for the Chess in Schools Commission? We are both aware that Azmaiparashvili is the First Deputy Minister of Sports of the newish Georgian government, one much more warmly disposed towards Moscow (in a chess context that means Ilyumzhinov) than its immediate predecessor, despite the disputes about territorial integrity. Thus you must have known that Azmaiparashvili's name would be contentious, even if you were unaware of his reputation amongst more than a few English chess players. Keeping quiet about your alliance with the Georgian until later would come across as duplicitous, for naivety is not a charge I'd willingly level at you.

[edit]Incidentally, as I recall, the joint ticket with Azmaiparashvili was known from December.[/edit]
Last edited by Simon Spivack on Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:50 pm

Andrew Paulson wrote:Malcolm acknowledged that Kasparov would lose, but that he had to support him on ethical grounds, which I fully accepted.
Why not accept that principle for the ECF as well? There's been more than enough anti-Kirsan "propaganda" over the years that such a position is unlikely to be contentious amongst ECF Directors, the voting membership or the wider chess public. Apologists may wish to make the point that Kirsan would never dream of trying to influence a Federation to vote for him by offering, say, scholarships for study in Russia. The problem is that it's proudly announced on the FIDE website.

John Moore
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by John Moore » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:57 pm

I am amazed that Nigel S has to sleep on Ray's couch. Surely Ray has a spare bedroom :lol:

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JustinHorton
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:58 pm

John Moore wrote:I am amazed that Nigel S has to sleep on Ray's couch. Surely Ray has a spare bedroom :lol:
I assumed that was a joke, but it's getting harder to tell the jokes from the reality...
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

John Moore
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by John Moore » Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:04 pm

Justin, it was a joke.

The problem with this thread and others which are linked is that I like some people on this Forum (a good many I know personally) and can't be too bothered with others. And then they align themselves half and half in equal numbers on either side of the argument. So what to do - perhaps just worry about my next game and that's what many will think.

Chris Rice
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:27 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Andrew Paulson wrote:Malcolm acknowledged that Kasparov would lose, but that he had to support him on ethical grounds, which I fully accepted.
Why not accept that principle for the ECF as well? There's been more than enough anti-Kirsan "propaganda" over the years that such a position is unlikely to be contentious amongst ECF Directors, the voting membership or the wider chess public. Apologists may wish to make the point that Kirsan would never dream of trying to influence a Federation to vote for him by offering, say, scholarships for study in Russia. The problem is that it's proudly announced on the FIDE website.
....and now Togo is the next in line to reap the benefits. $3000 lovely jubbly. Presumably they weren't interested in the Russian scholarships and just took the cash.

http://www.fide.com/component/content/a ... -togo.html

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JustinHorton
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:33 pm

"the FIDE President enlisted the support of Togo on the idea to include chess in the programme of Winter Olympic Games."

Heh
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Richard Bates
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by Richard Bates » Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:36 pm

I'm sure Togo is an influential voice in the IOC on the topic of Winter Sports programmes.

John McKenna

Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by John McKenna » Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:41 pm

David Robertson(Re: Media comments on chess)>Chess on Ice was the lead-in headline to this piece on Curling. Alas the website editor seems not to have read the article - it contains no mention of chess!<

Perhaps Kirsan, or one of his minions, is reading the Forum now.

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David Shepherd
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Re: Emergency Board Meeting - Draft Minutes

Post by David Shepherd » Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:17 pm

From the initial posting of the minutes: In my presidential election platform, I advocated the general principal that the ECF should welcome back under its wings all elements of English chess that had been alienated from it over the years. I identified UKCA and UKSCC, representing 55,000 chess-playing children, as a priority and asked the Chief Executive to produce a Term Sheet which would be acceptable both to the ECF Council and to Michael Basman and his team; subsequently, other groups (such as EPSCA) were to be encouraged to work with us under the same terms. The Chief Executive is compiling a chronology....
Why was the Chief Executive tasked with this job rather the Junior Director, or at least why was the Junior Director not involved at this stage?

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