Olympiad

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Jonathan Bryant
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:22 pm

Lewis Martin wrote: How engaging would a foreigner be to our own juniors, even if you assume he/she has very good English?

Over the last year or so I’ve met a number of foreign born chess coaches working in London schools. Tower Hamlets/Newham and other areas.

I’ve yet to discover even one of them has suggested to a pupil that they give up chess.


Incidentally, has anybody questioned whether this transfer system would stand up to legal scrutiny. I’m no lawyer, but it seems at least open to a Bosman-style challenge in the European Union courts.

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Paolo Casaschi
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Paolo Casaschi » Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:00 pm

Lewis Martin wrote:How engaging would a foreigner be to our own juniors, even if you assume he/she has very good English?
Would you mind explaining why a foreigner with a good knowledge of the English language would be less engaging to English juniors?
For example, I know plenty of English players that would not speak a word after a loss (or even a draw) to a lower rated player (junior or otherwise). It's a matter of nationality or just personal attitude?

Alistair Campbell
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Alistair Campbell » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:17 pm

Jonathan Bryant wrote:Incidentally, has anybody questioned whether this transfer system would stand up to legal scrutiny. I’m no lawyer, but it seems at least open to a Bosman-style challenge in the European Union courts.
What would be the grounds for challenge?

It seems to me that any restrictions on an EU national's ability to earn a living playing chess are imposed not by regulation, but on the individual's (employ)ability and the size of the industry.

Possibly the argument is that a GM from the cash-strapped Ruritanian Chess Federation may believe that (s)he could earn a living if only they could only be part of the oil-rich Freedonia's Olympiad team, and FIDE's pesky rules on paying transfer fees deny them this right.

I guess key issues are:

Whether purely sporting (and I use this in a loose way) activities are exempt;
Whether national teams are exempt;
Whether there needs to be a contractual relationship or whether "casual labour", as being paid to play chess might be termed, counts;
The extent to which administration fees are permissible;
The extent to which European law would apply to a non-European Olympiad

It may be apparent that I am no lawyer either :?

Chris Rice
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:20 am

Warnings that ISIS Jihadists have targeted Norway http://en.chessbase.com/post/olympiad-t ... g-in-noway

Lewis Martin
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Lewis Martin » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:11 am

Paolo Casaschi wrote: Would you mind explaining why a foreigner with a good knowledge of the English language would be less engaging to English juniors?
For example, I know plenty of English players that would not speak a word after a loss (or even a draw) to a lower rated player (junior or otherwise). It's a matter of nationality or just personal attitude?
I probably sounded more nationalistic than I intended to! Of course, there are some well-intentioned players originally from abroad (there's a great Spaniard on my 4NCL team), just as there are some English players that are just rude, to say the least.

I suppose I am only saying it based on personal experience, where it is a lot more relaxing in terms of communication with English/British players than compared to someone from abroad. Partly this is probably due to the fact that I am more likely to know my opponent in some way! It is a bit of a mixed bag really, depends on the person and how much stronger they are even if they won. I tend to find that 2100+ are far more likely to analyse games with you.

For example, in the recent World Deaf Team Championships in Opatija, I played 8 games (not counting the 5 move draw!) and probably only really analysed one game properly with my opponent without me having to ask.

One game was where a Board 2 player on the opposing team wanted to analyse my Board 1 game compared to my opponent!

Another game was where I had to really encourage my opponent to go through it with me! One final game was when we only really looked at the later stages of the game,(for about 5 minutes) which was perhaps fair enough since he simply blundered into a sneaky trap.

That's (very generously) 4 games analysed, and 4 games went unnoticed.

Depending on time constraints of course in terms of a weekend congress, a local league match in the evening and the 4NCL, but I would say that 90% of my games were analysed with the opponent.

A small sample admittedly, but it is just so much easier with 'home' players.

Lewis Martin
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Lewis Martin » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:18 am

Anyway, let's get back on topic.

It's only one week until the Olympiad! Thankfully, it looks like it will go ahead and not moving elsewhere!

Have the women teams been published yet?

NickFaulks
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Re: Olympiad

Post by NickFaulks » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:27 pm

http://www.chess-results.com/tnr140381. ... =821&snr=2

Board orders do not have to be declared until day before round 1.
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Stewart Reuben
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:21 pm

Jonathan Bryant >Incidentally, has anybody questioned whether this transfer system would stand up to legal scrutiny. I’m no lawyer, but it seems at least open to a Bosman-style challenge in the European Union courts.<

FIDE works under Swiss Law, not EU.

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Paolo Casaschi
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Paolo Casaschi » Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:27 pm

Stewart Reuben wrote:FIDE works under Swiss Law, not EU.
It does not mean they can organize events in the EU breaking the EU regulations or impose illegal constraints to EU federations.
A moot point anyway, if free movement of workers could be extended to national sport teams then England would have won the FIFA World Cup already :-)

Chris Rice
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Chris Rice » Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:08 am

Not long to go now and the team lists are up. In the men's surprisingly China will not be at full strength which paves the way for a juicy pairing of the top two seeds Russia v Ukraine. England are 9th seeds.

In the women's China are at full strength and will be the favourites against the No 2 seeds, Russia, led by ....Lagno.

With the Presidential election thrown in it promises to be roller coaster of an Olympiad.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tromso-201 ... eparations

Chris Rice
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:31 am

Two days to go and detail on the men's teams, including a profile of England who will all have to be on form if we are going to medal. http://www.chessdom.com/chess-olympiad- ... o-preview/

Few pictures of our women's team on the ECF site http://www.englishchess.org.uk/

Seems like all the games can be seen live http://www.chessdom.com/

The official site for the Olympiad is https://chess24.com/en/olympiad2014

Chris Rice
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Chris Rice » Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:32 pm

The women's competition is shaping up to be the most controversial in history. We have already had the Lagno saga, followed by the French women's champion not getting picked for France and now the Bosnia No 1 woman, Vesna Misanovic, has got the hump (from Facebook):

"Dirty non-chess games around chess Olympiad - Today the Chess Olympiad will be opened in Norway. Yesterday, I found out that the Bosnia put my name as the first board and a captain of the women team. They only FORGOT TO INVITE ME to play. Deliberately? As an attempt to discredit my name, presenting me as a person who abandoned her team in the very last moment? A cheap game of an official, who wanted some other player? Or the same game of politicians, who are still disable me to come in the property of my apartment, which I bought with my money and in which are still all my chess cups, pictures from childhood and my books? Sad, sad story. "

Chris Rice
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Re: Olympiad

Post by Chris Rice » Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:14 pm

Also on Facebook Emil Sutovsky President of the ACP, changing some currency in Moscow...

"I am sorry, I have just 100-krone notes" , told me a Sberbank teller in Moscow, where I have exchanged the money prior to the trip to Tromso. Little did she know, that these 100-krone notes (an equivalent of 12 Euro) are the most common and popular here in Norway. It will buy you a bottle of water and a whole good chocolate bar. It must be a strange feeling for some delegations - imagine, if you afford yourself just the aforementioned bottle of water and chocolate bar every day throughout the Olympiad, you end up paying more than an average monthly wage in the majority of the countries represented here in Tromso. Not talking about having a drink or, God forbid, eating out... Well, of course, the organizers are not to be blamed for that, but I am sure, that many a delegations will be simply shocked."

I played at Gausdal a couple of times years ago and even then it was 7 quid a pint.

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: Olympiad

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:31 pm

Sweden is similar, although not quite to that extent. I always prepare for my trips to Sweden by visiting London first; that way, the shock isn't quite so great.

MartinCarpenter
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Re: Olympiad

Post by MartinCarpenter » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:34 am

Yes, I have wondered what the shock of the prices in Norway was going to be like for some of the delegations!

Do they get food in the evenings or is it two weeks of eating out? That really could get quite exciting.

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