England Olympiad teams announcement

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NickFaulks
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by NickFaulks » Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:37 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote: Is Emil Sutovsky's Facebook page a primary source?
The fact is that there's no need to look there, since it is clear enough in the Olympiad regulations. It comes as no surprise that Sutovsky claims the credit, but he was kicking in a door on the latch. Zero tolerance in Olympiads has been an embarrassment for some time, and its last chance of survival disappeared when Ignatius Leong left FIDE.

That said, I think the general question of default times needs discussion which it does not receive. Sponsors may like to see the top players at the board when the rounds start, but beyond that I don't expect they care. So, if the first time control is 90 minutes, why should I not be allowed to arrive 89 minutes late?
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NickFaulks
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by NickFaulks » Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:46 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote: Is Emil Sutovsky's Facebook page a primary source?
Furthermore, Sutovsky's ACP Facebook page is better avoided unless you like to see highly respected British players suffer totally unsupported accusations of cheating.
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Alex Holowczak
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Alex Holowczak » Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:05 pm

NickFaulks wrote:So, if the first time control is 90 minutes, why should I not be allowed to arrive 89 minutes late?
In the Birmingham League, the default time is the when a player's allotted time for the first time period expires.

Brian Valentine
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Brian Valentine » Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:42 am

NickFaulks wrote:So, if the first time control is 90 minutes, why should I not be allowed to arrive 89 minutes late?
Mainly because if you have the bad manners to not turn up, it stops your opponent unnecessarily kicking their heels.

Adam Ashton
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Adam Ashton » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:21 am

NickFaulks wrote:
Kevin Thurlow wrote: Is Emil Sutovsky's Facebook page a primary source?
Furthermore, Sutovsky's ACP Facebook page is better avoided unless you like to see highly respected British players suffer totally unsupported accusations of cheating.
Did I miss something? What was this about?

Roger de Coverly
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:29 am

Adam Ashton wrote: Did I miss something? What was this about?
Nick may be referring to an incident in the 1976 (!) Olympiad where a Welsh player took a draw when short of time in a Rook and Pawn ending thought by some, including modern engines to be winning. It was in the last round and affected the medal positions. For some reason, the President of the ACP seems to bring this up every so often.

Adam Ashton
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Adam Ashton » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:54 am

I see :). Many thanks.

LawrenceCooper
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by LawrenceCooper » Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:23 pm

Ironically, now that most people have booked their flights, the organisers & Qatar Airways have now teamed up to offer discounted flights to those going to the Olympiad. The discount ranges from 5%-25%.

Tim Harding
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by Tim Harding » Sat Jul 30, 2016 8:48 pm

MJMcCready wrote:They are technically at war with Azerbaijan and refused to enter.
NickFaulks wrote:I've always expected them to be there and still do.

Well if the following is true then Armenia will NOT be in the Olympiad:

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/855185/
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MJMcCready
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by MJMcCready » Sun Jul 31, 2016 6:10 am

Yes, they are not attending. The moment it was announced that the Olympiad would be held in Baku they pulled out. It's a shame really because there would not be any security issues and their participation could help improve relations but I suspect the number of stunts and tricks played on the Armenia team throughout the tournament would make it difficult. I don't doubt there would be all manner in minor setbacks. When Aronian played in Baku not so long ago, he was only allowed to communicate with foreign arbiters. I suspect it would be a very stressful experience for the Armenian team if they entered. You can be sure that should the Olympiad be granted to Armenia, you will not be seeing Azerbaijan there. You'd be more likely to see teams from Jupiter and Saturn than them there, should Armenia ever be granted the Olympiad.

NickFaulks
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:26 am

Tim Harding wrote:
MJMcCready wrote: Well if the following is true then Armenia will NOT be in the Olympiad:
If correct, and it certainly looks that way, this is a great shame. There are those in Armenia who wanted the teams to go, and probably the recent breakdown of the ceasefire has not helped.

A few years ago I listened in amazement as the Armenian delegate assured Congress that if his federation were awarded any FIDE event, Azeris would not be allowed to attend. I found that remarkably obtuse and I think they have been on the back foot diplomatically ever since.

No doubt this will end one day. The Armenian historical grievance against the Azeris is nothing compared to that against the Turks, but they have played and won in istanbul. Just not yet, it seems.
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MJMcCready
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by MJMcCready » Sun Jul 31, 2016 1:52 pm

[/quote] No doubt this will end one day. [/quote]

Concerning Azerbaijan, In theory yes because the propaganda comes from the government, which if they stopped producing would improve things. It's hard to summarize what the Azeris think of what their government tells them, I found it very tricky to deal with. Generally they don't believe what they are told or certainly most of it but nevertheless it fuels contempt. But when you question people about it, they can't give coherent answers, just rehash the rubbish their government tells them. The problem is that it is a subject that is very tricky to approach, tempers explode instantly, usually about the contested land they battle over,in which many are killed, but there's a lot more to it than that tbh.

If you speak to those born as Soviets who often traveled to Yerevan or Erevan,whichever was correct back then they are quick to point out that they are all intermingled and cousins more or less. They feel no animosity whatsoever. There has been numerous wars between them but in Soviet days these were no given the same importance, they just got along as Soviets. That whole area is so diverse and intermingled, the most educated see all nations in the caucuses as being entirely artificial. When in Baku I met many, many people born in Azerbaijan but never described themselves as such. I think they mostly define themselves according to their ethnic minority still.

David Sedgwick
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by David Sedgwick » Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:51 pm

I have just spoken to Levon Aronian. He confirmed that Armenia would not be playing.

I am no fan of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, but this is a great shame for him. He really tried to make things work.

LawrenceCooper
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by LawrenceCooper » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:59 pm


NickFaulks
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Re: England Olympiad teams announcement

Post by NickFaulks » Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:17 am

So far as I can tell, there is still no significance in the order of names.
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