School computers

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Christopher Kreuzer
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School computers

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:46 pm

Was reading a Chessbase article on Kasparov and chess in schools in Georgia:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8868

I was struck by the nice computers the kids were using.

Are all school computers like that now?

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Greg Breed
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Re: School computers

Post by Greg Breed » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:05 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Are all school computers like that now?
Highly unlikely Chris, they look like a privileged bunch!
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John McKenna

Re: School computers

Post by John McKenna » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:43 pm

It is usually a privileged bunch who meet Kasparov. Though I once met him, but had to queue and pay the price of a volume of his Great Predecessors for the privilege but it was worth it.
Note that in the Chessbase News report the header contains - Georgia, a country with possibly the highest computer and internet penetration in the world. Not too long ago I read S. Korea was preeminent in that respect
Still anything is possible, well, almost...

Alex Holowczak
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Re: School computers

Post by Alex Holowczak » Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:31 pm

Greg Breed wrote:
Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Are all school computers like that now?
Highly unlikely Chris, they look like a privileged bunch!
Absolutely not. Remember the bulky processors you used to have on your desktop machine, about 5-10 years ago? Schools still have those. (At least, they do in my area...)

They do have relatively nice monitors though, which are often more flimsy than the processors.

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Peter D Williams
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Re: School computers

Post by Peter D Williams » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:14 pm

I have noticed that the computers appear to be more up to date in private schools.

I had a rather nice carvery yesterday with Carol roast pork and roast beef.
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John Upham
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Re: School computers

Post by John Upham » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:18 pm

Peter D Williams wrote:I have noticed that the computers appear to be more up to date in private schools.
I would expect many private schools to be using IBM System X and BladeCenter servers as they tend to have more funds that state sector schools so you might well be correct in your observation.
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Stewart Reuben
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Re: School computers

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:19 am

I'm in The Gambia. I don't know whether ANY school has even one computer. The Gambian CF has one now because I brought an old one of mine as a present.
Anyway internet access is slow and expensive.
They had never even heard of the Swiss. They didn't know the first-named player has white. They didn't understand the board number indicated where they were to play.
Youngest person is 19.
This morning, for the first time, we started on time.
FIDE provided 30 DGT 2010, 120 sets and 120 boards.
Somebody just handed in his scoresheet, giving the result at 0-0. He didn't now how to indicate a draw.

And you worry about what type of computer is available!

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Peter D Williams
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Re: School computers

Post by Peter D Williams » Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:32 am

Stewart Reuben wrote:I'm in The Gambia. I don't know whether ANY school has even one computer. The Gambian CF has one now because I brought an old one of mine as a present.
Anyway internet access is slow and expensive.
They had never even heard of the Swiss. They didn't know the first-named player has white. They didn't understand the board number indicated where they were to play.
Youngest person is 19.
This morning, for the first time, we started on time.
FIDE provided 30 DGT 2010, 120 sets and 120 boards.
Somebody just handed in his scoresheet, giving the result at 0-0. He didn't now how to indicate a draw.

And you worry about what type of computer is available!
That was nice of you to give them a computer as a present.
The ECF should help the Gambian chess federation by making a small donation which could be used to buy other chess equipment. :D
when you are successful many losers bark at you.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: School computers

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:20 pm

Stewart Reuben wrote: They had never even heard of the Swiss. They didn't know the first-named player has white. They didn't understand the board number indicated where they were to play.

...

Somebody just handed in his scoresheet, giving the result at 0-0. He didn't now how to indicate a draw.
I suppose this sort of stuff appears so obvious that no-one every writes down the complete basics in a manual on how to organise chess competitions. Or perhaps they do and it goes back to the lack of internet access.

It's frightening that if approved as members of FIDE, Gambia would have the same weight in election of FIDE officials and GA decisions as Russia, Germany, France or the USA.

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Re: School computers

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:54 pm

The Gambia is now a member of FIDE and indeed has equal rights. It is perfectly normal for tiny federations to have the same weight in voting as the large ones. Indeed we can all think of situations where this is so, including the UN.

My book contains quite a lot of relevant information for inexperienced organisers/arbiters/players. But I was still surprised by 0-0 for 0.5-0,5.

Amusingly today I told them not to pack away the sets after they finished. Although it was the last playing day, I knew they might make too much noisy packing up during play. Of course 'helpfully' they ignored this. One person packed away a set where the players were still in play. That happened once in the British before my taking charge. Fortunately I was able to play through the game scores. So no harm was done.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: School computers

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:14 am

Stewart Reuben wrote: It is perfectly normal for tiny federations to have the same weight in voting as the large ones. Indeed we can all think of situations where this is so, including the UN..
The UN doesn't have the power to determine domestic laws in the UK. In the chess world, unless the rules are boycotted, FIDE does.

I'm aware that the Presidential Board of FIDE have had to climb down. But why did they think it remotely acceptable that you should need to declare your passport data and supply a photograph as a condition of playing in an e2e4 tournament, the 4NCL or similar events worldwide?

Stewart Reuben
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Re: School computers

Post by Stewart Reuben » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:45 am

The EU though does have the power to determine domestic laws in the UK.

I presume a member of the PB, from a more totalitarian society than ours, made the proposal and nobody could be bothered to argue. Our chess society is more utilitarian.

IanDavis
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Re: School computers

Post by IanDavis » Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:06 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote: It's frightening that if approved as members of FIDE, Gambia would have the same weight in election of FIDE officials and GA decisions as Russia, Germany, France or the USA.
I find that statement quite ugly. If you said that you were worried about the ECF being so happily party to a world governing body which is riddled with corrupt practices and run by a nutcase, I might understand. But intimating that others be denied the vote, when your own country already has more votes than any other in FIDE, seems downright distasteful.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: School computers

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:28 pm

IanDavis wrote: But intimating that others be denied the vote, when your own country already has more votes than any other in FIDE, seems downright distasteful.
That's as maybe, but it appeared that the threat of a boycott by players and organisers speaking for large numbers of players made FIDE back down, for the time being, on the Licensing issue. If a country with 10 players walks out of FIDE, no-one in the playing world will notice. If it's a Federation with 1000 or 10000, it's somewhat more obvious.

(this needs to be a new thread)

John McKenna

Re: School computers

Post by John McKenna » Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:27 pm

RdC>(this needs to be a new thread)<
Hey, I didn't ask for a new thread but one of the powers that be hived off one of my posts (without including the one by Stewart Reuben that it was in response to) from this thread. Are you asking for similar treatment?

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