View From

Down Under
Chris Depasquale
Olympic Chess
Australia has gone completely loopy about the Olympics this year. Just how
loopy is hard for the outsider to imagine, but the following incident paints the
picture. A philanthropist came across a disheveled, unkempt, under-nourished
looking person fossicking through a rubbish bin in the streets of Sydney
recently, and immediately took pity on him. "I am going to give you a new start
in life," said the philanthropist. "I am going to give you a house, a car, a
business and one million dollars. How do you feel about that?"
The subject of this proposal considered it earnestly for a few moments and
replied, "That is very generous of you. But I would much rather have an official
Sydney 2000 Olympics tiepin and matching cufflinks."
FI DE and the Olympics
Against this background it was no surprise that it was Olympics that Checker
had on his mind when we got together for our regular meeting. "Have you seen
this?" Checker asked me as soon as I brought the drinks to the table. He showed
me a quote from FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov from the FIDE
Presidential Board meeting in Teheran in August:
"I propose for the Presidential Board and General
Assembly that we should reconsider all national
federations that are members of FIDE. As an
International Sports Federation recognized by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIDE
should recognize only those who are members of their
National Olympic Committee (NOC)."
I was astonished. Surely FIDE realised that such a course of action would
decimate the number of countries who could affiliate with FIDE. Such a
reduction could hardly be in their interests, financially or otherwise. Confident
that FIDE would never take a step that might reduce their income streams I put
on my best dismissive look, and prepared to make my points. But Checker was
too quick for me.
"I know what you are thinking," he told me, "but, before you say anything, you
should read the next sentence." This I did, and this is what it said:
"We should inform all federations of the proposal and
we should task them to bring NOC recognition as
[GM Eugenio] Torre did [in the Philippines]. Even if
we become fewer, we shall be confident that these
federations are in full accord with the NOC. This will
accelerate the acceptance of chess as an Olympic
sport."
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Naturally I was concerned. This would be a disaster for Australian chess. We
have been trying to get chess recognized as a sport for decades without success.
The additional hurdle of being recognized as an Olympic sport raises the bar
before we are ready. I had nearly formed the sentence to express these thoughts
when Checker got in first.
"This would, of course, be the best thing possible for Australian chess,"
Checker told me. I was about to protest but I have incurred Checkers wrath on
previous occasions when I have expressed disagreement, so I bit my tongue and
let him continue. "The context of all this was the issue of whether FIDE should
recognise the old Philippines Chess Federation, or the newly formed National
Chess Federation of the Philippines. Iljumzhinov made the following points."
"We should consider three points. FIDE is an
organization for players, not for bureaucrats. The
main aim is to reflect the interest of the players.
Secondly, FIDE has to conform to the International
Olympic Committee, as approved by the 1999 FIDE
Congress in Doha, Qatar.
"We have started new formats, attracted many more
players to our ranks. FIDE is an organization of
grassroots players. The decision of 20th June 1999 by
the IOC to recognize chess as sport should spread to
all other organizations. The new National Chess
Federation of the Philippines includes all stars of
Philippine chess. It shows that the old federation does
not reflect the interests of the players. These chess
players progressed further than the old federation.
"The letter of the old Philippine Chess Federation
only informs us of their misunderstanding with Mr.
Campomanes. They contradict themselves by saying
that we should not interfere in their internal problems
but they try to involve us in their internal problems.
We all know the golden rule not to interfere in
internal problems. But we should not let them drag us
into their internal problems.
"Only the new federation reflects the interests of
players and has the recognition of the Philippine
Olympic Committee. Our new goal is to become an
Olympic sport. If the Philippine Olympic Committee
recognizes them, FIDE should follow suit."
Australian I mplications
"Now that you have the full context," Checker continued, "would you say that
the Australian Chess Federation (ACF) is an organisation for players or
bureaucrats?" Well that didnt seem a hard question. If the ACF doesnt exist
for the players why would it exist at all? Before I could express this though,
Checker went on.
"You recently had a dispute with the ACF about the selections for the
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Australian team going to the Istanbul Olympiad. Did the ACF support the rights
of you, the player, or did they prefer to support the rights of the bureaucrats, the
selectors?" It is true that, before and throughout the Supreme Court hearing, the
ACF did argue that the rights of the selectors to select as they saw fit were
paramount, and that for this reason the disaffected player should have no rights
of appeal. Surely, though, it is a matter of basic logic that by defending the case
the ACF was representing the players, defending the rights of those who had
been selected.
I mentioned this to Checker, who fixed me with a steely glare. "You cant bluff
me with that line," he said, "dont forget I was there in court. I know your
lawyer argued precisely that, but the judge refused to accept this point. The key
point to his judgment was the statement that he would not even consider setting
aside the selection decision without hearing from the other persons affected. If
the Supreme Court doesnt accept that the ACF represents the interests of the
players, how are you going to convince FIDE or anybody else?"
While I was pondering this, Checker made an even more damaging point.
"Dont forget that in the court the ACF argued that there was no relationship
between you and the ACF which required them to be fair to you." I must admit
that I had been floored by that argument, but ultimately dismissed it as part of
the "all is fair in love and war" syndrome. I felt I should say something to
defend the ACF. "But the ACF won the case," I blurted out, hoping this would
mollify Checker.
Instead he grimaced. "Dont you see that is the root of the problem? The ACF
would now be much better placed if the court could have said that their
constitution enshrined the rights of the players to a fair go, and that the ACF
represents the interests of the chess players, not bureaucrats."
I could see now that the approach of the ACF effectively disqualifies them from
future affiliation with FIDE, given FIDEs perfectly reasonable position that its
affiliates should represent the interests of the players. If the ACF could no
longer affiliate with FIDE that would be a real problem. No more Oceanic
Zonals with their cheap IM titles and easy path to the FIDE World
Championship, no more Olympiads or World Junior representation, no more
rating of Australian events or players. It sounded like a complete shambles. Yet
Checker had said this would be the best thing possible for Australian chess.
What could he mean? I eventually worked up the courage to ask him.
Checker was appalled that I even had to ask. "I am always amazed that chess
playing is associated with having a logical mind when I hear questions like that.
You can only see problems when you should be seeing opportunities. True, at
the moment it appears that the ACF might be disaffiliated from FIDE at any
moment and has little or no hope of recognition by a body like the Australian
Olympic Committee; that organisation, too, could reasonably expect each body
it recognises to have a real regard to the rights of the people actually
participating in the sport. But what it really means is that a complete reform of
Australian chess administration is now of paramount importance. A new
constitution enshrining the rights of players, including an explicit right to
fairness, are absolutely fundamental. And if the existing ACF does not
recognise this need then, just like in the Philippines, a new body will spring up
to take its place. That is why the FIDE pronouncements are so good for
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Australian chess."
I needed time to absorb all this, so headed off to the bar to get more drinks. I
had to admit that FIDE was right that they and their affiliates should put the
interests of players above all else, and that it was clear that major reform of the
ACF was necessary to meet FIDEs new requirements. By the time I got back
to the table I was actually ready to have some intelligent conversation on the
subject when Checker cut me off.
Chess as "Sport"
"It doesnt really matter whether the reform of the ACF takes place or they are
replaced by a new body. The real issue is to get chess as an Olympic sport.
There is, I am sure you will agree, one fundamental problem which must be
overcome before that can happen." Here Checker paused, no doubt giving me
the opportunity to redeem myself by identifying the fundamental problem.
As far as I could see the biggest obstacle is that the game does not include the
level of physical activity and/or dexterity that people generally associate with
Olympic sports. Could this be what Checker had in mind? And, if so, how
could it be overcome? I let my mind wander, and came up with an absolute
brainstorm. What we need is an event called The Modern Chesstathlon. This is
how it would work.
The Modern Chesstathlon
The first step would be for all the participants to line up and the start, and when
the starters gun goes off, dash a hundred metres to the bus that will take them
to the chess venue, the precise location of which must be a mystery. Those who
fail to get a seat on the bus, which can accommodate only one half of the
participants, will automatically be eliminated from the competition.
Step two would involve swimming. The remaining competitors would line up,
fully clothed, at one end of a swimming pool, and swim the entire 50 metres
before entering the hall where the chess is played. This ensures that the
participants actually look as dishevelled as chess players normally do at a
tournament before the chess actually starts.
The playing hall would be something else. The playing tables would be
randomly distributed around a huge obstacle course. Each player would be
playing five games simultaneously at different locations, and would have to
undertake various jumping, hurdling and vaulting tasks to get from one to the
other.
Next comes the wrestling/boxing/martial arts phase. The players who achieved
a plus score from their games would be allowed to use any or all of these
disciplines to extract their appearance fees and prize-moneys from officials
acting as tournament organisers.
Those successful in extracting the money would then be issued with a sword
before going outside to get back on the bus. Between the players and the bus
would be a bunch of similarly armed creditors, who the chess players will have
to fight through, pay off, or both, before the final dash to the bus. The winner
would be the player who brings the most money back to the bus.
It seemed to me that in The Modern Chesstathlon each player would get to use
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all the skills they have had to develop along the way to becoming a leading
player, and the usual objection about a lack of physical activity would be
overcome. The scoring method reflects the modern Olympic ideal that, in the
end, it is all about money. I was just about ready to enlighten Checker when he
interrupted my reverie by speaking.
The Scoring System
"The fundamental problem with chess as an Olympic sport is the scoring
system," Checker told me. I immediately concluded that Checker, too, would
embrace The Modern Chesstathlon as the obvious way to solve that problem,
but it turned out he was thinking somewhat differently.
"In all the other Olympic sports," Checker continued, "the crowd, and those
watching on television can tell what is going on. Even the uninitiated, seeing a
sport for the first time, can tell who is leading a race or what the score is in a
team sport like hockey or volleyball. Even in events with rather subjective
scoring, like diving, gymnastics and synchronised swimming, the fans can form
their own judgments and compare to the official scores. The bottom line is that,
throughout the course of the event, everyone knows when to cheer and when to
groan. All the way through the event the crowd can get involved, feel part of it.
The scoring system in chess does not allow for that. Let me give you an
example," Checker said, and showed me this position, told me it was White to
play, and asked my opinion. (See Diagram)
"Well, it looks like an interesting game," I
began cautiously. "Both players have threats
against their opponents King. Material is
level. It seems White can choose between
taking on f7 and taking on e3 with the
queen. Either way it seems to me that this is
the sort of exciting game which Olympic
crowds could appreciate; they could look
forward to hours of entertainment," I
concluded.
"In this position White played Bxe3,"
Checker informed me, "and before a single
spectator had a chance to gasp Black played Qb2 mate." Clearly, then, this was
a game played by beginners. What relevance could that have to Olympic chess,
where the game would be played at the highest level? I asked Checker this.
"Actually," said Checker somewhat ruefully, "this was the conclusion of the
game Benjamin-Gulko at this years US championship. My point is that this
method of awarding a point for a win, nothing for a loss, and a half for a draw
puts all the emphasis on the final outcome. What the sports fans want and need,
however, is a method of scoring that enables them to get involved during the
actual play."
I contemplated this for a moment, but Checker hadnt finished. "Team play, as
occurs at the chess Olympiads at present, doesnt really help either. If Russia
plays a nation comprised of some little speck in the ocean somewhere, what
outcome would you expect?" That was an easy one: 4-0 to Russia, the
maximum scoreline, and probably all games finished in under two dozen
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moves. I told him so.
"Yes," agreed Checker, "but them look at what happened to Australia in their
fourth round match against Ukraine this year."
Ivanchuk,V (2719) - Rogers,I (2558) 34th Chess Olympiad (men) Istanbul
(4), 31.10.2000
1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 Nc6 3.Nf3 e5 4.c3 d6 5.d4 g6 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qc2 Bg7 8.Bg5
Nge7 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.Bc4 Qe8 11.h4 Kh8 12.Be3 f6 13.a3 b6 14.Ba2 Bd7
15.Nc4 Rd8 16.0-0-0 Be6 17.Rxd8 Nxd8 18.Bb3 Ng8 19.Ncd2 Bh6 20.Bxh6
Nxh6 21.Ne1 Rf7 22.Nd3 Rd7 23.f3 Bxb3 24.Nxb3 Qe6 (See Diagram)
25.Ndc5 bxc5 26.Nxc5 Qe7 27.Nxd7
Qxd7 28.Rd1 Qe7 29.Qa4 Nhf7
30.Qxa7 f5 31.exf5 gxf5 32.g4 fxg4
33.fxg4 Ne6 34.g5 Nf4 35.a4 e4
36.Qd4+ Kg8 37.Qf6 Nd3+ 38.Kb1
Qxf6 39.gxf6 Nd6 40.a5 Kf7 41.a6 Nc8
42.Rg1 Kxf6 43.Rg8 e3 44.Rf8+ Ke7
45.Rf3 Nc5 46.Rxe3+ Kd7 47.Re5 Nxa6
48.Rh5 Nd6 49.Kc2 Ke6 50.Rxh7 Nf7
51.Rg7 Kf6 52.Rg8 Nc5 53.b4 Ne6
54.Kb3 Nh6 55.Rg1 Nf5 56.Rg4 Ne3
57.Re4 Ng2 58.Rg4 Ne3 59.Rg8 Nf5
60.h5 Nf4 61.Rc8 Nxh5 62.Rxc7 Nf4
63.Rd7 Ke6 64.Rd2 Nd6 65.c4 Ke5 66.Rd1 Ne4 67.Rd8 Ne6 68.Rd5+ Kf6
69.c5 Nf4 70.Rd4 Ke5 71.Kc4 Nf6 72.b5 N6d5 73.Rxf4 1-0
Baklan,V (2599) - Zhao,Z (2341) 34th Chess Olympiad (men) Istanbul
(4), 31.10.2000
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Qg4 Ne7 7.dxc5 Bxc3+
8.bxc3 Qc7 9.Nf3 Nd7 10.Qxg7 Rg8 11.Qxh7 Nxe5 12.Be3 Ng4 13.Bb5+
Bd7 14.Bxd7+ Kxd7 15.Qd3 Nxe3 16.Qxe3 Nf5 17.Qe5 Rxg2 18.Qxc7+
Kxc7 19.Rb1 Rh8 20.Rb4 Rh3 21.Kf1 Rg7 22.Ke2 f6 23.Rf4 Kc6
24.Nd4+ Nxd4+ 25.cxd4 f5 26.Rf3 Rh4 27.c3 f4 28.Kd3 Rg5 29.Re1 Kd7
30.c4 Rf5 31.h3 Rfh5 32.cxd5 exd5 33.Re5 Rxe5 34.dxe5 Ke6 35.Kd4 a6
36.Rb3 f3+ 37.Ke3 Kxe5 38.Rxb7 Rc4 39.Re7+ Kf6 40.Ra7 Rxc5
41.Rxa6+ Kg5 42.Kxf3 Rc3+ 43.Kg2 d4 44.Rd6 Rxa3 45.Rxd4 Rb3 (See
Diagram)
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46.f3 Kf6 47.Rd5 Rb4 48.Ra5 Rc4
49.Kg3 Rb4 50.h4 Kg6 51.Rg5+ Kf6
52.Rg4 Rb5 53.Rf4+ Kg6 54.Kg4 Rb1
55.h5+ Kh6 56.Rf6+ Kg7 57.Rg6+ Kf7
58.Ra6 Kg7 59.f4 Rc1 60.Kg5 Rg1+
61.Kf5 Rb1 62.Rg6+ Kf7 63.Rd6 Rb5+
64.Kg4 Kg7 65.Rg6+ Kf7 66.Rg5 Rb1
67.h6 Ra1 68.Rb5 Kg6 69.Rb6+ Kh7
70.Re6 Rg1+ 71.Kf5 Ra1 72.Ke5 Ra5+
73.Ke4 Ra4+ 74.Kf3 Ra3+ 75.Kg4 Ra1
76.f5 Rb1 77.Kf4 Ra1 78.Rd6 Ra4+
79.Kg5 Ra1 80.Rd7+ Kg8 81.Kg6 Rg1+
82.Kf6 Ra1 83.Re7 Rb1 84.Ra7 Rb6+
85.Kg5 Rb1 86.f6 Rg1+ 87.Kf5 Rf1+ 88.Ke6 Re1+ 89.Kd6 Rd1+ 90.Ke7
Re1+ 91.Kd8 Rf1 92.Rg7+ Kh8 93.Rf7 Ra1 94.Re7 Kg8 95.h7+ Kh8
96.Re8+ Kxh7 97.f7 Ra8+ 98.Ke7 Ra7+ 99.Ke6 1-0
Sandler,L (2416) - Romanishin,O (2591) 34th Chess Olympiad (men)
Istanbul (4), 31.10.2000
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c4 dxc4 6.Qa4+ Nbd7 7.Qxc4 0-0
8.Qc2 e5 9.d3 h6 10.b3 Nd5 11.Bb2 Nb4 12.Qc1 Nc6 13.Nbd2 Re8 14.a3
Nd4 15.Re1 c6 16.e3 Nxf3+ 17.Nxf3 Qb6 18.Qc2 Qc5 19.Rac1 Qxc2
20.Rxc2 Nb6 21.d4 Bf5 22.Rcc1 exd4 23.Bxd4 Bf8 24.Bb2 Rad8 25.Nd4
Bg7 26.Ba1 Be6 27.b4 Bd5 28.Bxd5 Rxd5 29.Red1 Red8 30.Kf1 a5
31.Ke2 axb4 32.axb4 Ra8 33.Rb1 Nc4 34.Rdc1 Ra2+ 35.Ke1 (See
Diagram)
35Nd2 36.Rb2 Nf3+ 37.Kf1 Rxb2
38.Bxb2 Nxd4 39.exd4 Bxd4 40.Bxd4
Rxd4 41.b5 Rd6 42.bxc6 bxc6 43.Rb1
Kg7 44.Rb7 h5 45.Rc7 Kf6 46.Ke2 Ke6
47.Ke3 f5 48.h4 Kd5 49.Kd3 c5 50.Rc8
Ra6 51.Rd8+ Kc6 52.Rg8 Kb5 53.Kc3
Ra3+ 54.Kd2 Ra2+ 55.Ke3 Ra6 56.Kd3
c4+ 57.Kd4 Rd6+ 58.Kc3 Rd3+ 59.Kc2
Rf3 60.Rxg6 Rxf2+ 61.Kc3 Rf3+
62.Kc2 Kb4 63.Rb6+ Kc5 64.Rh6 Kd4
65.Rxh5 Rf2+ 66.Kb1 Kc3 67.Rh8
Rb2+ 68.Ka1 Kc2 69.Re8 Rb5 70.Re2+
Kd3 71.Rf2 c3 72.Rf3+ Kd2 73.Rf2+
Kd1 74.Rf1+ Ke2 75.Rh1 c2 76.Ka2 Kd2 0-1
Wohl,A (2461) - Ponomariov,R (2630) 34th Chess Olympiad (men)
Istanbul (4), 31.10.2000
1.Nf3 d6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 a6 7.b4 e5 8.Bb2 Nc6
9.b5 Na5 10.d3 axb5 11.cxb5 h6 12.Qc2 Be6 13.Rfc1 Qd7 14.Rab1 c5
15.bxc6 bxc6 16.Ba1 Qa7 17.Nd2 Ng4 18.Nd1 f5 19.h3 Nf6 20.Bc3 f4
21.g4 h5 22.gxh5 Nxh5 23.Nf3 Bd5 24.Bxa5 Qxa5 25.Nc3 Nf6 26.Nxd5
cxd5 27.Ng5 Bh6 28.h4 Ra7 29.Qc6 f3?! 30.Bxf3 e4 31.Bg2 Qd2 32.Rc2
Qf4 33.Ne6 Qxh4 34.Nxf8 Ng4 (See Diagram)
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35.Qxd5+? Rf7 36.Qxf7+ Kxf7
37.Rb7+ Kf6 38.Nh7+ Ke6 39.e3 Bxe3!
40.Nf8+ Kf6 41.fxe3 Qh2+ 42.Kf1
Nxe3+ 43.Ke2 Qxg2+ 44.Kxe3 Qf3+
0-1
"In three of the games the Australians
had battled well," Checker explained,
"but were ground out in long endgames.
In the fourth the Australian IM Aleks
Wohl had Ponomariov on the ropes, and
it seems he should win after (from the
diagrammed position) 35.Nxg6! e.g.
Qxf2+ 36.Kh1 Ne3 37.Rg1 Nxc2 38.Qe8+ Kg7 39.Qh8+ with a winning
attack. Yet the final 0-4 scoreline is exactly the same as if the Australian
players had not turned up to play at all, which in no way reflects what took
place."
Certainly I had to agree that the final score did not do justice to the efforts of
the players in the Australian team. The Modern Chesstathlon would solve all
that, and once again I was ready to put it forward when Checker interrupted
me.
"To facilitate chess as an Olympic sport I have developed a revolutionary new
system of keeping score during the game," Checker began. "It is a system that
even beginners can grasp quite quickly. You start off with the basic unit of a
pawn being worth one point, and you have values for all the other pieces
ranging from 3 for a knight to 9 for a queen. The King, of course, is invaluable,
because the game is decided by checkmating the King"
Copyright 2000 Chris Depasquale. All rights reserved.
Want more Chris Depasquale? Order his very funny book My 60 Memorable
Columns now.

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