Hal Bond
10-16-2008, 09:28 PM
David Lavin asked me to post a few words on the CFC board so I'll try to now and then. It’s about 2am local time and sleep won’t come. The 3rd game starts in another 13 hours so I hope the sandman gets here soon. Truth is Thursday was a timely rest day after last night’s adventures. While team Kramnik was out moderately celebrating Rublevsky’s birthday, and maybe their second half point of the match, I was listening to French GM Igor Nataf’s tale of woe along with FIDE First Vice President Georges Makropoulous. I got back to the hotel just in time for the US Presidential debate.
Igor attended the second game along with 2 potentially important sponsor/patrons. He had no accreditation as a journalist, but Yasser Sierawan (who is doing some live commentary for the match) invited him into the press centre to say hello. Igor was accosted by a member of the organizing team. After the match at the press conference the journalists were supposed to be the only ones asking questions, but Igor was unaware of this detail and during some silence asked a question about a key position. Both Anand and Kramnik seemed to appreciate the opportunity to discuss the position. Immediately afterwards Igor was accosted again, in front of his patrons. He was deeply insulted and Igor could not stop talking about it.
One day earlier I ran into Igor in the hotel lobby. He spoke about some suspiscious norm tournaments, and offered his help to FIDE as a sort of scrutineer. When I mentioned Canada he felt that our tournaments had a good reputation. Igor is very impressed with the work of Andre Langlois and hopes to help Andre with future events in Montreal. Igor was a bit concerned about the CFC-FQE disconnect but I assured him that this need not hinder future projects in Montreal. When Igor told Makro about Andre I was able to confirm that he is a serious organizer.
There is a buzz around this match that I haven’t felt at the World Cup or the Olympiads. Each game so far has felt like a live TV show. The organizers have attracted commercial sponsorship in excess of $3 million. The staging, the signage and broadcast are most professional. We arbiters arrive before 2pm, inspect the rest rooms, double check the clocks, make sure they each have the right chair and look for any other potential problems. The time flies. Anand and Kramnik typically arrive a bout 10 minutes before the round. We wand them asap and leave them alone until their names are called, and we escort them to the stage, more or less on cue. There is a bright circle of light beaming down on them, and there is a black mesh screen across the front of the greater stage which allows the audience to see in but the players cannot see out.
The media has 5 minutes at the start of the game to take flash photos. The first day was the most intense with them. When their time was up too many of them were defiant. After asking, ushering and cajoling, the most stubborn of them was given the opportunity to photograph my hand before he got the message. Game two featured no such incidents.
Igor attended the second game along with 2 potentially important sponsor/patrons. He had no accreditation as a journalist, but Yasser Sierawan (who is doing some live commentary for the match) invited him into the press centre to say hello. Igor was accosted by a member of the organizing team. After the match at the press conference the journalists were supposed to be the only ones asking questions, but Igor was unaware of this detail and during some silence asked a question about a key position. Both Anand and Kramnik seemed to appreciate the opportunity to discuss the position. Immediately afterwards Igor was accosted again, in front of his patrons. He was deeply insulted and Igor could not stop talking about it.
One day earlier I ran into Igor in the hotel lobby. He spoke about some suspiscious norm tournaments, and offered his help to FIDE as a sort of scrutineer. When I mentioned Canada he felt that our tournaments had a good reputation. Igor is very impressed with the work of Andre Langlois and hopes to help Andre with future events in Montreal. Igor was a bit concerned about the CFC-FQE disconnect but I assured him that this need not hinder future projects in Montreal. When Igor told Makro about Andre I was able to confirm that he is a serious organizer.
There is a buzz around this match that I haven’t felt at the World Cup or the Olympiads. Each game so far has felt like a live TV show. The organizers have attracted commercial sponsorship in excess of $3 million. The staging, the signage and broadcast are most professional. We arbiters arrive before 2pm, inspect the rest rooms, double check the clocks, make sure they each have the right chair and look for any other potential problems. The time flies. Anand and Kramnik typically arrive a bout 10 minutes before the round. We wand them asap and leave them alone until their names are called, and we escort them to the stage, more or less on cue. There is a bright circle of light beaming down on them, and there is a black mesh screen across the front of the greater stage which allows the audience to see in but the players cannot see out.
The media has 5 minutes at the start of the game to take flash photos. The first day was the most intense with them. When their time was up too many of them were defiant. After asking, ushering and cajoling, the most stubborn of them was given the opportunity to photograph my hand before he got the message. Game two featured no such incidents.