8. New Business

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Egis, I'm willing to second an actual motion stating something like "That the required number of games to qualify for the National or National Women's teams be changed from 10 to 20 (handbook section 906 a3)."

Deal. I moved, you seconded.

Please find a new motion subject to a Secretary/President formal approval to make it valid for 2014 Olympiad and beyond, i.e., it should be voted before February 1.

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Moved by Egidijus Zeromskis
Seconded Christopher Mallon

That the required number of games to qualify for the National or National Women's teams be changed from 10 to 20 (handbook section 906 a3).
where 906 a3 is:
"iii) Have played at least 10 regular CFC rated or FIDE rated games during the year prior to the start of the selection process (which begins 180 days before the start of the Olympiad)."
A new version will be read
"iii) Have played at least 20 regular CFC rated or FIDE rated games during the year prior to the start of the selection process (which begins 180 days before the start of the Olympiad)."

Rationale:
gauge a current strength of potential Olympiad team members.
keep in form (active) players.

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As for the champion exclusion - need to think how to formulate.

[Félix Dumont]

That may be the simplest way to avoid protracted struggles over conversion formulae. If we filter out people who are inactive all three lists will show that certain same "usual suspects" return to the short list regardless of which ratings we use.


Top Players by CFC Rating

1 Sambuev, Bator Montreal, QC 2684
2 Kovalyov, Anton Verdun, QC 2638
3 Noritsyn, Nikolay Richmond Hill, ON 2598
4 Hansen, Eric Calgary, AB 2588
5 Krnan, Tomas Burlington, ON 2576
6 Gerzhoy, Leonid Toronto, ON 2571
7 Hambleton, Aman Ottawa, ON 2571
8 Samsonkin, Artiom Toronto, ON 2547
9 Panjwani, Raja Kitchener, ON 2517
10 Porper, Edward Edmonton, AB 2490
11 Cheng, Bindi Toronto, ON 2485
12 Doroshenko, Maxim Vancouver, BC 2482

So, if Eric loses 15 rating points, he would not make the team? And if, for some reasons, we had to choose between Eric and Nikolay, we would pick Nikolay? I'm sorry, but I could never support a motion that would automatically select the players according to their CFC rating.

The CFC must act in such a way that the CFC rating is perceived as important and relevant. Selecting on another rating would completely devaluate one of our greatest assets.

The CFC rating is great for amateurs, but is pointless for strong players. Are Russian players selected for their FIDE rating or their local rating?

We want a team composed of the best players. And it's not like if I was saying this to favorize Quebec players ; we already have two qualified GMs and no real chance of a third player in the team. I would just feel very bad if a strong player (like Eric Hansen) was not qualified, because of a national rating.

[Fred McKim]

Is there a lot of support for going with only FIDE ratings ?? We should deal with it now. It solves any potential problem with Quebec ratings.

[Bob Armstrong]

Is there a lot of support for going with only FIDE ratings ?? We should deal with it now. It solves any potential problem with Quebec ratings.

I like the idea of going with FIDE ratings.

It eliminates the possible inflationary effect of a strong player playing only in Canada, and making fodder of the local weekenders, and adding to his CFC rating. However, it is to be noted that now most top weekend tournament sections are also FIDE rated. But the issue still holds of whether there is strong enough FIDE rated opposition in Canada, that meet regularly in weekenders. Also, this new phenomenon helps the FIDE ratings to stay current, whereas in the past they could tend to get " stale ".

Additionally, it will encourage top Canadian players to play internationally. This is good for Can. chess reputation abroad ( possible tournament invites ), and is good for chess promotion in Canada, as seen by the interest in followiing Eric Hansen, Aman Hambleton, Raja Panjwani, Leon Piasetski, Alexandra Botez and Liza Orlova, in their recent and current tournaments abroad.

Bob A

[Fred McKim]

I'm thinking that any modification to the number of games or going FIDE only maybe shouldn't apply to the Women, but that doesn't solve the FQE problem, either. Thoughts ?

[Vladimir Drkulec]

If you make the requirement 20 games there are a few of the top women that may need to scramble to qualify. I'm not saying that would be a bad thing but you might need to reach down into lower rating and age groups in order to find women or girls who have played enough. At least one of the top girls might not be available because of school (Yuanling Yuan). I would also not apply the 20 game rule to the winner of the Canadian Closed. If you are good enough to win the zonal and Canadian Championship you probably don't need an activity rule. Changing the basis of selection from the current one will probably hurt the chances of one or two players and help the chances of one or two players.

Top Females by FIDE rating
1 Yuan, Yuanling Toronto, ON 2220
2 Khoudgarian, Natalia Toronto, ON
3 Botez, Alexandra Burnaby, BC 2024
4 Peng, Jackie Richmond Hill, ON 1993
5 Roy, Myriam Varennes, QC 1985
6 Kalaydina, Regina-Veronicka Calgary, AB 1958
7 Agbabishvili, Lali York, ON 1954
8 Du, Jasmine Halifax, NS 1885
9 Renteria, Manuela Toronto, ON 1876
10 Zhou, Qiyu Ottawa, ON 1861
11 Xiao, Alice Huanyi Vancouver, BC 1854
12 Serbanescu, Natasa Thornhill, ON 1799

Top Females by CFC rating

1 Yuan, Yuanling Toronto, ON 2336
2 Khoudgarian, Natalia Toronto, ON 2284
3 Peng, Jackie Richmond Hill, ON 2214
4 Agbabishvili, Lali York, ON 2108
5 Du, Jasmine Halifax, NS 2084
6 Botez, Alexandra Burnaby, BC 2038
7 Zhou, Qiyu Ottawa, ON 2007
8 Roy, Myriam Varennes, QC 1971
9 Kalaydina, Regina-Veronicka Calgary, AB 1962
10 Xiao, Alice Huanyi Vancouver, BC 1859
11 Serbanescu, Natasa Thornhill, ON 1845
12 Liu, Jiaxin Richmond Hill, ON 1736

[Vlad Rekhson]

I would support going with only FIDE rating.

[Michael Barron]

Are Russian players selected for their FIDE rating or their local rating?

The Russian players selected by Selection Committee, where the Team Captain has the decisive voice.
Could you imagine any rating system where Peter Svidler doesn't make the team?

We want a team composed of the best players. And it's not like if I was saying this to favorize Quebec players ; we already have two qualified GMs and no real chance of a third player in the team.

I would think, both Pascal and Thomas have real chances to make the team.
All they have to do - is to start playing chess again and meet activity requirement.

Any rating system is screwed, because different players play in different tournaments.
Players from smaller provinces don't have as many chances to boost their CFC rating as Ontario players.
On the other hand, not every Canadian player can afford to travel to Europe and Latin America to boost his FIDE rating.

The only fair selection criteria - is the direct competition between interested players.

[Paul Leblanc]

I sort of feel obliged to say that the Canadian team should be selected using the Canadian rating system. The emphasis should be on getting our strong players to support Canadian events, not get their 10 or 20 FIDE rated games in Europe and be eligible for the team without competing actively in Canada.

[Edward Porper]

The Russian players selected by Selection Committee, where the Team Captain has the decisive voice.
Could you imagine any rating system where Peter Svidler doesn't make the team?



I would think, both Pascal and Thomas have real chances to make the team.
All they have to do - is to start playing chess again and meet activity requirement.

Any rating system is screwed, because different players play in different tournaments.
Players from smaller provinces don't have as many chances to boost their CFC rating as Ontario players.
On the other hand, not every Canadian player can afford to travel to Europe and Latin America to boost his FIDE rating.

The only fair selection criteria - is the direct competition between interested players.

That's a great idea - as long as it can be done. The top 8 or 10 players by rating play a round-robin to determine 4 remaining spots on the team (one goes to the current champion). In that case everybody deserving would get a fair chance, and there could be absolutely no complaints.
Yet, if such a tournament is too expensive to organize, the selection criteria should remain fair and transparent - and that's either a straightforward choice by rating or a possible rating-change formula mentioned by Vlad Rekhson. Everything should work as long as it's objective and known to every interested party in advance