I am not a governor, but hopefully my opinion (as 2012 Olympiad Team Captain) will be interesting for some readers, especially for governors.
1. Team selection process.
A few weeks after the Olympiad, I posted my ideas about some improvements in selection process on Chesstalk (my post was copied to this forum later). I proposed 2 main changes:
a) Reducing the power of Selection Committee to select only 1 (not 2 or 3) player
b) Using only FIDE rating
About b) - I read the discussion here, and I absolutely understand and respect the other position. Although, my personal opinion remained the same, it was nice to see proper discussion and democratic voting process. The motion didn't get the majority of ballots - OK, fine.
About a) - Unfortunately, CFC governors voted on a very extreme proposal – completely eliminating the Selection Committee. The idea of reducing the power of Selection Committee to choose just 1 player didn't even get a chance to pass. It's a shame, especially because a few governors mentioned this approach as the best choice (including N. Noritsyn and I. Bluvshtein - both with great experience regarding the Olympiad). In this particular case CFC showed its inability to choose and to vote for, probably, the best possible solution. After reading the discussion, I am sure that the compromise motion (to select only 1 player) could easily get the needed majority of votes.
2. Captain selection process.
This motion, pushed by E. Porper, got the vast majority of votes. I personally think that this motion is logical, but not suitable for the reality of Canadian chess. Not surprisingly, 2 governors with probably the greatest Olympiad experience (H. Bond and N. Noritsyn) voted against it. In our country, the top players don't get paid for their Olympiad participation. Playing with the Captain they don't like, or at least respect, could easily make them refuse the invitation for the National (or Women’s) Team. In this case we can get not just one K. Spraggett scenario.
Perhaps most governors don't know what is happening right now with the Russian Women’s Team. This team is supposed to play next month in the World Championship. After a victorious Olympiad, the 2 top players T. and N. Kosintseva decided not to play unless the Team Captain S. Rublevsky was replaced. For those who don't know, S. Rublevsky is a very strong (current FIDE 2688) and really famous GM, few times member of the Russian National Team, Captain of the National Team, etc. It's important to note that this scandal happened after the successful Olympiad in Istanbul, where the strong finish allowed the Russian Team to pass the higher-rated Chinese squad (that means that sometimes even a great result is not enough).
I don't know what exactly happened between S. Rublevsky and the two sisters, but I believe the Russian Chess Federation made a huge mistake (it didn't agree to replace S. Rublevsky). The result was a loss of the 2 strongest players with great experience (those 2 sisters won every possible team title for Russia).
One can find some similarities between this case and the possible (very probable) scenario for the Canadian National Team, where E. Porper would be nominated as a Team Captain/Coach. Funny, the average rating of both teams is very similar (around 2500).
3. About Fred McKim’s phrase: "It's not clear that his (Porper's) over the board performance at the Olympiad makes his selection to the team good or bad.”
From his previous posts on both this forum and Chesstalk, I had a very positive attitude towards Fred (we have never met). He spends a lot of his time trying to make CFC healthier and better. Maybe that's why I was really surprised after reading this sentence. Just to remind you: Porper's performance was 2251, and he lost the last round game (the most important in the Olympiad). It was the lowest personal performance for Canadian Team in the last 10 years (at least).
Unlike M. Barron, I can't blame V. Drkulec for his choice (as you know, Vlad was the final decision-maker). It was a bad call, as every other possible player (T. Krnan, B. Cheng, A. Samsonkin, R. Panjwani) certainly would have performed much better. But we know this with hindsight; 11 months ago, this was not clear. I completely understand V. Drkulec's approach (he chose the highest-rated player). Vlad can't be held responsible for Porper's performance.
4. Most governors have probably read Porper's initial article about the Olympiad (CFC e-zine). For them it must be nothing new to see his continuous personal attacks on me. I think that it's absolutely fine to attack any person on a public forum where this person can react/counterattack. The problem is that Porper used restricted forum for this matter, where only CFC governors can post. I find it shameful and low. This shows yet again Porper's readiness to do anything to prove his point.
Thanks to V. Drkulec and A. Marghetis for some kind words. Among the governors who participated in this meeting, I counted 14 who know me, have talked to me, have played in the same tournaments with me, etc... Only 2 decided to write something regarding this matter. Maybe for a CFC forum 2/14 is not too bad.
Some people here know my self-estimation as a chess player. I even remember my discussion on Chesstalk with Vlad Drkulec about it. I posted that I don't play like an FM, as my FIDE is well below 2300 level, and I have no chance to be a better player, etc... I can post everything about my chess level. I can, but not anybody else, especially not Porper. Maybe I don't need to protect myself, but I want to say: my chess rating and general chess understanding is very close to the average of last 5 Olympiad Team Captains (S. Belzberg, B. Hartman, R. Liv****s, Y. Ochkoos and myself).
5. I believe that now, after being with Porper for 2 weeks in Istanbul and reading his posts and articles after the Olympiad, I can understand and predict him. Actually, it's not a very difficult task.
a) He waited all his life for the Istanbul Olympiad
b) He believes right now that Victor Plotkin didn't allow him to play well and to enjoy the tournament of his life.
c) He is ready to do absolutely everything to be a Team Canada member (or a captain) in 2014. Everything!
d) He (I am not 100% sure here, because Porper thinks highly of himself) understands that his chances to be a Team Player in 2014 are low. I can estimate his chances to be less than 5%; he could probably say 30%, but even he understands that it's not for sure.
e) He knows that by the old rules, he would have absolutely no chances to be selected as a Team Captain (I believe that no one among possible team members in 2014 would vote for him).
f) He doesn't care much about the top Canadian players who will be forced to either play under his captaincy or decline the invitation. I can't say this for everyone, but among the 2012 players, nobody likes him, and, more importantly, nobody respects (trusts) him.
g) He cares only about himself and he wants rematch. He will be 50 this year; he can't wait too long.
6. He lies when he describes his WYCC 2012 experience as "nothing but positive". As far as I know, nobody among the CFC governors was in Maribor. But my son Mark was playing, and I was there, and I know at least 2 cases in which he couldn't be described as "positive".
a) One girl started crying after Porper's "lesson" (he pushed her too hard), and her mom had a long and very unpleasant conversation with the “coach”.
b) Porper forced a young and very talented girl to play an unfamiliar opening (due to the fact that she didn't know every single line in her usual opening). A permanent coach of this girl (who is BTW a stronger chess player) was very unhappy with this advice.
7. For the end, I want to share 2 personal experiences regarding Porper. I know that nobody can check them; but throughout the 8 years that I have played chess here, in Canada, many people have gotten to know me, and nobody has ever called me a liar. I hope you can trust me.
a) My best friend and business partner lives in Israel. Like me, he is a Soviet Union Candidate Master. In the 90s, he was playing in different Israeli team tournaments for the Technion Team. He knows Porper.
Last April, after I was selected as a Team Captain, I told him about this, and this is how the conversation went:
- Congratulations. Who are your team players?
- 3 from Israel: Gerzhoy, Noritsyn and Porper.
- Porper??? You will surely have a lot of trouble with him.
b) Istanbul, 2012. Middle of the tournament. Dinner (after the round). Some Canadian players (including L. Gershoy, E. Porper and myself) share the table with the Israeli delegation: GM V. Golod – Israel’s Women’s Team Captain, some old guy – an executive of Israeli Chess Federation, and Israel’s 1st board for women (Maya Porat).
We speak in the only common language - Hebrew. All of us are fluent in it. We engage in small talk and some jokes, which Porper (as usual) doesn't understand. He leaves. Maya then says: "What a strange and unpleasant guy" (about Porper). The executive answers her: "He was the same in Israel".
8. Conclusion. Porper's reputation in Israel speaks for itself. Too many people talked about it (Y. Teplitsky is not alone). At the same time, he is a strong chess player and right now may be the most powerful person in CFC.
As a chess player and a father of chess players, I felt it was my duty to write this post. This guy must be stopped.