My mandate from the Board is to ensure the news flow to and from the CFC, in particular between FIDE and the CFC and between the CFC and the FQE. During the 2019-2020 term, I continued to implement this mandate by all means available.
Via forum posts and e-mail, I systematically informed the Executive, players and parents about announcements and regulations of upcoming events such as World Youth / Cadet, World Amateur, World Schools, events for players with disabilities, norm tournaments in the U.S., events by the Susan Polgar Foundation, as well as about FIDE news such as the progress in drafting the new Charter, PB/MB/Council decisions, surveys addressed to national federations. I was also explaining the CFC developments in French in Quebec and advocated for having more event sections rated with FIDE and the CFC.
Clear communication became even more important once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I systematically posted schedule changes and postponement announcements in the CFC Forum and placed links to the CFC Forum on Chesstalk.com. At present, we have dedicated threads in both locations that list FIDE Calendar changes for 2020 and 2021.
I was successful in securing an invitation for Canada as the only Western Hemisphere country among ten teams chosen to participate in the 2019 edition of the Vladimir Dvorkovich Cup that was held in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, in last September. This annual team junior U-17 competition that runs under the auspices of FIDE since 2005 and is called an unofficial mixed-gender world team championship was a great experience for Canadian players and parents. I am grateful to the CFC for appointing me the captain, approving the selection criteria (by national rating) and providing moral support to the team. No CFC funds were spent on this extremely costly undertaking: organizers covered all transportation, accommodation and meals; devoted parents Igor Gaisinsky and Chau Diep graciously sponsored team uniforms; MPs, MPPs and MNAs kindly made available Canadian flags, pins and souvenirs.
Four bright U-17 players: Svitlana Demchenko, Cynthia Cui, Adam Gaisinsky, and Henry Zhang made supporters on-site and at home extremely proud. Canada finished +2, =1, -6 winning a match 2.5:1.5 over the chess superpower India and drawing 2:2 with the host Kazakhstan, which turned out to be a huge difference in final standings since it was that missing matchpoint that didn’t allow the Kazakhstan team to get to the podium. I regularly took photographs and shared them within the parents’ group, with the CFC Youth Coordinator and the CFC Newsfeed Editor. Good manners, erudition and friendliness of Canadian teenagers (who spoke six languages altogether) made a lasting impact on the organizers and officials. The hosts have kindly provided a special day of sightseeing and museums just for our team. Right upon return home, the players organized to pen a heartfelt note of thanks that left a big impression on the addressees. I am glad to share this letter here.
The 2020 edition of the VDC is obviously canceled because of coronavirus. If the CFC Executive continues to support me in these efforts, Team Canada has really good chances to be invited to the VDC again when over-the-board competitions resume.
At the World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad in Çorum, Turkey, I was privileged to serve as the FIDE Technical Delegate and liaised closely with the Canadian delegation. The Captain GM Gergely Szabo and the HoD Canada Ms. Sandra Vettese were prohibited from bringing cell phones to the playing hall. Thus, I systematically took photos of all Canadian players before and during rounds, then posted them within the parents’ group and shared with the CFC Youth Coordinator to publish at home.
Likewise, at the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Moscow, Russia, where I served as an anticheating arbiter I took pictures of all Canadian players and posted a photo gallery in Canadian forums.
I was always available to answer questions from the CFC and the FQE colleagues regarding FIDE plans, event bids, and such.
Last but not least, in my lecturer capacity I gave more than a dozen FIDE seminars and workshops overseas during the last year, and whenever it came to Q&A, the audience was always keen to ask questions about life and chess in Canada. Thus, I used every opportunity, like this one: https://fide.com/news/289
to explain how things work in this great country. Over the years, we were fortunate to have a steady inflow of high-level chess players to Canada, and the interest in immigrating and changing federations remains high, especially from the Maghreb and North Africa. The CFC Executive has provided letters of support to Canadian authorities on several occasions in the past. It would be good if we continue doing this in order to facilitate acceptance and accommodation of chess players from all cultures to Canada.
