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View Full Version : 2. Opening Comments of Chair



Lyle Craver
12-12-2015, 07:23 PM
(this thread is reserved for the President's opening comments)

Vladimir Drkulec
12-12-2015, 07:39 PM
I would like to welcome all of the voting members to this Fall quarterly Chess Federation of Canada meeting. I hope to see reports from the executive and officers in order to update our voting members and the CFC of what is going on in the chess world. As most of you are probably aware, we were shocked to learn that the U.S. has put FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on a list of individuals that is sanctioned for helping the Syrian government. Kirsan has stepped aside for the moment while he attempts to clear his name with the U.S. state department. Georgios Makropoulos will be acting FIDE president until such time as Kirsan can overcome his difficulties in the U.S.

One of the items which has been under discussion for some time is the Premium Chess chess server which comes to us from FIDE. I think that at this point we are ready to move ahead with this initiative. It is not only a platform for playing chess. It is also a platform for chess training and will help Canadians access training information. We have been discussing this, and similar ideas for some time now. I think it is time for the CFC to jump into the pool with both feet.

We have some bids for upcoming tournaments in 2016 including the CYCC, the Canadian Open and NAYCC. After waiting until November as various CYCC and Canadian Open bids from Calgary and Kitchener lost momentum and it became clear that the CMA was not going to be able to organize the NAYCC in Toronto as had been the original plan, I became quite concerned that we might have another year where major tournaments once again fail to be organized. After talking to the organizers in Windsor I decided to get the ball rolling and make sure that Windsor puts forward a bid for these three tournaments at this very late hour. This has encouraged others to step forward as well. We will discuss this situation and hopefully move forward and encourage bids for future years.

There has been a stimulating discussion by the chess foundation trustees in an email thread which I believe should be brought forward and discussed by the voting members. There are some proposals for additional requirements with respect to the organization of the Chess Foundations finances that Lloyd Lombard one of the trustees has come forward with. They were received too late to include them as a voting option but we can discuss them and identify the issues which are raised and the pitfalls of various approaches.

Also there have been some discussions in email with regard to bringing forward a new and updated handbook to replace the creaky and outdated one that we deal with now. Those discussions can continue here.

We can also discuss the proposal from the FQE for continuing the CFC - FQE agreement. I would ask that the voting members look closely at the proposal with an open mind and keep in mind that we are stronger together than we are apart. I think that an arrangement similar to the one proposed with a heavier emphasis on an exchange of services can be made to work for this year.

As always we will have a thread for any new business or issues that the voting members might wish to raise now or at future meetings. I look forward to a productive meeting.