05.04.2006
ALEXANDER KENTLER. CROSSROADS: NOT REGISTERED IN THE LISTS
As a matter of fact, the lists of delegates must have been placed at the website on March 1 by decision of Saint Petersburg Federation’s Board, but they appeared on March 29, only a day before the elections. In general, the whole burden of work of the Board fell on a pre-election period instead of being spread over the last two years. There were many meetings, demands to the others (of dates, documents, programs) and confidence in their impunity and success.
The list of delegates is flabbergasting! http://www.totalchess.spb.ru/ If you read it, you will get real pleasure. There are seventy-four names in it and grandmasters, Honored trainers and international arbiters occupy almost a half of this list. 39 seats for them all (except the executive committee that was the former power). They were distributed in the following way: Junior chess committee - 8, Women’s chess - 5, veterans - 5, Mass chess - 2, Student’s - 2, Tournament - 2, Sports-technical - 4, Title -2, Computer - 2, Arbiters’ - 2, "professional players" - 2, Trainer’s Council - 2, composers - 1. In fact, a quarter of these seats belong to the previous membership of the Federation Board, while other people don’t always concern to the committees they represent. It is not a question of legitimacy of the conference but of the fact that chess activity is absolutely deposed in our city and a half of these committees are just thing in itself.
Let me draw your attention to the list of the titleholders. It doesn’t call forth anything besides loathing when the list of about twenty grandmasters includes Svidler, Khalifman and... Malinin! Seats of respectable people must not be bought! Try to find an explanation why Epishin, who plays for Saint Petersburg in the Russian Championships, is not in the list. It is not important where he lives. One can’t take away the seat that belongs to this player. Probably, when the number of grandmasters amounts to dozens, we should differentiate them by their merits and their role in the city’s life. It is impossible to invite everyone all together forgetting someone on the way.
A small digression. In the 70s of the previous century a friend of mine invented a method that helped to save lots of money in construction of bridges and viaducts. This brought him a nomination to the Prize of Lenin Komsomol (this Prize was less illustrious than Lenin prize but it was also giving prestige and money). Then the list was extended gradually, as his chiefs and a ministry representative were included. At last, my friend was stricken from the list and all the people except him became the laureates. Something similar happened with Khalifman at this election conference. Alexander Valeryevich made a lot for the victorious team, and nevertheless, as a result of secret vote he wasn’t elected to a vice-president position.
Stolyarov and Korelov, Honored trainers of Russia, were not included in the list of those who were invited to the conference. The former only called in at the conference and nobody remembered about the latter. And nobody thought of inviting Geller, who is also an international arbiter. Common friends, who haven’t found them in the lists, came interested: “What has happened? Are they ok?” Nothing has happened. The Federation treats chessplayers in the same way that it has been treating chess for the last two years. I can’t remember when Federation’s activity was even assessed as unsatisfactory. This fact is especially intriguing, bearing in mind that the Federation picked the electors itself.
Nonsense! Cherepkov, Honored trainer of Russia, was given a seat in the Veteran committee. Probably, they have just forgotten about his title.
The Saint Petersburg’s Vice-Governor Tarasov addressed the conference and denied the rumors about the transfer of Chigorin chess club in the ownership of another organization. However, he noted that the chess club is out of fix and chessplayers can’t realize the repairs themselves. But now there are no applications for this building.
There is no question about the decline of chess in Saint Petersburg. The Chess club on Petrogradskaya is out of fix as well. There are no doubts that the chess club “Ladja”, which presently uses a building vested by “Viking Bank”, will be closed.
Young and ambitious people have come to the power in the Chess Federation. Will they be able to raise the level of chess in Saint Petersburg, to help the youth and the veterans, to establish the relationships with the city’s agencies, to organize prestigious tournaments in our city right up to the World Championship?.. I would like to hope and believe in it.
