Chess Scotland Noticeboard

[Alex McFarlane]

Hi from Kazan. I arrived at my hotel yesterday at 10 o’clock local time (7pm yours) after getting up at 4am to catch the first of three flights Newcastle-Brussels-Moscow-Kazan.

I was greeted on the tarmac at Kazan by one of the locals who ushered me to a taxi and arranged for my luggage to be collected whilst I was whisked through security and the rest of the passengers had to take a bus.

Driving in Kazan is something else. There are broad roads similar to our motorways except there are no lane markings so the road changes from 3 to 4 lanes at the whim of the cars in front. U turns are common – you just stop when you feel like it, wait for a gap in the oncoming fast lane, block it and wait until there is a clearing in the next lane to allow you to complete the turn.

Back to the chess. There are three arbiters for the event. The other two are Ignatius Leong from Singapore and Franca Dapiron from Italy. Surprisingly there are no local arbiters involved. I was introduced as being from Scotland and not Britain so that was good.

The set up is similar to the London Classic except that in front of the stage is a two way mirror with the audience able to see the players but the players only seeing themselves. The toilets and a smoking room are in a sealed corridor just off the playing hall and as the players will be screened for mobile phones before entering I will not actually have to follow them about their business. The use of mobile phones will be blocked in the immediate area anyway. Illegal in Britain but apparently all right here.

Earlier today there were more technicians wiring the 4 live boards than there are active organisers in Scotland! I exaggerate only slightly as there seemed to be double figures in at least 2 rooms and some more in a third. For the Scottish with 5 times as many boards we have Andy Howie and Dave Clayton!!

Dr Jana Bellin arrives on Friday to carry out drug tests. I wait to see if I will be involved in that but at the time of writing it seems likely as she indicated I would be when we met at the 4NCL last weekend.

I have had an arbiters’ meeting and a meeting with the players’ representatives. The Opening Ceremony and the selection of colours will take place soon.

[AMcHarg]

Good update Alex, it looks like you are experiencing a lot of new things!

[admin]

Nice one Alex, keep us up to date!

[Mike Scott]

[admin]

Standard IOC drug list

[Lara]

I introduced Alex to Jana at the weekend and he said that she had asked him to help out with the drugs tests. I asked him if he had told her about his fear of needles but apparently it is a urine test!

[admin]

So Alex is taking the.....

[Lara]

People can look at Alex's photos on my Facebook page

[Alex McFarlane]

The Opening Ceremony went off without a hitch. It started with traditional folk singing followed by a speech in which the building of a chess palace was announced. The Candidates matches are being seen as the start of a period of international events to be held in Kazan including the Student Games in 2013 and some FIFA World Cup matches in 2018.
The Opening Ceremony then had the drawing of colours and was concluded with some opera and ballet with a chess theme.

20 invited guests (I was one of them) then had dinner. No player was in attendance as it was expected that they would be preparing for today’s game which starts at noon BST.

The 5 course dinner was excellent though it required a knowledge of Russian culture otherwise you went hungry. Speeches and toasts were carried out throughout the meal. Being polite I stopped eating my salad starter during the first speech from the immediate Past President of the Republic of Tatarstan. The outcome of this was that I could not finish this course before the next arrived. I learned my lesson quickly and kept eating regardless of other activities. This proved to be a wise move as there were 10 speeches and 9 toasts in total. At least it was only the rabbit food course that went unfinished. The dinner was attended by 2 former republic Presidents, various local politicians and several FIDE officials at least two of whom are only here for the day.

We did a final inspection of the playing area this morning. The film cameras have now been positioned with one per board. As a result of the filming the presence of the arbiters on stage will be kept to a minimum though we will be able to see everything from our position in the wings.

There is now nothing much to do until just before kick-off, except possibly have lunch. As a counterbalance to the food I’m eating I am mainly walking up and down stairs to and from my 6th floor bedroom.

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[DGCongalton]

A fascinating insight into the Candidates event, I'm already looking forward to the next instalment.

I'm sure you'll be a fantastic ambassador for Scotland and the experience you gain and the contacts you make at the event will be invaluable, not just to you, but to Chess in Scotland.

On election day here in Scotland, you're a great example of Ask not what Chess Scotland can do for you but what you can do for Chess in Scotland. And beyond.

Best wishes for the rest of your trip.

[Alex McFarlane]

My thanks for all the messages of support and to Dave Hewitt for his article in the Caledonian Mercury.

http://sport.caledonianmercury.com/2011/05/05/diplomacy-and-draw-offers-scottish-arbiter-at-the-chess-high-table/001516


Round 1
Security was again tight before the start of play. There was a military presence at security checkpoints and at various other places around the hotel. Yet again this included a sweep of the playing area by a sniffer dog.
Whilst we are staying and playing in the hotel that doesn’t give a very good indication of what the venue is like. Not only is it a hotel but there is also an up-market shopping mall on the first two floors with a cinema complex in a wing on the opposite side of the building to the playing hall.
I noticed on a Forum someone stating that the playing area looked like a small room. This illusion is caused by plastic mirrored panels being suspended between the players and the spectators. On either side of this are two screens. One showing the four game positions and the other the pictures from the four cameras filming proceedings.
Whilst the chess went smoothly on day one there have been one or two teething problems. The phone jamming does not seem to have worked if it is in place as we were told. There were several spectator phones going off in the early stages and occasionally thereafter. I wonder if the blocking of phone signals was not possible because of the commentary. Spectators can get earphones which allows them to hear the live commentary. This also caused a problem as the volume from them was so loud that they could be heard, indistinctly, at the boards. The sound levels had to be turned down several times before an acceptable level was reached.
We will have plenty of signs in place for the start of round 2.
The mirrored screen also creates problems. The spectators have the impression of being in a separate room so noise levels can build up. The frustration to the arbiters is that we cannot see who is talking until we move to the other side of the screen. It is therefore often impossible to know who the culprit was.

[Alex McFarlane]

Round 2
Only three hours into round 2 and we knew we were working on Sunday. The Aronian/Krischuk draw meant that at least one match was going to a fourth day.
No politicians in attendance today so therefore no military security or dogs. The soldiers being replaced by civilians.
The phone blocking seems to have worked today and the spectators were a lot quieter, so on only two occasions did I have to look like a dolly bird at a boxing match and walk around holding up a card asking for quiet. Although, for all the Russian writing I know I might have been walking round holding a sign saying “Look at this prat”.
Anyway away from the chess I went for quite a walk this morning. They seem to be fixing and painting just about everywhere. Many of the painters just seem to be tied on to high buildings and abseiled down with a brush and paintpot.

Health and Safety doesn't seem to have reached here. Even in the playing hall the cameras were mounted on platforms and the operators on stools. A few inches movement would have seen them fall off. There are cables everywhere around the stage, a few of them are duct taped down and in some cases (though not many) for more than two or three inches every 3 metres. Fortunately the players are in no danger, it is only the arbiters, the film crew and, for the first five minutes the press photographers. I think everyone has tripped at least once, though fortunately not during any time scrambles.

Back to my morning walk. The driving is even worse than I believed. I thought I saw someone turning into a one way street the wrong way, but no, he just encountered someone else waiting to get out who had used the other side of the road to avoid the queue. I also saw a road between the Kremlin and the Cathedral which was 2 broad lanes in Britain. This was turned into two lanes in one direction and one in the other by simply crossing the centre of the road and thereby claiming it for your side. At a slightly wider bit on a bend I actually saw someone just overtake the two stationary lanes and create a third lane!! This lane lasted about 20 metres until the road narrowed again. Lane markings are non existant and lanes seem to be defined by the position of the car.

They seem to be in the process of rebuilding quite a bit of Kazan. Apparently a great deal was demolished under the Soviet regime and replaced with concrete buildings. To some extent this is still going on but I notice that in some cases they are trying to preserve older buildings or at least the facade. There are still one or two shanty town style wooden shacks around on side streets. I wonder how long the authorities will allow these to survive.

The hotel seems to think I'm a chess player rather than an arbiter. On the first morning my room was made up by 10am but they now seem to leave it until mid afternoon. Obviously if its known that he’s with the chess the assumption is that he will be in bed until mid-day.

I had all three meals yesterday and it was far too much. If I'm not careful, despite the extra exercise, I will come back even larger than when I left. I skipped the three course lunch today (though not the huge breakfast) in favour of a few savouries in the lounge reserved for players and arbiters. Luckily, play finished in about 5 hours today so I didn’t have to wait too long for dinner. I have now tried several Russian dishes, I try to take at least one with a meal.

Alex

[George Murphy]

Alex

It's really good of you to give us these reports. Thank you.

I notice that Malcolm Pein has mentioned your role in this morning's Daily Telegraph chess column. I think this might be accessible via TWIC but am not sure about this. From what he says, he may have been reading your posts. Quite right, too.

George

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