THIS CRAZY WORLD OF CHESS by GM Larry Evans (page 64)
I object to the FIDE handshake rule....I am not saying chess should
become world-wide wrestling, but we should
celebrate those incredibly talented eccentrics who are often at the
top of the
chess world. It is a part of our chess culture, and there is no
reason to try to
hide it. -- Jerry Spinrad
The PCA unveiled a Code of Conduct supposedly based on disciplinary
measures in
tennis and golf with fines for violations ranging up to $25,000. "Some
rules raised the eyebrows and the ire of a few observers," noted Chess
Life:
* "Players must speak positively about all sponsors and the PCA when
talking to the press or public."
* "Players and members of their delegations must not slander or libel
PCA officers, organizers or sponsors. Players are responsible for the
actions of acknowledged members of their delegation."
* "At public appearances, correct dress must be worn at all times;
jacket, shirt and tie; no jeans or sneakers. This applies both to
players and their delegations."
These rules were cooked up by the "democratic" PCA without any input
from the top players. The dress code particularly irked a chess fan in
Minneapolis who sent me a copy of an indignant letter he wrote to the
editor of Chess Life:
"Chess is changing, but is it changing for the better? In chess as in
other sports, change is too often dictated not by what is good for the
game but by what is profitable. We play our best when comfortable in
our attire. It's nothing short of amazing that many people still make
an issue out of trivial external characteristics. Is it really asking
too much for chess to remain above the mindset that article of
clothing A is somehow better than article of clothing B? Suits and
ties probably translate into more money, and this is the bottom line.
Money talks, and it
talks a lot louder than integrity and the well-being of chess."
Other portions of the code were blasted by this writer and FIDE
champion Karpov, who disliked the odious provision that punished
players for acts committed by their delegation. GM Yasser Seirawan, a
frequent critic of Kasparov in those days,
also sounded an alarm in his regular Inside Chess editorial:
"There are a number of issues at stake here. One is 'Free Speech.' The
second is, 'Who determines proper behavior?' If Kasparov makes
annoying faces during my game with him, can I calmly call for an
arbiter and tell him that Garry's next smirk
should cost him at least $50? A pleasant prospect, but difficult to
enforce."
The first victim of the gag rule was 21-year-old Gata Kamsky. In 1995
he balked at signing the code before playing 25-year-old Vishy Anand,
who won their match to become Kasparov's next challenger atop the ill-
fated World Trade Center in Manhattan.
At a press conference Kamsky complained that the PCA sliced its
$200,000 purse in half. He was fined $1,500 on the spot.
"Kamsky's treatment was truly despicable," opined former Chess Life
editor Larry Parr. "Oh, yes, I know that his pugnacious father angers
people; but the job of the PCA is not to get even with him by
punishing his son. I interviewed Kasparov a number of times, but
friendship did not cloud my judgment or blind me to his egotism. He is
a chess genius, but the gag rule and blacklisting players is the kind
of thing we had come to expect of FIDE, not the PCA. How has the PCA
demonstrated its moral superiority to FIDE?"
Even three-time USA champion Lev Alburt, a pal of Kasparov, told the
New York Times, "Kamsky probably said a number of unpleasant things,
but I don't think the PCA treated him very fairly. An organization
that conducts championships must be objective, show no favorites, no
bias. To build it around the world champion just doesn't look right to
me, doesn't look like it has a future."
wrote:
I object to the FIDE handshake rule on two levels.
The first is a sort of "free speech" level; rejecting shaking of hands
is often a type of political speech. If players refused to shake hands
with Alekhine after his anti-semitic article, for example, I would
feel very strange about punishing them with loss of game.
The other level on which I object is that this sort of "code of
behavior" rule (the dress rule is similar) is intended to make chess
more popular, but it actually does quite the opposite. If our players
all become bland, identically dressed, well behaved automata as a
result of these codes, chess will become more boring for the public.
Feuds between outsize personalities may lead to occasional mockery,
but it also gets attention, and makes the games more interesting since
people have a reason to root for one or the other chess player. I am
not saying chess should become world-wide wrestling, but we should
celebrate those incredibly talented eccentrics who are often at the
top of the chess world. It is a part of our chess culture, and there
is no reason to try to hide it.
Jerry Spinrad
On Jan 23, 2:44 pm, keithbc wrote:
On 23 Jan, 20:04, Mike Murray wrote:
On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:47:42 +0100, "Jerzy" wrote:
Chessplayers can greet each other in other ways to show that wthey will
compete honestly.
"Herr Lasker, I have only two words to say to you: ?'Check' and
'Mate'". ?
The problem was not encountered with Toppy and Kram because neither
OFFERED their hand - so bypassed the regulations which stipulate that
if you are OFFERED your opponent's hand, you MUST accept.