Prominent Trainer Retreats From Claim He Held Title

By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN Published: January 21, 2007
Michael Khodarkovsky is a prominent trainer and coach, and president of
the Kasparov Chess Foundation. But is he, as he has claimed, an
international master? No, according to the World Chess Federation, and
now he is backing off the claim.
Khodarkovsky, who immigrated from Ukraine 15 years ago and lives in New
Jersey, coaches at Montclair Kimberley Academy and the Spence School in
Manhattan.
He is also on a committee of the federation that administers
credentials for trainers and coaches, and he has been awarded the title
of senior trainer, the highest designation.
The question of whether he is an international master is not academic;
coaches and trainers are often hired based on their own chess skills as
well as on how well their students do.
In a telephone interview on Jan. 9, Khodarkovsky said he had earned the
international master title, a lifetime title awarded by the federation,
based on two tournaments he played in Yugoslavia in 1989 and 1990.
Khodarkovsky said he did not have the tournament results or other
proof, but he said that after the second tournament, his rating was
"exactly 2450." An international master must, among other things,
have a rating of at least 2400.
According to the federation's Web site, the requirements for the
title of senior trainer include having had "world/international
successes" as a player and a rating of at least 2450 at one time.
On the Web site of the Kasparov foundation, which sponsors scholastic
tournaments, a press release dated Aug. 16, 2004, about Mackenzie
Molner, a student of Khodarkovsky's who won the national high school
championship, said Khodarkovsky was an international master. By
Thursday, the title had been removed from the release.
Information on the federation's Web site also supported
Khodarkovsky's contention, at least briefly.
A World Chess Federation press release on Oct. 15, 2006, announcing a
chess convention in Singapore in December at which Khodarkovsky ran a
seminar for coaches, said he was an international master.
The federation's "personal card" for players with an
international rating showed two weeks ago that he was an international
master, with a rating of 2260. By last Tuesday, the title had been
removed from the card.
Mikko Markkula, chairman of the federation's qualification
commission, said he removed the title after becoming aware that it was
added sometime in the last month. He said he investigated
Khodarkovsky's tournament history and concluded that he had never
earned the title.
Markkula said that Khodarkovsky had asked that some changes be made to
correct the spelling of his name, but that someone had also altered his
card to give him the title of international master. Markkula said that
this could not be done accidentally and that he was investigating
"because I find this very serious." He added that whoever had
changed the card was "absolutely cheating."
Dirk J. A. De Ridder, chairman of the federation's titles and ratings
committee, said he found the federation's press release citing
Khodarkovsky as an international master disturbing and speculated that
the person who wrote it might have given Khodarkovsky the title because
other instructors at the conference were titled players. "I am having
the slight impression that in order not to embarrass Mr. Khodarkovsky,
this title was added," De Ridder said. He added that having the
international master title would make it possible for Khodarkovsky to
charge more for his services.
In an e-mail message, Markkula said he had looked up Khodarkovsky's
entire rating history and found that he had played a tournament in
Yugoslavia in 1990, but could not find a record of him playing another
tournament during this period. Markkula also wrote that
Khodarkovsky's peak rating, which he obtained after the Yugoslavia
tournament, was 2290.
In a follow-up interview on Tuesday, Khodarkovsky said the directors of
the Yugoslav tournaments told him his performances were enough to
qualify for the title, at least provisionally, until his rating got
above 2400.
Khodarkovsky said he was puzzled that his federation rating was so low.
In the Soviet Union, he said he had a Soviet rating of 2335 to 2345 and
he thought his federation rating was "on par" with that.
Khodarkovsky also said he had been awarded the title of Soviet master
before he emigrated, and "I always say that I am a Soviet master
because I value this more than international master."
About the mention of his title in the press release on the Kasparov
foundation site, Khodarkovsky said that it was written by the
foundation's "P.R. person" and that he did not know where that
person had gotten the information.
Khodarkovsky said that he also had no part in writing the press release
about the Singapore conference for the federation, known as FIDE. "If
FIDE said I am an international master then probably they have
records," he said. "If they don't, then they should erase this. I
did not commission this, and I have no interest in doing this."
In the end, Khodarkovsky said, it is "meaningless" whether or not
he is an international master. He said that to be a good trainer or
coach requires a skill set different from what is needed to be a top
player and that his profession is as a coach, not a player.
"I am not a player anymore for a long, long time. I am a coach and a
good coach, and I continue this career. That's so far all I care
about," he said. "I am very proud of what I am doing. Every student
that I turn out, I am very happy about it. It really doesn't matter
about the title."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/cr...s/21chess.html

What I find most interesting about this article is the fact that it was
obviously Paul Truong who got the New York Times to publish it.

Truong has shown a remarkable ability to get articles published in the
press. We should all admire him for this.

In this case, hardly any chess player cares whether Michael
Khodarkovsky in an International Master or not. Why should the New York
Times publish this?

Paul Truong has a long standing animosity towards Michael Khodarkovsky.
This appears to stem from the contract the Kasparov Chess Foundation
signed with the USCF to sponsor the 2006 Woman's Olympiad Team. Truong
constantly refers to this as the "illegal contract" between the USCF
and the KCF. The KCF paid $30,000 to the USCF under this contract.

Also, Michael Khodarkovsky signed the so-called four-way contract with
Truong and Frank Niro of the USCF in 2003. Truong was demanding that
the Susan Polgar Foundation be paid $50,000 under this contract.
Presumably some of this $50,000 was supposed to come from the Kasparov
Chess Foundation.

Here are two quotes by Paul Truong on on
this subject:

[fide-chess] What does $50 Grand buy?
Thu June 8, 2006:

As long as the KCF is the sponsor of the women's team, Susan will never
play for the US in the Olympiad again. That was what Beatriz wanted and
she got it. This is the result of an illegal deal that was made by your
beloved Beatriz and the KCF. Susan will not have her name linked to
either of them. Don't worry Eric, everyone will know what your friend
has done. As long as I am in chess, I will expose dirty chess
politicians. That is a promise. Time for a new day in chess.

[fide-chess] USCF says " No Olympiad Team"?

In a message dated 7/30/2006 12:46:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

In this important posting, Truong says that Susan will not be
playing
on the US Team in the 2006 Olympiad because the USCF refused to
sign a
contract for his "training program".

More fuzzy posting from Sam. How typical! Susan will not play for the
any team that is sponsored by the KCF. That was her decision for the
unethical / illegal action that were taken between BM and the KCF. She
made this clear to the USCF EB.

Susan will also not play any team that has no training program. She
takes her chess seriously unlike some other players. The US women's
team is not better than China, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, etc. How do
you expect to win anything without proper training? The US has never
won any medal in the Women's Olympiad until a serious training system
was put together by SP.

Even with Susan Polgar's strength compare to other women players, she
had to train very hard to win the Women's World Cup a few weeks ago.
There is no miracle in chess.

People like you have no business being on the USCF EB. You have no clue
about you are talking about. You an idiot and a lunatic.

You belong in jail and not on the EB.

This posting has been deleted by the moderator over at the USCF Forums.

Here is the last posting I attempted to make just as it was deleted:

This was posting number 26313 to

The other posting was posting # 25855

If you search for the word "illegal" you
will find many postings by Paul Truong where he accuses various persons
and entities of illegal acts.

However, he never signs his posts. Over there, he posts as
just as here he posts as

He used to post as

That is why you do not see his name signed at the bottom of the above
quoted post.

Sam Sloan

Tanner wrongfully claims Life Master title; important enough for Sloan
to talk to AP about it.

Khordakovsky wrongfully claims IM title: unimportant per Sloan.

Truong claims Ph.D., important.

Sloan claims to be a "former master" and that "it is generally accepted
as correct to refer to me as a chess master"; unimportant.

To summarize this worldview: ethics matter when it's convenient for
them to matter.