A proposal from the Association for Chess Professionals showed up on the FIDE website the other day. See fide.com/news.asp?id=1532
In a nutshell, they are proposing that open tournaments be changed to have a rapid-play swiss event over 2-3 days, followed by a RR in which all of the qualifiers are guaranteed prize money. (Those who don’t qualify for the RR would play in a secondary swiss event.)
Obviously this is aimed at the big-money events.
Thoughts?
I understand the reasons for such a proposal but I must strongly oppose it. Having the qualifiers comprised exclusively of rapid play games discriminates against older players and others who are not skilled at fast time controls. There is also a hidden implication that it is a waste of time to have games at classical time controls between GMs and “amateurs” (a category which in the USA includes most non-titled Masters and Senior Masters).
I’m sorry about the plight of the professionals but they are not the only ones who take tournament chess seriously and want enough time on the clock to perform as well as possible. I don’t play rapid chess - ever - because I don’t consider it real tournament chess. Sorry Mr. Tregubov but if your professionals want my entry fee money, they will have to take me on at 40/2.
– Hal Terrie (USCF Life Master)
I agree with Hal about the idea, but frankly I don’t think it has any real applicability to U.S. tournaments. They’re talking about Opens of 9-11 days. How many of those are there in the U.S.? Answer: one.
Quite frankly I’m personally getting quite annoyed with the ACP. There are other proposals they are making, many of which takes away the rights of an organizer to organize an event to their liking or to a sponsor’s liking. It’s funny I don’t see the ACP putting their neck out there financially or time wise to organize events for professionals (yeah they dub some events as part of their Grand Prix but ACP isn’t funding $$$ or organizers time), yet they want rules and stipulations put forth.
Yes the professional player has a plight. Are chess professionals the ONLY ones in difficiult situations given their selected choice of profession? No there are others. Even with tennis when its an elimination match, a single match will kill 4 days of time and there can be NO financial renumeration at the end. Ice-skating is very similiar as I’m finding.
European players have grown accustomed to things that IMHO are unrealistic given the times. They think all they have to do is show up and play and get a pay day otherwise it’s a waste of their time. They don’t seem to think it’s the players’ responsibility at all to seek other avenues of compensation based on their skill.
and, in a sense, that tournament is already run that way…