Game fixing... networking... selling of points... giving up points for those who can pay for it...
These are the common words and statements that come to life if we try to scan the sports columns and articles about Philippine Chess lately.
IM Ronald Dableo... IM Chito Garma... even the young ones, as in 14 and Under lady chessers were implicated into this bruhaha!
Anyone? any opinion? your thoughts? You are all welcome to post your comments here... Please send me yourthoughts on this and I will compile them here and post them all together. You've got balls to have your thoughts posted and be read worldwide? then include your name and email-ad so that anyone interested to send you their all agreeing love notes will be directed towards you. You alone.
Anyone?
As for me, I guess I would be lucky enough to be able to meet these players and hear their side. No more, No less.
fabph76. Insights maybe but not answers.
Wika Para sa Lahat
Magandang araw! Magandang hapon! Magandang gabi! If you understood any of the words or phrases I used, chances are that you know they come...
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These are my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGamefixing, in whatever form, sport, and reason, is unethical, at the least, and criminal, at the worst. However, chess being a game of very personal nature, it is very difficult to prove that a fixed game has happened by just looking at a scoresheet and without somebody directly involved in one confessing. At stake is not only the chance of earning a bigger prize at the tournament but also local and international ratings, self-respect, respect and adulation of peers and countrymen, prestige, and of course, bragging rights.
Several top players have been accused or suspected in being involved in it. How do we prove it without clear evidence?
Is losing a game or losing a tournament especially when you're the top seed proof enough?
Is playing cautiously and having a "grandmaster's draw" proof enough?
Look at the results of the recently concluded 2007 Asian Zonals in Vietnam. The tournament's top seed and the Philippines' top player finished near the bottom. Does this mean he deliberately threw away the games, that he didn't play his best or gave his all?
I don't think so. Agreeing to a grandmaster's draw only shows a weakness in a player's resolve to play at his / her best at all times, or just being very cautious, or wary of his / her opponent, or a lack of belief in his / her own abilities.
As we all know, chess is a very mental game, one needing a lot of focus and concentration. It is very easy for anybody to lose focus or concentration, to be distracted not only by what's happening around him / her during a tournament, but also by what's currently happening in his / her life - family, personal circumstances, emotional state, etc.
I believe that these accusations should have been better off investigated carefully, privately, silently, meticulously and dispassionately. By coming out publicly with accusations even without having conducted a thorough investigation first, affected the mental and emotional health of the suspected players and unncessarily hurt their chances of performing to the best of their abilities when they played at the Asian Zonals in Vietnam recently. It seems that we have shot ourselves in the head with this affair.
I'm not saying that we should condone gamefixing. We should be surefooted when tackling this delicate matter. And let no one be spared from this if hard evidence is found, presented and proven. If it's all suspicion and conjecture, we're better off forgetting this affair has happened, move forward, and just let conscience and karma befall those who are involved in gamefixing.
Comemnts can be sent directly to me at j4kst0n3@yahoo.com or throygh this forum.