ICCA Press Release: 14th WMCCC Jakarta
brucemo
Tony Marsland asked me to post the following to the newsgroup. This was
received in my email this morning, I assume that other participants have
also received it, since there were a lot more addresses on the "to" line
than just mine.
bruce
-----------------------------
To:
ALL PARTICIPANTS AT THE 1996 WORLD MICROCOMPUTER
CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAKARTA
From:
Tony Marsland [ICCA President] & David Levy [ICCA Vice President]
The ICCA has recently been made aware of the discussion on the
Internet regarding the forthcoming tournament in Jakarta. As with most
discussions on the Internet there is a lot of misinformation being sent
around, amplified and used as "evidence" to support various arguments.
At this stage the ICCA would like to present the facts which we have
on record about the matters being discussed, in the hope that a calmer
attitude can prevail.
WHY JAKARTA?
One question being asked is why the event has been scheduled for
Jakarta. The ICCA's policy for each event is to accept the first offer to
host that event which meets the ICCA's financial requirements. In this
case that meant accepting the offer from Gunadarma University to act
as hosts - not only was theirs the first such offer for the 1996 event it
was the ONLY offer.
There has been some question raised about who is the financial sponsor
- the Indonesian government or Gunadarma University. We were
always told that it was the university and have not seen any evidence
to the contrary. Certainly all of our negotiations and discussions have
been with the university.
Jakarta seems to be quite a popular venue. Apart from a couple of the
amateur programmers who could not afford to go to Jakarta without a
free air ticket, only the three programs listed below have withdrawn,
contrary to some suggestions of a mass protest. After these withdrawls
we still have 26 participants in the tournament, one of the highest
entries on record!
M-CHESS PRO
Why did M-CHESS PRO withdraw? Marty Hirsch's position, when the
tournament was first announced, was that he would not play because
he is strongly opposed to Indonesia's actions in East Timor and
elsewhere. Later Marty did enter the tournament, saying that a Swedish
gentleman would be operating his program, but about one week
afterwards he withdrew again, reiterating his original reason for
boycotting the event.
The ICCA has the greatest possible respect for Marty and that includes
respect for his right to make his own protest by not participating. Marty
holds strong views on the subject of Indonesia and it is his undoubted
right to express those views freely.
We are naturally disappointed that the reigning World Microcomputer
Champion will not be present to defend his title. On the other hand it
does give others more of an opportunity to win the title and we very
much hope to see Marty back again next year.
JUNIOR
Shortly after we received the entry from the Israeli program JUNIOR,
we were asked by the Israeli team whether they would be granted visas
for the event. We asked Bunawan who told us that he would make
enquiries and let us know within about 1 month. When he responded
he said that he was sorry but the government would not issue visas to
Israelis.
We advised the JUNIOR team who explained to us that in fact many
Israelis do go to Indonesia for tourist reasons and because Israel and
Indonesia collaborate on various scientific projects. The JUNIOR team
had been and still were making enquiries and it seemed as though there
was some way to obtain visas via travel agents. At that stage it seemed
a little unclear what would happen but shortly afterwards the JUNIOR
team advised the ICCA that one of them had a U.S. passport and could
therefore travel to Indonesia and get a visa. (Incidentally, originally we
had been told that everyone needed visas in advance, but it later
transpired that visas can generally be obtained on arrival. It appears
that the information provided by Bunawan in relation to visas was, at
least partly, incorrect.)
We (Tony Marsland) made enquiries at the visa section of the
Indonesian Consulate in Vancouver (Mr. Adri Lolong) who advised
him that there is no ban on Israelis travelling to Indonesia, but because
of the absence of formal relations between the two countries an
application for visas would have to be made through a third country -
he suggested Amman, Jordan, as the closest Indonesian Consulate.
In the meantime the JUNIOR team had asked us whether it would be
possible for them to get a free ticket without having to board a 'plane
in Amsterdam, since the cost of travel from Israel to Amsterdam would
be high. (In addition to the high cost of tickets from Israel there is a
government travel tax on Israelis who travel outside the country.)
The discussions we were having with the JUNIOR team, combined
with the information from the Indonesian Consulate in Vancouver,
indicated that in reality there was no insuperable problem in obtaining
visas. But then the JUNIOR team withdrew, saying that they did not
feel welcome in Indonesia and citing the cost of travel to Amsterdam
as a contributing factor.
We are very saddened by the absence of JUNIOR from this year's
tournament. We sympathize with the practical and financial problems
faced by JUNIOR's team, and with the fact that the initial response
from Bunawan made them feel unwelcome in Indonesia. We can
understand why all these factors led to their withdrawl and very much
hope to see them at next year's tournament.
We must reiterate, however, that it is completely untrue to say, as has
been suggested on the Internet, that JUNIOR was "banned" from the
tournament.
Certainly the ICCA was not happy at the practical problems facing the
JUNIOR team in obtaining their visas, but at the time of their
withdrawl it seemed clear that, at the very least, a visa would be
granted to the member of their team who holds a U.S. passport, and
probably to both members of their team.
[On a personal note one of us (David Levy) visted Indonesia in 1987
and was very well treated despite having as Jewish a name as one can
get, and many other Jewish chess players have reported good
experiences of their treatment at the hands of the Indonesians.]
One possibility to avoid problems like this arising again is for the
ICCA to insist, in its contract with the sponsors, that all participants
must be granted visas. There was no such clause in this year's contract
because we have never had a problem like this before, and it is not
even certain if such a clause makes sense in the broader context of
allowing the ICCA or any other international organization to put
together an event. For example, if the U.S.A. were to refuse a visa to
an Iranian wishing to attend a scientific conference in the States, should
the conference be cancelled? In the real world it is hard enough to
organize an international event without adding another problem.
Nevertheless, this is an option and should be debated by ICCA
members for future tournaments.
CHESS SYSTEM TAL
Most regrettably, relations between the CHESS SYSTEM TAL
programmer Chris Whittington and the ICCA (and one of the ICCA's
office bearers in particular) have been at a low ebb for quite some
time, due to various incidents in the past. The ICCA continually hopes
that relations can improve but almost every tournament brings fresh
tension between Chris and the ICCA.
When C.P. Software (Chris Whittington's company) entered for this
year's tournament they claimed amateur status. Anyone who has been
around the computer chess scene for several years will know that Chris
is a professional and that his company markets chess programs as well
as other thinking game programs. In the view of the entire board of the
ICCA there is absolutely no doubt that CHESS SYSTEM TAL should
be treated as a professional entry and we advised C.P. Software
accordingly. They protested but their protest was rejected. Being a
professional entry meant that they would not be eligible for the
Amateur World Championship title in Jakarta, nor would they receive
a free air ticket. The board of the ICCA had fully expected their
withdrawl for some time before it actually came.
When C.P.Software withdrew from the tournament the reason given
was the matter of the visas for the JUNIOR team. Since, as we have
explained above, the situation is NOT that JUNIOR was banned or that
the Israelis had failed to get visas, we feel that C.P.Software's
justification for their withdrawl is lacking. Only Chris Whittington
knows whether he withdrew because he genuinely believed that the
Israelis had been banned or had been refused visas, or because of his
failure to be accepted as an amateur, or for any other reason. We are
sorry that the program was withdrawn and we very much hope to see
CHESS SYSTEM TAL at next year's tournament.
OTHER "WITHDRAWLS"
Some participants have expressed their concern to us that there have
been mass withdawls in protest. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNTRUE.
A few of the original (amateur) applicants withdrew when they were
advised that they would not be getting free air tickets. (We did not
have enough for everyone.) In each case they cited the cost of travel
as the reason for their withdrawl.
It is true that some of the top programs did not apply to participate in
the first place (even before any possible problem was known about
visas). We were advised early on that one former World
Microcomputer Champion programmer was too busy working on new
versions to take the time off for the tournament, while another World
Champion programmer told us that he felt vulnerable in such
tournaments because he does not have a tournament openings book and
so it is very easy for other programmers to prepare to play against his
program. But these programmers did not enter and then withdraw -
they simply did not enter in the first place, and they certainly did not
protest or boycott this event.
SHOULD THE EVENT BE MOVED TO ANOTHER VENUE?
In the view of the ICCA, certainly not. We have a contract with the
sponsors and their side of the contract is being adhered to. So should
our side be. Individuals are perfectly entitled to their own views about
the politics of a host country but a non-political organisation such as
the ICCA is surely bound by its policy and its contracts.
The ICCA survives financially by virtue of the sanctioning fees it
receives from the sponsors for its tournaments, so when only one
financially acceptable bid is on the table it would be financial suicide
to turn it down. For 1996 it always was, and still is the case that we
play in Jakarta or nowhere. If those who have been so vociferous on
the Internet would like to do something positive for computer chess in
the future, they could find sponsors for ICCA tournaments. As well as
helping computer chess this is also directly rewarding at a personal
level since, as has been stated in the ICCA Journal, we will pay an
attractive finder's fee to anyone (other than ICCA office bearers) who
raises money for ICCA events.
SUMMARY
We very much hope that by stating the above facts we will be putting
the recent Internet discussion into perspective. We would not, for one
moment, wish to deny anyone the right to express their opinion on
anything to do with the ICCA or the organisation of its events, but we
would very much prefer it if any direct or implied criticism of the
ICCA could be based on fact.
Organising an event such as this one takes hundreds of hours. The
ICCA office bearers receive no financial reward and often cover their
own telephone, fax and postage costs. It would be more productive if
those interested in computer chess could think of ways of helping our
efforts rather than obstructing them.
END
Chris Whittington
brucemo <bru...@nwlink.com> wrote:
>
> Tony Marsland asked me to post the following to the newsgroup. This was
> received in my email this morning, I assume that other participants have
> also received it, since there were a lot more addresses on the "to" line
> than just mine.
>
> bruce
>
> -----------------------------
>
> To:
>
> ALL PARTICIPANTS AT THE 1996 WORLD MICROCOMPUTER
> CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAKARTA
>
> From:
>
> Tony Marsland [ICCA President] & David Levy [ICCA Vice President]
>
>
>
>
> CHESS SYSTEM TAL
>
> Most regrettably, relations between the CHESS SYSTEM TAL
> programmer Chris Whittington and the ICCA (and one of the ICCA's
> office bearers in particular) have been at a low ebb for quite some
> time, due to various incidents in the past. The ICCA continually hopes
> that relations can improve but almost every tournament brings fresh
> tension between Chris and the ICCA.
Your doing last time. I was as quiet as a mouse in Paderborn 1995, but
this didn't seem to help.
>
> When C.P. Software (Chris Whittington's company) entered for this
> year's tournament they claimed amateur status.
And why not ? ICCA journal stated 'anyone with less than 25%
of their income from chess is an amateur'. My chess income is
13.1% of total.
Can't say that I expected any favours though.
> Anyone who has been
> around the computer chess scene for several years will know that Chris
> is a professional and that his company markets chess programs as well
> as other thinking game programs. In the view of the entire board of the
> ICCA there is absolutely no doubt that CHESS SYSTEM TAL should
> be treated as a professional entry and we advised C.P. Software
> accordingly. They protested but their protest was rejected. Being a
> professional entry meant that they would not be eligible for the
> Amateur World Championship title in Jakarta, nor would they receive
> a free air ticket. The board of the ICCA had fully expected their
> withdrawl for some time before it actually came.
Well, you fully expected wrong, or, anyway, for the wrong reason.
>
> When C.P.Software withdrew from the tournament the reason given
> was the matter of the visas for the JUNIOR team. Since, as we have
> explained above, the situation is NOT that JUNIOR was banned or that
> the Israelis had failed to get visas, we feel that C.P.Software's
> justification for their withdrawl is lacking.
Really ? Perhaps the postings from yourself to r.g.c.c. should have
been a little clearer.
> Only Chris Whittington
> knows whether he withdrew because he genuinely believed that the
> Israelis had been banned or had been refused visas, or because of his
> failure to be accepted as an amateur, or for any other reason.
Yup, only the originator of any statement knows this.
Tis true however. I appreciate you're fighting for your own baby,
but perhaps you'll appreciate that yet another slur isn't likely
to render me to be very favourably disposed.
> We are
> sorry that the program was withdrawn and we very much hope to see
> CHESS SYSTEM TAL at next year's tournament.
>
>
I'll wait and see what other comments arise on rgcc before deciding
whether to re-apply or not for this year.
Then you can have the opportunity to decide on such late entry.
Chris Whittington
brucemo
Chris Whittington wrote:
>
> I'll wait and see what other comments arise on rgcc before deciding
> whether to re-apply or not for this year.
>
> Then you can have the opportunity to decide on such late entry.
If you can get past the issue of political repression, and if you believe that
Marsland and Levy have explained the Israeli situation sufficiently, I would like
to see you reapply and go.
bruce
Chris Whittington
That's pretty much my view too.
I've stated here that I don't like the Indonesian political situation,
and that I would have supported a general boycott on those grounds, but
that they weren't sufficient for me to come out alone on a token
gesture.
So, if I'm to be consequent, and I try to be, and the Israeli
situation is not as I initially thought, then I'll most likely
reapply.
But three caveats:
1. The ICCA may well say no.
2. There are still some very unclear issues surrounding the
situation of the Israelis. I'm hoping for a clarification from
them. Either direct email or on the web.
3. The issue of Marsland/Levy's initial postscriptus description that
started the really serious fire war and came within a whisker of
blowing the whole tournament away; and their later description
which is at odds with the first. I think we need to know more about
this as well.
Chris Whittington
Chris Whittington
brucemo <bru...@nwlink.com> wrote:
>
> To:
>
> ALL PARTICIPANTS AT THE 1996 WORLD MICROCOMPUTER
> CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAKARTA
>
> From:
>
> Tony Marsland [ICCA President] & David Levy [ICCA Vice President]
>
snip-snip
>
> There has been some question raised about who is the financial sponsor
> - the Indonesian government or Gunadarma University. We were
> always told that it was the university and have not seen any evidence
> to the contrary. Certainly all of our negotiations and discussions have
> been with the university.
>
Don't be under any illusions about who is paying for the 24 free
air tickets.
Universities are low-funded institutions. We know it about
universities in the affluent west. Indonesia is not the world's
richest country, and the University in Jakarta is well unlikely
to be throwing dollars around.
This money is from the Indonesian government.
They have a budget to buy international respectability with.
And you can bet your last dollar that the air tickets (plus other stuff)
comes from the government, albeit via the university; and not
from normal university capitation or annual budget.
The ICCA reply gives it away. A fine piece of spin: 'not seen
any evidence to the contrary .... certainly all our negotiations
with the university'. A very long way to say 'no', only they're
not saying anything, just obfuscating.
I'm quite sure the university in Indonesia has been alerted to
this news group. If they want, they could, and could have, told us.
But they don't.
So, be assured guys, when your bums go down on those seats in the
steerage section, you've been bought.
When they give you the free orange juice, you've been bought.
When they bring you the snacks, you've been bought.
Enjoy your 16 hour flight.
Chris Whittington
graham_laight
I am trying to be an impartial observer here.
From what Chris wrote, I find it difficult to see why Chris doesn't either go to
Jakarta, or get someone in Jakarta to operate CS-Tal for him.
At the risk of being cynical, if the below were written by a politician, many
people would conclude that he's not going because he doesn't believe he will win.
In article <84283981...@cpsoft.demon.co.uk>, Chris says...
>
>brucemo <bru...@nwlink.com> wrote:
>>
>> Tony Marsland asked me to post the following to the newsgroup. This was
>> received in my email this morning, I assume that other participants have
>> also received it, since there were a lot more addresses on the "to" line
>> than just mine.
>>
>> bruce
>>
>> -----------------------------
>>
>> To:
>>
>> ALL PARTICIPANTS AT THE 1996 WORLD MICROCOMPUTER
>> CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAKARTA
>>
>> From:
>>
>> Tony Marsland [ICCA President] & David Levy [ICCA Vice President]
>>
>>
>>
>snip-snip
>
>>
>> CHESS SYSTEM TAL
>>
>> Most regrettably, relations between the CHESS SYSTEM TAL
>> programmer Chris Whittington and the ICCA (and one of the ICCA's
>> office bearers in particular) have been at a low ebb for quite some
>> time, due to various incidents in the past. The ICCA continually hopes
>> that relations can improve but almost every tournament brings fresh
>> tension between Chris and the ICCA.
>
>Your doing last time. I was as quiet as a mouse in Paderborn 1995, but
>this didn't seem to help.
>
>>
>> When C.P. Software (Chris Whittington's company) entered for this
>> year's tournament they claimed amateur status.
>
>And why not ? ICCA journal stated 'anyone with less than 25%
>of their income from chess is an amateur'. My chess income is
>13.1% of total.
>
>Can't say that I expected any favours though.
>
>
>> Anyone who has been
>> around the computer chess scene for several years will know that Chris
>> is a professional and that his company markets chess programs as well
>> as other thinking game programs. In the view of the entire board of the
>> ICCA there is absolutely no doubt that CHESS SYSTEM TAL should
>> be treated as a professional entry and we advised C.P. Software
>> accordingly. They protested but their protest was rejected. Being a
>> professional entry meant that they would not be eligible for the
>> Amateur World Championship title in Jakarta, nor would they receive
>> a free air ticket. The board of the ICCA had fully expected their
>> withdrawl for some time before it actually came.
>
>Well, you fully expected wrong, or, anyway, for the wrong reason.
>
>>
>> When C.P.Software withdrew from the tournament the reason given
>> was the matter of the visas for the JUNIOR team. Since, as we have
>> explained above, the situation is NOT that JUNIOR was banned or that
>> the Israelis had failed to get visas, we feel that C.P.Software's
>> justification for their withdrawl is lacking.
>
>Really ? Perhaps the postings from yourself to r.g.c.c. should have
>been a little clearer.
>
>> Only Chris Whittington
>> knows whether he withdrew because he genuinely believed that the
>> Israelis had been banned or had been refused visas, or because of his
>> failure to be accepted as an amateur, or for any other reason.
>
>Yup, only the originator of any statement knows this.
>Tis true however. I appreciate you're fighting for your own baby,
>but perhaps you'll appreciate that yet another slur isn't likely
>to render me to be very favourably disposed.
>
>> We are
>> sorry that the program was withdrawn and we very much hope to see
>> CHESS SYSTEM TAL at next year's tournament.
>>
>>
>
>I'll wait and see what other comments arise on rgcc before deciding
>whether to re-apply or not for this year.
>
>Then you can have the opportunity to decide on such late entry.
>
>
>Chris Whittington
>
Chris Whittington
Graham Laight wrote:
>
> I am trying to be an impartial observer here.
>
> From what Chris wrote, I find it difficult to see why Chris doesn't either go to
> Jakarta, or get someone in Jakarta to operate CS-Tal for him.
>
> At the risk of being cynical, if the below were written by a politician, many
> people would conclude that he's not going because he doesn't believe he will win.
>
The original ICCA slur seems to have done its purpose then.
Generated another slur.
So apparently I'm out not because of my original unease over the
location; and not ultimately because I'm standing on the side of the
banned Israelis.
Apparently I'm out because I don't want to pay the money and because
my program won't win.
So that must make me a liar, then ?
I noted in the original ICCA document that they were interested
in protecting their participants from abuse and innuendo.
Shame they should try such protection by generation of the same.
Chris Whittington.
BTW Graham Laight, you should be ashamed of yourself.
> In article <84283981...@cpsoft.demon.co.uk>, Chris says...
> >
> >brucemo <bru...@nwlink.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Tony Marsland asked me to post the following to the newsgroup. This was
> >> received in my email this morning, I assume that other participants have
> >> also received it, since there were a lot more addresses on the "to" line
> >> than just mine.
> >>
> >> bruce
> >>
> >> -----------------------------
> >>
> >> To:
> >>
> >> ALL PARTICIPANTS AT THE 1996 WORLD MICROCOMPUTER
> >> CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAKARTA
> >>
> >> From:
> >>
> >> Tony Marsland [ICCA President] & David Levy [ICCA Vice President]
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >snip-snip
> >
> >>
> >> CHESS SYSTEM TAL
> >>
> >> Most regrettably, relations between the CHESS SYSTEM TAL
> >> programmer Chris Whittington and the ICCA (and one of the ICCA's
> >> office bearers in particular) have been at a low ebb for quite some
> >> time, due to various incidents in the past. The ICCA continually hopes
> >> that relations can improve but almost every tournament brings fresh
> >> tension between Chris and the ICCA.
> >
> >Your doing last time. I was as quiet as a mouse in Paderborn 1995, but
> >this didn't seem to help.
> >
> >>
> >> When C.P. Software (Chris Whittington's company) entered for this
> >> year's tournament they claimed amateur status.
> >
> >And why not ? ICCA journal stated 'anyone with less than 25%
> >of their income from chess is an amateur'. My chess income is
> >13.1% of total.
> >
> >Can't say that I expected any favours though.
> >
> >
> >> Anyone who has been
> >> around the computer chess scene for several years will know that Chris
> >> is a professional and that his company markets chess programs as well
> >> as other thinking game programs. In the view of the entire board of the
> >> ICCA there is absolutely no doubt that CHESS SYSTEM TAL should
> >> be treated as a professional entry and we advised C.P. Software
> >> accordingly. They protested but their protest was rejected. Being a
> >> professional entry meant that they would not be eligible for the
> >> Amateur World Championship title in Jakarta, nor would they receive
> >> a free air ticket. The board of the ICCA had fully expected their
> >> withdrawl for some time before it actually came.
> >
> >Well, you fully expected wrong, or, anyway, for the wrong reason.
> >
> >>
> >> When C.P.Software withdrew from the tournament the reason given
> >> was the matter of the visas for the JUNIOR team. Since, as we have
> >> explained above, the situation is NOT that JUNIOR was banned or that
> >> the Israelis had failed to get visas, we feel that C.P.Software's
> >> justification for their withdrawl is lacking.
> >
> >Really ? Perhaps the postings from yourself to r.g.c.c. should have
> >been a little clearer.
> >
> >> Only Chris Whittington
> >> knows whether he withdrew because he genuinely believed that the
> >> Israelis had been banned or had been refused visas, or because of his
> >> failure to be accepted as an amateur, or for any other reason.
> >
> >Yup, only the originator of any statement knows this.
> >Tis true however. I appreciate you're fighting for your own baby,
> >but perhaps you'll appreciate that yet another slur isn't likely
> >to render me to be very favourably disposed.
> >
> >> We are
> >> sorry that the program was withdrawn and we very much hope to see
> >> CHESS SYSTEM TAL at next year's tournament.
> >>
> >>
> >
graham_laight
Having looked at more postings, Chris has put forward some bona-fide reasons for
not going to Jakarta.
There are so many political postings about Jakarta, it's easy to miss things.
I hope Jakarta proves to be a strong tournament with as many entries as possible.
Whether or not they provide a scientific proof of who's really best (they don't!)
I think these events are a very good morale booster for the sport in general.
The same goes for Kasparov V Deep Blue.
Graham
Chris Whittington
Chris Whittington <chr...@cpsoft.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Graham Laight wrote:
> >
> > I am trying to be an impartial observer here.
> >
> > From what Chris wrote, I find it difficult to see why Chris doesn't either go to
> > Jakarta, or get someone in Jakarta to operate CS-Tal for him.
> >
> > At the risk of being cynical, if the below were written by a politician, many
> > people would conclude that he's not going because he doesn't believe he will win.
> >
>
> The original ICCA slur seems to have done its purpose then.
>
> Generated another slur.
>
> So apparently I'm out not because of my original unease over the
> location; and not ultimately because I'm standing on the side of the
> banned Israelis.
>
> Apparently I'm out because I don't want to pay the money and because
> my program won't win.
>
> So that must make me a liar, then ?
>
> I noted in the original ICCA document that they were interested
> in protecting their participants from abuse and innuendo.
>
> Shame they should try such protection by generation of the same.
>
> Chris Whittington.
>
> BTW Graham Laight, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Reply withdrawn also.
Thanks for your new post, Graham.
Best wishes,
Chris Whittington
Chris Whittington
Graham Laight wrote:
>
> Having looked at more postings, Chris has put forward some bona-fide reasons for
> not going to Jakarta.
Thanks very much and cordially accepted.
Best wishes.
Chris Whittington
>
> There are so many political postings about Jakarta, it's easy to miss things.
>
> I hope Jakarta proves to be a strong tournament with as many entries as possible.
> Whether or not they provide a scientific proof of who's really best (they don't!)
> I think these events are a very good morale booster for the sport in general.
>
> The same goes for Kasparov V Deep Blue.
>
> Graham