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Chess Victoria (CV) What Does the Future Hold?

CV elections are around the corner. Amiel Rosario's exellect Closet Grandmaster Blog http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/ published a short but a very interesting interview with Gerrit Hartland. Gerrit is currently in the running to become the next president of CV. It was great to see Gerrit tackle all of the critical questions that are currently being discussed but the Victorian Chess Community. However, I would like to comment on some of the points that he has made. Please find extracts from the interview below (in Bold) together with my comments


"GH: I wanted to present a program of change to CV and I needed a committee with me that agreed with the program. It would be counterproductive to have a program and then elect a committee that does not agree with it.http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"

"GH: The people on the ticket were selected because they liked the reform proposals, and have worked with me before. They are my friends and believe me when you get to my age you do need a little help from your friends http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/."

I am coming from a country (USSR/Russia) where "Ref0rm" is not just a word. It is obvious to me that to turn over a new leaf and to undergo a major change successfully, new people with fresh ideas have to come on board. Right now, all i can see is talk about "some change happening" but it is not clear to me how the proposed "changes" are going to a)increase the number of chess clubs/tournaments in Victoria b) improve the infrastructure of the CV c) make the Victorian chess scene a better place.


"GH: It is a misconception to think that the proposed rent from CV would reduce the rent to BHCC It is increased rental for the whole building allowing CV The Box Hill Ches Club and Canterbury Junior Chess club unlimited and unrestricted access to the venue. It will not reduce the rent to the latter 2 organisations. The venue will make an excellent chess centre with storage for CV equipment. There is no conflict of interest in proposing an arrangement which willl benefit all of Victorian Chess. Conflict of interest is usually shouted by Bulletin [board] (Gerrit is referring to Chess Chat, Australia's most popular online discussion form - TCG) afficionadi who have nothing useful to say. http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"

Ok, I got a better proposal. Why does not CV rent a house for me that can also serve as its official headquaters/storage area. :) In Melbourne, we already have MCC (Melbourne Chess Club) that is open 7 days a week/24 hours a day. More importantly, the Club is fully owned by the chess community. Has MCC been considered as the CV headquaters or not at all? Have any offers/proposals been made to the MCC committee. If yes, please let the chess community know about it. What about the new Noble Park CC? I am sure that with the CV's money they could also keep their doors open 7 days a week.

"GH: Gary is a meticulous administrator who has a tendency to cross all his tees and dot every i. He is also an excellent arbiter and I was most surprised when he made that embarrassing mistake at Elwood. He usually stuck to his decisions. He decided, for instance, never to read the bulletin board or post on it or read Amiel's blog. And stuck to it. I wish I could do that, I am a bulletin board junkie .http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/ "


"GH: Gary Wastell has been president of Chess Victoria for well over 20 years and any self respecting organisation would honour a president after such long and loyal service. Those who oppose this proposal should be ashamed of themselves.http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"

Well, since i was one of the people affected by the "exellect arbiter Gary Wastell" and his total incompetence as an arbiter, I would rather not comment on what has happened at the Elwood Open. Enough has been said...

Now to "honourary memebership":

1)Just because someone was leading an organisation for 20 years, it does not automatically qualify the person for being honoured. Here is a challenge for the Wastell's supporters. Put together a list of Gary's achievements in his 20 years of CV presidency and I will happily pubish it here on my Blog. But what are those achievements?

2) The second point is actually much more critical than the first one. By becoming the CV's "honorary memeber" Wastell will be able to remain a "power-broker" of Victorian chess and his influence on the Victorian chess scene will continue. It will make any kind of reforms (other than the reforms the he personally got no objections to) impossible.

"GH: There is indeed a lack of that representation and the team hopes that during the year people from other districts will come to us with help and new ideas. There is plenty more that needschanging http://closetgrandmaster.blogspot.com/"

It is good to see that Gerrit is prepared to work with representatives of clubs other than Box Hill!

posted by Webbaron @ 10:20 AM