Dylan Loeb McClain discusses the GGGg controversy in his New York Times chess column today: "Team of Three Grandmasters and a 5-Year-Old Highlights the Question of Who Is an Amateur." He notes that the 5-year-old's father, John Fanning, "is an uncle of Shawn Fanning, the founder of Napster, the pioneering Web-based file-sharing company, and for a time he was a majority owner of the company. Dzindzichashvili has taught father and son." As to whether the players were paid, Izoria admits that "his expenses had been covered by John Fanning" but regarding additional payment the GM would only say, “I don’t really want to talk about that.... In European leagues, players are paid 400 to 500 euros for each game.”
The article includes an annotated game -- the last round victory of GM Eugene Perelshteyn over NM Thomas Riccardi to decide the championship. Kenilworth Chess Club members might be pleased to note that the photograph accompanying the story shows members from the Kenilworth B team.
Update: GM Joel Benjamin usefully summarizes the GGGg controversy at the New York Times's "Gambit" blog: "GGGg: A Great Idea or a Stretch?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Thanks for the heads up on the picture - I never thought my picture would grace the pages of a liberal rag sheet like the NY Times! - Joe D.
I think Izoria's answer should be read as "yes, I was paid, but less than I deserve."
It is really unfair for the second place team to be awarded the play-off spot. That team did not even play GGGg. Only the teams who played GGGg (with 5-1 score) should be considered. Those teams would have been 6-0 had they not played the GGGg stacked team.
Ken Thomas
Post a Comment