Chess: Cheating scandal in Croatia.

Ref: Here.

I saw this on one of our local chess communities hosted on facebook titled in Malay, "What's the point of sporting events if we only think of cheating?"

Indeed that is the big big question. I look at sports as the means for us to improve ourselves by way of healthy competition. And to have healthy competition we must all play within the rules.

However on my blog, I try to investigate a wider issue apart from just the game itself. I try to ask the questions of what happens when the Chess Federation itself does not apply the rule book. If this is endemic, then I ask us to see further if this will also foster the culture of cheating by the players.

What happens if the players cannot progress by playing good chess? What happens if the selection is fraudulent and non deserving players get in via the back doors etc etc? What happens when the players are attacked when they win selection fairly and they see their attackers getting rewards instead of censure? Is there now pressure for them to cheat too if they want to progress?

If you cannot get ahead because of your chess then why not join them and hope to get one of those very few slots if you ask very nicely. Maybe one day when they retire, it will become your turn if you do that.

What happens if you are a State Association with a promising player but you also see this happening? Will the State be under pressure to also play the "politics" to give their player a chance? But how many slots and how many State Associations are there? So is that method really feasible or is it just an illusion? You may be "forced" to "cheat" but you can never win. Do the maths. There are now at least 10 State Associations registered with MCF under COS regulations with another 5 waiting for recognition. How many places are there in the senior slots for SEA games, for the Olympiad? So why bother to raise the standard your State players at all? Can you get the back door deal? And it doesn't work by rotation does it?

Is that what Team A was talking about here? Maybe that was what they meant. They can fix the State selection but the politics at the National level is just too complex for them to handle. Too many people chasing too few places and no "senior" player has retired from old age yet. And even when they cannot play chess anymore, they are still sent. Is that what happened in the past and still happening today?

Who then is ultimately responsible for the cheating? Is it still only the players or Both the players and the Federation? Or is it just the Federation that carries the ultimate blame?

If the Federation ignores or manipulates their own play book ie. The Constitution, is that also cheating? If so then what is the role of Fide? Who can write in to them? What can they do if they see a whole Country of chess players subjected to that sort of cheating, match fixing etc?

And so we see the players not doing well primarily because of this. And in Malaysia, some "seniors" put the blame on the Juniors for the failure and with all sorts of funny psychological attacks to take away their self esteem. But aren't those attacks really trying to hide something much more sinister?

Do continue reading my series on how to build a strong MCF. I hear more and more stories almost everyday as we are approaching the AGM. Now I hear that whole States are being sabotaged because of the vote count. Can you imagine that? Instead of improving MCF, now it seems that the effort is to stop the States that don't like what is going on from voting.

But still that is just another distraction from my series. In part 4,  I will start to examine real solutions.

For those people who still don't understand what this blog is all about.

Try reading this. Here.

There are a few people who still cannot see the sacrifice of the parents or the players who strive to excel but do no harm to others. What can I say? I hope life will bring you the lessons where you can finally learn the consequence of your actions. I don't wish you an awakening as traumatic as this but one just enough to wake you up.

It is really quite simple. The selfish acts of a very few people have kept Malaysian chess from progressing for over 30 plus years. And it is time we put that behind us and curb their further influence in our community.

Trivia from Masrin

Here.

A civil debate

An atheist professor of Philosophy was speaking to his class on the problem Science has with GOD. He asked one of his new Christian Students to stand and . . .

Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From . . . GOD . . .

Professor: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it is, were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

P.S.

I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you'll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won't you?

Forward this to increase their knowledge . . . or FAITH.

By the way, that student was Einstein.!

Fernando Luna Benter