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Response to Mochy (who has insights) and to some other Texans (who have no insight but hastive judgements)
Posted By: Strato In Response To: Response to Mochy (who has insights) and to some other Texans (who have no insight but hastive judgements) (Chiva Tafazzoli)
Date: Thursday, 5 May 2011, at 6:28 a.m.
Chiva, I think you have done many good things for the game, especially in recent years but when you criticize other tournaments and their organizers you take a crap on backgammon all together and the players that go to those events begin to disrespect you.
You said: Shoot me now, if you think I'm wrong, or simply attend to whichever option suits you better and be happy to have an option at all.
Okay, I’ll take a shot.
I think that is quite arrogant, maybe you're upset, but you brought these things upon yourself with your actions. There’s a saying in English that goes “if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen”.
Mochy is absolutely correct in his post at the beginning of this thread. These are the titles of the two events in question and their dates:
European Pro Backgammon Championships & European Doubles - April 27- May 1, 2011 - Lefkosa, Cyprus.
European Backgammon Championship & 8th European Doubles - April 27- May 1, 2011 - Velden, Austria.
I'd say the titles are very similar and most likely intentionally so, and if that’s not enough, the dates are exactly the same. Which one should I attend if I want to be the Champion of Europe.
You say Marco Fornasir piggybacks on other events, holding a tournament before the Monte Carlo World Championships each year – he has done a pre-Monte Carlo tournament for probably a couple of decades now and though I have never asked, I think that the organization of the World Championships has a good relationship with him and his Worldwide Backgammon Federation, and that those events might even help bring a few more players to MC each year, especially from Italy.
Eric Guedj had an event in Nice after Monte Carlo for a few years, and that made things even nicer, because many players, some with their entire families, would go to all three events for a family vacation. I think that’s kind of cool.
You also said Marco Fornasir piggybacked on the French Open in Enghien-les-Bains (outskirts of Paris, France) holding a tournament... where? In St. Maarten, which is 6,715 kilometres away from Paris. Marco did not even have you in mind when he organized that event, it was an opportunity that came up - an Italian friend of his was the Manager of a Hotel-Casino resort and that friend loves backgammon, and requested that Marco come for a nice vacation every year and bring some players, and there was added money. I have been there two or three times, and it’s a splendid location for a tournament, great food, duty-free shops, beaches and other many tourist attractions.
You also said Marco piggybacks on the Nordic Open, only during the last two or three years has the European Championship been exactly the week after the Nordic Open, prior to that the events were always at least one month apart. If I remember correctly, that’s most likely because that Casino Velden was building a new wing to their casino a few years ago, and this affected the dates of Marco`s event, and I believe a few other types of annual events held in cooperation with the facilities at the casino.
So you're wrong again.
What about you? Weren't you trying to hold a side event of your own exactly during the World Championship in 2007? That's worse than piggyback. Don’t remember clearly, so please provide details, and correct me if I am wrong but I think it was a $10,000 entry - it seems that in the end, there was either no time to do, no interest of the players or they did not let you make the tournament during their own tournament because you later told me it did not matter if they were not going to let you or not, you were going to organize it anyway, on the beach? The event never took place and I can only guess it made you upset, because you took a crap on the World Backgammon Championships right after the event in an online article published on July 14 2007 where you said:
“One can also look a bit deeper and blame it on the organization of the event, which, in my humble opinion, is a catastrophe.”
You also called it “a dying tournament”.
By the way, the article was published on GammonVillage, which you also called “a dying website” back in 2003 because it was struggling to survive.
Guess what, both are alive and well.
In another article published in 2010 on Phil Simborg’s Backgammon Lessons site you wrote:
The WC in MC sucks big time.
What should be the flagship of backgammon and THE tournament is nothing but a second Las Vegas thing. For all those who work hard for backgammon and struggle to bring sponsors and money to the game, MC is completely destructive. Potential sponsors will eventually figure there is a “World Championship”, stop by to visit and after what they see and experience, quickly back off.
One can also look a bit deeper and blame it on the organization of the event, which, in my humble opinion, is a catastrophe.
In the last paragraph you say:
If you're part of the fossils and the dinosaurs of the game and have lost focus of what BG is today, MC is your place to go...
My humble opinion is that your comments are insulting to players who have attended this event for more than 30 years; they surely will not feel welcome at one of your events.
Chiva, you should be a good ambassador of the game, especially if you have an organization called World Backgammon Association. Yes, there are many issues with how the Monte Carlo event is run, but Monte Carlo is a wonderful place to visit, and the people that attend this great event, come from all around the world and share good times together, many have become friends for life.
Events such as the European Backgammon Championship and the World Championship are a tradition for these lovers of the game. Don't envy them and don't try to take away these good events from the players, you will never succeed.
Backgammon is for everyone, different organizations run different kinds of events, and attract different kinds of crowds, it is versatile, it is fun to see and play in any backgammon event - to me they are all doing something positive for the game, for someone or another that likes backgammon.
In another part of this thread you referred to a meeting in MC amongst tournament directors of major events, to cooperate and avoid clashes with dates. One of the directors that did not show sent a message saying... in your words:
That person not only didn't take part, but also sent a message through a third person, stating: "I am not interested to join this meeting. I'll do whatever I want in the future and I'll run tournaments wherever and whenever I want!"
In a subsequent post in this thread, Christian Munk-Christensen says it correctly:
He said it. You did it, proving that you’re no better yourself.
That's correct Chiva, two wrongs don’t make a right. You copy people’s tournaments, you hold them on the same dates and then you say things like:
“That said, I have many reservations as to the title of "European Championship". I profoundly think that such a title has to be matched by a certain value being good for the players and good for the game. Otherwise, it becomes nonsense and meaningless.”
Profoundly, eh? Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion but it would seem as if everyone else’s tournaments (except yours) are nonsense, meaningless, destructive, a catastrophe and are dying.
It would seem that you want to downplay the true European Championship and cause confusion, and in fact you insult all past European Champions by saying their title is meaningless.
To me, and I am entitled to my opinion, such comments are bad for the game and are killing the game.
Finally, unless it was an inside joke between you and Bill Riles, what do you have against Texans?
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