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Later Kibitzing> |
Apr-28-12 | | Namawiz: He was the zambian champion in 2010. |
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Dec-04-12 | | Namawiz: Now titled, fide master. |
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Aug-12-13 | | twinlark: Now also international master. |
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Aug-17-13 | | Kasempa Chansa: Mr. Bwalya Gillian is a formidable player
Though, we know that he was not comfortable with the extreme cold weather in Norway and being surrounded by an all white group of people. No Black African player has ever gone to a second round at FIDE world cup and from this we realize why: it is because of a deliberate criteria that they used to intentionally pair Bwalya with the world no 3 Kramnik-though it is a white dominated FIDE, they do not have to make it so horribly known. Next year we are just going to send all the three Zambian International Masters to increase our chances and we will keep an eye on FIDE |
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Aug-17-13 | | Karpova: This has nothing to do with skin colour but with rating, as IM Bwalya had the 3rd lowest rating, he faced the 3rd highest rated chessplayer. The lowest rated player therefore faced Aronian (2813), his name is Mikhail Markov and he is white: http://tromso2014.jalbum.net/Day%20... |
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Aug-17-13
 | | OhioChessFan: <KC> There's no need to pull out the race card. While I'm sure there's some disappointment, be content with the step forward and perhaps next time Gillian will improve his results. |
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Aug-17-13 | | Beholder: <Kasempa Chansa: Mr. Bwalya Gillian is a formidable player Though, we know that he was not comfortable with the extreme cold weather in Norway and being surrounded by an all white group of people.> Ha-ha. You don't need to stoop so low. I'm sure Bwalya himself neither says nor thinks such rubbish. |
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Aug-17-13 | | torrefan: Why would it be rubbish for a man who lives in a country with hot climate to be uncomfortable staying in one with a very cold climate like Norway? And if tradition can be handed down from one generation to the next, so is fear. Revisit the centuries when white people had traded black people like cattle and maybe you'll understand why a black man would feel uncomfortable surrounded by whites. Don't demean black peoples' historical experience that way. |
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Aug-17-13
 | | perfidious: The dross at this page emanates from <KC> above, and is compounded by <torrefan> rushing in to throw his two cents at the whole wretched business. All these 'downtrodden' people must stick together, don't you know, the better to revile the system they perceive as responsible for all their miseries, instead of trying to put things right in the real world. |
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Aug-17-13 | | Jim Bartle: He scored 7/10 at the Olympiad in Istanbul, where there presumably were plenty of white people. His good play doesn't suggest he feared other people. |
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Aug-17-13 | | twinlark: <No Black African player has ever gone to a second round at FIDE world cup and from this we realize why> Africa's colonial past has certainly left a legacy. Formal de-colonisation by the European powers and subsequent nominal independence by African countries have still to deal with borders that were drawn by Europeans quite arbitrarily across tribal and cultural groupings, and most importantly with the colonial infrastructure inherited by the indigenous rulers. A country set up with exploitative extractive infrastructure can either continue using that infrastructure or build new self referential infrastructure. Unfortunately, very few African countries were able to afford the transition and stuck with the old extractive infrastructure that transported raw materials to ports for export, often to their former colonial rulers. This, combined with the modern economic rationalism made it extremely difficult for African countries to rebuild and modernise, as the international globalised economy systmatically discriminated against the former colonies by raising significant tariffs to their exports, driving them further into poverty. Along comes the IMF and the World Bank to bail out these countries, and the conditions for loans generally involved the ubiquitous "structural adjustment" schemes and high interest rates that ultimately made these countries even more dependent on the First World. Combine this with corruption and bribes by corporations and most of the people of Africa have never received more than a fraction of what could have become available to them from the riches of Africa, as these were either exported, or retained by the new and indigenous neo-colonial elites. South Africa is a classic example of this process at work, as of all the countries in the region, it should have been able to raise the standard of living for its suppressed indigenous nations. Where does all this lead to?
Put simply, international competitive chess is a luxury that can only be supported with decent infrastructure...lots of chess clubs, club and regional competitions, national and continental competitions and very importantly, chess federations that can coordinate all this activity internally and across Africa and beyond. Top chess players do not normally orginate from the impoverished regions of the world. The cost of international travel, transport and accommodation and food is prohibitive for most. Even a wealthy country like Australia is way behind in chess terms as it is too costly for most to ever consider undertaking the international travel and competition so important in raising the level of talented players to grandmaster quality. Much poorer countries will have a much greater obstacle to face in this respect. Chess development in Africa, and the development of more sub-Saharan masters will only occur when these countries will be able to modernise and engage the resources necessary to support luxury sports like chess. That isn't the whole story of course, as the perennial problem of sponsorship is one that bedevils chess throughout the world... attracting the kind of sponsorship that can lift the game in Africa is proportionately far more difficult than attracting significant sponsorship even in the "Centre", ie: Russia and Eastern Europe. |
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Aug-18-13 | | BlackFront: In 1986, FIDE awarded all active female players (excepting Susan Polgar) 100 free ELO points to make up for the historical injustice of being women. Why can't they do the same for Africans? On a sliding scale, Asians could receive 50 points, South/Latin Americans 25, Oceanians 10. |
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Aug-18-13
 | | alexmagnus: The women lost those 100 ponts quite quickly and are now back where they were without. |
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Aug-18-13 | | BlackFront: How much inflation did FIDE's decision inject into the rating system? |
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Aug-18-13 | | twinlark: <alexmagnus>
<The women lost those 100 ponts quite quickly and are now back where they were without.> That's interesting! How do you know this? |
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Aug-18-13 | | twinlark: <BlackFront> <Why can't they do the same for Africans? On a sliding scale, Asians could receive 50 points, South/Latin Americans 25, Oceanians 10.> omg... |
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Aug-18-13
 | | perfidious: Why not give retired 2186-rated players 100 points, the better to inflate the number of CMs in the world? |
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Aug-19-13
 | | Troller: <perfidious: Why not give retired 2186-rated players 100 points, the better to inflate the number of CMs in the world?> Hear hear! While we are at it, why not bestow all Danish master players with no elo the FM title, the better to improve chess in Larsen's home country? |
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Aug-19-13 | | twinlark: <BlackFront>
You do know that every Aussie and Kiwi is Oceanian? |
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Aug-19-13 | | torrefan: <Jim Bartle: He scored 7/10 at the Olympiad in Istanbul, where there presumably were plenty of white people. His good play doesn't suggest he feared other people.> He didn't play against whites in Istanbul. Mostly against players from former colonies of white nations. |
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Aug-19-13 | | torrefan: <BlackFront: In 1986, FIDE awarded all active female players (excepting Susan Polgar) 100 free ELO points to make up for the historical injustice of being women. Why can't they do the same for Africans? On a sliding scale, Asians could receive 50 points, South/Latin Americans 25, Oceanians 10.> Brilliant. Combining in a single post the twin evils of racism and sexism. |
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Aug-19-13 | | torrefan: <perfidious: The dross at this page emanates from <KC> above, and is compounded by <torrefan> rushing in to throw his two cents at the whole wretched business.
All these 'downtrodden' people must stick together, don't you know, the better to revile the system they perceive as responsible for all their miseries, instead of trying to put things right in the real world.> You can never put anything right in this world if you start from forgetting the past. Racism also has its doublespeak, applauding, for example, the few successful blacks and sneering at the rest. At the World Cup in 1998 nearly all the players of the champion French team were immigrants (blacks and arabs) which the country hailed as France's heroes. Yet a survey taken during the games confirmed that around 40% of the French people harbor racial prejudice. |
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Aug-19-13
 | | perfidious: <Troller>: Why start small? Give the Danes IM, at least! |
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Aug-19-13 | | twinlark: The cat seems to have gotten <BlackFront>'s tongue or perhaps wisely he has decided to shut up. <torrefan> correctly surmised that <BlackFront>'s suggestions are both sexist and racist and my question was designed to ascertain the extent of it, and his possible ignorance of geography. His racialist theories are well known to anyone who inhabits the Kenneth Rogoff page. Any further discussion on this and related topics should be taken to the Rogoff page, without this page having to bear any further burden of it. |
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Aug-19-13 | | Jim Bartle: "He didn't play against whites in Istanbul. Mostly against players from former colonies of white nations." But I'm sure there were plenty of whites in the hall, in the hotel, etc. |
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