Author: Russell Reagan
Date: 15:23:29 07/07/04
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On July 07, 2004 at 17:04:11, Omid David Tabibi wrote: >First of all, I am part of the Bar-Ilan organizing team (together with Prof. >Netanyahu). Secondly, no, it is not a valid criticism. > >I believe all the participants who are present here will agree that this was one >of the best organized WCCC events in the past few years. The amateur >participants are provided with $500 grant, low fares in a nice 4-star hotel, >reasonably fast free loan machines, their transportation to and from the >university is organized (together with a city tour thanks to the City of >Ramat-Gan, and an excursion to Jerusalem this Saturday), they all have fast >internet connections and programs running remote have all worked fine, and as >far as the playing hall is concerned, it is equipped with four screens where the >games are displayed live, and people (both in the hall and on the internet) >enjoy GM Boris Alterman's great work providing live commentaries (audio and >video broadcast on the internet). And so far, almost all the games have been >broadcast live on PlayChess server. And as far as media coverage is concerned, >there have already been three live interviews on national channels about the >event (with Prof. Netanyahu, Shay Bushinsky, and me), and we are still working >on more extensive media coverage by organizing a media evening. You are still missing the point. No one is criticizing you at all. You are doing the best job you can in the circumstances. Here's the problem. Participation is down again this year. How long does that have to continue before a major change takes place to allow for more participation? Did live GM commentary, big screens showing the games, nice hotel rates, or $500 for amateurs help this problem? Apparnetly not. It will take a shift in thinking from the ICGA. It is frustrating that the ICGA doens't embrace the internet. Ironic that a computer organization doesn't. Imagine if the ICGA organized an internet event. It would require a tiny fraction of the work to organize (certainly not a full year of volunteer preparation!). It would instantly be the biggest computer chess event in history. You know casinos let people gamble online now. They are making money hand over fist. It costs next to nothing to run a room full of servers (compared to running a casino), and they are making tens of thousands of dollars per hour. It's all automated for the most part. The overhead required for something like this is next to nothing compared to the overhead for an in-person event. But the ICGA doesn't bother. Why is this? Even if they got half the publicity of the WCCC, they come out way ahead. It doesn't make sense. Reminds me of my grandma who just doesn't want to mess with "that internet thing". Oh, wait. If the ICGA ran an online event, they couldn't collect some huge fee from a host. Okay, now it all makes sense... $$$$$
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