Originally Posted by Grant Szuveges
Hi Everyone
Ive got a few quick announcements regarding the Cup Weekender:
1. I have continued liasing (is that spelt right?) with the Nepalese Chess Federation and they want to send out 3 players and an official. So far I have only had 1 person offer accomodation and 1 offer food. If these players are going to come out to Australia to play in this event, I need to find 3 more people who are willing to billet the players and 3 people who are willing to supply food for them. If you are interested, please contact me asap, as it will take a few weeks for the players to get their Australian visas approved. You can contact me on
grantszuveges@gmail.com or by phone on 0401-925-075. Bear it in mind that Nepal is one of the worlds poorest countries and that it will be the first time in history that Nepalese players have played in a chess tournament in Australia.
Call me a cynic, but this offer sounds highly suspect. A quick check of Nepals recent Olympic achievments shows the playing strength of their strongest team.
1 Surbir Lama 2084
2 Balram Napit 1909
3 Sujendra Prasad Sherstha 2068
4 Manish Hamal 2028
These are Fide ratings, meaning that the players are below the strength of your average A grade player in Australia. Of course their federation might be sponsoring the presumed $6,000 in airfare costs. But it seems, quite frankly, like a waste of money, if, that was the case. I would double check with the appropriate embassy before treating any of these claims seriously. Furthermore, I would also avoid giving out too much personal information until verifying the legitimacy of the candidates. But then again, you have travelled Nepal and may have a different story to tell, so this remains a space to watch.
Originally Posted by Grant Szuveges
2. A team of 8 junior players will also be coming out from the Philipines. They havnt got their visas yet but are in the process of doing so. This should add some interest to the event.
Again, similar issues as the story above. And seriously, this poverty argument has to be completely bogus. Since when do poor people pay for airfares to play in an Australian weekender that offers a first prize of $1,500 dolars?
cheers,
Fg7