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The FIDE World Championship for Seniors will be played from 18th November to 1st December. Host is the Czech Chess Federation, which asked the AVE-Kontakt company in Pardubice to organise the tournament. AVE-Kontakt is a well-known company that has already organised a lot of tournaments in Czechia, particularly in Pardubice. The World Championship for Seniors 2016 takes place in Marienbad (Marianske Lazne) and the titles to win (+65 and +50, men and women) are official FIDE-titles.
In the past the European Junior and World Championships have been criticised as being a lucrative business for those who took part in organising them. The seniors too, gained the impression, that the organisers see them als willing donators.
For the upcoming World Championship the seniors are asked to pay a fee of 300 Euros (see regulations) and are obliged to stay for a rate of 70 Euros per night in one of the official hotels during the tournament (11 nights).
On behalf of a number of chess friends - among them GM Vlastimil Hort - who would have liked to take part in the World Senior Championship but who consider the demanded fees and rates for the rooms as far too excessive, Bodo Schmidt turned to the organiser Dr. Jan Mazuch and openly calculated that if 200 players start in the 65+ tournament the organisers would receive 50,000 Euros more through fees and hotel rates than they would get with the customary hotel rates in Marienbad at that time of the year. The prize-money, however, is only 6,500 Euros.
In his reply Jan Mazuch explains that the term "Booking Fee" (150,- Euro) might be misunderstood and that the "booking fee" was actually intended as advance payment. He also pointed out that the organisation of World Championships entailed many financial commitments.
Bodo Schmidt and his supporters have not accepted this explanation and now refrain from taking part in the World Championship.
| Comment about the World Senior Championship in Marienbad (Czechia) from 18th November to 1st December 2016 … and if you do not stay in one of the hotels the organisers determined you are not allowed to take part in the tournament… What happened - are we already living in „Absurdistan“? It is known that the FIDE in junior and senior tournaments likes to cash in first and only then gives the organisers (who don't have to worry about coming off badly) the green light - a paradise for both sides! The statement of Dr. Mazuch is definitely true for the peak season (Spring and Summer), but in our case does not concur to the facts. Moreover, the conditions he offers for the tournament (regulations) are very moderate and the prize-money is not attractive. I advertised this tournament quite a lot but then I read the tournament invitation and was appalled. There was no word in the inviation that the hotel booking fee would be accounted for and had to be seen as an advance payment! Here, I would like to quote the argument of Mr Bodo Schmidt: „If you book – let´s say – 250 rooms, you must not pay more than 50 Euro for a room. About 250 players will surely take part in 65 plus. In this way you earn 250 x 20 Euro x 11 days = 55.000 Euro only with 65 plus!“ The bill, please! Dear seniors, there are so many other and better offers and opportunities to enjoy our passion … me and my chess friends cannot accept this self-service-regulations and we will not take part at this event. Yours, IGM Vlastimil Hort |
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An AVE-Kontakt
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| Mr. Bodo Schmidt Dear Mr. Schmidt, Thank you for your letter. First of all I would like to clerify the term „hotel booking“. It does not mean the fee for arrangement of accommodation but the advance payment for accommodation. Participants pay the final price after their arrival reduced by this sum. This term was used in previous regulations as well. The only fee for organizers is 80 EUR registration fee. We must pay VAT 21% from this sum. I would like to quote the answer of Mr. Nigel Freeman, FIDE Executive Director to similar questions regarding the obligation to be accommodated in one of official hotels: „1. The choice of Organisers depends on who is willing to bid for the events. We ask for bids two years in advance and we inspect those who bid. Obviously when making the bids, the bidders negotiate with hotels and will normally have to guarantee the hotels a certain number of rooms before getting a reasonable quote. Often the hotel(s) concerned are part sponsors of the event. Obviously two years later most hotels are willing to give lower quotes to individual tourists if they have spare rooms, but it is unlikely that any bid would be successful if they stated there is no hotel and it was up to the players to find their own. 2. The prices are reasonable at the time of the bid and often Organisers offer a choice of hotel to cover various player's pockets. 3. Knowing that Seniors have to pay for the hotels themselves, when checking bids, the hotels on offer are a major deciding choice when it comesto accepting a bid. We can only deal with those who bid. Having guaranteed the rooms, the Organisers obviously must ensure that they fulfil the guarantees to the best of their ability.“ I am sure that our prices in our regulations are lower than usual prices in these hotels in the same period of the year. With best regards
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| Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt, I am sorry, that I couldn’t help you more, only by getting the explanation bellow. Our federation has a contract with Mr. Mazuch’s company, that he has to organise the event according to all the regulations. This is a FIDE event and the obligation to stay in the official hotel is far from new, the reasons are explained by N. Freeman. FIDE events have many other high costs not mentioned yet (bidding procedure, FIDE officials, Appealing Comitees etc.) that must be counted in the budget as well. And unfortunatelly, no support from the state for senior events is possible, so the organizer’s task to cover all the expenses is not an easy one. The costs for participation in these events are therefore usually higher than for a standard open tournament and nothing can be done with that, till the FIDE regulations and organizers’ duties remain the same. I’d be glad, if you and your friends would consider to change the booking and would come to Marienbad anyway. I can promise an excellent level of tournament organisation by Mr. Mazuch’s experenced team, and of course, splendid Czech beer! Please say hallo from me to Vlastimil Hort, when you’ll see him. Mit freundlichen Grüssen Viktor Novotný Předseda Šachového svazu České republiky, z.s. |
| AVE-Kontak Dr. Jan Mazuch My Writing from 09.06.2016 Dear Mr. Dr. Mazuch, It is okay that the hotel-booking fee is a prepayment and not a fee. Your specified reasons why the accommodation in a chosen hotel amount to a fixed price – in this case 70,00 EUR/night – cannot convince me. Every player must be free in choosing his accommodation. Possible additional costs for the organization can be compensated by an increase of the start fee. It is well-known, that during wintertime most hotels in Marienbad are vacant. That's the reason why you can get low priced accommodations without difficulties. If you book – let's say – 250 rooms, you must not pay more than 50,00 EUR for a room. About 250 players will surely take part in 65+. In this way you earn 250 x 20 EUR x 11 days = 55.000 EUR only with 65+. Mr. Dr. Novotny writes that this procedure is common for events of FIDE. That does not prove its correctness. Me and my chess friends cannot accept this self-service regulation. We will not take part in the event. Yours sincerely
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| FIDE entry fee: Each player has to pay 70 EUR as FIDE entry fee.
Registration fee: Each player has to pay 80 EUR as registration fee for the event. It includes registration and accreditation. All players are obliged to be accommodated in one of the official hotels through the organizer. Access to playing areas, venues and the hotel will be allowed only to people accredited by the organizer. At the time of registration the amount of 300 EUR (80 EUR registration fee + 70 EUR FIDE entry fee + 150 EUR hotel booking) must be transferred (free of bank charge) to the following bank account: Players with personal rights must pay only FIDE entry fee and registration fee (150 EUR together). |
Regulations and list of hotels (Organiser)...
World Senior Chess Championship 2016...
