Major Cheating Discovered at 2018 US Chess Scholastic Nationals--Coach Banned for Life

From the US Chess Ethics Committee decision. Chapeau to Elizabeth Spiegel! The complete decision can be found here. 

https://lizzyknowsall.blogspot.com/2019/02/absolutely-unforgivable.html?m=1

From the decision:

"The committee majority finds this behavior by Coach Ramirez to be absolutely unforgivable. This majority takes the position that an adult who uses his position of authority to influence children to commit unethical acts has committed the most serious violation of the Code of Ethics. It is also worth noting that while he was apparently trying to enhance the self-esteem of his players by gaining them undeserved prizes at the national scholastics, he was simultaneously crushing the dreams of players from other schools, many of whom were also poor and facing serious challenges at home. The committee majority therefore agrees that its recommendation of a permanent membership revocation is fully justified."

Censorship Rife on the US Chess Member Discussion Forums

You won't see this topic being discussed in the US Chess Forums. What is US Chess leadership afraid of? It can be found on the chess.com forum and elsewhere.

US Chess Leadership Meets With Arkady Dvorkovich in Washington, D.C.

Such happy, smiling faces. Reminder: Dvorkovich has been mentioned widely in the press in relation to the Mueller investigation because he met with Carter Page during the 2016 campaign. 
From The Washington Post on 2/21, the day after the US Chess meeting with Dvorkovich in DC.

"What campaign staff members were told about George Papadopoulos’s and Carter Page’s interactions with Russia? In March 2016, as he battled for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump introduced a slate of foreign policy advisers meant to demonstrate the robustness of his campaign in that arena. Two of those advisers, Papadopoulos and Page, soon came under investigation by federal authorities for their links to Russia.

Papadopoulos was told in April 2016 — shortly after the DNC network and Podesta’s email had been accessed — that the Russians had a cache of incriminating emails for use against Clinton. The next day, he emailed a Trump campaign official to say that he had “some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.” The comment about a “trip” probably refers to Papadopoulos’s efforts to get Trump to travel to Russia — but it’s not clear what else he might have shared about what he learned.

Page traveled to Moscow in July 2016 with the campaign’s permission. After speaking at an event, he emailed the campaign to say that he’d had a conversation with then-Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. Dvorkovich, Page wrote, had “expressed strong support for Mr. Trump and a desire to work together toward devising better solutions in response to the vast range of current international problems.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 2b7d74dafb

Arkady is also presently on a US Treasury department list of 250 Russians  potentially subject to sanctions as Kirsan was and is. 

The IOC just rejected Dvorkovich's Paris initiative announced last week in Paris with a photo op with the lovely French IM Sophie MIllett. The speed of the IOC rejection raises the obvious question of how much of a shadow Putin's man Arkady casts over the organization and all who interact with him and FIDE.

One hopes for the best for US Chess. Still, no one should be surprised if the leadership gets up one morning with a flea infestation. 

European Chess Union Planning To Leave FIDE In 2019?

Will the European Chess Union Withdraw From FIDE? As reported by Kevin Spraggett, there are indications that such a split may be in the making. It appears that the shadow of Putin that follows Arkady Dvorkovich may be too much for some federations. 
http://www.spraggettonchess.com/fide-in-crisis/

Dvorkovich, a close Putin ally mentioned publicly in connection with the Mueller probe of  possible Trump election campaign involvement with Russia, may have enough of Putin's shadow following him to finally give pause in some quarters. This apparently doesn't bother Executive Board member of US Chess, despite having been made aware of the shadow. US Chess leadership increased their working relationship with FIDE at this past October's FIDE Congress. 

To be continued.........

IOC Quickly Rejects FIDE Inclusion Overture

"It took less than 10 days for the rain to fall on Kouatly and Dvorkovich’s parade. On Tuesday February 12, readers might recall, FIDE officially started an optimisticcampaign to try to become part of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

But on the Thursday of the following week a resounding ‘no’ was communicated to FIDE. Of course, this per se was not a surprise to me, but the speed with which the decision was made definitely surprised me.

And what is more, even today none of Chess.Com, ChessBase or other popular chess sites, which so enthusiastically reported the start of the campaign, have given their readers the news. Are they still in SHOCK? Must be…"

http://www.spraggettonchess.com/fide-in-crisis/

Draw Rates In The Grand Chess Tour

And interesting article that, IMO, shows the folly of having a classical world championship match decided by rapid and/or blitz games if tied after a certain number of games.
https://www.chess.com/article/view/time-controls-and-the-grand-chess-tour 

Danville Open (FIDE Rated) Returns September 7th-8th, 2019

Danville Open (FIDE) Set to Return in September

The Danville Open with FIDE rated sections is due to make its return to the Danville VT Community Center September 7-8, 2019. More details about sponsorship and prizes to follow. Stay tuned and save the date......

A New Russian Vlad? Artemiev Clear First at Gibraltar

https://www.chess.com/news/view/artemiev-wins-clear-first-at-gibraltar-chess-festival