Important Information and Regulations of IMSA

World Mind Sports Games 

The regulations for the Chess events for the 1st World Mind Sports Games are enclosed. There are some important dates to note: 

July 14th Deadline for registration of entry 
July 21st List of participants to be announced 
July 31st Final date for substitution of names of players 

These dates will not be extended because of the requirements for visas and travel.

Travel 

Tickets to Beijing will be provided. Please inform FIDE whether Air China operates a service to Beijing from your country or another country nearby. As flights from some points are not daily, you should take into account the arrival and departure dates of your participants. If no suitable Air China flight is available, please inform FIDE of the cheapest routing, airline and cost for your travel to Beijing. FIDE will inform you of the procedure for booking tickets shortly. 

Hospitality 

Full board accommodation will be provided free for participants in twin bedded rooms in apartments very close to the playing venue, which is the Beijing International Convention Centre. 

Participant Registration Form 

There is a special registration form for completion by all and this will be forwarded within a few days. This will also form the basis of the invitation for the visa. 

Arrival & Departure 

Players should arrive the day before the start of their competition and leave the day after. As examples, players that are nominated for the individual should arrive on October 3rd and leave on October 8th or 9th unless they are in the Pairs or Team events when they will remain. Players in the Pairs competition only should arrive on October 7th and leave on October 13th. Players only in the team events should arrive on October 12th and leave on October 18th after the closing ceremony. These schedules may be flexible if the flights timetable is unsuitable. Players that are nominated for the individual or pairs event may also play in the team competition. 

Co-operation with other Mind Sports 

Federations should work with Bridge, Go and Draughts federations in their own countries to ensure a standard dress code. This is particularly important for the opening and medal ceremonies. 

Medal Ceremonies 

These will be held immediately after the completion of each competition. 

Opening Ceremony 

With water as the main symbol from which the human spirit has been born according to Chinese tradition, all the delegations will be asked to bring water from their homeland for the opening ceremony. This will be mixed with the water brought from the other countries. At the end of the Games all delegations will return home with a small amount of the mixture, coming from all over the planet. 

Any questions should be sent to the FIDE Secretariat at office@fide.com

This event is very important to FIDE and our future relations with the Olympic family. The success of the World Mind Sport Games will elevate the global status of our sport. It is an excellent showcase for Chess and it is important that we have a fully representative turnout to show our strength and diversity. 

The website for the games is: www.2008wmsg.org

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At a Press Conference at SportAccord in Athens, the President of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) Mr Jose Damiani and Deputy President Mr Georgios Makropoulos gave the latest information on the Games to be held in Beijing from October 3rd to 18th. 
See: www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/04/sports/EU-SPT-Mind-Sports-Games.php

REGULATIONS FOR WORLD MIND SPORTS GAMES - CHESS
1. ORGANISATIONS 

1.1 World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) 
1.2 International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) 
1.3 Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) 
1.4 Chinese Chess Association 

2.0 COMPETITION INFORMATION 

2.1. Dates 
The World Mind Sports Games will be held from 3 to 18 October 2008. 

2.2 Venue 
The competition will be held at Beijing International Convention Center, Beijing, China. 

3.0 EVENTS 

3.1 There will be 10 events:- 
3.1.1 Blitz Chess: 3 minutes with increment of 2 seconds per move. 
Individual (Men & Women) 
Pair (Mixed Team) 
Team (Men & Women) 
3.1.2 Rapid Chess: 25 minutes with increment of 5 seconds per move. 
Individual (Men & Women) 
Pair (Mixed Team) 
Team (Men & Women) 

3.2 In accordance with normal IOC practice, women shall compete only in Pair Events (Woman) and Women events. 

3.3 Individual Events: There shall be 50 players for Men’s and 50 players for Women’s events. 
3.3.1 Federations may nominate up to a maximum of 5 players for Men and 5 players for Women. According to the Rating List as of 1 April 2008, FIDE shall select the top 50 entries for Men and the top 50 entries for Women. 

3.3.2 No federation shall have more than 5 players in either event. 

3.4 Pair Events: Match shall be played between Man vs Man and Woman vs Woman. There will be no reserves. There shall be 50 Pairs representing 50 different federations. 
3.4.1 Federations may nominate 1 Man and 1 Woman who may be different from the Individual and Team Events. According to the Rating List as of 1 April 2008, the ratings of the Pair will be added and ranked. FIDE shall select the top 50 Pairs. 

3.5 Team Events: A team shall comprise 4 players and 1 reserve. There shall be 80 Men’s Teams and 50 Women’s Teams. Men’s Teams must comprise only Men players. 
3.5.1 Federations shall nominate the teams whose players may be different from the Individual and Pairs Events. 3.5.2 FIDE shall decide on the teams participating, taking into consideration ratings, results in the last Olympiad and geographical spread. From the entries received, based on the rankings of the 2006 Olympiad, FIDE shall short-list the teams based on the following:- 
3.5.2.1 Men’s Teams: Europe 30 teams; Asia 15; Americas 15; Africa 5; FIDE 15. 
3.5.2.2 Women’s Teams: Europe 20 teams; Asia 10; Americas 7; Africa 3; FIDE 10 teams. 

3.6.1 Two captains/heads of delegation may be sent by each participating federation. 

4.0 SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Event	Round
October 3	12:00 hr	Arrival
		Opening Ceremony
October 4	10:00 hr	Technical Meeting
	15:00-19:00 hr	Blitz Individual (Men & Women)	Round 1 to 11
October 5	10:00-13:30 hr	Blitz Individual (Men & Women)	Semi-Finals & Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Rounds 1 to 3
October 6	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Rounds 4 to 5
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Rounds 6 to 7
October 7	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Rounds 8 to 9
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Semi-Finals
October 8	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Individual (Men & Women)	Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Blitz Pair	Rounds 1 to 11
October 9	10:00-13:30 hr	Blitz Pair	Semi-Finals & Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Pair	Rounds 1 to 2
October 10	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Pair	Rounds 3 to 4
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Pair	Rounds 5 to 6
October 11	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Pair	Round 7
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Pair	Rounds 8 to 9
October 12	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Pair	Semi-Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Pair	Finals
October 13	10:00-13:30 hr	Blitz Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 1 to 5
	15:00-19:00 hr	Blitz Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 6 to 11
October 14	10:00-13:30 hr	Blitz Team (Men & Women)	Semi-Finals & Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 1 to 2
October 15	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 3 to 4
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 5 to 6
October 16	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Round 7
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Rounds 8 to 9
October 17	10:00-13:30 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Semi-Finals
	15:00-19:00 hr	Rapid Team (Men & Women)	Finals
October 18		Closing Ceremony & Departure

5. REGISTRATION 

5.1 The deadline for registration with names and board order (Team events) is 14th July 2008. The list of participants shall be announced on 21st July 2008 after which no further registration shall be accepted. After 31 July 2008, no player substitution will be accepted. 

6. Technical Organisation 

6.1 The Technical Director, in consultation with FIDE, is responsible for and has full control of the technical organisation of the Events. He shall have the final interpretation of the Regulations governing the Events. 

7. Playing Conditions 

7.1 The tournament shall be played according to rules, doping control and examination of FIDE. 

7.2 Players must be seated at their respective tables before the start of each round. Once the Chief Arbiter announces start, any player who is absent shall immediately be declared to have lost by default. 

7.3 For Blitz Events, if a player displaces any piece(s) he must reset the piece(s) on his own time. If this is not done and he has already started his opponent’s clock, the opponent can make a claim and the game declared lost for the offending player. 
7.3.1 An arbiter can also declare the loss for the offending player even without any claim from the opponent. In case that a game continues with displaced pieces, the game shall be declared lost for BOTH players who shall then both receive a zero score. 

7.4 Pairing for all Events will be based on Pairing Program existing in the Swiss Manager. 

8. Systems of Competitions 

8.1 All Events shall be competed in 3 stages, the Qualifiers using the Swiss System; the Semi-Finals and the Finals. At the end of the Qualifiers, the top 4 will qualify for the Semi-Finals and the winners for the Finals. 

8.2 The standings in the Qualifiers shall be counted based on the following:- 
8.2.1 Individual Events: Score, Direct Encounter (only if all tied players have played each other), Buchholz Score. 
8.2.2 Pair Events: Match Points, Game Points, Direct Encounter (only if all tied teams have played each other), Buchholz Score 
8.2.3 Team Events: Match Points, Game Points, Direct Encounter (only if all tied teams have played each other), Buchholz Score 

8.3 The Semi-Finals & Finals will both be contested in 2 rounds. 
8.3.1 For Individual Events: In case of a tie, one sudden-death game will be played (White having 6 minutes and Black having 5 minutes; in case of a draw, Black is the winner). 
8.3.2 For Pair Events: In case of a tie, a draw of lot will decide whether the match will be played on Man vs Man or Woman vs Woman. One sudden-death time control game will be played. 
8.3.3 For Team Events: In case of a tie, each team shall nominate 3 players to play a match over 3 boards. Sudden-death time control shall be adopted. 

8.4 At the end of each Event, the top 3 shall receive Gold, Silver & Bronze medals. For Team Events, medals will be awarded only to the 4 players and reserve. 

9. Doping 

9.1 Doping control may be conducted for each Event. 

10. Appeals Committee. 

10.1 Before the beginning of the Competition an Appeals Committee shall be selected. This committee shall consist of 3 members and 2 reserves, representing 5 different federations. No member of the committee shall have the right to decide on questions concerning his own federation. In such cases the member concerned shall have the right only to partake in the discussions of the committee. 

10.2 An appeal must be in written form and accompanied with a fee of 100 euros. These must be submitted to the Chief Arbiter within 5 minutes after the completion of a playing session. 

11. Entry fees. 

Individual: €75 per person
Pair: €150 per team 
Team: €300 per team

List of National Games of all countries

National Games

Country - Game
--------------------------------------------------------
USA - Baseball
Spain - Bulls Fighting
Canada - Ice Hockey
New Zealand - Rugby Union
India - Hockey
Pakisthan - Field Hockey
Bangladesh - Kabaddi
Srilanka - Volley ball
Russia - Football and Chess
China - Table Tennis
Brazil - Football
France - Football
England - Cricket
Japan - Judo
Australia - Cricket
Pakistan - Hockey
Malaysia - Badminton
Scotland - Rugby Football
Indonesia - Badminton
Bhutan - Archery
Switzerland - Shooting and Gymnastics
Turkey - Wrestling and Jereed

As the rain came down, Team India kept themselves in good humour

The six-hour rain induced delay could potentially have been a nervous time for this new-look Indian team, but according to a BCCI official who met the players at Birmingham, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed, punctured only by wisecracks and one-liners, throughout the day of the final.
What South African Gary Kirsten wished he could bottle and sell for a premium and what Micky Arthur would have craved for in his Australian dressing room, was a relaxed team environment and a bunch of confident youngsters, unfazed by the big ocassion ready to take on the world.
While facing off against England, India possessed all these qualities, ensuring that no nerves interfered with their winning of the Champions Trophy title. This, despite, a shadow of the spot-fixing scandal that was supposed to loom over their burdened heads.
In what was expected to be a tense lead-up to the final, in the hours just before the toss, the boys were cracking jokes, the official said. While the official was attempting to give a pep-talk, a player, who had an exceptional Champions Trophy, quipped, "Sir, that's fine, but how much reward will we get if we win?' His remark was followed by uproarious laughter.
Brief team meeting
The brief team meeting on Sunday morning wasn't intense, but a gentle reminder from the skipper MS Dhoni on just how strong they had been throughout the tournament. The team had flown down after IPL-6 and its multiple scandals and Dhoni had been tight-lipped about CSK owner N Srinivasan's son-in law Gurunath Meiyapan's arrest.
When rain halted the game for six hours making the Champions Trophy final a 20-20 affair, the players had found cheer in the familiar format. They wanted this win desperately and as one player described it, 'only a win' could help them balm over the bad image of the IPL.  

Premier League: Liverpool seal move for Luis Alberto from Sevilla

Liverpool have completed the signing of Spanish forward Luis Alberto from Sevilla.

The 20-year-old signed a long-term contract with the Premier League side after passing a medical at their Melwood training complex.

He spent last season on loan with Barcelona B, scoring 11 goals, and he proved to be a creative force as well, setting up 17 further goals in his 38 appearances.

"He has the correct footballing profile and mentality to be a Liverpool player."
Brendan Rodgers on Luis Alberto

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers said: "We are all delighted that Luis has decided to join Liverpool.

"He has the correct footballing profile and mentality to be a Liverpool player.

"I look forward to working with him to develop his talent and he joins a group of young exciting players at our club."

Alberto represented Spain at U18 and U19 levels and made his debut for their U21 side against Belgium in February.

Alberto admitted he had been surprised when he became aware of Liverpool's interest, but had no doubts about accepting their offer.

"I feel like I'm in a bubble at the moment," he told the club's official website. "For me Liverpool is a top team. I feel like I am dreaming and I want to enjoy it to the full.

"I feel very excited, I've never felt so excited before but I'm very happy. I think I am the happiest man on earth."
Luis Alberto

"I feel very excited, I've never felt so excited before but I'm very happy. I think I am the happiest man on earth.

"I was surprised [when Liverpool showed interest in me]. You never expect this to happen to you. But as the deal moved forward, I became very happy and wanted to come to Liverpool.

"I have come here to enjoy moments with the supporters - and I know the supporters will help me to never walk alone.

"I hope that between us all we can make this club one of the greatest in the world, once again."

Transformation of Chinese Football

Few British people have as deep an understanding of, and passion for, China as Rowan Simons, who moved to Beijing in the late 1980s and has lived there ever since, pretty much.

He has enough in his media businesses to keep him busy – the group consists of three companies, and does everything from media production to strategic consulting, from event organising to communications – but one thing has given him a sense of mission.

"Football has always been my passion," says Simons. "I started playing as soon as I came to China, but I realised very quickly that football in China was very different from football in the UK, and elsewhere.

"In the mid-90s I was lucky enough to be a co-commentator on English Premier League and FA Cup matches on Beijing TV, so I became very well known to football fans as the English guy who talked about football."

Simons has a vision for Chinese football, and has devoted a lot of effort to promoting a grassroots vision of the game that contrasts sharply with the top-down, centrally-planned model he thinks is the major problem in Chinese football.

'Frustrated'
"Through the 90s, I became very frustrated with the despair, and the disaster that is Chinese football, with more and more fans complaining about it, but no-one actually doing anything about it," sighs Simons.

"So towards the end of the 90s, I realised that it needed perhaps a foreigner to help China on the route to understanding football, so I set up a company called China Club Football FC, which was the first foreign-invested football club in the country.

"And very much we focus on grassroots activities. Amateur football for kids and adults, and everything that goes around that.

"Over the years we've struggled against every challenge that you can imagine, but each year we've got bigger, and we're now the largest football club in Beijing with something like a hundred thousand registered members and over 2,000 kids playing every week in over twenty locations around the city, and over a hundred teams participating in our adult leagues."

"I do think football is a very good reflection of Chinese society, and a very easy way for us in the west to see the differences in China and Chinese society, and some of the challenges that it faces.

'Globalised world view'
"I think there is a change within society, it's coming at a generational speed rather than quicker than that, but a new generation of people have a much more globalised world view, and a much better understanding about choices they can make in their lives.

"In our work with ClubFootball for example, when we started our junior coaching programmes in 2004, it was an entirely expat experience. Now more than 30% of our kids are Chinese.

"Similar things are happening at the adult level: when we started our five-a-side league programmes they were all foreign teams, now nearly we're approaching a situation where half of our teams are Chinese.
"More and more Chinese people are taking the responsibility themselves, to decide how they want to live their lives and the choices they want to make."

The most striking way this outward-looking mindset manifests itself is in the motivations of parents and children at Club Football.

When they first started offering coaching for Chinese children, Simons' team found it difficult to persuade Chinese parents to subject their kids to an activity that was marketed as fun, rather than self-improvement.

Language skills
English language skills are highly prized among Beijingers, and so what could have been a problem – foreign coaches delivering courses through native interpreters – is now a unique selling point for the club.

"We just very simply added to the phrase "play football", "speak English". And "play football, speak English" immediately attracted Chinese parents, every single one of whom agrees that English is a very important skill to have.

In China, playing football alone is not enough to encourage people to turn up - the English component of that was actually the key factor.

"It seems bizarre, but we're almost tricking them into playing football by offering them an English language environment. And of course once they come and they play, they will start to make friends as well."

IPL spot-fixing: BCCI suspends Kundra, Sawani's report tabled

New Delhi: The BCCI has suspended Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra from all cricket activities pending inquiry into his alleged involvement in the IPL betting scandal.

"The Working Committee today decided to suspend Raj Kundra on allegations of gambling on IPL VI matches till the pendency of inquiry," a senior working committee member and BCCI office-bearer said.

"Kundra will be debarred from taking part in any cricketing activity related to Rajasthan Royals which effectively means that he won't be seen during Rajasthan Royals matches in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 in September," he said.

Kundra was questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

The decision to suspend Kundra comes after the police claimed that Kundra had confessed to betting.


The BCCI has also decided to do away with cheerleaders and after-match parties in IPL.

BCCI's Anti Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani also tabled his report on the three tainted cricketers -- Test pacer S Sreesanth, Ashok Chandila and Ankeet Chavan -- who have been arrested for alleged spot-fixing.

The working committee decided to forward the report to the Board's disciplinary committee.

"The sealed report of Sawani was not opened at the meeting as the committee found it prudent to hand it over to the disciplinary committee," the official said.

"As is the process of natural justice, the players, once they are out of judicial custody, will be summoned for presenting their side of the story before the final verdict is pronounced," he added.


Among other decisions, the working committee ratified the name of Sanjay Patel as the Secretary and also elected Mumbai Cricket Association President Ravi Sawant as the Treasurer, a post left vacant by Ajay Shirke in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal.

Monday’s meeting saw some heated exchange between some Board members and former BCCI and current Punjab Cricket Association President I S Bindra, who questioned the authority of Dalmiya.

Bindra asked in what capacity was Dalmiya pronouncing Kundra's suspension and appointing Patel and Sawant as executive functionaries of the Board since he is not the interim President.

To this, Sawant, who was representing the MCA, protested and showed Bindra a clause in the BCCI Constitution that allows someone to convene and conduct a meeting if five members of the current working committee propose his name. After this, Bindra's protest didn't find any takers.

Dalmiya is heading the interim arrangement after N Srinivasan stepped aside as President following allegations of betting against his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan. Srinivasan's company India Cements owns the IPL franchise.

Asked whether there was any discussion regarding Chennai Super Kings during the meeting, the official answered in the negative.

The working committee also decided to remove Srinivasan and former Board Secretary Niranjan Shah from the disciplinary panel.

In another decision, the BCCI Working Committee agreed that the two-member panel -- comprising Justice T Jayaram Chouta and Justice R Balasubramanian -- which is currently investigating Meiyappan and CSK would also probe Kundra and Rajasthan Royals.

Reacting to the BCCI’s decision, Kundra’s counsel Majeed Memon described it as shocking.

“It’s shocking to find that BCCI has taken a unilateral decision to suspend Raj Kundra. We’re hearing this from media. They haven’t even sent a show cause notice."

"There is no substance in the allegations against Raj Kundra, this decision of the BCCI is most unjust," Memon said on Monday.

Rajasthan Royals have already issued a statement saying that Kundra is only a minority shareholder in the franchise and if he is found guilty, he’ll forfeit his shares.

His name came in a statement recorded by his business partner Umesh Goenka, a bookie, during investigations.

Delhi Police claimed that Kundra was into betting but not into fixing. Their questioning was basically into betting, police sources said.

Delhi police had seized Kundra`s passport and asked him not to leave the country till the spot-fixing probe is over.

Kundra and his wife Shilpa Shetty have 11.7 per cent stakes in Rajasthan Royals through Kuki Investment.

Suresh Chellaram and Family (Tresco International Limited) have the bulk of the shares with 44.2 per cent while Manoj Badale (Emerging Media) has 32.4 per cent stakes. Lachlan Murdoch (Blue Water Estate Limited) has 11.7 per cent stakes.