Email to Alan Millhone from Gary Ellison/ Illinois

[Alan Millhone]

Hello Checker players and forum members :

I received a email from Mr. Gary Ellison and he asked me to post same for him on this forum. His email to me is dated Thursday / April 7, 2011 . I will post below as exactly as it was sent to me by Gary. I am simply the messenger in this case and am not taking sides as ACF President. Let us discuss and present all the facts as best we can.

Sincerely:
Alan Millhone, President
American Checker Federation
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5-7-11

To: All Checker Players

Re: Nick Addente Comments

As President of the Illinois Checker Association and on behalf of Gene and myself , I wish to respond to Nick's comments on our tournament this past week-end. We have always done our best to run this tournament to honor this game and the reputation of both the ACF and our own association.

One, concerning Sunday morning wake-up for Nick. Gene spoke to Nick at around 6:15 AM Sunday morning so surely Nick could be responsible for staying awake for play at 8:00 AM. Also, under the circumstances perhaps I should note here that we know that Nick was at the Marion truck stop at 2: AM so again he should take responsibility to get himself to the tournament. Secondly, to the one comment about the starting time for the last round --- everyone took two draws to be able to get on the road which left only Gene and I to play our last round. Since either of us could win the title by winning the last 2 games we chose to play it out. Nick had the same choice. In response to the 2 min. game ---------- that is also false !!! We played fast which is our normal game but we were also trying to wind up the totals to help people get home and on the first game I eventually got a man and position and a few moves later Gene said Gary I'm beat so let's go on to the 2nd. game. On the 2nd. game , I ended up with another strong position and toward the end of the game Gene conceded that he saw no way to draw so no need to again draw out time. We did not time our game but I can assure you it was longer that 2 minutes as posted on the web but I guess some people would not understand how quick Gene and I play but the implication is not justified. It was simply the way it happened. Even though Gene and I are brothers does not mean we should not do our best ????? I regret Nick feeling the way he does but we followed the rules and PLAYED out our round. Nick was indeed in a better position to win the title but he chose to not even play his round and gamle that Gene and I would not be able to win both games and in the end it did cost him a title ---- but that is not our fault. I do not believe he even mentioned that he chose NOT play out his round so I do not believe he is justified to complain because I happened to win 2 games. I am not and never have claimed I was better than anyone else in our tnmt ------- it just turned out I won this time. Life will always have ups and downs and we must learn to handle them as adults . Good sportsmanship is part of being an adult . This lesson alone alone makes all of us a better person in our life outside of the checker board. Nick, you played an exceptional tournament against some of the best players in the game and I certainly congratulate you on your skill but you have made a judgment on us without merit and again you did not play out your final round to which you could have earned this title and not gambled that Gene or I could not win 2 games. I note also that last year you came in 7th. in Class B and this year you challenge the top players in Class A which is quite an improvement in one year and since you play with earphones and a hood ( which drew some comments about being odd and suspicious as to why and looked very unprofessional ) I guess I could have complained about your playing with those earphones but I didn't judge you so why are you judging us ? YOU have given a " Black Eye " to not only the Illinois organization but to the ACF and ALL checker players in general by posting an accusation on a world wide weband for someone not in the game and reading your comments do you realize how much you could possibly have hurt our gaining new menbers ? You should have come to Gene and I over this and not involved the entire WORLD over your own feelings.

Sincerely

Gary Ellison
President
Illinois State Checker Assoication

[bugs]

Thank you Gary.. and AMEN... I would like to see a public appology from Nick on this forum.. There are some other that might do well to do the same thing.. Some backed Nick based on his word and misleading statements.. Thanks again, Vonda

[steve]

If anything the Ellison's are guilty of playin fast [my experience is the majority of players will play fast or offer draws in the last round in order to hit the road] Nick,rather then play pool checkers with Neil you could of won the title by playing the last round.Chess outlaws all electronic gadgets in tournment play and we should do the same.

[bugs]

OH JOSH............. Good Grief..........

[Eric Strange]

Thank you Gary.. and AMEN... I would like to see a public appology from Nick on this forum.. There are some other that might do well to do the same thing.. Some backed Nick based on his word and misleading statements.. Thanks again, Vonda

An apology for what?? There are always 2 sides to every story. What Nick said was probably what he believes is the truth and what Gary said is what he believes is the truth. Does not mean Nick was purposely trying to give misleading facts or information. You would take Garys word over Nicks as most will probably do. I am not taking sides in this but am saying that something needs to be done to prevent problems like this from arising in the future. We can all learn from situations like this one.

I do not think it is okay for people to just offer draws for their last rounds either. Or for the start time to differ. I also don't think that tournament pairings should be done by a person but done by a computer program. My goal is to make tournament work, pairings, ratings, honor points.... everything automated. The work is in progress

[Eric Strange]

In your opinion... which is usually wrong

Like I said earlier... there are always 2 sides of a story. If I had cheated in a tournament I sure wouldn't be admitting to it afterward.
Whoever is telling the truth and who isn't will never be known.... can't punish someone for something you cannot prove.

[jaguar72]

An apology for what??

For what amounts to public (i.e., it's a public forum; anybody online can read the posts) defamation of character by posting allegations (by innuendo if not explicitly) of cheating (throwing games) by the Ellison brothers without presenting proof -- only speculation, opinion and anecdote -- of any such conduct. In other words, unsubstantiated allegations (as I've said before in a prior post). Such posts publicly impact both the reputation and integrity of the Ellisons.

That's what for.

The public nature of the posts is the real problem for both the individuals involved and for the ACF.

Also, the question I have is, if Mr. Addante has a dog in this fight, why isn't he posting his own stuff and fighting his own battles? That would only seem right. Just curious.

V/R,

Gary Jenkins/jaguar72

[jaguar72]

Whoever is telling the truth and who isn't will never be known.... can't punish someone for something you cannot prove.

Then that begs the question, Eric, of why both of Nick's statements were publicly posted in the first place if there was no proof?

V/R,

Gary Jenkins/jaguar72

[Eric Strange]

If you go back and read Nicks first statement he did not accuse anyone of anything. He presented what he believes happened. At no point did he say that Gene or Gary cheated. You all drew your own conclusions to that.

[jaguar72]

If you go back and read Nicks first statement he did not accuse anyone of anything. He presented what he believes happened. At no point did he say that Gene or Gary cheated. You all drew your own conclusions to that.

Come, come, Eric. I'm not quite that naive and neither are you. Read the responses that followed the orginal post...everyone who posted knew exactly what was being implied.

That's why I used the word "innuendo" in one of my previous posts.

V/R,

Gary Jenkins/jaguar72

[Palomino]

Eric wrote:

We can all learn from situations like this one.

I believe we have all now seen how easily and quickly a situation can turn ugly and have taken note of it.

I believe to some degree Nick sealed his own fate by agreeing to two draws and not playing the last round with Frank Davis. Maybe Nick did want to play them, I don't know? I'm sure Frank was wanting to get on the road as he had a long drive in front of him and I'm sure that Nick took this into consideration in making his decission to not play the last round. But had the games been played Nick could have and would have had the championship in his pocket with one win and one draw or two wins. Surely he now wishes he had played that last round.

Hindsight being what it is and with the way things turned out I'm sure the Ellison brothers wish they had done a few things different, such as writing down their moves along with the time the games started and finished, having someone stand by and witness the play of their games and no doubt a few other things. (Use of timers and recording of games. Alan, what do you think of that? ) Anyway, even with all the other Class A players (Every one of them.) choosing to not play the last round and agreeing to two draws I don't think anyone has, will or can say Gary or Gene didn't have a right to play the last round and go for the title.

Eric, as for your saying you "Do not think it is okay... for the start time to differ" I'm puzzled as to how that pertains to this situation in that there were no other games played for making a comparison to the start time of the Ellison's last round games. Yes, the start of the Ellison's first game was interruped, postponed, delayed or whatever we want to call it but that was so Gene and Gary could tally scores and pay off what players they could and let them get on their way home.

Your saying "I also don't think that tournament pairings should be done by a person but done by a computer program." is a fine idea as far as that it might make pairing faster, easier and less of a job but I don't see where a computer program will necessarily bring more fairness to pairing. After all we still have a human designing the program and deciding what is the correct and best way to make pairings. Is there a better set of guidelines to follow or way of doing that other than the way it has always been done?

Are you saying or inferring that the pairing of the last round was not fair or could have and would have been done better and differently by a computer program, if so how would the last round have been paired differently by a computer program in this situation?

Link to score sheets and pairings of the 2011 IL State Tournament:
http://www.nccheckers.org/NCCA/2011%20I ... esheet.htm

RE:
Nick Addante Post on IL
Eric you wrote.

If you go back and read Nicks first statement he did not accuse anyone of anything. He presented what he believes happened. At no point did he say that Gene or Gary cheated. You all drew your own conclusions to that.

I guess we have a whole different way of looking at things but that statement to me is just totally rediculous and laughable. That original post was chockfull of sarcastic remarks and inferances of wrong doing and did everything but come right out and call the Ellisons cheaters.

In a follow up post concerning Nick and Gene's sharing of the motel room and Gene's failure to wake Nick up. You wrote.

I felt it was vital information pertaining to this topic.

It seems to me that you were stirring the pot a bit there in that you said "Nick originally did not want to post it. I believe Nick and Gene both would agree it was a bad idea to share the room.

Gene told me that he is a light sleeper and that his sleep was disrupted twice by Nick's messing with his ipod and his leaving or his returning to the room about 2:00 a.m. It sound like Nick is a bit of a night owl and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm one myself but once again it might be that Nick unintentionally had a hand in sealing his own fate. Had Gene gotten a better nights rest maybe he would have played a stronger game against Gary in that final round? We can't know and never will. I guess there's more to checkers and the winning of championships than just the playing of the games.

As for the waking up of Nick, Gene told me that he left the room at 6:15 a.m., in time to go eat breakfast before going to the mall and that he had talked to Nick as he was leaving. I really don't understand the point of that having been brought up anyway, are you to have us believe that the Ellison brothers hatched a plan to steal the championship away from Nick and this all started even before the first of the day's games had begun?

Okay, even Gene agrees that on the surface what happened in the last round looks suspect but he says it was all on the up and up, as does Gary, and I believe them 100 percent! I don't believe for a second that Gene or Gary Ellison would do or did do anything unethical nor do I believe that anyone else that knows them could believe it.

Once again I quote you.

We can all learn from situations like this one.

I say, how true, how true!

..."Pal" Bucker

[Alan Millhone]

Hello Pal:

To answer your question to me:

I would love to see ALL games recorded and at least in any " A " group that requires ACF membership. I would love to then see those games processed by Mr. Loy or others so that games played can be preserved for our Checker history and for ohters to enjoy and benefit. The two part score sheets are not cheap and that is another expenditure. The entry fee to the Illinois event for example is a mere $ 10.00 . That fee might have to be raised to purchase cllocks and two part game recording sheets. I am just thinking out loud and not speaking for the Illinois State Checker Association.

Use of timing devices for a week-end event would require a lot of clocks for each association to have. At last year's Nationals I put out a plea for new clocks and one of our ACF Members brought with his ten clocks and donated same to the ACF.

Personally I like the Marion Mall setting to play my rounds. I find it an interesting venue and handy to places to eat or get a beverage. After one round John Grisley took a walk up the mall and bot hgot a delicious hand dipped ice cream in a wonderful waffle cone.

I realize emotions run high on some topics ( this thread is no exception) , but personally don't approve of use of any profanity on a public forum. Not admonishing anyone ------- yet.

Also I am carefully reading all forum posts on the Illinois topic and considering all sides. Many of you are making up your own minds the more posts that appear. After all is said and done on here the ACF Executive Committee will make a statement. I read all positive comments that would make any event better for everyone.

Sincerely:
Alan Millhone, President
American Checker Federation

[n1ck]

To: All Checker Players
Re: Gene Ellison Comments

I would like to start by saying, thank you to Eric Strange for posting on the forum on my behalf knowing that you may receive both positive and negative reactions impacted on you. I would additionally like to thank the players and members contributing their insights into this matter, whether positive or negative towards either party. Especially, those who have defended me and stuck by me the whole way through, you know who you are. Despite the ugliness of the issue in discussion, sometimes necessary decisions and actions to better the game are only implemented in response to the most critical of scenarios.

For all of those who will read and or comment, please take the following into account before you do so:
I am not going to respond to any posts generated from this last and final post on my behalf. So, if you want to direct a question at me, there are people in the ACF who have my contact information.

There are statements from my side, from the Ellison’s side, and hopefully soon from the ACF Executive Officers present at the time. Just because one party states a piece of information, does not mean the other party’s information on the same subject is false. There are truths, and more specific truths. Is it true Gene ‘talked’ to me at 6:15 AM? I was not awake or coherent at 6:15 AM, so I couldn’t tell you whether or not he made an effort to saying something. But more specific to the event at stake, did Gene wake me up? No, he didn’t. Because when I attained coherence and woke up, he was gone and checked out. So who is lying? Maybe no one is lying. But he did not wake me up. Please tell me you follow this thought process, it is very important.

I would like to address why I decided to have my feelings about the result of the IL tournament posted on the ACF Forums. Two of the Three ACF Executive Officers were present at this tournament during the time these events transpired. Immediately upon receiving the result of the title, I went to Alan and Kim and told them what I believe had occurred. Unfortunately for all of us, they weren’t going to take any action in response to my comments. This left me with only one option to get the ACF Executive Officers involved, post about the event on the ACF Forum, which has indeed gotten the ACF Executive Officers involved. It was not my intent to slander the Ellison’s, as they have always been kind to me.

I would like to address the meaning and purpose for the two postings coming from Eric Strange on my behalf. The first post was my sarcastic congratulation to Gary Ellison on his title victory. It was unprofessional of me to discredit Gary; however, I did not make any accusation of him cheating in this statement. I truly felt, whether legitimate or malicious, a two-game blitz win against your brother when you are both tournament directors is not very impressive. And for all of you who discredit blitz play in the forums in the past, you cannot disagree with this statement. I have read someone’s post that said, whether I directly stated the Ellison’s cheating or not, my statement provoked discussion on the matter. I would agree this is true, both in intent and result. The second post was about the wake-up call from Gene. If you note, this was a private fact that I discussed with Eric, a close friend of mine, and did not want publicly posted. He however, told me he wanted to post this. So I told him, he can quote me on it, but it should not be on my behalf, as I did not want to bring irrelevant issues into the discussion.

I would like to address why I did not play out my final round. I will list every single thought and consideration that came into my mind at the instant round 7 began. My first thought was that I would have to play Larry Keen. I’ll admit, I fear battling Keen in a cross-board game, knowing that my best result would most likely be two draws, with very high probability of incurring at least one loss. Larry thought I might be playing him too, and said if we got matched, he wanted to leave and it wouldn’t change the outcome of the top finisher, so he would offer me two draws….which I would gladly take, can you blame me? Well, I did not get paired with Larry Keen, I was paired with Frank Davis. I have never played Frank Davis, so I couldn’t really estimate what outcome I would get with him. Two wins? Two losses? Does it depend on the opening? He wanted to leave because he had a long drive home, so he offered me two draws. I contemplated if this would be a bad decision taking the two draws. The thing that sealed the deal for me on my decision, was that I was relying on Kim Willis for transportation. I knew she would like to head out as soon as possible, and if I could draw out my final round that would be ideal for her. I’m sure she would have stayed and let me play out my round, and I’m sure Frank would have played if I told him I wanted to, but honestly, I was put between a rock and a hard place. The easiest and most attractive option that seemed to appease all sides, Frank, Kim, and I would be to take the two draws. I mean, after all, I’d still be in a very tough to reach position for the state title. So, yeah I took the two draws, maybe that was my mistake, but it was a calculated, contemplated, and tough decision. I could not guarantee myself 2 points if I played, I still think, I made the right choice based on my cross-board consistency and abilities. After all, I knew at this point, Gene and Gary would be facing each other, so this meant that instead of 2 players having a chance at 2 wins, only 1 player had a chance. Additionally, them being brothers, and relatively even in skill, especially with a lopsided opening, the probability of 2 wins dwindles even further. You all say, I shouldn’t have left the title in the air by taking 2 points, but acquiring a sure 2 points as opposed to taking only 1 or 0 points and praying one of the Ellison’s did not score 2 points or more would incur way too much calculated risk and variables to consider. I am not Alex Moiseyev, I can’t know playing into a round I won’t lose a game.

Next, I would like to discuss the comments about my attire, including headphones and a hoodie. First of all, my hoodie is a Guess Leather Jacket that includes somehow a nice slim little hoodie stitched in. For those who don’t know what this means, it’s a nice leather jacket, not some thug attire. I do admit though, the combination of this leather jacket-hoodie and my basketball shorts is an odd outfit combination, and wouldn’t be considered professional, but it is far from disrespectful or inappropriate. There is no dress code for this tournament, and the venue was a mall, which my outfit was completely appropriate for. Back again to, truths, and more specific truths. Is it true I wore a hoody, sure is. But, what image does that put in your head? Surely not an expensive, top of the line, trendy leather jacket hoody? Because that’s what it is. Michael Holmes dresses the best at tournaments, I just find full suits uncomfortable for hours upon hours of play in usually stuffy environments. And no one was dressed anywhere close to Michael Holmes and Alex Holmes. The headphones….There is no rule in the state tournament about banning headphones or electronic devices. Headphones is quite harmless compared to others who have computers with programs and analyze games after rounds, which potentially may come up again. I verbally let opponents know I would be using my headphones before the tournament, before each round, and after rounds. I told opponents, if they felt it was disrespectful or they were distracted by it, I would take them out in a hearbeat. None of my opponents, or competitors asked me to take them out. If anything, shouldn’t chaotic music in my head be advantageous for my opponent, even though I feel it helps me sort through my analysis more comfortably, personally.

Now look at the carefully placed words Gary uses about my rapid increase in skill over short periods of time and my attire/headphones. Are you just stating two completely irrelated facts next to each other, or are you similarly as I was doing, begging the question that I am “suspiciously” playing too good? I don’t cheat,I’m quite a strong opponent. If my first tournament had been a GAYP tournament at the master level, I strongly believe I would be well above 50% mark. Cross-board play is fairly new to me, and the more I play it or see it, the more I can adapt to this style of play. My rapid improvement in play has been seen online for quite some time now, its no ‘coincidence’, very low probability, in fact 0 probability as I know, that there is something suspicious going on. Now, as for the issue at hand, I will stop using sarcasm and other tools to imply a message and I will outright say it. I believe there is a very high probability, close to 95% (no calculations) that Gene gave you the games/game. This leaves 5% which is the brink in confidence intervals where error is large enough to be considered. So this means, as unlikely as it is for you to legitimately get 2 wins, against your brother, as tournament directors, lopsided opening, even in skill, blitz games………it’s just barely possible. So, would I risk my life betting that you cheated, no I wouldn’t. But, I think your brother cheated to give you wins.

Another oddly placed fact, was that “we do know you were at the Marion Truck Stop at 2 AM.” Okay, yes I was…..so what? I am 23 years old, we are fully functional at 2 AM, and corpses at 5AM. Most tournament players are zombies after 9 PM, and highly functional at 5 AM. Again….so what? If you are inferring I kept Gene awake, this is impossible. Gene gets up every hour or two to take medication or do something of that sort, he warned me about this before we went to bed. He was up in and out of the bathroom many times more than my escapade to the truck stop to get a pack of cigarettes. I’m not saying Gene disrupted my sleep, and I didn’t disrupt his sleep, this shouldn’t have been an issue for either side. He didn’t sleep well, because he has medical problems that make sleep impossible for him.

And now the most important part of the post….I need the sides of the story from both Kim and Alan. Why? Because you are ACF Executive Officers, you were there, and you have more credibility amongst the checker community than I do. As far as this matter is concerned, its just a he-said, she-said battle between a relatively new checker player, and two veteran checker players. You both have spoken to me “off the record” on what you think or feel happened. Without your words, my credibility in this matter does me no good. So please, post your opinions on this matter, the way you have discussed them in private to me and the Ellisons, no political safe talk, just real talk. A main disagreement is the time spent on the games, I say 2-3 minutes, the Ellison’s describe 10-12 minutes. Neither of us recorded with a watch, and how long time feels is not coincident with how much time has actually passed. It would be interesting to have other opinions from others who were there on how long the Ellison’s spent far off in the corner playing, when they normally play at the head table….I have not included you in this Dr. Beckwith, because you were not present, so despite your authority as an ACF Executive concerning this matter, you are unable to say what you saw and what you felt when the events transpired.

I am so heated about this, because in one other tournament, what do you know, hosted by Illinois, the 2010 national, suspicious actions occurred which almost resulted in me not receiving the minors national champion title. Of course, there is a loop-hole or way of wording things around what happened for the organizations and executives to those events that transpired, but I have not forgotten it. If I do not speak up, it may continue to happen. Even if I do speak up, it may continue to happen.

I do believe, as one stated, a formal apology is due for the Ellison’s. This is the best I can do: Gary and Gene, I am indeed sorry that the outcome of the IL tournament has transpired to events as such, which are mostly harmful to the checker community. I again, re-state it was not my intent to slander you brothers personally, or as a checker organization. I understand the result of my actions, and others actions on this forum may have done this, and I am sorry for that. Please take into account, I asked Alan to delete my account from the ACF Forum after the 2010 National after I came into disagreements with John Acker. I felt embarrassed to be associated with some of the arguments and mudslinging going on in the forum, and I hoped never to have to see my name on the forum again. Unfortunately, it was a catch-22, I had to re-associate with the forum in order to have something done about an issue I raised, that was ignored until presented on the forum. Also, understand that as an implication of my actions, I knew I may jeopardize any affiliation with the Illinois Checker Association for the world qualification tournament I wanted to go to. That was my dream to attend, and I knew this would make it awkward, not only because I do not want to represent Illinois anymore in the world qualifier, but even if I did, it would be very awkward for me to do so now.

Lastly, and my final words to the checker community……
Since the event that transpired at IL, even after the one that transpired at the 2010 Nationals, I have been teeter-totter minded about playing in tournaments. I have decided to step-off this teeter-totter and let you all know, I am retiring from tournament play until I see a positive and fair environment. I do not want to attend state tournaments, I do not want to attend cross-board open invites, gayp open invites, any national, world qualifier, or title match. I am done, you can call me a quitter, say this is the wrong decision, but I’ve decided it is a healthier choice for me to stay clear of this environment. All of the ACF members have been good to me, and taken me under their wing. And I appreciate all of you, I have made many friends in the process, and possibly some enemies, but I’ll still be your friend. I do not want to cut any ties, I just do not want to play in tournaments anymore. Feel free to visit me in Kurnik for a competitive GAYP match, call me up on the phone to talk or have a phone match, or if your around in Chicago, we can meet up for blitz game series. I do not need checker tournaments to improve, I can play against Marion Tinsley, Ron King, Alex Moiseyev etc. etc. every single day on my computer. After all, computer programs have been trained and developed based on their play.
11-15* !
23-19 val -1 pv5 …………..
12-16 (?)
R U CEREAL
Nick Addante

[bugs]

..............

[Alex_Moiseyev]

Nick, all after all - thanks for playing with me on Kurnik last night and giving me a chance to hit first time in my life 2000 rating. Now you can quit

On serious note - many very potential young players quit in the past 10 years, you are not first in line and obviously - not the last one ! However, I propose you to postpone quiting and still play in National. You are good GAYP player and have all chances to be among top finishers in any Division. Donno ... the only way to prove pudding - eat it !

Good luck you in your life journey.

Usually, when I am playing in tournaments - I am zombi most part of day, 6 AM and 6 PM LOL except time when I am playing. Actual play takes alot of enrgy out.

Alex