1. Confirmation by FM Nelson Castaneda, my 10th round opponent, who saw me requesting withdrawal on the charts.

2. Phone bill that shows I called at 7:01PM and informed TDs that they made mistake by paring me.

Post in the discussion group #1

From: casellaKid (michael_casella@hotmail.com)Subject: Re: Igor  Khmelnitsky  and Olga Sagalchik

FM Nelson Castaneda saw Igor indicate on the result chart that he was  withdrawing.  Will Sloan counter that Nelson was also paid off?

Email #1

On 2002.11.14 13:58 "Khmelnitsky, Igor" wrote:

Hi Nelson,

How is everything? Our game was quite interesting, but I haven't

analyzed it yet, since I am still having nightmares about it.  On a serious note, I was told by your friend on ICC that you have seen my  writing on the result sheet indicating withdrawal request. Can you  please  confirm that. While comments by Glenn Peterson (with whom I have a  great  relationship) in his article in Chess Life were by no means offensive,  there  is a little more to be said than what he did.

I would like to write to Chess Life and indicate that:

A. You saw my request (if you indeed saw it), and TDs just missed it along with the sheet.

B. I have a phone record that shows I called at 7PM - half an hour before the round and not 7:15PM, as TDs are saying.

If you can't confirm (A), I would appreciate your response anyway. I would  just go with the 7PM phone call.

Sincerely,

Igor Khmelnitsky

Email #2

From: N. Castaneda [mailto:ncastaneda@attbi.com]

Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 10:55 PM

To: Khmelnitsky, Igor

Subject: Re: Chess at the US Open - my withdrawal issue.

Hi Igor,

Thanks for your message.

My recolection is that I saw "Withdrew" or something equivalent associated to your name  on the results table but I cannot remember exactly at what time or day. It was my understanding that you withdrew from the tournament before the last round. I remeber this very well because it reminded me of a similar situation when Kalikhashtein withdrew from the World Open of 1997 after he lost to me.

Best regards,

Nelson

Email #3 

From: N. Castaneda [mailto:ncastaneda@attbi.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 11:56 AM
To: Khmelnitsky, Igor
Subject: Re: Chess at the US Open - my withdrawal issue.

Igor,
I have thought about when exactly I saw your withdrawl on the results 
table. My conclusion is that it must have been the night we played, 
after our game.
Best regards,
Nelson