Controversy over the England Team for Turin
Last Edited:
Tuesday April 4, 2006 6:14 PM
Official ECF Press Release
John Saunders (writing on 30 March) comments: It is now more than
a month since most UK chess federations announced their squads for the
Turin
Olympiad, which starts on 20 may, but there has been no official announcement
(but see below) of the English team. However, it
appears that the line-up (of the men's team at least) was finalised some
time ago. I've asked the federation for confirmation of the rumoured team
a couple of times but been told it would be announced 'soon'. However,
I think we can take it that the rumour is right (it has not been denied)
and that the men's team (with January and April ratings shown) is Adams
(2707/2720), Short (2676/2668), Speelman (2539/2551), Gormally (2573/2554),
Conquest (2522/2505), N Pert (2500/2494). But what is not clear is
why higher rated players have been overlooked. Leaving aside Nunn, Sadler
and Hodgson, who have either retired or become inactive, and Luke McShane,
who will be busy doing university exams in May, several other players
are rated significantly higher than the bottom two boards selected.
On 29 March I received a statement from Grandmasters Murray
Chandler and Daniel King which I am publishing here in its
entirety...
[start]
Statement over Olympiad Team Selection
From
Murray Chandler
Daniel King
We are surprised by the selections for the Olympiad team. Judged by
rating, for example, a different team would have been picked. No doubt
the selection was made with certain criteria in mind, but what these criteria
were, and whether they were applied across the whole team, is not clear
to us. Basically, there is a lack of transparency about the selection
procedure.
In other countries, the selection criteria are set out clearly, leaving
no room for doubt or speculation. Can we suggest that in future the same
is done here?
Which criteria are used is up for discussion. Some countries go strictly
by rating. Others have a mix. For example, rating, participation in the
national championship, minimum number of games and so on. Whatever is
decided, let's just state it clearly. And let's apply it to all team members.
We will be contacting the English Chess Federation and the selectors
with some more detailed proposals, which we hope will prevent such an
unsatisfactory situation occurring again.
[end]
Provisional ratings for the April 2006 FIDE List are available as follows:
Chandler 2551, Hebden 2523, Davies 2521, King 2521, Conquest 2505,
Parker 2504, Emms 2502, Turner 2495, Wells 2495, Pert 2494. The
two selected players are shown in bold.
Today (31 March), speaking purely on his own behalf, GM Murray Chandler
has added to and expanded the above statement as follows:
[start]
From Grandmaster Murray Chandler
During March the English Chess Olympiad Team for Turin was selected.
For some reason, this team has not yet been made public by the English
Chess Federation. I was advised in mid-March that my services would not
be required. The team is shown [as above]. The April 2006 FIDE ratings
reflect results from events PRIOR to the selection being made. As such
these results were known (or should have been known) to the selectors
when they made their decisions.
The rating list shows that I am ranked 46 points above the player
selected as board 5, and 57 points above the player selected for board
6. No explanation has been given as to why the selectors excluded me from
the team. In any case, it would be extraordinary if a minor subjective
issue was used to justify disregarding this enormous differential in rating.
Other players with higher ratings than those selected may also feel
the selections to have been odd. Daniel King and I have made a joint statement
[see above] as regards our hope that future selections may be more transparent.
Meanwhile I remain both baffled and frustrated over the current selection.
[end]
John Saunders comments: It is hard not to sympathise with the
two grandmasters, and it is not just them who have been affected in this
case. The gaps between the selected and non-selected are huge and there
seem to be no other obvious criteria that can justify the selection that
has been made. Chandler and King have both been in excellent form recently,
Daniel King in the 4NCL, and Murray Chandler in the Australian and New
Zealand championships (2nd and 1st respectively).
There was another thing we didn't know officially until
now: the composition of the selection committee. The committee listed
in the ECF Yearbook and on the ECF website as of today is very out of
date. The current committee as told to GM Chandler on 30 March is Rupert
Jones (Chairman), Michael Adams, Harriet Hunt, Nigel Short and Brian Smith.
That's official (nice to be able to say that). Speaking as a chess journalist,
it is very frustrating to get information out of the ECF. It is worth
reiterating that this is as yet the only official piece of information
we can give you in this case: the composition of the team and the reasons
for the selection are still unofficial (but see below).
It really is high time the ECF did something about its lack of communication.
I'm not the first or only person saying this - click
here for another comment along the same lines.
* Latest news (30 March): Some
four hours after the above statements were published on this website,
the English Chess Federation released the official announcement of their
squads. The men's team is as listed above. See below: the full press release.
Press Release from the English Chess Federation
England Teams announced for World Chess Olympiad
Turin 19 May to 5 June 2006
The England Teams' selection has been confirmed for the World Chess Olympiad,
2006. The England Teams include a combination of experience and impressive
ability, featuring many of the country's top players. Selection is:
Men's Team
Board 1 Michael Adams - England's strongest ever player and previous
world title challenger (Groningen 1997) and the nation's number one since
the late 1990's. Mickey has been established in the world's top twenty
for many years. Adams has represented England in every Olympiad since
1990 (9 times).
Board 2 Nigel Short - Former world title challenger to Gary Kasparov
in 1993 and a Grandmaster since 1984. Nigel Short received the MBE in
1999 in recognition of his contribution to the Royal game. Nigel is also
an active chess journalist.
Board 3 Jon Speelman - Former World Championship candidate and
three times British Champion, in a rich vein of form and fresh from his
most impressive tournament performance in several years, in Gibraltar
2006. Jon made his debut for England in the European Team Championship
of 1977. This is Jon's 14th consecutive Olympiad since Malta in 1980.
Jon is also a chess journalist.
Board 4 Danny Gormally - England's newest Grandmaster achieving
his title in Gibraltar in 2005, Danny is a welcome addition to the Olympiad
team. Danny performed impressively on board 4 on his England debut at
the European Team Championships in Gothenburg.
Board 5 Stuart Conquest - Former World under 16 Champion, Stuart
is an England regular and plays a brand of exciting crowd pleasing double-edged
chess. Stuart is an accomplished linguist speaking French, German ands
Spanish fluently. Stuart also represented England in the Olympiads held
in Erevan 1996 and Bled 2002.
Board 6 Nick Pert - One of our most promising young Grandmasters
and World under-18 Champion in 1998. Nick performed excellently on his
debut at the European team championships in Gothenburg scoring an unbeaten
5/8. This will be Nick's first Olympiad appearance.
Team Captain is the richly experienced and respected Allan Beardsworth.
Allan, 44, also captained the England team in Majorca in 2004 and is a
considerable contributor to the game.
The teams are funded by a financial contribution form the English Chess
Federation and the attendance of Michael Adams and Nigel Short is aided
by the generous contribution of David Norwood, who is thanked for his
personal generosity and support.
Women's Team
Board 1 Jovanka Houska - England's latest International Master,
the only English Woman to have qualified for the Women's World Chess Championship
2006, a former European Girls Under 20 Champion, and a regular in the
England Women's Team, for which she was captain at the European Team Championships
in 2005.
Board 2 Jessie Gilbert - The youngest member of the team and one
of England's most promising juniors, Women's World Amateur Champion 1999
and bronze medallist in the European Under 14 Girls' Championship, 2001.
This will be the second time she will play for the team.
Board 3 Jana Bellin - Awarded the Women's Grandmaster title in
1982 and eight times British Women's Champion, Jana has played many times
for the national team to which she now makes a welcome return.
Board 4 Sophie Tidman - A former England junior international
in team and individual events, Sophie captained the Oxford Varsity team
in 2005. She is making her debut for the England Women's Team.
Team captain and coach is the highly respected Grandmaster, Mark Hebden,
a member of the Men's Team at the Olympiads in 1998 and 2004, and coach
for the BCF at World and European junior and youth championships 2000-2005.
For further information on this press release, or any other matters
relating to Chess including news stories, sponsorship opportunities etc
please contact 01424 775222 or email office@englishchess.org.uk
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