Kerfuffle in European Cities & Towns Chess Championship

[John Upham]

It would appear that a brouhaha has developed between the ECF and the ECU over the ECF Under-12 entry to the

European Cities & Towns Chess Championship

The conflict seems to centre around the ECU using an 2022 entry form for a 2023 event and then updating it with a few days to go rendering the ECF Under-12 team unable to play.

Some choice / fruity language has been used in the discussion between one of the ECU organisers and the ECF DoJCaE in another place.

[John Upham]

Here was the opening shot:

Well done to the European Chess Union! They advertised a tournament with rules that players "born in 2010 or later" form a U12 team, which they kept in place after they move it from 2022 to 2023. Quite sensible, so the teams put together for the original date can still play. But no! Five days before the tournament they kick the London team out, saying that they need to be born in 2011 or later now. A masterpiece of organisational competence.

[John Upham]

and here was the almost incomprehensible reply (warts and all):

Alex, we start to be keen for such aggressive posts. All the teams registered to play this event in 2023 are U12 (2011 and after). And we had 3-4 cases of players that teams show full understanding to play a fair event and kindly replaced them to comply with rule U12. Nobody kicks out a team that tried to register only yesterday night while the original deadline was till 20th but we gave a space till Monday. So the fact is that this team tried to registered the last moment and received from arbiter the information that players shall be U12. Sorry for this inconvenience but your post that a team registered before was kicked out is false. The request to registered sent yesterday night. And is imprortant all the teams to play U12.

[Roger Lancaster]

Very likely John is multi-lingual but otherwise I'd be a little cautious about mocking those who take the trouble to respond - perhaps, as in this case, without total success - in an unfamiliar language.