European Team Championship November 2023

[Roger de Coverly]

David played for Scotland in the Skopje Olympiad in 1972 according to Wikipedia but the page starts by saying he is English so probably best to take the rest of the page with a very large pinch of salt.

I believe you find his name in reports on London junior activity in the 1960s. I believe he became Scottish by FIDE affiliation when at university in Glasgow.

[Ian Jamieson]

David played for Scotland in the Skopje Olympiad in 1972 according to Wikipedia but the page starts by saying he is English so probably best to take the rest of the page with a very large pinch of salt.

I believe you find his name in reports on London junior activity in the 1960s. I believe he became Scottish by FIDE affiliation when at university in Glasgow.

Ok

[Matt Mackenzie]

I note the Scottish team has been announced as:

Andrew Muir
David Levy
Graham Morrison
Martin Mitchell
Jonathan Grant

(Board order and captain to be decided).

Offhand I can't remember when David was picked for the national team, or whether Martin has previously had that honour. {edit - yes, 2011 for one]

David played for Scotland in the Skopje Olympiad in 1972 according to Wikipedia but the page starts by saying he is English so probably best to take the rest of the page with a very large pinch of salt.

Take what with a pinch of salt? He was definitely born and grew up in England, but has represented Scotland since the 1960s.

This is far from unique or unprecedented.

[Ian Jamieson]

I note the Scottish team has been announced as:

Andrew Muir
David Levy
Graham Morrison
Martin Mitchell
Jonathan Grant

(Board order and captain to be decided).

Offhand I can't remember when David was picked for the national team, or whether Martin has previously had that honour. {edit - yes, 2011 for one]

David played for Scotland in the Skopje Olympiad in 1972 according to Wikipedia but the page starts by saying he is English so probably best to take the rest of the page with a very large pinch of salt.

Take what with a pinch of salt? He was definitely born and grew up in England, but has represented Scotland since the 1960s.

This is far from unique or unprecedented.

Given that has been established already since I posted I think you can ignore my pinch of salt comment which is probably wrong

[Roger de Coverly]

He was definitely born and grew up in England, but has represented Scotland since the 1960s.

Chess Scotland have a chess biography.

https://www.chessscotland.com/documents ... s/levy.htm

[Matt Bridgeman]

Short whinging on Twitter he was not considered (again). If there’s factors in play as to why he’s no longer invited to the Open team, artistic differences or whatever it is, why is he given a free ride onto the Senior team? Surely if he’s a nuisance to Open teammates, he would be the same with Senior teammates?

[Ian Thompson]

Short whinging on Twitter he was not considered (again). If there’s factors in play as to why he’s no longer invited to the Open team, artistic differences or whatever it is, why is he given a free ride onto the Senior team? Surely if he’s a nuisance to Open teammates, he would be the same with Senior teammates?

Different selectors, for a start. Different team mates as well.

Who selected the selectors and are there any published selection criteria for either selectors, players or team captains?

[LawrenceCooper]

Short whinging on Twitter he was not considered (again). If there’s factors in play as to why he’s no longer invited to the Open team, artistic differences or whatever it is, why is he given a free ride onto the Senior team? Surely if he’s a nuisance to Open teammates, he would be the same with Senior teammates?

Different selectors, for a start. Different team mates as well.

Who selected the selectors and are there any published selection criteria for either selectors, players or team captains?

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/selecti ... R69DuCNvgU

International Selection Committee
Malcolm Pein (Chair), David Openshaw, Jonathan Parker, Natasha Regan, Jonathan Speelman, William Watson

International Senior Selection Committee
Nigel Povah (Chair), Keith Arkell, Paul Littlewood, Stewart Reuben

[Matt Bridgeman]

Wales not going as self-funding costs too high. Scotland going but again are self-funded. Daniel Fernandez okay with team selection but narked about other issues and considering options …is one moving Federation to Australia you wonder? lol

[Chris Rice]

Wales not going as self-funding costs too high. Scotland going but again are self-funded. Daniel Fernandez okay with team selection but narked about other issues and considering options …is one moving Federation to Australia you wonder? lol

It's a tough decision as to how upset we should get about this, having Vitiugov in the team means it pushes everyone down one so Luke for instance is going to be a frightening prospect on Board 4. However, Matthew Wadsworth, Marcus Harvey, Brandon Clarke, Jonah Willow, Harry Grieve and of course Dan Fernandez all miss out with this late change and I suspect might also be narked. It's a pity you can't have more than one team like in the 4ncl when there wouldn't be a murmur of unease. As it is I suspect we could well be in danger of losing Daniel to Australia which would be ironic given that he was in the same situation as Vitiugov before.

[Paul Heaton]

Daniel Fernandez okay with team selection but narked about other issues and considering options …is one moving Federation to Australia you wonder? lol

If your source is his comment on Facebook, he makes no comment on being ok with the team selection - merely he is “not as negative as you might think” in response to how he feels on Vitiugov parachuting straight in. If I were in his shoes I’d be wondering in terms of the team selection why someone who has not played in 16 months is selected ahead of him.

[DFernandez]

Hi all, rarely post here but thought I would make a one-off exception to address speculation. Yes, I am annoyed I am not in the team. No, I do not wish the team badly or wish to malign any players themselves, who after all have merely accepted offers that they were made.

I am an English GM, live 2534, published 2524 in Sep 2023. For comparison, Ghasi 2508, Haria 2522 (inactive), Pert 2526.

My FB comment said "I am considering all my options carefully. Alongside and at the same time as the obvious one, which is that of becoming better at chess." My priority continues to be getting better at chess, however I elaborate on (some of) those options below as well as more general thoughts.

1) I will always be from England, regardless of where I live. I have lived in Singapore before (played the 2010 and 2012 Olympiads for them), and also Australia for almost all of 2019-22. My links with the former now are close to non-existent and I don't have residence rights there, but my parents live there. My links with the latter are deep and ongoing, to the extent that were I to transfer, a comparison with Vitiugov wouldn't make sense objectively. I get on well with most established players and figures in Australian chess, and am attending the wedding of the men's captain this Sunday. Maybe it would be more analogous to the allegiance of Yao Lan, who is very active in British chess.

2) I have ambitions in chess, and would greatly prefer to realise my potential within the context of a supportive relationship with my home country (and federation), however it is far from set in stone. Maybe 2600 is still in my future; maybe not. I certainly want to give it a go (around 100 games so far in calendar 2023) and don't want to rule myself out because of circumstance.

If it becomes clear that the Australian federation would be an option much more conducive to my progress, and they are willing to have me, then I will give it serious consideration. In particular, however, they would not offer me any financial incentive or a job coaching there, although I have previously worked with 4 out of the 8 state and territory junior squads.

3) I have no problem with the selection of Vitiugov provided he is making a genuine effort to call our country home and integrate with the local chess scene (as, say, Baburin did in Ireland.) My only concern here is how his residence has been sorted- I am aware the transfer itself was free, but other components of his migration may have come at some cost.

4) I have questions about the selection of Haria, given that he has been inactive. I have been in correspondence with Malcolm about this, asking for criteria used. He replied to the effect that there was a committee (members publicly available) which met, but without giving the criteria; he offered to elaborate in person, which I view as essential from my perspective in order to quell any suspicions or inferences that I or other interested parties might draw from hearsay, screenshots and the (abundant) rumour mill. I also contacted another member of the committee asking for the criteria used, without receiving a reply.

Ultimately picking Haria over myself, Ghasi and Pert is a defensible outcome but there are clear concerns about the process, not only from myself but I will only speak for myself for now. It needs to have come from a due process of some sort. If good players form a panel and agree to make someone an offer based on pre-defined rules that is one thing. If the process is informal to the point of descending to winks and nudges, that is quite another.

It is worth noting the selection policy which is also publicly available at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/selection-policy-2023/ , and with that in mind it would be interesting to know the exceptional factors which seem to have applied in this case, as well as clarity on the extent to which age may or may not be a criterion.

5) Overall, the transparency of the selection, federation transfer and budget disbursement (especially as it relates to the national team) seems to be lacking, from a moral even if not legal standpoint, and I am talking to various other GMs, IMs and significant chess figures to see if there is common ground for a joint statement at some stage relating to all three issues. Meanwhile, the views in this particular post are entirely mine.

I welcome questions in FB message, phone call etc. but will not post further publicly pending the above mentioned conversation with Malcolm.

Daniel

[Kevin Thurlow]

Thanks - if only all posts were that clearly and calmly expressed...

[Nick Ivell]

Well, that certainly raises a lot of questions.

Perhaps the most telling phrase is 'get better at chess'. If that happens, all argument tends to be blown out of the water.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I wonder if youth and potential to improve is a factor. Inactivity should certainly be considered. How far down the rating list would people here go if you were on the selection committee?