Also, it is not clear that FIDE has already sent out forms for the players to sign agreeing to drug testing. Your letter says that the forms to be signed by the players merely contain a declaration of any prescribed drugs being taken by the player. That hardly seems to be a big difference, since it is clear that the next step will be a form which every player must sign consenting to drug testing. All this really does is postpone the issue for a few weeks until the players actually arrive in Bled late this month.
Your next question is why did not the US Delegation vote against FIDE Drug Testing in Istanbul. The answer is simply this: In Istanbul, the USCF was represented by two of the most despicable people in US Chess: Steve Doyle and Jim Eade. For reasons best known to themselves, they were in favor of drug testing by FIDE. In addition, at that time, Tim Redman was USCF President, and he too was in favor of drug testing, even though he knew that 99% of all US players were opposes to drug testing.
Tim Redman is not USCF President any more and can guarantee you that he will never be again, even if he waits another 15 years to run a third time. This time, we will not forget how bad he was the last time.
Your next question is why at the 2001 FIDE Congress did the USCF not try to set aside drug testing. The answer to this important question is that we were still sending US Representatives who lie all the time. At the August, 2001 USCF delegate's meeting in Framingham, the USCF passed the Mike Goodall motion, which was most strongly worded motion we could think of, requiring our FIDE Representatives to actively oppose FIDE drug testing in every way possible. Doyle and Eade lied again, by reporting back to us that they had opposed FIDE drug testing, when in reality they were the strongest advocates in favor of drug testing by FIDE.
So, the USCF has a serious problem in that our representatives, Eade and Doyle, lie. This has been the situation for a long time. It was known back in the mid-1980s when Doyle was USCF President that he often lied. However, the delegates have tried to remedy this situation by not electing Doyle when he ran again. Doyle finished nearly last place among 14 candidates when he ran in the 1999 USCF election. He has not run since.
Now, we have a new problem. Our new President, John McCrary, never lies. Instead, he simply says nothing at all. Ask him any question, and he will answer by saying "That has been addressed" or "that has been taken care of."
John McCrary went to a FIDE meeting in Moscow a few weeks ago. One reason for his trip to Moscow was to voice the US objections to drug testing by FIDE. McCrary is back from the Kremlin now. We keep asking him what happened in Moscow. He does not answer.
To answer another of your points, our FIDE delegate in not elected. He is appointed by the USCF Executive Board. The delegates have strictly instructed the delegate to oppose all drug testing. We do not know what the Executive Board has told the delegate, because our executive board is the most secretive board in USCF history.
Your next and most important point is: "I think most (if not all) players will sign agreeing to be drug-tested ... and I doubt whether any Captain would be so unwise as to submit a team containing names of any who have not signed the form."
You are definitely mistaken on your second point. The USCF will send the best team available. We will not even ask the players whether they will agree to be drug tested by FIDE. It will be their decision, entirely. What ever their decision is, the USCF will support them. This includes being kicked out of the Olympiad, if it comes to that.
We hope that a way will be found to sidestep this issue. However, one thing the US will not do is send a weak team of players, confined to those players who agree to be drug tested. After the poor performance by the USA team at the Istanbul Olympiad, we know that we cannot afford to send anything other than the best team available.
Sam Sloan
At 06:00 PM 10/11/2002 +0100, Peter Wilson wrote:
I don't think I had said the forms were actually sent out by FIDE - I don't have them before me as I have said ... I think they were sent out by the organising committee - there is a difference !!!
If as again it appears ... people are still concerned at Drug-testing in Bled then why did they not say so at Istanbul FIDE Congress in 2000 ... don't forget that a majority were in favour !!! That, again, is democracy. I was not able to attend the 2001 FIDE Congress - but I don't believe anyone tried to overturn what had been agreed in Istanbul ... was there a motion to either leave the IOC or to ignore the IOC's requirement for drug-testing in Bled ? I think not. There is not even a motion on the 2002 FIDE Agenda - which I have now received in printed form (and that was from FIDE) - to drop Olympiad drug-testing ... or to leave the IOC ... or both !!!
In the main - but not exclusively - the voices against Olympiad drug-testing (let us put the overall question of chess drug-testing to one side for the moment) appear to ebb from the USA. I have to ask are you representative of what the majority of chess-players (be they GMs or 'rabbits') feel in the USA. Your ELECTED FIDE Delegate has not, I presume, either placed a motion to FIDE (or even been instructed by the USCF to place a motion to FIDE) seeking to overturn the Istanbul 2000 G.A. decision to processed with Olympiad Drug Testing in Bled in 2002.
That is an internal matter for the USCF to sort out ... I don't know whether those who make the most noise in this group are a tiny minority or whether they represent the majority of US chess-players.
I am NOT the FIDE representative from the Island of Guernsey - that is Mary McDermott ... I am her 'Councillor' (advisor) - kindly note this.
I don't think it will be an issue in Bled (apart from in GA - if it is brought up under 'any other business') ... I think most (if not all) players will sign agreeing to be drug-tested ... and I doubt whether any Captain would be so unwise as to submit a team containing names of any who have not signed the form.
FIDE is not seeking to be divisive ... and I am (hopefully) known to be a mender of breaches rather than a cause ... 99% of us just want to go to Bled to play chess. What I find more worrying - in the FIDE GA Agenda are proposals to reduce the Olympiad down to 8 days with 2 rounds a day at 'Quickplay Speed' ... most of us go to Olympiads to play good opposition at sensible 'proper' speeds AND to see part of the country, learn their culture and meet their people. That's what it is really all about !!! If the cost of a 14 day event is too much every 2 years then lets have it every 4 years but on the same basis as now. Changes to voting rules in GA ??? Yes - we have 20 players yet pay the same as a Federation with 3,000 players !!
My Federation will agree to changes to 'proportional voting' WHEN THE UNITED NATIONS CHANGE THEIR VOTING METHODS ... AND NOT A DAY BEFORE !!!
Peter Wilson