Sunday
Jul032011
Feller and Hauchard Un-Suspended
Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 1:06PM
...though it may only be a temporary reprieve. The finding was based on the wrong arm of the French Chess Federation being involved in its own appeal (for harsher sanctions) - it was the federation's Ethical and Disciplinary Action Commission and not the Executive Board that would have had the proper legal standing. As a result, the decision made in the appeal was vacated, but it isn't necessarily the end of the story.
For more on the ongoing adventures of the French Chess Federation against Sebastien Feller and Arnaud Hauchard, have a look here.
Reader Comments (1)
For what it's worth, it seems to be the other way around (based on both the Chessvibes report and the original French source at Europe Echecs): the Executive Board appealed, and the Ethical and Disciplinary Action Commission should have done so.
[DM: Yes, that's what I said - but perhaps confusingly. I wrote that it was the EDAC and not the EB that would have had legal standing in the appeal.]
Probably more important: In any case, Feller´s chess career is unlikely to continue "as if nothing happened": For example, he definitely lost his spot in the German Bundesliga - his former club Werder Bremen has a rather laconic statement on its homepage: "after just a very short period, we parted with Sebastien Feller". He was replaced by another young Frenchman, Romain Edouard (*1990).
While the French federation probably cannot prevent Feller from playing the French Championship in August, they don't have to put him back on the national team - and no organizer is obliged to invite him, or provide conditions for Swiss Opens.