Trouble Brewing At The Olympiad
A controversy is cooking at the Olympiad, and it (the event) hasn't even started yet. The Russian women are the defending Olympic champions, but as of this writing they are excluded from the competition. Why? Because they failed to register in time. Pretty stupid on their part, but it would seem to be an open and shut case.
However, it's possible that FIDE has the jurisdiction to overrule the organizers on the matter and let them play anyway. (The organizers interpret the FIDE statute differently.) Moreover, it seems that the Olympiad organizers gave the Russian Chess Federation a receipt (invoice) acknowledging payment for the women's team as well as the men's.
So why the delay? Apparently the Russian federation had to wait until Kateryna Lagno successfully switched her allegiance from the Ukraine to Russia. (Why any self-respecting Ukranian would do that is entirely beyond me. I can't imagine switching my affiliation to Canada come that inevitable day when those crazy and militaristic Canadians try to take over the USA. But Lagno's decision is hers, not mine.)
Anyway, there's much more in the article, linked above.
HT: Macauley Peterson.
Reader Comments (1)
So Russia was holding back on declaring the exact team line-up to be able to include Lagno, i.e. deliberately missing the deadline to enter a stronger team than they would have had to if they had adhered to the regulations.
They could have, and should have, entered a team without her if they couldn't secure her in time for the deadline.
If they're allowed to play, we essentially have a case of a strong federation being allowed to ignore regulations to gain competitive advantage. Or maybe just Russia. But then again, it wouldn't be the first time, would it?