FIDE taking the piss?

[Joey Stewart]

It has been a very enlightening thread, I never knew Jana Bellin was a doctor - I guess often you see these strong players and kind of forget that they have a life outside the game.

With regards to the drug issue - what are the laws on painkillers? I quite like a few paracetamol plus pills to keep myself feeling good during long games - are these still ok?

[Stewart Reuben]

Certanly paracetamol is OK from the point of view of WADA.
But I am concerned that Joey Cage 'pops' paracetemol to feel good during a game. There could be some sort of underlying problem.
Stewart

[Anthony Taglione]

Maybe I'm a tad more contumacious than most but I really don't want to care about what is and isn't okay from a WADA viewpoint. I view this whole proposal simply as an inappropriate invasion of privacy. Maybe if the exemption cut-off were brought down to 50...

I so share Stewart's concerns about Joey's paracetamol usage, though.

[Stewart Reuben]

Anthony > I view this whole proposal simply as an inappropriate invasion of privacy.<

You do realise the regulatiions have been there for quite some years? This can only be a revision of the latest list. Do you think a breathalyser is an inappropriate invasion of privacy? that argument was certainlhy put forward 50 years ago. I have no problem with any answer, be it yes. no or don't know. I am just curious.

Stewart

[Peter Rhodes]

I knew a chess player who had been prescribed Ritalin.

Is that on the list also ?

[Eoin Devane]

I knew a chess player who had been prescribed Ritalin.

Is that on the list also ?

I haven't read the FIDE document, but I do know that in other sports if you are being prescribed something that is crucial to your health, then you can get a medical exemption certificate which will in effect allow you to test positive for this substance (up to certain levels) without punishment. I would presume that the provision in chess would be the same so that players who are taking prescription medication need not worry.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Ritalin is on the list (under a different name) but you could apply for a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) as I said earlier.

I spent a lot of yesterday reading the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and FIDE documents and making notes - also looking at a respected journal which discussed use of drugs to help pass exams. If they help you pass exams, they might help you play chess, and they might not be on the list... (Which doesn't mean they are safe of course.) I will try to put something together within the next couple of days. One thing I need to do is check the names in the WADA document as some of them are wrong.

[Anthony Taglione]

Anthony > I view this whole proposal simply as an inappropriate invasion of privacy.<

You do realise the regulatiions have been there for quite some years? This can only be a revision of the latest list. Do you think a breathalyser is an inappropriate invasion of privacy? that argument was certainlhy put forward 50 years ago. I have no problem with any answer, be it yes. no or don't know. I am just curious.

Stewart

Some of the items on WADA's list are illegal to possess and to use in the UK, many are perfectly legal for any British adult to possess and use on British soil.

If the country's jurisdictional powers deem something to be illegal and need to implement something, such as a breathalyser test, to enforce the law then that's either acceptable or a matter for legal protest through appropriate channels. It's entirely possible that appropriate use of a breathalyser has saved lives, which would, of course, be a good thing.

If the international tiddlywinks committee chooses to declare something illegal, I might raise an eyebrow of disgust but I'd leave such a thing to those who play tiddlywinks.

If FIDE wants to declare something illegal and implement a testing policy to help enforce their ruling, I have to suggest that they are invading my privacy. Their administrators are not an appointed judiciary and have no power over us beyond that which we care to extend to them. It is not appropriate that they want to take blood, urine, hair or any other type of samples. If they try to suggest that one is unable to play chess unless one submits to their dominion then it's time we replaced them.

I understand the concern of some that misuse of some of the items on WADA's list may be detrimental to health. However, I would not extend to FIDE the right to monitor my body. That is a matter solely between myself, my medical practitioner and the law of the land. As an aside, aspirin can be lethal when misused yet it, or something similar, lies in the cupboard of most people. Regardless, health concerns are not the thrust of this proposal; it is a matter of performance enhancement.

I've yet to see any study suggesting that the use of an anabolic steroid or the likes of chorionic gonadotropin, to pluck just a couple from the list, can be of benefit to a chessplayer's prowess. Someone mentioned Ritalin and I might also throw in Adderall. They are illegal under UK law to possess without prescription, as are most amphetamines. If use is suspected then it's a matter for the police, not some self-apponted witch-hunter and, again, it is not appropriate that some private individual demand a sample.

Chess in the UK is not a sport so none of the laws we have pertaining to sports can apply.

As regards your question about the regulations having been in place for some years, I'm not sure to what you refer. I didn't realise that FIDE already had a list of banned drugs and a testing policy in place. I've tended to assume you were referring to legality. As I mentioned above, though, some of the drugs and medicines on the list are legal here to possess for personal use without a prescription, some aren't. Obviously, this varies by country and I'm happy to abide by English laws pertaining to medicines based, as it is, on advice from the leading members of our medical profession. It is not appropriate to impose other laws and to withdraw a person's ability to play competitive chess should they demur.

[Roger de Coverly]

You do realise the regulatiions have been there for quite some years? This can only be a revision of the latest list.

There's something new though.

ARTICLE 16 INCORPORATION OF FIDE ANTI-DOPING RULES
All NCFs shall comply with these Anti-Doping Rules. These Anti-Doping Rules
shall also be incorporated either directly or by reference into each NCFs Rules.
All NCFs shall include in their regulations the procedural rules necessary to
effectively implement these Anti-Doping Rules.

Does a FIDE commission really have the power to tell the ECF what rules to adopt, particularly where the whole rationale "chess is a sport" is not supported by the UK legal system?

[Sean Hewitt]

Does a FIDE commission really have the power to tell the ECF what rules to adopt, particularly where the whole rationale "chess is a sport" is not supported by the UK legal system?

Only if the ECF wishes to remain a FIDE member I suppose.

[Anthony Taglione]

Which then trickles inexorably down, through the regional bodies, to the guys at the board, ie us.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Players over 60 on exempted from WADA Rules. "

Where does it say this? I cannot find it on a quick search - admittedly the document is 136 pages long...

[Paul McKeown]

Kirsan Ill'lunatic can hold out his hands if he wants to collect a sample from me. What a perfect idiot. No one believes for an instant that cannabis, alcohol or magic mushrooms improve performance at chess, whereas it is well known that secret consumption of Fritz's output behind the toilet blocks does. Prohibit and regulate that which damages the sport. What a sheep molesting half wit... why would aliens want to kidnap him? To laugh at him? I second the view that it is time to leave FIDE, at least until the inmates have handed back the keys.

[Paul McKeown]

btw. the prohibited list can be found here: http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/World ... 010_EN.pdf

[Stewart Reuben]

Doing away with FIDE Mr McKeown would damage chess for the English considerably.
A better step would be to help get Karpov elected President. I have no idea how you could help here. But trying to persuade the ECF Board to vote for his ticket would be a start.
That is just some advice. It does not suggest which candidate I prefer and there may yet be more.
Stewart Reuben