Appeal for Board Support

[Paul Cooksey]

Again I comment with reluctance. But I think the evidence, that those who think the matter should be discussed more openly are more vocal than those who think it should be resolved behond closed doors, is of limited value.

I hope the the ECF board examine all the relevant facts soberly, and act appropriately. I do have confidence this is what they have been trying to do.

I wish all those in difficult personal circumstances well.

[Jonathan Bryant]

... its got nothing at all to do with any of us, then now or in the future.

I disagree with this for various reasons, mostly because the other comments you make (some of which I agree with) are not relevant to what's interesting about CJ and the 1st Nosher simul tour.

[Steve Henderson]

Alex / Lara
I hope everything can be resolved to your satisfaction and that you both can carry on organising and managing Chess Congress's for years to come.

[Alex McFarlane]

In other threads we have
a) a Director stating there has never been 'cabinet responsibility'
b) a Director expressing concerns over a Board decision
c) an alternate stating that he hopes he is not breaking confidentiality with a statement.

In light of these statements I again ask:-
Are there any ECF officials who will come on here and express support for the officials who suffered as a result of accusations made in the press and other media?
Are there any ECF officials who will condemn the accusations made in the tweets of RDK and his subsequent statement that he stands by everything said and written?

In reguard to the statements made elsewhere it will be very disappointing if this 'collective silence' continues.

[John Upham]

Do we know of the progress of the PCC enquiry on this matter?

[Matthew Turner]

Alex,
I find this quite a confused and confusing topic, but this is how I see it

1. Lots of people have said you and Lara are very good arbiters
2. Lots of people have said you and Lara are NOT homophobic or brutish
3. It might be nice if individual members of the board also expressed these sentiments publicly

However, I am not sure if any of this matters. The key issue that effects the arbiter's professional status is were Ray Keene's articles/tweets fair comment? Well, what do we know

CJ didn't preside over the prize-giving at the British Championships because he was wearing that T-shirt. This is a fact. It may be that he over-reacted, or there was a misunderstanding, there are many possible explanations.

This thread started "The following is a letter I sent to all ECF Board members bar one who has asked me not to communicate with him" I think we have established that that person is CJ?? That would seem to me to suggest that CJ still feels aggrieved regardless of what public statements the ECF releases.

Linking those two things together are Ray Keene's articles/tweets fair comment? I'm not sure, but I certainly think the PCC would be well within their rights to say that they were. I am not sure how this is going to resolve itself, but I certainly hope things work out for you and Lara.

[Phil Makepeace]

Alex, you have our full support.

[David Sedgwick]

A week soon goes by, particularly a sad one;

Just a question, has any progress been made anywhere? Perhaps the wheels of progress need a little oiling again Its often been said that a week is a long time in (chess)politics

Welcome back Ernie. I'm sorry that you and Elaine have had such a sad time in the last few months.

I have no inside information, but I would be surprised if anything substantive were now to happen before the ECF Council Meeting on Saturday 15th October.

Edit: Thanks for the correction, Carl

[benedgell]

Ernie, I'm attending the meeting next week and happy to vote as this person wishes/ raise any issues or ask any questions on his behalf. Send me an email if the offer is of any use.

[Sean Hewitt]

Ernie - he doesn't need to give a proxy at all. Just fill in the form with the way that he wants to vote and send it in to the office. It can be done by email.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Sorry Paul but CJ could do the ECF another favour by publically distancing himself from RK who wrote things that CJ says he never said about Lara or Alex. If CJ is saying his friend wrote things that he CJ never said about Alex and Lara, words that are the cause of the problem, he has a moral duty to make it clear he does not agree with RK and therefore RK and the paper owes them a public apology. If CJ does not make that clear then by silence he is saying he agrees with what has been written. The problem has moved on from the exchange at Sheffield and thus is in another phase therefore the apologies already given are not relevant to the current situation.
I think asking someone who is intelligent and can reason for himself the potential harm all this is doing to our federation to reconsider his posiiton is not asking for him to be sacked. Sometimes falling on ones sword for the greater good of an organisation is the measure of an individual.

He will. It's been the case, privately, for some days. Line up your alternatives

To DR: This was very assertively written, and clearly led many to believe that you had a reliable (probably personal) source.

It now seems to be simply wrong. Would you like to try to salvage your credibility, for reference, in case you might make similar assurances in the future?

Late edit - DR does answer this (in the AGM thread) - he says that CJ told him personally and he doesn't know why he changed his mind

[Alex Holowczak]

He will. It's been the case, privately, for some days. Line up your alternatives

To DR: This was very assertively written, and clearly led many to believe that you had a reliable (probably personal) source.

It now seems to be simply wrong. Would you like to try to salvage your credibility, for reference, in case you might make similar assurances in the future?

This was always simply wrong. He's as much at fault for stating this as you are for believing him.

[Jonathan Rogers]

I always said "let's wait for CJ to announce it first" but true, I tended to believe DR - he was pretty unequivocal.

I still wonder why DR would even have guessed such a thing? Only he can answer that.

[Alex Holowczak]

I still wonder why DR would even have guessed such a thing? Only he can answer that.

Well, let's remember that David gave me a tip some time ago. Specifically, this was only to speak about things I know.

Given he issued that tip after he made this announcement about CJ, you can perhaps see why I chose not to take his advice.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Since DR said that CJ had been talking privately about resigning, why were you so sure that it was wrong?

Moreover other rumours of CJ's resignations have been circulating; I find it all very curious.