FIDE taking the piss?

[Brendan O'Gorman]

I notice that FIDE propose new doping controls from July. Details here:

http://www.fide.com/images/stories/news ... ations.pdf

On a quick skim, the document seems to be pretty much a steal from the World Anti-Doping Code:

http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/code_v3.pdf

and its prohibited list:

http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/World ... 010_EN.pdf

Bad news for international players (including, it would seem, out of competition testing ) but I'd be grateful if someone with greater knowledge of these matters could offer reassurance that I shan't find an event organiser in GB profering a plastic bottle and inviting me to join him in the toilet any time soon!

[Alex Holowczak]

Ilyumzhinov wants chess to be a sport in the Olympic Games. Hence it needs the IOC's drug policies.

[Alex Holowczak]

I have actually witnessed a minority of players high on weed and witnessed one player sniffing a line of the white stuff in a toilet at a congress.

I think that sort of thing is covered under British law, never mind the banned substance list!

[Brendan O'Gorman]

I guess any FIDE registered event will be covered by these regulations and anyone with a FIDE rating.

But Ernie, I do play in FIDE rated events both here and abroad (albeit at the amateur level). Hence my (mild) concern. I am aware of FIDE's ambition to be recognised by the Olympic movement. I just want to know whether I'll be affected by this nonsense.

[Anthony Taglione]

If it weren't so tragic, it really would be funny. I see anabolic steroids as the opener in the list of prohibited substances. I hope no one had any designs on being the first bodybuilding grandmaster.

Actually, this is really quite scary in that they also wish to rope in any National Federation. At first glance, they seem to want everyone who has a grade to be open to taking a drugs test. It's getting to the time where FIDE was replaced. Older members on hormone therapy would become ineligible to be chessplayers. Younger members, too, for that matter. Women on adjuvant breast cancer treatment, too. Even insulin is on the banned list along with beta-blockers.

This is simply silly in respect to chess.

[Kevin Thurlow]

WADA has a "Therapeutic Use Exemptions" list, published in January 2010. Basically, if you need to take insulin, beta blockers etc., get a note from your doctor and tell the appropriate committee, which will grant the application if (paraphrasing)
a) you would "experience a significant impairment" to health without taking the drug (likely if you need insulin)
b) it doesn't make you better at the sport than you would be if you were fully fit
c) there is no reasonable therapeutic alternative
d) you are not taking the drug due to an illness caused by taking a prohibited substance(!)
So if you get heart problems from taking loads of steroids, then need beta-blockers, the committee will take a dim view of that.

So don't panic....

I found other information a couple of weeks ago, and meant to start this topic, but hadn't got around to reading it all. I hope to post more early next week.

Drug testing is largely a waste of time in any sport, as the authorities have been known to cover up positive tests (allegedly at the 1984 LA Olympics, NINE medallists failed tests on the last day...), or not have a chain of evidence, or not prevent possible tampering with the sample, or not ban well-known participants, whilst jumping on amateurs...

Not that I am advocating drugs - abuse of anabolic steroids (e.g.) kills people.

[John Saunders]

well its interesting. I guess any FIDE registered event will be covered by these regulations and anyone with a FIDE rating.

No, I think this is a misinterpretation (thankfully). As far as I can see from a skim read of this ghastly document, only those who have ratings of 2650 and above (2450 and above in the case of women) and/or who play in events such as the Olympiad or a European Championship can expect visits from someone with an empty bottle. Only events directly organised by FIDE or ECU are deemed to be 'international events' in this context. Hence, the only time a low-rated player might be involved would be if they played in an Olympiad or European Team Championship (some non-English Brits and Channel Islanders might thus be affected), the Euro Club Cup (a few low-rated players play in it), or entered the European Individual Championship (which I believe is open to anybody who is prepared to pay a hefty entry fee). I haven't checked age limits so am not sure at what age juniors get involved in this.

The whole thing is, of course, quite ridiculous on two levels (given that the drugs referred to confer no advantage to a chessplayer and there is not a snowball's chance in hell of chess ever becoming an Olympic sport), however there are various political reasons for FIDE and some national federations to want to sign up for it. It is partly self-interest on the part of FIDE's top brass (having Olympic recognition would perhaps enhance their status and get them invited to a better class of junket) and partly because Olympic recognition opens the door to government money for some national chess federations.

[Anthony Taglione]

In England, at least, use of many of the drugs on that list is simply a matter of personal choice. Ephedrine is a known metabolism booster and an aid in weight loss. HCG similarly can be used as a weight-loss aid and can also be an aid to fertility. Anabolic steroids are used to promote recovery for weight lifters and to shift nutrient partitioning to one more favourable for protein synthesis. Moderate use of aromatase inhibitors can modify hormone levels, increasing general vitality for ageing males, reducing the risk of prostate issues and even lowering the risk of acquiring diabetes. Over here, it's really no one's business but one's own. Yes, careless use of some of them can lead to health issues. Educated use can have profound health benefits.

Either way, they have little bearing on playing chess, as John comments, and, in many ways, it's an invasion of privacy.

[John Saunders]

No, I don't think that is quite right. However, my original comment may not be complete either. Although all defined players (of 'the age of majority' - 18 in the UK) are subject to testing in principle, this only applies when they play in certain events organised by FIDE, a continental organisation or (as I now read it) a national federation. Reading further, there are implications for players at national level: national federations may be required to draw up lists of their "top players" who are subject to testing as part of a "Registered Testing Pool". However, it does not define "top level" - does this mean, say, all GMs, or simply the top 10 or 20 players in a given country? It might mean that people aged 18+ playing in, say, the top section of the British, Welsh or Scottish Championships are involved.

I suppose it is a bit pointless having us 'armchair experts' trying to untangle all this verbiage as what we say carries no weight anyway. Could we have someone from the ECF, CS or WCU provide a definitive interpretation and the implications for different categories of player, please?

[David Sedgwick]

BTW I guess a certain well known lawyer employed by the ECF is going to be rather busy working his way through all these latest FIDE regs.

As he also advises FIDE, he may well have already done so.

I must point out that the gentleman to whom you refer is not "employed" by the ECF. He's acted for the ECF on a pro bono basis for thirty to forty years, thus saving the ECF tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees.

[David Sedgwick]

Could we have someone from the ECF, CS or WCU provide a definitive interpretation and the implications for different categories of player, please?

Lawrence Cooper and Adam Raoof, are you there? Will you be able to post something after the ECF Board Meeting tomorrow?

[Roger de Coverly]

Reading further, there are implications for players at national level: national federations may be required to draw up lists of their "top players" who are subject to testing as part of a "Registered Testing Pool"

Could I just point out that, legally, chess is not a sport in the UK and hasn't been since the days of Neville Chamberlain? Do WADA rules have any jurisdiction over non-sporting bodies (such as the ECF)?

[Sean Hewitt]

I can categorically state that I will not be approaching any players with an empty bottle in hand!!

[Anthony Taglione]

Re WADA - none whatsoever. I believe there's a UK law pertaining to using some of the mentioned drugs for sporting advantage but, currently, many of the drugs mentioned on the list are legal for personal use in the UK, with or without a doctor's prescription. Furthermore, our top doctors repeatedly advise the Government to keep them that way. Basically, self-medication is legal here, provided the drugs involved are legal to possess.

Since chess is still a game, rather than a sport, a chessplayer in UK law is simply a person playing a game, rather than a sportsperson.

Admittedly, though, if the testing method is by urine sample alone, it's likely that the drugs which will be tested for are those which are illegal here, such as cannabinoids and amphetamines.

[John Saunders]

Sean - I'm pretty sure the organisers of privately-run tournaments don't need to worry about any of this. And no law can stop you taking the p*** out of me (and others) as you always do anyway...

Despite the lack of direct legal jurisdiction, I would have thought that FIDE could require their affiliates to follow more or less any rules they like (within reason) if those affiliates want their players to be rated and earn title norms. And the ECF would then be obliged to pass the regulations on to British Championship entrants and others. Or is that too simplistic?