World Juniors 2024

[Ian Thompson]

Should this be allowed?

Open event - half the players are Indian

Girls event - two thirds of the players are Indian

There are no English, or British, representatives in either event.

[Roger de Coverly]

Should this be allowed?

A minimum rating after the first from each federation may help discourage local "tourists". Perhaps though a large entry is needed to help the organisers meet the costs of the event.

[Ian Thompson]

A minimum rating after the first from each federation may help discourage local "tourists". Perhaps though a large entry is needed to help the organisers meet the costs of the event.

It seems likely that the organisers are making a substantial profit on the hotel rooms. Players, and accompanying persons, are required to book hotels through the organisers. The organiser's rate is more than double than the typical publicly available rate at the hotel. That might not apply to the Indian players though. I've seen other Indian events where foreign players are required to book their hotel through the event organiser while Indian players are free to make their own arrangements.

Regardless of that, the entry is pretty disappointing - 39 federations represented in the open event and 27 in the girls event. According to Wikipedia there were 201 member federations of FIDE at the end of last year.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Should this be allowed?"

No.

"It seems likely that the organisers are making a substantial profit on the hotel rooms."

That is a traditional trick. It's particularly harsh as it's expensive to get to India and there can be difficulties getting a visa.

Didn't it used to be the case that federations were allowed one player per section and the hosts maybe got a second player?

[NickFaulks]

Should this be allowed?

What harm do you believe it does? Just asking.

[Thomas Rendle]

Should this be allowed?

What harm do you believe it does? Just asking.

In no other sport's World Championship would this be allowed.

It undermines the event as a prestigious, elite event.

It kills any norm opportunities.

It may put off competitors from other countries from competing (for the two reasons above).

It makes FIDE look ridiculous in my view, and people could have questions over the bidding process and how we've ended up in this situation.

[NickFaulks]

Should this be allowed?

What harm do you believe it does? Just asking.

In no other sport's World Championship would this be allowed.

Even if true ( can you quote other individual sports? ), so what?

It undermines the event as a prestigious, elite event.

Really? The top seed has lost to two Indian players who would not have been permitted to compete under your rules.

It kills any norm opportunities.

Too ignorant of the regulations to be worth discussing.

It may put off competitors from other countries from competing (for the two reasons above).

Both of which are nonsense. However, travelling halfway around the world is certainly expensive.

It makes FIDE look ridiculous in my view, and people could have questions over the bidding process and how we've ended up in this situation.

Well yes, but that is your starting point. Where do you think it might have been held? Certainly not here, where many competitors would not even have got their visas through in time.

[NickFaulks]

Sorry, I've mangled the quotes in quotes but you get the idea.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Certainly not here, where many competitors would not even have got their visas through in time."

Having tried to get a visa to visit India and found it very difficult, I suspect that could apply equally to players in this event...

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Having tried to get a visa to visit India and found it very difficult, I suspect that could apply equally to players in this event...

I've been to India many times in the last 25 years and although it used to be incredibly difficult and expensive to get a visa, at the moment it is easy because India accepts the eVisas from UK citizens. eVisas can be obtained online and cost, I think, £21.

Before India allowed UK passport holders to use eVisas, you used to have to travel to one of the Indian visa application offices and apply in person. This would take all day (at least 5 hours) and the application would often be turned down, in which case you would have to go home, fill in the form again and book another appointment.

One example of why my application for a visa was turned down in the past:

Attempting to get visas for my wife and two children (both aged under 18) for a holiday in India, we were told that we had to have a letter from the children's parents, giving permission for them to travel with us. "But we are their parents and their surnames are the same as ours". Didn't matter. We went home, came back two weeks later with our precious letter giving permission for child X and child Y to travel to India with their parents, Mr and Mrs D'Souza-Eva. It was handed straight back to us - we needed a separate letter for each child. Fortunately on this occassion we were allowed to scurry along to the newsagent half a mile down the road, photocopy the letter and modify the original and copy so that each gave permission for just one child.

[Ian Thompson]

Should this be allowed?

What harm do you believe it does? Just asking.

• It devalues the event when all and sundry are allowed to play.
• It increases the risk of result-fixing being possible amongst players from the same federation.
• It increases the risk of someone winning it without having played most of the other leading players.
• It discourages players from other federations from taking part.
• It may adversely affect the playing conditions (if the organiser tries to cram more boards in the playing area than there are room for).

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Before India allowed UK passport holders to use eVisas, you used to have to travel to one of the Indian visa application offices and apply in person. This would take all day (at least 5 hours) and the application would often be turned down, in which case you would have to go home, fill in the form again and book another appointment."

Sounds familiar... About 20 years ago, I tried using my best Derren Brown expression, pushed the paperwork back, and said, "It's fine - use it." Amazingly it worked.

[Nick Burrows]

Sounds familiar... About 20 years ago, I tried using my best Derren Brown expression, pushed the paperwork back, and said, "It's fine - use it." Amazingly it worked.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Yes, that's about it...

[Nick Burrows]

The top seed has now withdrawn after a 2180 performance through 7 rounds