Chess Scotland Adult Selection Policy

September 2007

The international Director will seek to ensure that all selections are made in the best interests of Chess Scotland. Where required, a selection committee will establish the composition of team(s) and select individuals to represent Chess Scotland. Rather than set rules or algorithms for the selection of players, as in the recent past, principle based selection is introduced to give guidance to the selection committee whilst allowing it reasonable flexibility to choose the best team(s). Selection committees will act on the best information available to them at the time of selection.

Principles for selection are:

Current playing strength is the key factor for selection

The selection committee may consider a number of indicators of strength in reaching decisions. These may include but are not limited to:

Known grades, primarily FIDE and Scottish;

Recent trends in results;

Achievements, such as winning titles or championships and achieving norms, which stand out from a player's other results;

Activity, both domestic and international;

Level of opposition faced;

However establishing current strength is not an exact science and the weightings given to any factor are at the discretion of the committee. It is expected that the selection committee will exercise fairness and best judgement in making decisions.

Selection is a privilege not a right

Players seeking representative honours for Scotland are expected to uphold high standards of behaviour and to promote Scottish chess in a positive light. Team composition will be considered as more than simply a sum of the individual parts. There may be occasions when not sending an individual or a team to a representative event is in the best interests of Chess Scotland. The selection committee may therefore consider other factors when making final decisions on representative selection.

Players are responsible for the accuracy of data held on them by Chess Scotland

Players who wish to be considered for selection are responsible for ensuring:

That their membership to Chess Scotland is up to date at all times (all players who represent Chess Scotland should be members);

That contact details (address, telephone, email) are current (please inform the membership secretary of changes);

That all outside Scotland rating results are submitted each season and that he reviews and advises the Chief Grader of any inaccuracies in either his Scottish or FIDE grades.