Chess Olympiad - Matthew Turner

[Alan Jelfs]

Who would he support in a England/Scotland football match for example?

This is irrelevant. I supported England against Scotland in the summer, yet I'm allowed to represent Scotland.

I agree that this should be debated, though.

I too support England against Scotland at football - other way round for chess though.

[David Deary]

This is irrelevant. I supported England against Scotland in the summer

I too support England against Scotland at football - other way round for chess though.

Football supporting to one side. FIDE should really be the driver for this... what exactly is the guidance from FIDE on this?

[George Thomson]

Who would he support in a England/Scotland football match for example?

This is irrelevant. I supported England against Scotland in the summer, yet I'm allowed to represent Scotland.

I agree that this should be debated, though.

I too support England against Scotland at football - other way round for chess though.

Guys you may support England because that is where your ancestral roots originate. Who knows in some future time you may be Grandmasters in a similar position to Matthew. You may be legally able to play for Scotland but deep down have a desire to play for England. I think this is the Crux of the debate, should one have the choice?

[Douglas Bryson]

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The FIDE position is a player can be registered as SCO if they have "citizenship, naturalization or residency in the country of that Federation."

FIDE do not indicate what constitutes citizenship of SCO or any other country. Once a player is registered as SCO they can play in FIDE events representing Scotland.

At the moment there is no such thing as Scottish or English citizenship. There is British citizenship. FIDE do not elaborate on how to determine eligibility for states with multi-country representation. So looking for further guidance from FIDE wont be of any help.

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Usually national sporting representation is only allowed by independent countries. In the current UK political situation sporting bodies in the UK have devised their own rules on what constitutes player eligibility.

So for example the football rules for the UK teams: "...the eligibility criteria governing a player who could play for more than one of the home associations are his place of birth, or the place of birth of either of his biological parents or any of his four biological grandparents – with one exception. That is the case of a player educated for a minimum of five years under the age of 18 “in the territory of the relevant association”."

However the Commonwealth Games only allow parent: "...where a competitor was born in a Commonwealth Country that has common citizenship/passport with other Commonwealth Countries, the competitor may initially represent either the competitor's Commonwealth Country of birth; or the Commonwealth Country of birth of his or her father or mother that shares the same citizenship/passport." See Article 24. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thecgf.com/about/constitution.pdf">http://www.thecgf.com/about/constitution.pdf</a><!-- m -->

In the two and a half years since this issue came up at the 2011 CS AGM the various UK chess countries were meant to take part in a British Isles Coordinating Committee meeting to discuss these issues - it has never taken place. Maybe it is now time for CS members to work it out for themselves.

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current rules

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[Alan Jelfs]

Since there is no such thing as Scottish citizenship (yet!), would appearing on a Scottish electoral register be a suitable proxy?

[George Neave]

For the record, my personal view:

You have lived in Scotland for minimum 3 years and remain resident.
You were born here
You have a parent born here

I think grandparent is stretching it too far in my opinion.

A few other observations/opinions:

- Yes you get expenses to play in Olympiad. Its one of few privileges CS can offer.
- This is backdoor for some I think no question. I'd so same if I was good enough and had the opportunity.
- Whether you support England, Scotland or anyone else is an irrelevance.
- "You can play if we cannot raised a team" - That is just soooo silly!
- Any player wishing to affiliate with CS should pay their own affiliation fee - I believe some rose tinted spectacles may have led to a bad decision on this point once before - please let's not repeat that particular mistake.

[amuir]

Douglas
As you say, CS members need to work this out for themselves. I think my question should be put on the CS website, not just the noticeboard to get a wider audience. From early voting indications the opinions are split down the middle

[Andy Howie]

This is irrelevant. I supported England against Scotland in the summer

I too support England against Scotland at football - other way round for chess though.

Football supporting to one side. FIDE should really be the driver for this... what exactly is the guidance from FIDE on this?

Under FIDE Matthew is eligible to play for Scotland

[Andy Howie]

Douglas
As you say, CS members need to work this out for themselves. I think my question should be put on the CS website, not just the noticeboard to get a wider audience. From early voting indications the opinions are split down the middle

.

It is, 3 weeks before the meeting.

[andyburnett]

For the record, my personal view:

You have lived in Scotland for minimum 3 years and remain resident.
You were born here
You have a parent born here

I think grandparent is stretching it too far in my opinion.

A few other observations/opinions:

- Yes you get expenses to play in Olympiad. Its one of few privileges CS can offer.
- This is backdoor for some I think no question. I'd so same if I was good enough and had the opportunity.
- Whether you support England, Scotland or anyone else is an irrelevance.
- "You can play if we cannot raised a team" - That is just soooo silly!
- Any player wishing to affiliate with CS should pay their own affiliation fee - I believe some rose tinted spectacles may have led to a bad decision on this point once before - please let's not repeat that particular mistake.

This pretty much mirrors my own opinion on the matter
(Hopefully it also mirrors what I wrote the last time this subject came up on the forum!)