27-03-2014, 09:40 AM
In December I was invited to join the selection board and give an opinion on the players to be picked for the Olympiad. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://chessscotland.com/international.htm">http://chessscotland.com/international.htm</a><!-- m --> (see top right of page)
This was after GM John Shaw had stepped down specifically to avoid any "conflict of interest" of picking himself. Any of the posters claiming that such a conflict existed with my own presence on the panel could have tried to make themselves aware of the facts first by checking with me and they would then have known I had indicated at the time that I was not available for selection.
It is strange that such an issue is being mentioned now since at any time in the last 50 years of Scotland's unbroken run of participation in the Olympiad the selection panel has always contained high rated players among its number. Ideally if the players are sufficiently strong that their own selection is not in doubt then no such conflict exists.
This was after GM John Shaw had stepped down specifically to avoid any "conflict of interest" of picking himself. Any of the posters claiming that such a conflict existed with my own presence on the panel could have tried to make themselves aware of the facts first by checking with me and they would then have known I had indicated at the time that I was not available for selection.
It is strange that such an issue is being mentioned now since at any time in the last 50 years of Scotland's unbroken run of participation in the Olympiad the selection panel has always contained high rated players among its number. Ideally if the players are sufficiently strong that their own selection is not in doubt then no such conflict exists.