Tromso Olympiad

[Andy Howie]

Interesting comment on the ECForum

2 Youth still counts

We saw it everywhere. Runaway winners China had a team of players so young that the Western chess media has not actually had time to track some of them very well before the event. The secret of France, by far the best performing Western Europe country, must lies somewhere in the relative youth of its team as well as their Elo strength. Hungary too show signs of rejuvenation and looks able to cope without Judit Polgar in future, and a relatively youthful Indian team did just that without Anand. For England, the news is sombre (just imagine them coming in the top 5 without Adams!). In all probability our best players likely to be available for Olympiad chess are all over forty; and it may be that this time, even with the best board order and without the last round defeat England would probably have finished no higher than just in the top 20. Realism must be the watchword in future events, with a top 20 finish being seen as entirely respectable in Olympiad and European events, even if we do continue to be ranked ninth at the outset. This should be understood not just by selection committees and the International Director of the ECF but more broadly by ECF members. The way to support our players will be to congratulate them on a good top 20 finish, which will be easier done if we don’t constantly talk up their medal chances before each and every event.