17-09-2016, 11:17 AM
Well said Craig (and Walter earlier).
If we were to apply the 15-game minimum (it was only a tentative suggestion I know, but I'll use it to illustrate my point) then I myself would BARELY have been eligible for consideration for Baku, as I played exactly 15 FIDE-rated games in the first half of 2016. Had I missed the odd SNCL match, or not played in the FIDE-rated Livingston Open in January, then I would have been disqualified under that proposal. I've been the top performer for Scotland in two consecutive Olympiads now, so - although I guess I was not the primary target of the proposal - I do find it unsettling.
I'm not sure how many games Colin played in the same period, but here we have a guy with 18 Olympiads and endless big-match experience under his belt. I find it astonishing that we are even discussing the possibility of disqualifying a GM of his experience (the same could be said for John to some degree) in favour of some weaker but more active player.
Here's another (unlikely but still possible) scenario. Jonathan Rowson gets in touch at some point in 2018 and says he'd like to return for Scotland. What are you going to tell him? "Thanks for the offer, but you haven't played much recently so we're going to stick with McBunny as he's played more than 15 games this year."
In short, it's a terrible idea.
If we were to apply the 15-game minimum (it was only a tentative suggestion I know, but I'll use it to illustrate my point) then I myself would BARELY have been eligible for consideration for Baku, as I played exactly 15 FIDE-rated games in the first half of 2016. Had I missed the odd SNCL match, or not played in the FIDE-rated Livingston Open in January, then I would have been disqualified under that proposal. I've been the top performer for Scotland in two consecutive Olympiads now, so - although I guess I was not the primary target of the proposal - I do find it unsettling.
I'm not sure how many games Colin played in the same period, but here we have a guy with 18 Olympiads and endless big-match experience under his belt. I find it astonishing that we are even discussing the possibility of disqualifying a GM of his experience (the same could be said for John to some degree) in favour of some weaker but more active player.
Here's another (unlikely but still possible) scenario. Jonathan Rowson gets in touch at some point in 2018 and says he'd like to return for Scotland. What are you going to tell him? "Thanks for the offer, but you haven't played much recently so we're going to stick with McBunny as he's played more than 15 games this year."
In short, it's a terrible idea.