An interesting conversation with a chess official.

This conversation happened at a State level event with a State official who is also an MCF official holding a key post.

Scenario. This official was asking a few players to lodge a complaint so that he can take action at the State level.

What I did was to bring him to the starting list of that tournament to show him how the pairings can be manipulated by certain parents with the collusion of the State officials by playing around with/misreading the ratings etc. Now this has been the practice for many years and nobody has done anything about it. So he now has a clear example right in front of his eyes if he is serious about doing the right thing.

The considerations.

The players turned to me to ask for my opinion. And I told them NOT to lodge a complaint. So let me explain why I gave them that advice. From the players perspective, they are there to practice for the National Close. So they need to focus on that and not get involved in a drama that will probably have no solution.

Now why do I say that? I took the official aside and said that before he asks any player to lodge a complaint there were a few things that needed to be discussed. He said there was no need for a discussion. The players should just follow his instructions. Now this is a problem. Lets examine why.

He is either asking the players to be whistle blowers or to be sacrificial lambs in his power struggle. And I think it is probably the later. If he wants the players to become whistle blowers then he needs to explain to them how they can be protected after lodging the complaint.

As we know, the players can be banned without grounds as we have been seeing in the KL Open. Note: We are still awaiting resolution to this issue after the President of KLCA informed me that he will get the matter resolved.

Another matter has also mystified me for the longest of time too. The officials are the ones who are vested with the authority and responsibility. So why don't they be responsible and use that authority to solve the issues?

I took him straight to the evidence of the crime in progress. What more does he need before he can act? The crime is in progress before his eyes and he has the authority to act. But he wants an official complaint from the players. Does that not boggle the mind? Does he not trust his own eyes and mind? Does he not have the courage to take action without a convenient scapegoat just in case?

Why use the players as scapegoats? And then they find themselves banned from tournaments etc etc etc. Now do you understand why I speak up. Now do you understand why I don't encourage the players to speak up. At least not until MCF can assure the players that they will not be affected if they expose all the nonsense that has been happening for years and years and years. Every year without exception that I can see, for as long as I have been in chess.

Worth a think about yes?