Meritocracy and rightful entitlement.

You will find that Jimmy and friends talk about meritocracy but I don't think they really know what they are talking about. So let me again use an example I have used before.

During the last National Close, I met up with some very old friends and found a new one. This guy related to me his experience in an American multinational company. When he made his first claim for expenses the CEO's secretary returned his claim to him. He was told that he must claim all that he was entitled to and in fact he under claimed. So he was asked to read up and claim everything he can claim and not a cent more or a cent less.

You see the company philosophy is this. Everyone within the company as well as their clients were partners in their progress and growth. And so nobody is to be shortchanged. For if that happens, resentment builds and the partnership ends eventually.

So that is entitlement.

Note: You are rewarded as an entitlement for result produced. There is no need to beg for your dues.

How does that relate to our chess? Look at the way our players are treated. If you do not play ball with the match fixers and give points when they ask, you lose your entitlement. You will not be given the incentives promised. You will be banned where they can ban you. They will fix the pairing against you. Even when you win in selection they will find a way to give it to someone else.

Ergo, what they want is control of the players. The yes men. If you are not they will try to break you till you become a yes man. And if you protest they will set Jimmy, Peter and Eddy on you.

Question. What kind of players are we producing? How are they being molded? What is the message to them?

Is it not the message that there is no way forward if you train and compete to win your place based purely on your chess? If you even attempt that we will send those gangland bosses to fix you.

And if you agree with them they have broken you psychologically. You cannot claim your place as a matter of entitlement, as a result of your chess skills alone. You must also crawl under their feet first. You cannot train or they will hammer you all across cyber space and/or not take action against those that cheat when playing with you.

Will those that crawl ever become world beaters I ask you? That is the simple reason why I am not too gung ho about our senior men's squad. The whole selection is a farce and they are laughing in the players face. It is very transparent. You have seen the pusing pusing. And sadly those players who were bypassed are not fighting back and demanding their entitlement. They know it's not a partnership. It's about bowing to the towkays.

Well, I will not bow. My son will not bow. My integrity and dignity cannot be bought or sold. So you can allow all the chess engines in tournaments you want. You can do all the fixing you want.

When we come we will still play clean chess in healthy competition. To me that is already a victory.

And until MCF values players like us who only claim what we are entitled, nothing more and nothing less without participating in any back door arrangements, I am not optimistic about our chances as a chess nation. But lets give MCF another 30 years to figure this out.