Very Serious Issue with Doping in Chess

The Doping Affair in Dresden - the missing continuation

ACP Board [Mon Mar 30th, 12:53]

The ACP Board is publishing the recent concern about the Doping affair in Dresden by GM Bartek Macieja.

The "Doping Affair" in Dresden - the missing continuation

Already some time has passed since the Decision of the FIDE Doping Hearing Panel regarding so-called "Ivanchuk case". I expected some obvious (for me) steps would follow that decision, however till now I haven't been able to find any information. I should admit I was very surprised that during the Olympiad in Dresden so much attention was brought to anti-doping tests, while far more important in chess anti-computer control didn't exist, although already in 2005 it was agreed between the ACP and FIDE that metal detectors would be used in all official FIDE events and strong sanctions against proven cheaters would be applied. No doubts the Olympiad is one of the most important official FIDE events. It is not my aim either to criticise or to support the decision of the Panel. There is no reason not to believe they took a correct decision. I can only say that as a player I am very glad I am still able to see and enjoy Vassily's art on a board. The main point of my letter is however different. 4 years earlier, in Calvia, I was an accidental witness of a completely different approach and an opposite verdict in very similar cases. Two players [Shaun Press (2070) from Papua New Guinea and Bobby Miller (unrated) from Bermuda] didn't perform anti-doping tests.

Shaun Press photo from ChessBase archive	Bobby Miller photo from Dresden 2008

The first huge difference is that in the case of Mr Shaun Press and Mr Bobby Miller the hearing took place immediately after the Olympiad, before they left the venue. In the case of GM Ivanchuk, the hearing took place with approximately 2 months delay. GM Ivanchuk was found innocent on the following bases: - procedural error: there was not a designated Doping Control Officer present at USA vs Ukraine match, - GM Ivanchuk failed to understand the instructions. I seriously doubt there were designated Doping Control Officers at Bermuda team match or Papua New Guinea team match in Calvia. It is under as big question if Mr Bobby Miller understood what all those people suddenly wanted from him, as how to beat GM Kramnik in a classical game in the Berlin Defence. Nevertheless, an unrated Mr Miller got a warning and all points he scored were cancelled, while Top-10 GM Ivanchuk was found innocent. Mr Shaun Press case was even more weird, as one member of the panel was a player he defeated earlier in the event! For an understandable only for FIDE reason it was not found to be a procedural error. It is worthy to notice that Mr Roberto Ferrer, who accompanied Mr Shaun Press as a lawyer during the hearing, found an enormous number of other procedural errors. Nevertheless, similarly to Mr Bobby Miller, Mr Shaun Press got a warning and all points he scored were cancelled. In both Calvia cases, the result of the vote among the Hearing Panel Members (Arthur Schuering, Dewperkash Gajadin, Klaus Deventer, Jonathan Speelman, Sergey Dolmatov) was 3:2 in favour of sanctions. You can easily guess yourself how two grandmasters voted and how three FIDE officials, including Mr Shaun Press' opponent. If there was a place for a joke, I would say I discovered a fantastic way for Poland to win the Olympiad - I would get into the right commission and disqualify all of my opponents. Unfortunately, I don't find the situation funny at all - different people in similar cases are treated in different ways. The prestige of FIDE among chess players is very low, mostly due to constant violation of basic rules, including internal FIDE rules. I believe it is a very good occasion to begin the process of rebuilding the trust. It can be achieved by showing that the same rules apply to all. Once GM Ivanchuk was found innocent, all sanctions against Mr Shaun Press and Mr Bobby Miller shall be officially annulled. Injustice done to one is a threat to all. (Montesquieu) There is one more thing which strikes me - the absence of logic. All points scored by Mr Shaun Press and Mr Bobby Miller during the Olympiad in Calvia were cancelled, as they were found guilty. However, the same games, with the unchanged results, were calculated by the same FIDE for ELO rating as nothing would have happened. Mr Bobby Miller even got his first ELO rating based on his result in Calvia. Is it a serious approach? Best regards Bartlomiej Macieja Sent to the ACP Board: 27.03.2009

Very Serious Issue with Doping in Chess

Source:Association of Chess Professionals Articles

Today 2 chess players contacted the ACP Board with similar serious stories about doping control in chess. Please, pay a special attention to the problem, because such stories can happen with any chess player