Allegations against the Guyana Chess Federation
By Stabroek staff March 21, 2010 in Features, Sunday
During the past week, national chess champion Wendell Meusa made two public statements which are damaging to the integrity of the Guyana Chess Federation. Mr Meusa has accused the Federation of the following:
1. having a biased and unfair policy towards the distribution of colours for a tournament game;
2. having members, and encouraging them to, consume alcohol and smoke cigarettes in the playing hall during tournament games;
3. violating the established rules of chess; and last, but certainly not least,
4. the “misuse or over-use of power and authority” and “dramatic physical confrontation.” The Federation has issued an official statement on the matter, refuting Mr Meusa’s defamation. Perhaps Mr Meusa can elaborate, and give us examples of what he means by the violation of the rules of chess, the misuse and over-use of power and authority, and dramatic physical confrontation (fighting?). We are waiting.
Such remarks bear the signs of being made, not casually, but perhaps with a specific purpose in mind. We do not know what the reasons are. Some members of the Federation have made contact with me in relation to this matter. The majority have requested that Mr Meusa provide proof of his allegations. Mr Meusa has lost the psychological momentum of winning. Now he complains vehemently about everything. He should provide proof of his accusations.
Here is the full article.
More crooked chess politicians like Goichberg? This is bad.
On the face of it, the rebuttal seems quite good.
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2010/features/03/21/allegations-against-the-guyana-chess-federation/
“The pairings of players in chess tournaments worldwide are done by computers, not manually. Therefore, Tournament Director Mr. Irshad Mohammed has absolutely nothing to do with who is paired with whom, and who plays the White pieces in juxtaposition to who plays the Black pieces. The computer decides. We use the identical programme for pairings that is being used by other chess federations throughout the world. Since Mr Meusa is complaining publicly about the unfair practices of the distribution of colours, and he is of the considered opinion that he has been unfairly singled out, and individually targeted from among hundreds of millions of chess players by the writers of the computer programme, he may wish to bring his case officially to the GCF, and we would request that the Federation Internationale des Echecs investigate his complaint.
“Mr Meusa is a strong, and notably sharp chess player, but he has failed in his efforts to win a tournament since he captured the National Championships last year. Obviously, the competition is improving.
“It is an individual’s privilege to comment on any issue which he considers should be voiced, but it is disappointing that Mr. Meusa chose to tell the nation that senior chess players consume alcohol[ic] beverages and smoke cigarettes during chess tournaments, at tournament venues. This is not true. Alcohol is certainly not a friend of chess, since it dulls a person’s thinking processes. The consumption of the product therefore, and smoking in the playing hall during a tournament, are outlawed by the GCF. However, the Executive Committee and some other members of the Federation, cannot recall an instance whereby a player was observed consuming alcohol and/or smoking in a playing hall. I am left to assume that Mr Meusa, naturally, has information to the contrary, and the GCF would stand corrected if he would provide the required information to its members. I can assure Mr Meusa, that the perpetrators of such ignominious acts, if he can pinpoint them for us, would be disciplined by the Federation. “