Chess Federation throws Olympiad trials open
Saturday, 28 April 2012 14:20 obidike
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), Femi Solaja, on Sunday, has said that the selection trials for the forthcoming Chess Olympiad will be thrown open to players nationwide. Solaja said the trials would hold from May 25 to May 29 at the Media Centre of the Abuja National Stadium, adding that 12 players – six males and six females – would be selected during the trials to participate in the Olympiad slated to hold in Istanbul, Turkey, later in the year.
Solaja noted that many chess players nationwide had complained over the years that they were not allowed to participate in the trials,” he said. “They complained that the federation does not give room for players in other states, apart from Lagos and Abuja, to participate. Players in the other states were not specifically schemed out of trials; the problem is getting information across to them on time.”
Solaja said that this time, however, the federation forwarded information on the trials to the various states early enough to enable them to prepare.
He debunked allegations that the federation had reserved special slots for some players for the Olympiad.
“In the real sense, we do not have special slots in selecting players for the Olympiad as they claimed we do,” he said. “It is rather unfortunate that players who complain do not always qualify from the selection trial.”
He said that the selection of players for the Olympiad had always been open, while only qualified players were selected.
Solaja said that the federation always announced the dates and venues of its tournaments in the media, adding that there was, therefore, no reason why players should accuse it of partiality.
He urged players in the states to be mindful of the dates and venue of the May trials.
Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com
Good luck to them.