FIDE ADVISORY COMMITTEE DRUG TESTING REPORT

October 19, 2001

To: USCF Executive Board Members
       USCF FIDE Team
       USCF Staff

Dear Recipient of Attached Report:

The attached committee report on drug testing was prepared without knowledge of the USOC rejection of chess as an Olympic sport. In as much as the President has advised us that this issue may resurface and in any event FIDE is likely to continue with their Olympic drug testing plans, we respectfully submit it to you.

On behalf of the committee,
Don Schultz,
Chairman

Don Schultz - chair

GM Larry Evans

Carol Jarecki

Eric Johnson

Larry Parr

Tim Redman

Robert Tanner

I. By a four to three vote (Redman, Schultz, Johnson and Tanner for, Evans, Parr and Jarecki against) the committee recommends that the USCF Policy should be to endorse and work towards a limited form of drug testing. Supporting this recommendation are the following majority committee internal votes:

a) All committee members except Parr and Evans felt entry into the Olympics from a PR and financial viewpoint would be beneficial to chess.

b) Most federations in the world consider entry into the Olympics a huge opportunity for chess.

c) Even though some of the players will likely reject drug testing and not participate, it is likely most will ultimately accept the testing.

d) Chess can be considered a sport.

e) Drugs can positively affect a player’s competitive performance.

f) USCF Policy should not prevent any American from going for an Olympic Gold medal.

g) Use of drugs as an enhancement , should be considered a violation of the meta-rules of chess.

II. By a four to three vote (Evans, Parr, Johnson and Jarecki for and Redman, Schultz and Tanner opposed) the committee recommends that the USCF Executive Board state FIDE’s anti-doping regulations issued on July 1, 2001 are fatally flawed, and a circular letter be sent to all FIDE nations stating our opposition to the regulations and our intention not to implement them. Supporting this recommendation are the following majority committee internal votes:

a) Chess is different from other Olympic sports in that drug testing is unnecessary and undesirable.

b) There is no demonstrable drug problem in American chess.

c) Given the price to be paid, the average chess player in America will not be better off having drug testing even if that is what it takes to bring chess into the Olympics.

d) Chess will still not be part of the Olympics before 2006.

e) The cost to the USCF of drug testing will be considerable.

f) It is unlikely the USCF will be banned from FIDE if it refuses to comply with drug testing requirements.

g) The USCF values reason, privacy and its own financial health more highly than potential inclusion in the Olympics at some undefined point in the future.

h) The reported Ilyumzhinov statement: "FIDE must have management and control of all activities related to chess." goes way too far and needs to be explicitly contested.

 

III. By a vote of five to one (Evans, Parr, Johnson, Jarecki and Tanner for, Schultz opposed) the committee recommends that the USCF dispatch a circular letter to FIDE and all its member nations announcing its intention to campaign actively at all FIDE meetings against drug testing and our intention to seek out aggressively other national federations as allies in this struggle.

IV. By a vote of five to one (Evans, Parr, Schultz Jarecki and Tanner for, Redman opposed) the committee recommends the EB state that the USCF values reason, privacy and its own financial health more highly than potential inclusion in the Olympics at some undefined point in the future.

V. By a vote of 5 to 1 (Evans, Parr Schultz, Jarecki and Tanner for, Redman opposed) the committee recommends that the Executive Board state that the USCF regards healthy relations with America’s tournament organizers as more important than the prospect of chess being included in the Olympic Games.

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