Was there a national team event?

Don't you have to be a citizen in order to represent a country in the Olympics? Is the same true about the chess olympiads?

MNb, I wonder if you would tout the wonders of Euwe and Timman as much if they did not share the accident of having lived in the Netherlands.  Ok, I don't wonder.

Nationality matters, even for intellectual pursuits.  Congratulations to the Dutch for placing ahead of the English in the European Team Championships, and to the Soviet Union for sweeping the "open" and women's championship places 1-4! (1-5 on the distaff side.)

I don't have a problem with the Olympics celebrating nationalism.  I do find myself rooting against my own nation sometimes, but that's more of a problem with the representatives of the US than with the Olympics.

I do think that players should switch nationalities only after careful consideration.  There should be some sort of cost associated with switching, but it should be shared by the player and the nation if the player is good enough to represent that nation.  (I don't have any clue how much that cost should be, and I don't necessarily think FIDE has any right to impose an arbitrary fine.)

Players should only switch nationalities a few (2-3?) times in their lives, and should not do so on a whim.  Their nationality helped to define them, and they represent their culture even if they play under a different flag.   

Alexei Shirov is an excellent exemplar.  He is a product of the Soviet and Latvian chess culture.  He chose to move to Spain for political and economic reasons.  He has stayed true to his choice and has represented Spain well for many years, but he is still a product of Latvia.  Spain has benefitted from his allegiance, and I hope the Spanish Chess Federation compensates him for his representation.   

I have had the privilege of talking to him about why he chose Spain over the US.  He made a very rational decision, and is unlikely to change his mind. (He's even less likely to play for the US if for some reason he were to decide to leave Spain.)

The Israeli national team and many other national teams are made up of many Soviet ex-pats.  These nations benefit, and should help any player who represents them.  Switching nationalities should not be done lightly, but it should be available to players.

And why should the logic of the Olympic Games apply to chess? I agree when eg football (the real one) is involved, see the thread on the MML (chit chat). But I don't have any problem with a Dutch national chess team consisting of Tiviakov, Sokolov etcetera. I still find it great that Kortchnoi once was the Dutch national champ.

Markovich wrote on 10/30/09 at 16:42:21:


I can see your point. But take away the nationalism and you immediately lose a lot of the interest that is necessary to make the event commercially viable. 

TalJechin wrote on 10/29/09 at 14:44:31:


Yes, that's true for club teams, and while I can't remember any other sport where you can play for several teams at a time, it's an undeniable fact that in most sports, it's OK to have quite a lot of nationalities in your club team. I can't say I like the development, but I realize it's there.

Yet, when it comes to national teams, it's a different story. While club teams in chess and any other sport buy players from all over the world, national teams don't. And if they did, wouldn't the point of national teams disappear?

TalJechin wrote on 10/29/09 at 14:44:31:


Good to hear. Thanks for the information!

For once, I agree with FIDE; you should have some kind of connection with the country you're playing for. Isn't that standard in other kinds of sports/games? However, instead of charging heavy fees, I would have said you're not allowed to change federation unless you fulfill the requirements of a non-charged change. But of course, a rule you can't buy yourself out of, would be too much to expect from FIDE.