2012 Chess Olympiad
Reports | January 22, 2009 17:27

Ivanchuk not penalized

IvanchukVassily Ivanchuk will not be penalized for his missed drug test at the Dresden Olympiad. The reason is a procedural error: an official Doping Control Officer was not present when Ivanchuk was asked to be tested. The decision was made by the FIDE Hearing Panel, yesterday in Wijk aan Zee.

In the final round of the Dresden Olympiad, the Ukraine men‚Äôs team, almost sure of a medal and with good chances for gold, got beaten 3¬?-¬? by the USA and finished 4th. Terribly disappointed, Vassily Ivanchuk did not attend a doping control afterwards.

According to regulations, the Ukrainian number risked a two-year ban from FIDE tournaments. However, yesterday it was decided that Ivanchuk won't be penalized. The good news for Ivanchuk and his many fans can be found at the FIDE website. The statement in full:

FIDEWijk aan Zee (NED), January 21, 2009

Drug testing is still relatively rare in chess. However, it does occur in various official events and was carried out during the course of the Dresden Olympiad. Unfortunately, a high proportion of the tests were scheduled during the last round and there was a lack of personnel, which lead to a procedural error: there was not a designated Doping Control Officer present at this match (USA v Ukraine).

After losing a crucial game for his country, Mr Ivanchuk was distraught. The Hearing Panel concludes that although the arbiter attempted to inform Mr Ivanchuk in English that he should accompany him for a doping test, Mr Ivanchuk apparently failed to understand the instructions, especially since English is not Mr Ivanchuk’s first language. If there had been a Doping Control Officer present, he would have immediately gone to Mr Ivanchuk’s board and there would have been communication between him and Mr Ivanchuk. In that case the outcome might have been different. Because there was no notification by the Doping Control officer, there was no refusal in the sense of the regulations.

The Conclusion:
The procedural error allied with Mr Ivanchuk’s state of mind led him unintentionally to miss the test. The Hearing Panel therefore concludes unanimously that there should be no penalty.

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Peter Doggers's picture
Author: Peter Doggers

Founder and editor-in-chief of ChessVibes.com, Peter is responsible for most of the chess news and tournament reports. Often visiting top events, he also provides photos and videos for the site. He's a 1.e4 player himself, likes Thai food and the Stones.

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Comments

Veigl's picture

Veigl

3 years 3 months ago

@ guitarspider:

http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=10090

RajeshV's picture

RajeshV

3 years 3 months ago

Oh boy! what an entertainment FIDE is providing. Anyways, good to know that a great player was not penalised for this inconsequential and meaningless procedure.

Michael's picture

Michael

3 years 3 months ago

Is it known who were the members of that Hearing Panel?

guitarspider's picture

guitarspider

3 years 3 months ago

Wasn't some austrian amateur (!!!) banned for two years?

me's picture

me

3 years 3 months ago

"This time it’s not a typical FIDE loophole, as what they state is exactly what happened, and whoever knows Ivanchuk and was present - me included- is sure of it."

Oh yes it is. And did you even read the Olympiad reports?

They all stated that at least two officials tried to bring Ivanchuk to the doping room. One even pick him by the hand and tried to drag him there. After seriously furious look by Ivanchuk he rather let it go, otherwise we would probably have a disciplinary procedure for punching an official! Saying that ivanchik wasn't informed about the doping test is a plain naked lie!

Manu's picture

Manu

3 years 3 months ago

I feel like FIDE threatened Chucky with something that cannot be done and now wants some credit for it , but it is nice things ended this way.

Michel83's picture

Michel83

3 years 3 months ago

Even though it is an obvious loophole it is probably (probably!) not even a wrong one or a lie, because it fits with with what Ivanchuk said. So actually it seems to be true that the procedure was not correctly done- if they would have also used that apology with a player less famous than Chuky is another question... ;)
Here's Chuky's statement:

"All this looks like a complete delusion! But such spectacles can happen in our world. I just left, nervous after the lost game, and did not listen to a man whom I saw for the first time in my life, and still do not know who that was. This is such a comedy :-) "

iamzero's picture

iamzero

3 years 3 months ago

I understand why they had to think for a couple of weeks to come up with this hilarious statement...

Hortensius's picture

Hortensius

3 years 3 months ago

Pfffew, they found a good excuse...

Michel's picture

Michel

3 years 3 months ago

Sill way to avoid punishing a topplayer. Would they do the same with an anknown IM. This shows how stupid doping-test for chess are.

Michel's picture

Michel

3 years 3 months ago

Sill = Silly
sorry for the mistake

Janis Nisii's picture

Janis Nisii

3 years 3 months ago

This time it's not a typical FIDE loophole, as what they state is exactly what happened, and whoever knows Ivanchuk and was present - me included- is sure of it.
I agree - though - that most probably they wouldn't (and they did not, in Calvia) have spent a split second of their time over an obscure not titled player. At the same time, I believe all players will benefit from this precedent.

Stephen's picture

Stephen

3 years 3 months ago

It never did make much sense to me to want to test the loser of a game for performance enhancing drugs - except to find out which ones don't work !

xtra's picture

xtra

3 years 3 months ago

smooth save. :p

guitarspider's picture

guitarspider

3 years 3 months ago

Nice loophole. Very nice. It even sounds reasonable :D. I'm happy Fide found a way out of this mess.

Titus's picture

Titus

3 years 3 months ago

In chess, cheating occurs via unauthorized use of computer assistance not via drugs. That is why doping controls in chess are so effective. If the player can pee he is clean, if he can't pee, he probably went to often to the toilet to check his Pocket Fritz or to connect to the outside world via hidden cables. No laboratory analysis needed. Results and verdicts can be given within half an hour!

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