How to select RP Team members for the 2010 Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad 2010 will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from September 19, 2010 to October 4, 2010.

That gives us roughly 11 months to prepare for the biggest chess competition in the world.

With barely a year left, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) has yet to establish a system on how to choose the RP Team Members, both for the Open and Women sections.

We are only talking about the system of selection here, not yet on the actual preparations (team practice, etc.).

Here are possible options:

1. Rating-based sytem. RP Team shall be composed of active top-rated players in the country. That simple. No ifs, no buts.

2. Elimination system. RP Team shall be composed of players who passed through game eliminations set by the NCFP. Top performers will make the team.

3. NCFP-appointment system. RP Team shall be composed of players chosen by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines as they wish, or based on their own set of criteria.

4. Other systems (please give your inputs).

The top priority is to come up with the strongest possible team the country could produce.

But as much as possible, we should come up with the strongest possible team with full regard for fairnesss.

In short, select the best players based on fairness.

Define fairness? For this purpose, fairness is defined as sticking to agreed set of rules - that is, not changing the rules in the middle of the game just to reject or accomodate certain personalities.

Oh please, no such thing as making the Olympiad as a training ground for the future. The Olympiad is not a training ground. The Olympiad is the ultimate battle ground among chess nations.

The floor is open for debate.

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