Facts
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) charged Bobby Miller, the player, for a violation of the Anti-Doping Rules. On October 28, 2004, during the Chess Olympiad in Calvia, Mallorca the player refused a doping test.
History
The statement of the player was the following. He confessed that he refused to submit to the doping control. His teamcaptain has advised him to refuse. He did not know about the possible sanctions. Bermuda is a low team in the ranking. Bobby Miller is an amateur. He has no FIDE-rating . He played between the Olympiad in Bled in 2002 and the Olympiad in 2004 only one FIDE rated event, the Bermuda Open 2003. In that event he played only one game against a FIDE-rated player.
The panel considers: the player keeps his own responsibility to decide if he submits to the doping control or refuses. The advise of the team captain does not deprive the player from his own responsibility. The refusal of submitting a sample means that the player is considered to be positive tested. According to the FIDE Anti-Doping Regulations the disqualification of individual results is the automatic consequence in each doping case, also the exclusion from participating in events organised by FIDE or national chess federations is further the normal sanction after a refusal. However, the Panel has discovered that the FIDE Anti-Doping Regulations are not well known in a part of the federations in FIDE. Further, Bobby Miller is an amateur player who came on his own cost to the Olympiad. The FIDE Anti-Doping Regulations are in the first place meant for the professional players of whom there are many in chess. There is no place for an exclusion, but only a warning should
be given. A minority of two members of the Panel judges that also this sanctioning is to severe and there should be no cancelling of points, but just a warning.
Decision
1. The sanction is a warning.
2. The points obtained since the Bermuda Open 2003 till the Chess Olympiad 2004 are cancelled.
