The Chess Mind

Dennis, I think you handled this issue very well in your blog, without hyperbole or taking any shots at the GMs. I’ve thought a bit about this and have some thoughts. First, the controversy really detracted from the incredible achievement of Needleman scoring 8 pts against such a strong field. Also, the amazing stretch at the end of the event where he went 4/5 or something like that. Second, I don’t think the GMs were particularly unethical, but they weren’t specially *ethical* either. A player like Joel Benjamin, for example, is a highly ethical player who would avoid even the appearance of impropriety (I’ve witnessed this myself.) Third, the tiebreak rules and situation were highly inadequate.
Oddly enough this situation brought to mind something I witnessed personally: Gata Kamsky was eliminated in Las Vegas under very questionable circumstances. His opponent (Alexander Khalifman) had no part in the wrongdoing. They had played 2 fascinating long games, Gata winning the first and accepting an exchange sacrifice in the 2nd game that really made things messy and allowed Khalifman to win. Had Kamsky drawn that game he would have eliminated the eventual winner. Nevertheless, it came down to 15 minute games and this is where something terrible happened: A group of players was consciously standing next to the board and making distracting noises when it was Kamsky’s turn to play. It was ridiculous, loud laughing, horseplay, etc. A protest was filed, but the match was over after Kamsky lost. What happened to Needleman is nothing compared to this.
The decision to allow Needleman in is Solomonic in my view. Hopefully he’ll make the most of his chance and make some noise in the FIDE qualifier.