Drunk Grandmaster

There is a higher burden/expectation on players that are professionals than on you or I playing in an open event in which we are paying our own expenses. All of his expenses are paid AND he probably even recieves some pay for playing in the event so for him to show up drunk shows incredible disrespect for the game, himself and those paying his way.... the fact that this isnt the first such incident with this particular player is also a consideration. He didnt show up for the last round in the Dresden Olympiad costing the French team any chance they had at a medal. At the very least this player has shown he is unreliable and as an organizer and/or sponsor I certainly wouldnt invite him to any event of mine. As for the french team he would be off the team, period. He is the current French champion though and they might not want to kick him off the team ? Maybe he is already off ?

Yes I didn't think about that ..... and also the fact that it is public isn't going to help either. I can't remember the name of the person but let's hope they can overcome it and carry on and show people that he is sorry!

Reb: so yes, that's the argument. Now he's repeating the incident, organisers will be more wary than ever about inviting him to events. And as a chess player who relies on precisely the benefits you just outlined, this is a serious setback to his career in general.

Quite punishing enough.

Yep I agree! I do feel some empathy for him and hopefully he will learn from this and pick himself back up!

He already got his punishment a real bad hangover, both moral and physically.

What happens to most people if they show up to work drunk ?  What if they make a habit of it ? 

This post sums it up for me. Anyone who has any real understanding of alcoholism knows how intense and challenging the problems can become. There is also reasons that the medical establishment considers is a disease.

be rational is the best way

I am sorry, but I have to laugh at some of the posters from the USA. Really, americans have a strange attitude towards drinking. Like, if sombody is drunk they are an alcoholic and need counselling.

Anthony CG makes a good point though.

Reb, said GM does not have an employer - he works for himself. The 'employer' in this case is the organiser of the tournament, and it's highly unlikely they'll invite him again, so effectively he has been 'sacked' with some notice!

I would have thought he lost the game automatically ..... i dunno though ... but i think i heard somewhere if your opponent goes to sleep you are not allowed to wake them up?

You, as the opponent, are allowed to wake him up, but you're not obliged to of course.

Anyone else waking your opponent up would be totally against the rules, as it would count as assistance.

 It's not in this forum, so you wouldn't know unless you had background info. But, aye, this fella does seem to have a problem and that's why some folk have taken the counselling stance.

The real juice is in the letter send from his close friend about two thirds down: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5740

Well, if he hasn't made a scene.. uhm, actually he made a scene allright, it's in the newspapers, but what I mean is, if he didn't bother any people around him with stupid drunk talk, by speaking loudly, crashing into people etc, and just quietly fell asleep and lost the game, I think it doesn't require any suspension. If it was a team game, he could be suspended from the team, but as I said, if he did no harm to anyone around him, he punished himself already by losing the game.

Kajetan Wandowicz, Wroclaw, Poland
Vladislav Tkachiev arrived totally inebriated for a game in an open in India. Apparently, he wasn't expelled from the tournament. He didn't even forfeit the game. He did lose though – on time. Well, that's what happens when you pass out on the board and can't be woken up while your clock is running. Hou Yifan was recently defaulted for not actually sitting at the board. Where's the logic? I do realise those are different events, different organisers, but some consensus is just screaming to be reached on what is accepted and what is not. Right now it looks like you could turn up drunk and refuse the handshake while your manager holds a press conference accusing your opponent of computer assistance, provided that your drunk, handshake-refusing, accusation-hurling bottom is actually seated at the table when the round starts.

I think, Reb, this more shows the ridiculousness of the rules about being seated at the board when the game is started than the arriving drunk business.

It should really be sorted out.

So what?  The guy was drunk.  What a buncha nervous Nellies...

I think he's been punished enough, he has a history of depression & self medicating with alcohol, he probably needs more help than punishment, although a tournament ban until he deals with the issue may push him to get the help he needs. Hell, he's French & if he drinks Vodka the way the French drink Wine no wonder he was comatose

That's bullying!

Its just an option, as I said he's been punished enough, though it makes me wonder how Mikhail Tal smoked & boozed his way all the way to a world Championship.