The United Kingdom of Many Sporting Entities?

GM Jonathan Rowson (Scotland) recently discussed this topic here. Below is the counter view from GM Nigel Short who resides in Athens, Greece:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has five federations in FIDE (England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and Guernsey) and not four, as stated by some of your readers. Actually it even has six, if you count the British overseas territory of Bermuda. However Bermuda has a different status in that it is recognised as a separate entity by the IOC, which therefore qualifies it for FIDE membership. Thank goodness, for otherwise we would have nowhere to party at Olympiads. Note that Northern Ireland has no representation at all (nor the Isle of Man, Alderney and Sark for that matter), nor has any prospect whatsoever of obtaining it, under current FIDE regulation.

The situation is absurd, anachronistic, and profoundly discriminatory. It is a pity that my compatriot, the three-times British Champion, Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson, appears not to appreciate his citizenship. At least his fellow Scotsman, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, does. Jonathan is normally highly intelligent, and I know from private discussions with him from the UK versus China match, where we played side by side – as indeed we should – that on those moments when he is capable of placing his intellect before his emotions, even he realises the exceptional weakness of his argument. It is the UK that is a member of the United Nations and the IOC. England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and Guernsey are not – they are simply parts of that same country.

Click here to read the entire interesting article on ChessBase.

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