Termitewatch 39 - Fliptop flips his lid

Whoever it was that advised us always to expect the worst of people, in order to ensure we are never disappointed, must have been an experienced ECF-watcher. Even by their standards, I was stunned to read the post below, which appeared on the Egregious Forum earlier today:

I have been giving some thought as to how the election requirements of the Procedural Bye Laws would need to be reworded to enable Stuart Conquest to be a candidate at next month's AGM. This would be possible if the text read:

Quote:

12.6 Each candidate for a Post must be either: 
(a) a retiring Director, the FIDE Delegate or a Chairman of a Standing Committee seeking re-election to the same Post; or 
(b) a nominee of the Board for a Post; or 
(c) a person proposed with the level of support of the Requisitionists in Article 1.1; or
(d) a person proposed by GM Raymond Keene OBE.

12.7 The names of all candidates duly nominated to the Secretary received by him not later than 37 days before the Annual General Meeting shall appear on the Agenda, indicating the Post for which they are nominated and where applicable the name of their proposers. PROVIDED THAT this requirement shall not apply to candidates falling under paragraph 12.6(d)

Unfortunately, the time limits prescribed by the Articles mean that such a wording, even if it were acceptable to Council, cannot apply to the October 2012 elections. 

This appallingly facetious piece of childishness was posted by John Philpott, who proudly styles himself "Chairman of the ECF Governance Committee and ECF Company Secretary". The man responsible for ensuring that appropriate standards of corporate governance are observed by the governing body of British chess should be saying nothing at all on such a matter, and observing a dignified neutrality in the choice of President. Instead, he reveals himself to be party to the group of Keene-hating termites, obsessed by the fact that Ray Keene happens to be supporting Stuart Conquest's candidacy for the post of ECF President.

As well as grossly inappropriate to his position (a position to which Fliptop also aspires to re-election, incidentally!), the comment is also extremely insulting to Stuart Conquest himself, by implying that he is somehow the creature of Ray Keene, when of course he is his own man. The point is surely that Stuart is a candidate for unity, a well-known grandmaster, successful tournament director, and greatly respected and liked in just about every quarter of chess. If the ECF constitution cannot be stretched to accommodate such a candidate, that is the Egregious mob's misfortune.

Stuart Conquest deserves an apology from Fliptop. The rest of British chess deserves the little cretin's resignation from his current posts within the federation, and if he is unwilling to supply it, he should be unceremoniously booted out, without delay.

Giving Fliptop the bum's rush would have one other advantage, of course - it would free up his time, to enable him to devote 100% of his attention to the non-arrangement of postal chess tournaments.