USATE 2008 Called "An Amateur Event Sham"

"An Amateur Event Sham" is the headline of David Sands's chess column in The Washington Times. Sands writes: "this year's winner, GGGg, won all six matches employing a lineup of three grandmasters (Zviad Izoria, Eugene Perelshteyn and Roman Dzindzichashvili) and 5-year-old (yes, that's right) Stephen Fanning. Young Fanning's microscopic 178 rating helped get the squad below the mandatory maximum team average rating of 2200, but the whole setup simply is not in the spirit of such a populist event. / No one broke the rules, but it would be nice to see some changes next year (just two GMs per team, perhaps) to keep the event competitive for those without international titles." I could not agree more. Steve Doyle made a mistake in allowing this team to compete, apparently not consulting fully with the other organizers and putting the interests of GMs above those of the vast majority of amateurs who support this event each year.