State of Scottish Chess

[ronniewallace]

I've been trying to think of ways to give these adult novices a chance to get involved with matchplay, it's the only way they'll gain the experience to be able to compete in the future. Part of the trouble is that teams want to be competitive, whether that be to win leagues or to avoid relegation, and a team captain might take pelters for playing someone relatively inexperienced when there are others available who are better placed to win games.

I've thought that perhaps lower divisions might introduce rules about playing novices in lower boards (something along the lines of under 21s in football squads), but different leagues have different constructions and team sizes, and some divisions are small, so it simply wouldn't be practical.

Well I don't see there being anything stop one of the leagues say creating a standalone division with a grading bar, for example players needing to be under say 1200 to participate. Just depends if there is a demand for it. There used to be a separate Junior League in Glasgow but that ended quite a few years back.

[Adam Bremner]

Just a couple of points about numbers in clubs. There are two parts to improve this. First, getting people through the door, and second, giving them a reason to come back. At the Uni club, we probably have more potential for getting new people through the door than most, but certainly some form of advertising can help any club. Clubs with functional websites will attract interest, and there is normally a steady trickle of new people who turn up all year round. The harder part is keeping them coming back, because like Steven says, there are a lot of different pursuits available.

Getting them involved is very important. Having a B team this year definitely went down well, and people seemed to want to play. If clubs can make more teams, then they definitely should. Another simple point not be overlooked, is to actually engage with people coming through the door, and every chess player has an obligation to the chess community to do so, imo. Of course, over pushing them can also have negative events. We organised a blitz tournament 3y ago, and when all the new members lost, they got disheartened, and never returned. What started out as a good idea to engage them backfired.

It's not rocket science really. Make people aware of chess clubs. Advertise club nights and events and people will show up. Then, speak to them (maybe at a pub afterwards) and figure out what they want from a club, and try your best to provide it.

[Ianbrownlee]

I've been trying to think of ways to give these adult novices a chance to get involved with matchplay, it's the only way they'll gain the experience to be able to compete in the future. Part of the trouble is that teams want to be competitive, whether that be to win leagues or to avoid relegation, and a team captain might take pelters for playing someone relatively inexperienced when there are others available who are better placed to win games.

I've thought that perhaps lower divisions might introduce rules about playing novices in lower boards (something along the lines of under 21s in football squads), but different leagues have different constructions and team sizes, and some divisions are small, so it simply wouldn't be practical.

Well I don't see there being anything stop one of the leagues say creating a standalone division with a grading bar, for example players needing to be under say 1200 to participate. Just depends if there is a demand for it. There used to be a separate Junior League in Glasgow but that ended quite a few years back.

Hi Ronnie
funny you should bring this up The Lanarkshire Chess league is looking to implement he setting up of such a league for the start of the 2014 league as discussed at the AGM

[Graham Kerr]

The 1200 grading bar would seem pretty reasonable, perhaps with a stipulation of never previously been above 1250 or 1300. There would, of course, have to be a more experienced player on site to keep players in check with match rules etc.

As Adam points out, it's sometimes difficult to keep hold of these players who turn up for a while, but many give up when they don't break into teams. I feel that this is where the biggest loss is in the game. Some might never improve beyond novice level (but still enjoy the play as much as the rest of us), some others might improve to be mediocre or strong players. There might even be one or two gems in there who are able to put the study in.

The Edinburgh league runs a Summer Cup competition and Summer Plate, which is basically a consolation cup for 1st round losers. It's a handicap tournament where each player gets a 3/4 point handicap if their opponent is graded >200 higher, and 1/2 point handicap if the grading difference is 100-200 points. It's a great leveller when strong teams meet weaker teams. It used to be a good place to blood new players, and indeed was where i got my first team match, but the rules changed some years ago, ungraded players now count as 1400 for the purposes of handicap. In addition to this, whenever any board misordering takes place, the lower graded player then assumes the grade of the higher graded player for the purposes of the handicap. This effectively makes it unrealistic to blood new players there...

The Central League runs an Under 1500 Knockout Cup, which also runs very well, the 1500 grading bar seems to me to be about right. I don't know what scope or demand there would be for a similar competition for under 1200

[Colin Macgregor]

At Paisley Chess Club, we run our Glasgow League C team to give our new/inexperienced players a chance to get regular games. It works very well for the club.
Colin Macgregor

[Phil Thomas]

Whilst I agree with you Mike your information is not current. In order to be a director of CS you have to be a member. the gentleman concerned has stated
"I said, will not be re-joining until President and Membership Secretary have resigned after their disgusting abuse of power at council meeting blocking Jacqui and Phil’s membership"

Not only is this information stated inaccurate and misleading, it is also designed to continue the damage previous statements started. For clarity the meeting approved, without any objection, acceptance of Mr and Mrs Thomas' application for membership.

No Pat there is no such thing as an approval process.
Acceptance is automatic and can only be reversed as a result of decision by agm or egm or Council.
Jacqui and I were not permitted to attend the discussions at the end. Even though all CS members are allowed by the constitution to attend Council meetings as observers. QED - we were both excluded from one of the benefits of membership – the ability to attend Council meetings as observers.

Are you quite sure that there were no dissenting voices ?

Be careful how you reply, there were many witnesses present. Sadly not me - I left the building with a wife more angry at CS than she has been with anybody or anything at any time during our 21 years of marriage.

Perhaps there are times when I can be a touch controversial but treating my wife in this way was totally and utterly unacceptable. Since I was not allowed to be present for the end of the meeting I await the official minutes with the greatest of interest.

[Patrick McGovern]

I heard no dissenting voices about you joining Chess Scotland. As i was sitting near the front i could not observe any body language or facial expressions i could only rely on my hearing.

[Phil Thomas]

I heard no dissenting voices about you joining Chess Scotland. As i was sitting near the front i could not observe any body language or facial expressions i could only rely on my hearing.

Pat,

as is well known I was not allowed to present evidence or even to be present for the final few minutes of the Council meeting. I know that I was being discussed but I don't actually know what the agenda was.

However it was clear to me at the time (and later confirmed in private correspondence) that the president did not wish me to join and acted contrary to the constitution in returning my membership fee thus expelling me from Chess Scotland.

So you seem to be saying that the president presented no evidence to support my expulsion.

So why do you think I was excluded from that part of the meeting (by the president)?

As all the notice board readers can see from the thread on PVG disclosure the best way to obtain information about me is often to ask me the questions rather than to speculate.



Did

[Patrick McGovern]

you were never excluded Dr Thomas, you and Mrs Thomas were asked to leave, temporarily, while the meeting discussed your application for membership. The president readily conceded that an error had been made in the consideration of your membership. You and Mrs Thomas would have had that explained to you and an apology proffered to the both of you. However both of you had left. Your leaving was a surprise as it was clear that your absence was only to be a temporary one. With regard to the president not wanting you to join, this was not the case. Certain reservations had been expressed due to the timing of your application, however it was very clear that your application and that of your wife was going to be accepted. As I stated before there was not one dissenting voice to this.

I also noted this on the noticeboard albeit in an oblique way.

It is also heartwarming that 2 "old" members have requested to re-join. Given their collective strengths they will be a brilliant addition to our (relatively) happy group. Well done all.

(24/6/13)

how naive i was =|

[KevinCampbell]

I heard no dissenting voices about you joining Chess Scotland. As i was sitting near the front i could not observe any body language or facial expressions i could only rely on my hearing.

Pat,

as is well known I was not allowed to present evidence or even to be present for the final few minutes of the Council meeting. I know that I was being discussed but I don't actually know what the agenda was.

However it was clear to me at the time (and later confirmed in private correspondence) that the president did not wish me to join and acted contrary to the constitution in returning my membership fee thus expelling me from Chess Scotland.

So you seem to be saying that the president presented no evidence to support my expulsion.

So why do you think I was excluded from that part of the meeting (by the president)?

As all the notice board readers can see from the thread on PVG disclosure the best way to obtain information about me is often to ask me the questions rather than to speculate.

Did

Hi Phil,

It was really good when it was commented on after the council meeting that it was held in a positive manner and spirit.

Clearly the incident has deeply upset you and Jacqui, the fact you were temporarily asked to leave.

I don't know why you ceased being members? Was this due to some sort of protest, you were not happy about something so decided to cease membership?

If this is the case then fair enough.

When you decided to re-join as members, if you had done this a bit sooner, say a week/ 10 days before, there wouldn't have been these issues would there?

I can appreciate being asked to leave upset you both. I would say, in my opinion, still going on about this some two weeks later, is maybe not the most helpful or constructive thing to be doing.

Is it not possible to draw a line in the sand? Onwards and upwards?

It just seems that issues, small things, get blown out of all proportion.