Scottish Tournaments - bring back the Challengers?

[Jonathan Livingstone]

Hi Robin. If you look at things from the perspective of those of us in the East, its not a jolly picture at all. Keeping the focus on the overall Scottish Game though, yes those newer events you mention are well run, nice venues etc. But there is decline with newer congresses also. While we all want to see new bum cheeks appear on the seats, it isn't going to happen without some greater intervention from the chess gods. The bums are increasingly doing other things on their weekends regardless of the overall congress quality. The nice large hotel venues are surely not sustainable as the bum decline continues on and on.

The new Largs Congress you mention (good luck to it and all), but it may even be some early evidence that my prediction in my earlier post is correct, in that we are probably headed to a scenario where the trend changes to OPEN-MAJOR-MINOR just becomes OPEN-MAJOR then just an OPEN.

I'd love to be positive too, but I am just not seeing the hope myself. It surely goes far beyond the level of weekend events, and all the way up to grass roots like the increasingly high average age of players and the doomed club chess scenario, where only big or city clubs are okay for the short-mid term.

It must be time for some George Neave style voting polls?

1. Are weekenders doomed? YES/NO
2. Is club chess doomed? YES/NO