Council meeting

[Derek Howie]

I anticipate the question of whether all juniors would be required to take
compulsory membership in order to have games graded will be raised.

Again a frightening comment. I would suggest that whoever raises this has no idea about junior chess and the devastating impact that this would have at the grass roots level, which in turn would have an impact on those progressing into adult competitions and club and congress chess in 10-30 years.

Also is it only juniors who are being asked to take compulsory membership or adults as well?

Derek, the document relating to compulsory membership is available from the home page of the CS website. It suggests a £10 fee for juniors.

Thanks David.

I see a number of juniors who start off trying out the game and it's a huge thrill for them to have their games graded and they are keen to see if they can get their grades increased. To insist on a £10 membership before they can get games graded would prevent many new kids from starting as trying out a competition to see if they like it suddenly changes from £5-£7 to £15-£17. To insist on this will take away huge amounts of the junior chess scene.

As for the adult side, as someone who has only played 3 graded games this year (one doesn't appear for some reason), I'd certainly resent paying £20 per game and that level of fees may end up driving me away from the game on a permanent basis. While that may appeal to some, it could also drive away many more valuable players than me particularly on the league side and while CS income may increase the numbers playing would fall. It's a difficult line to draw and certainly all possibilities should be explored but I'd need a lot of persuasion to convince me that the downsides don't outweigh the benefits.