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The Richardson games have an entirely different feel and quality about them than almost every other chess tournament in Scotland which crams 2 games into one day.
Having witnessed the excitement of the semi finals first hand (Dragons knocking over a much higher rated Poly team) and hearing of the romance of the cup (an up and coming Bon Accord team doing a similar job on Hamilton) last weekend, I think the status quo should be preserved as "stronger" teams will prevail in any league format.
Would it not be sensible to try and expand the numbers of teams in the Richardson from its current number of 10 to 16 before even considering promotion/relegation to the Spens? Of the top 100 rated players in Scotland, there are a few Glasgow based teams (e.g. Stepps, Bearsden) who could easily be added to the fold without detracting from the quality of the tournament.
The current 8 board format (2 cars being shared for journeys) also gives the smaller clubs a chance to outshine their bigger rivals on the lower boards.
John Watkins
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I concur with John re the groups may not be the way forward for the Richardsons. As the Spens is what I will participate in, I am focusing on that. It is different in many ways to the Rich and a group format would suit the Spens. The Spens seems to be in more desperate need of restructuring than the Rich.
3 Groups: West/Glasgow Group, East/Lothian Group, Fife/Tayside/North Group
Would be good to see a Fife Team, Tayside Team, a North Team, a Livingstone Team, more Edinburgh Teams, and many more not mentioned there. Can we persuade the missing clubs to join in the experience and battle for glory?
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I agree with John and Jonathan. The tradition is important. We always used to have 60 minute default time to allow for traffic problems so let's return to that. I would like 16 teams in each event but e.g. Stepps, Berasden etc do not have enough people to play at weekends.
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Stick with 8 player teams
Aim to give all team at least 3 games all of which have consequence i.e. relegation / promotion or impacts to next season seeding.
2 Mini-leagues with top 2 going to semis sounds good to me. or 4 mini-leagues with 1 going into semi from each sounds worth a look.
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Will there be a live broadcast of Richardson final next weekend? (I hope so)
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George: no live broadcast, Alistair Maxwell is arbiter for the day.
However if I knew how to do it and funding was available it would be done.
Should be a cracking final. I hope the trophies will make it to Grangemouth as the celebration photos in recent years have been good.
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The match should be highlighted with coverage on local news, Reporting Scotland, ITV etc. Okay it would only get a quick minute if were lucky, but we should still be doing that.
No live games is a shame, but is there someone available to cover the PGN's with a bit of text commentary in the days after, while there is still the excitment and buzz around.
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Just a quick question: Does the Richardson come under the remit of the Home Director (Open) or the International Director (Open)?
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Andy B - it (they, Spens & Rosebowl also) ultimately come under Home Director (Open). Andy M offered to run these events but this is in a non-ID (Open) capacity.
