English Chess Forum

I have to say, the more that we find out about the behaviour of FIDE and then compare it to what the ECF is doing to us, the more I think that it is case of the pot and the kettle. Whilst Nigel (quite rightly) is bemoaning the lack of clarity etc etc within FIDE, he is keeping us all in the dark co...

From Nigel Short's statement: "But as explained in the memorandum commissioned by the ECF (along with the Bulgarian and US Chess Federations), this is most definitely not the case." This appears to relate to the FIDE Statutes. However, whatever the subject of the memorandum, it's unlikely to have c...

75 entries so far, split as follows: Open 16; Major (U160) 21; Intermediate (U135) 17; and Minor (U115) 21. If you'd like to enter, you can avoid a £2 late fee by getting your entry to me by Tuesday, 17th July. We don't accept entries on the day, I'm afraid, and entries on Friday 20th July will be ...

Good Morning all, received my renewal letter today, there is a mention of a £1 discount for renewing online, is it possible to renew directly via the ECF website or is the choice email, phone or snail mail? Many thanks and apologies if I missed something obvious Cheers Trefor If you wait a week, t...

There will be no financial impact on the ECF or its members. I am glad to hear that the ECF are sending 1000 euros to Lara and presumably something to Sean as well. I will let the forum know when Lara receives her money. This seems to be confusing the ruling in the CAS action and the decision by th...

There's a rain break in Murray - Federer, so I've caught up with this thread. Simple question are ECF members going to foot the bill? yes or no will do from Andrew. No. The information I've received is that the legal costs on our side have already been settled by the third party guarantor and that t...

Had the ECF acted quickly they could have prevented the invitations to arbiters from going out and then let FIDE decide on the merits. Lara was one of the 10 ECU nominated arbiters so it was not a case of her being selected but more a case of her being deselected which quite clearly is a legal issu...

I would also like to know if any Director intends to apologise to those most affected by this fiasco or is it likely to be like another incident where an initial statement is made and nothing follows? I can't speak for the other Board members, but I have no intention of apologising for the unaccept...

Perhaps you will be kind enough to explain why it was correct to take legal action when it was but not to take legal action when ECF members had quite clearly been discriminated against. If it was right the first time, then surely it was more right the second? I took legal advice at the time. This ...

understood, though it seems odd that we are publicly disagreeing over an issue on which we presumably privately agree! I didn't think I was disagreeing with you, except insofar as I corrected one error of fact. I've scrupulously avoided offering my personal opinions about the subject, because in th...

The earlier comments suggesting that the Board should have considered the possibility of adverse political consequences or retaliation are based on the assumption that it didn't. It did. It should be borne in mind that the ECF, in common with many other federations, was known not to be supportive o...

I was at least right about the one Director who opposed the action leaving the Board! What were your reasons for opposing the action, Andrew? Sorry, Jonathan, but I'm not getting into that. In the end, I'm a member of the Board: I respect its decisions and share in the collective responsibility for...

Who was the director who voted against? Loz Cooper, unless I have misunderstood. You have. It was me. The earlier comments suggesting that the Board should have considered the possibility of adverse political consequences or retaliation are based on the assumption that it didn't. It did. It should ...

PS BTW, I believe a certain well-known chess blogger has been present in Buxton, so we may get some coverage of the event over at that place we don't mention. Let's hope there haven't been any siblings playing sub-15 move draws in the Lopez Exchange Variation. Indeed he was. I dropped in on the con...

I may be able to get time off work to play in the weekender at the British. However I'm not an ECF member - I will be once the new system starts in September, but not yet. Can I still join under the old system and is there any point in my doing so for the sake of one tournament? There is an offer f...