English Chess Forum

No wonder there are so few tournaments scheduled this year when people pick apart the organisers covid regs. If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter , simples. I withdrew from Blackpool 2020 for that reason , it was not a reflection on the organiser , just the covid rates at the time

DavidGostelow wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:13 am

If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter, simples.

The voice of common sense.

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:42 am

DavidGostelow wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:13 am

If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter, simples.

The voice of common sense.

I signed up yesterday

DavidGostelow wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:13 am

No wonder there are so few tournaments scheduled this year when people pick apart the organisers covid regs. If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter , simples.

On that theme, please could I remind people that the poll at viewtopic.php?f=25&t=11692 is still running. It would be helpful to have more responses.

Matthew Turner wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 9:47 am

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:42 am

DavidGostelow wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:13 am

If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter, simples.

The voice of common sense.

I signed up yesterday

I will be cheering you on Matthew.
I can't find the list of entrants.
Will you be playing at the Scarborough Congress at the end of October?

Northumbria Masters entry forms now out!

Entry forms are now published for the 2021 Northumbria Masters (August 26-30), which is going ahead over-the-board at a brand new Covid-secure venue, Marriott MetroCentre in Gateshead. The congress, generously supported by Chess in Schools and Communities, includes a GM norm all-play-all and an IM norm all-play-all, as well as the Northumbria Masters (Open to all); Challengers (Under 2000); Major (Under 1750); and Minor (Under 1500).

For more details and to download the entry form, please go to: https://northumbriamasters.com

TimWall wrote: ↑

Wed May 19, 2021 3:53 pm

For more details and to download the entry form, please go to: https://northumbriamasters.com

The good value group hotel rate is only available for the 4 nights from 26 August to 29 August. Will the hotel extend that to 25 August for people wanting to arrive the day before the event starts, and maybe also to 30 August for people wanting to leave the day after it ends?

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Wed May 19, 2021 5:06 pm

The good value group hotel rate is only available for the 4 nights from 26 August to 29 August. Will the hotel extend that to 25 August for people wanting to arrive the day before the event starts, and maybe also to 30 August for people wanting to leave the day after it ends?

I noted that the first round was on Thursday evening, so there might be limited demand for arrivals Wednesday. The final round is on the Monday afternoon so there might be a demand for those not wishing to travel Monday evening. It's a Bank Holiday so the usual opportunities might be taken to rebuild railways over the weekend. Also players staying the extra night avoid losing their rooms shortly before the penultimate round.

If it's the only UK tournament going, there could well be a fair amount of interest from longer distance participants.

Hi Ian and Roger, yes - I can confirm that the chess event group rate will be an option on the hotel's booking form for Wednesday 25th August and Monday 30th August. They are working on it, and hopefully there will be an update on this in the next couple of days.
The conference staff are only currently working 1-2 days a week, so it takes a little time. But we'll get there

The Marriott MetroCentre has now updated its accommodation booking page to include the Northumbria Masters group rate for Wed 25th and Mon 30th August: https://www.marriott.co.uk/event-reserv ... p=resvlink

Is the entry list automatically updated or is it manual? If the latter, what is the update frequency?

DavidGostelow wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:13 am

No wonder there are so few tournaments scheduled this year when people pick apart the organisers covid regs. If you dont like it or think its safe dont enter , simples. I withdrew from Blackpool 2020 for that reason , it was not a reflection on the organiser , just the covid rates at the time

There you go then, no need for this fancy "public liability insurance". If a daytime TV lawyer knocks on your door, just tell him his client ought to have stayed at home instead of coming to your event.

Wadih Khoury wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 04, 2021 12:59 pm

Is the entry list automatically updated or is it manual? If the latter, what is the update frequency?

Hi Wadih, thanks for your comments.
My aim is to update the 'Entries Received' list on the same day I receive payments.
When I receive a payment, I get an email notification from PayPal and approve the player's name manually before it is added to the 'Entries Received' list.
The online entry form does allow people to fill in the form, but then not to pay by PayPal or Debit/Credit Card. In that case, their entry does not automatically appear on the 'Entries Received' list. I then contact them, thank them for registering, and offer them different ways of paying entry fees as follows:

"I am pleased to say that our online payment system is now up and running. To complete your entry to the tournament, there are 3 different ways to pay the entry fee:
a) Online by PayPal or Debit/Credit Card via our website: https://northumbriamasters.com/
b) By (BACS) bank transfer. You can send the entry fee to: [I then send the potential entrant details of the bank account to pay to. For obvious security reasons, I am not publishing these details on a website.]
c) By cheque. Please complete the entry form (download it here: https://northumbriamasters.com/2021-ent ... published/) and send it with a cheque made payable to ‘UK Chess Events Ltd’ to: Tim Wall, Northumbria Masters, 8 Whitfield Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom NE12 7LJ."

My apologies if this is a bit of a long-winded reply. I hope it explains the process.

As you may know, I largely do the Northumbria Masters admin myself, with voluntary help from kind local chess players who work in IT. I try to do my best, but inevitably it is not the super-slick operation it would be if we had a big budget etc. Please do point out any shortcomings in the admin and any tech issues, and I will try to resolve them as soon as possible.

And please do encourage players you know to join us at the Marriott MetroCentre in Gateshead on 26-30 August. We aim to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone

It's worth an update on this.

Entrants in the nine round Swiss events are regularly updated. Many of the thirty forum regulars are participating.
Link https://northumbriamasters.com/entries/

There's also GM Norm and IM Norm tournaments
https://northumbriamasters.com/northumb ... es-so-far/

GM Norm (according to above link)
Tamas Fodor Jr (HUN), Matthew Turner (SCO) and Alexander Cherniaev (RUS). Joining them are IMs Ravi Haria, Matthew Wadsworth, Lawrence Trent and David Eggleston (all ENG), and FMs Marcus Harvey (ENG) and Conor Murphy (IRL). The tenth player is still to be confirmed.

IM Norm
In the IM norm all-play-all, 2 IMs are confirmed: David Fitzsimons (IRL) and Peter Large (ENG). The 5 FMs playing are Jonah Willow, Harry Grieve and James Moreby (all ENG), Iain Gourlay (SCO) and Yichen Han (NED), and also playing is WGM Katarzyna Toma (ENG). The latest entrant is CM Shreyas Royal, whose rating recently crossed the 2300 threshold. The tenth player is still to be confirmed.

Peter Large is someone who hasn't played OTB in many years, but has made a comeback in online chess.

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:07 am

GM Norm (according to above link)...Lawrence Trent

Lawrence Trent on Twitter wrote:Destroyed passport in washing. Need a new one ASAP. Brit living in Germany. What's the fastest possible way to get a replacement? Don't mind paying a premium.

Fingers crossed!

In fairness, no judgement here. At least when I did it I was in the UK.