English Chess Forum

It has been suggested in another thread that the ECF should be prioritising this above all else. It's actually a very reasonable suggestion and it seems that the ECF are already doing the following;

a) a scaled down British championship in October after the traditional event had to be cancelled for the second year running.
b) A slimmed down county championships to ensure the event takes place
c) The appointment of a new Director of Events
d) An ongoing online chess program to fill the gap in the meantime
e) As was noted in the other thread, the first scheduled over the board event has been organised by the ECF CEO, albeit in a private capacity.

The ECF are of course hamstrung by factors outside of their control; we don't know whether there will be a full relaxation of rules in June or if some social distancing regulations will remain for the foreseeable future. The risk of a third wave forcing a further lockdown is very real.

So what else could the ECF be doing? There is the existing club/ league/ congress structure but it's not clear a) how much of this will survive and b) the ECF has no authority over the organisations involved (indeed leagues and congresses have the authority over them). The ECF could potentially form their own network of clubs and events and run them how they wish; obviously not a problem in areas where the existing chess structures have collapsed but potentially creating clashes where they have survived.

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:04 pm

e) As was noted in the other thread, the first scheduled over the board event has been organised by the ECF CEO, albeit in a private capacity.

An outdoor Chess Festival, organised by Chess in Schools and Communities, has been announced for 16th to 18th July. Again, this is not an ECF event, but several ECF Directors and Officers will be involved with it.

Technically there has been a couple of junior events already

Actually on the topic, it would be great if the ECF or professional organiser could organise more junior tournaments in May - June, as U18 are allowed to have indoor supervised activities.
It would be great to get traction among all the new players that only know online chess, and allowing the more experienced ones to get ready for the return of adults.
On a commercial aspect, I would guess there is enough pent up demand to make these events commercially attractive.

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:04 pm

e) As was noted in the other thread, the first scheduled over the board event has been organised by the ECF CEO, albeit in a private capacity.

Strictly speaking it's organised by the 4NCL, which being a Company limited by guarantee isn't anyone's personal property. I would expect the Warwick event, assuming it takes place, to be run on the ground by a selection of well known arbiters. The commercial accommodation and event organising company, Guaranteed Events, are handling the hotel side.

Wadih Khoury wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:28 pm

Technically there has been a couple of junior events already

Actually on the topic, it would be great if the ECF or professional organiser could organise more junior tournaments in May - June, as U18 are allowed to have indoor supervised activities.

That's something that could potentially be raised at the Finance Council meeting, although an independent junior organiser may wish to move into the gap.

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:35 pm

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:04 pm

e) As was noted in the other thread, the first scheduled over the board event has been organised by the ECF CEO, albeit in a private capacity.

Strictly speaking it's organised by the 4NCL, which being a Company limited by guarantee isn't anyone's personal property. I would expect the Warwick event, assuming it takes place, to be run on the ground by a selection of well known arbiters. The commercial accommodation and event organising company, Guaranteed Events, are handling the hotel side.

True, but the ECF CEO has a major strategic role.

Wadih Khoury wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:28 pm

Technically there has been a couple of junior events already

Actually on the topic, it would be great if the ECF or professional organiser could organise more junior tournaments in May - June, as U18 are allowed to have indoor supervised activities.
It would be great to get traction among all the new players that only know online chess, and allowing the more experienced ones to get ready for the return of adults.
On a commercial aspect, I would guess there is enough pent up demand to make these events commercially attractive.

Watford juniors have already met outdoors last month and, following the latest relaxations, will meet indoors for the first time since August on Monday. There's scope for clubs to be active and not simply wait for the ECF or professional organisers.

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:44 pm

Wadih Khoury wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:28 pm

Technically there has been a couple of junior events already

Actually on the topic, it would be great if the ECF or professional organiser could organise more junior tournaments in May - June, as U18 are allowed to have indoor supervised activities.

That's something that could potentially be raised at the Finance Council meeting, although an independent junior organiser may wish to move into the gap.

I am very likely to run at least one more junior tournament in May, but it would be nice to see other junior tournaments as well - the inevitable need to control numbers means that the market is far from saturated.

I would agree with Andrew here. Basically, the ECF have done a good job during the pandemic and I've give them a very solid 8.5/10. They have provided a service to members to allow organised online play, raised some revenue and secured the future of the organisation. They have met the key targets required at this very difficult time. Onto specifics, in no particular order we have.

1. Organised regular online controlled events for members
2. Organised a very successful online British championships.
3. Formed a link between the British and Hastings and kept a major sponsor onboard
4. Organised a very successful Counties Championships
5. Launched a Queen's Gambit Scheme to try to benefit from the publicity around the Netflix series
6. Formed a link with ChessKid
7. Appointed a new Director of Events, which I think will bring more joined up thinking about ECF over the board chess going forward
8. Set up an innovative hybrid British Championship which could be a template for other events going forward
9. continued with the ECF Academy with remote learning

At this point you may be wondering why I have given the ECF 8.5 when it appears obvious that they should be getting 10/10. The rationale is this, I think the measures the ECF have set up are stop-gap measures to deal with the pandemic situation until we can return to over the board chess. However, I think there are elements of online chess which are attractive to many and I don't think the ECF has really positioned itself to have a long-term online presence and capture this emerging demand. I say this more by way of comment than criticism and as far as know, other Federations have been no more successful in this.

Matthew Turner wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:09 am

However, I think there are elements of online chess which are attractive to many and I don't think the ECF has really positioned itself to have a long-term online presence and capture this emerging demand. I say this more by way of comment than criticism and as far as know, other Federations have been no more successful in this.

If not quite thirty years old, on-line chess has become established and grown with very limited involvement from FIDE or national federations. It's probably now unfair to associate Agon with FIDE, but it's been an organisation only notable for its absence over the past year.