ECF Director of Home Chess

Adam Raoof · Post by **Adam Raoof** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:44 am

ECF Director of Home Chess

After a long and careful think, I have decided to stand for this post. As you may know, as an Arbiter and Organiser I have experience in running chess tournaments at all levels and have decided that I might be able to make a more permanent contribution to chess through the ECF. There are some very good candidates standing in the forthcoming elections, and I believe I could work well with any of them.

I know a lot of people in the chess world at every level, and I think my greatest strength is that even though some of you have disagreements with each other over some important issues, I get on well with all of you!

Though I am a Londoner, I have organised congresses and/or international chess events in England, Scotland and Wales (still open to offers, N. Ireland and Eire!) and play and have contacts in many other countries. I have always tried to promote events which enable our young and talented players to achieve their potential, with some success. I captained the England Olympiad Team in Istanbul 2000.

I see the great game of chess as a unifying force.

I hope that even if I cannot count on your vote at the board meeting in London on October 17th, I can count on your cooperation to make the ECF a stronger and more efficient organisation, to attract more sponsorship into chess at all levels, and to keep the bonds with our colleagues in the UK, the European Union and the Commonwealth healthy to the benefit of all.

best wishes, Adam

Paul McKeown · Post by **Paul McKeown** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:58 am

Adam,

I would support you, just one question. Given your activities as an organiser, which is, naturally, the great strength in your application, how do intend to avoid any questions being raised about conflicts of interest.

Cheers - and Good Luck,
Paul McKeown

Adam Raoof · Post by **Adam Raoof** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:36 pm

I believe that the best I can do is to continue to ensure that any involvement I may have in an event is out in the open, and then the expertise of others should be used to judge whether the situation constitutes a potential conflict of interest. If I were elected, I would leave it to the experience of the board to determine what course of action should be followed in that instance.

Matthew Turner · Post by **Matthew Turner** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:54 pm

A director of the ECF who is interested in chess! Now that is a conflict of interest that I could really go for.
I wish Adam the very best of luck. I have no doubt he will be elected and I hope the ECF will give him all the resources to the do the fantastic job that he is capable of.

James Pratt · Post by **James Pratt** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:22 pm

brilliant

John Moore · Post by **John Moore** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:44 pm

Adam - I can only echo the previous posters. We may well have an ECF fit for purpose.

Peter Sowray · Post by **Peter Sowray** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:30 pm

Adam,

Fantastic ...

I can't think of a better candidate.

Kind regards,

Peter

Jonathan Rogers · Post by **Jonathan Rogers** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:04 pm

Absolutely. Fully agree with all of the above.

Adam Raoof · Post by **Adam Raoof** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:24 pm

Ray Collett from Worcestershire asks; "As Worcs ECF rep, I'm interested in how you would, if elected, develop Home Chess."

That's a good question!

For me the most pressing matters appear to be (in no particular order)

* the Master Points System, which seems to have fallen into abeyance
* the ECF Grand Prix, ditto - I run an event which is part of the Prix, but haven't seen publicity for the Prix for years
* find some time to work with the ECF webmaster to get the website working at it's best
* review the National Counties Ch's venues and regulations
* consider redesigning the promotional material we send out to organisers
* ensure that county level matches at all stages receive decent publicity on the ECF site
* Examine the ECF National Club Rapidplay and see if we can work together to expand this event
* to ensure that the flagship ECF Ch's continue to have good, dedicated, management
* raise some sponsorship for new events on the Home Front!

In general I believe that I have a good reputation for being approachable and flexible, and honest and straightforward in all my relationships with other people in chess.

I believe we are here to play chess, and to enable as many people to play chess as possible, not to make things more complicated!

I know that most work in chess is done by volunteers who give up many hours of their free time to ensure that we all get to play chess. I recognise their continuing contribution and I'm always careful to say thanks. However I think we should always try to be professional in our approach to the organisation of the game.

I am a believer in not fixing things which are not broken, and I am happy to have a team already in place that organises various events such as the County Championship and the National Club Championship. However I would re-examine most aspects of these events with a fresh eye to see where they could be improved, or new blood introduced to expand them. I have confidence in the Officers already in post.

I make sure that I take advice from knowledgeable people I have worked with for years and act on that advice. I am not afraid to delegate work to others I have confidence in.

I hope that goes some way to answering your question, but if you have further questions please do not hesitate to ask them here!

Adam

Carl Hibbard · Post by **Carl Hibbard** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:30 pm

Adam Raoof wrote:I hope that goes some way to answering your question, but if you have further questions please do not hesitate to ask them here!

Go on then Adam I will ask, since it looks like you should get elected comfortably...

In the past members of the ECF board (and managers...) have been given "gag orders" and actually restricted from posting messages onto this forum, I know this for a fact!

So what are your thoughts on this?

I also know since it has been commented on here that several members would like the forum to be welcomed back into the "official" fold of the ECF but I am rather reluctant since the requested level of moderation was way over the top - your thoughts on this are welcomed as well?

John Upham · Post by **John Upham** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:49 pm

Carl Hibbard wrote: I also know since it has been commented on here that several members would like the forum to be welcomed back into the "official" fold of the ECF but I am rather reluctant since the requested level of moderation was way over the top - your thoughts on this are welcomed as well?

We either remain independent or the same level of moderation as now : what other options would you suggest?

I certainly would not like ECF Staff to be involved in any form of moderation.

Adam Raoof · Post by **Adam Raoof** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:58 pm

Go on then Adam I will ask, since it looks like you should get elected comfortably...

In the past members of the ECF board (and managers...) have been given "gag orders" and actually restricted from posting messages onto this forum, I know this for a fact!

So what are your thoughts on this?

Yeah, thanks Carl! Start with the easy ones?

I would not think that the Forum needs any moderation from any ECF Director, and would probably only benefit from more interaction with ECF Directors. However, that interaction has to be optional - some people simply aren't comfortable with the format, and definitely come across as completely different people 'on the page', as opposed to face-to-face or on the phone.

I have been involved in lots of Forums over the years, and this is the most interesting of all of them. There are a lot of knowledgeable people reading the posts and commenting on important (and trivial) matters. I don't agree with everything I read, but I wouldn't stop people posting their opinions.

As to whether it should be an ECF Forum. Does it need to be?

Carl Hibbard · Post by **Carl Hibbard** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:01 pm

John Upham wrote:I certainly would not like ECF Staff to be involved in any form of moderation.

No, clearly I would decline this kind offer and not accept the "official" status under this scenario - however the question is probably academic given the light this forum is now seen under

Carl Hibbard · Post by **Carl Hibbard** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:04 pm

Adam Raoof wrote:I would not think that the Forum needs any moderation from any ECF Director, and would probably only benefit from more interaction with ECF Directors. However, that interaction has to be optional - some people simply aren't comfortable with the format, and definitely come across as completely different people 'on the page', as opposed to face-to-face or on the phone.

The moderation level requested was total, were every post was validated before being seen - clearly not a starter...

John Upham · Post by **John Upham** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:09 pm

If the ECF wishes its very own forum then marvellous. Debates about game fee going from 48p to 49p will fill my days. I'm sure we can all guess what the "hot topics" might be! As soon as it becomes heavily moderated it will fail.

English Chess Forum