Scarborough Chess Congress 2022

[Roger de Coverly]

I notice that one of the six leaders in the open wasn't paired in the last round.

One could speculate that may have been done to lock in a performance rating. I don't think there's a formal rule, but arguably rating prizes should only be awarded to players who complete the last round.

[Joey Stewart]

Rating prizes should not exist right now - it seems thoroughly unfair that horrendously underrated players can turn up and pretty much guarantee themselves a bunch of rating points AND be paid for it as though they have accomplished some sort of heroic feat even though they are simply playing at their true strength and the rating is flat out wrong. Would be much better to just have a fourth place prize instead.

[Andrew Zigmond]

An eventful Scarborough Congress. A couple of incidents in the Minor Section which I will ask about in General Chat over the next few days.
I was impressed with the standard of play by the young juniors in the Open. Watching them at close quarters, I was disappointed with how much they fidgeted. A few players in the Open brought that up with me, and how distracting it was.
I'm afraid this wasn't delt with by the Arbiters despite complaints.

It will be interesting to learn more about these incidents.

I have to admit that I was a bit exasperated by a fidgeting junior at a neighbouring board to me at one point. As somebody who works with juniors myself I do try to drum into them that certain manners are expected at the board (and they are welcome to pace the room a bit if sitting still is difficult). At the same time many adults can be equally badly behaved so it's wrong to hold juniors to a higher standard - one thing that I find quite irritating is how some players continue a conversation when the controller has started to speak.

I did think the room was oddly noisy this year - you expect a little bit of noise from around the refreshment kiosk but it did seem to be constant and must have been very irritating for those foundation players who were sat near to it. But that was my only complaint and otherwise everything ran smoothly with pairings posted promptly and the rounds starting on time. I wouldn't like to run a congress with close to 350 players and hopefully those who might have complaints about this year's event will take the same view.

[Simon Rogers]

It was mentioned by Nigel Hepworth before the final round that it was Alex McFarlane's last Scarborough Congress as Arbiter. There was a round of applause for his immense work in the running of the tournament for so many years.

[IM Jack Rudd]

My rule for prizes would be that players who withdraw before the final round are not eligible for prizes based on TPR or W-We, but can still win prizes based on score.

[Roger de Coverly]

I did think the room was oddly noisy this year - you expect a little bit of noise from around the refreshment kiosk but it did seem to be constant and must have been very irritating for those foundation players who were sat near to it.

Arriving a couple of minutes late. it did seem a bit noisy at that end of the hall. But that may have been players making their way to their boards. In the Open, the boards were a bit more spread out and I wasn't conscious of excess noise.

[jholyhead]

Great event, but big events like this highlight the procedural difficulties in how we onboard new unrated/provisionally rated players to Congress play. I'm sure the players in bottom sections are weary of being used as a piggy bank by players who are, let's say, unaware, of the etiquette of sectioned play.

[Paul Ashton]

I played in the Minor at Scarborough this weekend too. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn't notice any issues in the Minor but then chess has the ability to make the rest of the world cease to exist.

[Neil Graham]

I played in the Minor at Scarborough this weekend too. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn't notice any issues in the Minor but then chess has the ability to make the rest of the world cease to exist.

In the Minor I noted the 91 year old versus the 89 year old. Is their combined age some sort of record for a British congress?

[David Sedgwick]

In the Minor I noted the 91 year old versus the 89 year old. Is their combined age some sort of record for a British congress?

Quite possibly. I remember Bloodworth (96) v Heath (80) at Paignton about 15 years ago, but this beats that by four years.