News

National developments, strategies and ideas.
Roger Lancaster
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Re: News

Post by Roger Lancaster » Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:45 pm

Michael Farthing wrote:
Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:33 pm
Boris stated that Matt decided to leave. I think what happened there was perfectly clear.
Carl stated that Tim has decided to leave. I think that also makes the situation perfectly clear

"Those that have ears to hear, let them hear".
Apparently the analogy doesn't hold good. Matt doesn't have the return option. Tim seemingly does and, in that case, almost certainly will.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: News

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:53 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:43 pm
is my memory failing me again?
The key word is credo
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10450

NickFaulks
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Re: News

Post by NickFaulks » Sat Jul 10, 2021 5:51 pm

Thanks, Roger. Good catch, but you are always a safe pair of hands.
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Joseph Conlon
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Re: News

Post by Joseph Conlon » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:03 pm

Thanks for the kind and sometimes over-generous words. If I may be indulged one observation about myself as a junior, having Luke McShane three years younger than me meant knowing (a) what world-class talent looked like and (b) that I didn't possess it. Of course now I am older, when I play (online) today's young bloods I am now the one fearing unsound sacrifices that are nevertheless hard to refute.

One unusual and lucky part of my junior chess career was that I did get to feature in a film (Chess Kids) about participants in the 1990 World Junior Championships.

(trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK0vtFkm7mE, 3:08 for me)

I didn't realise it at the time, but I am grateful now to have a permanent video record of my chess-playing self at that age (and I think the film is an interesting watch for anyone interested in junior chess).

On more general matters and in part in reply to Nick: I think people should be able to withdraw written records of comments made in haste late at night (in the same way that comments made in the bar at 11pm after some drinks should not be recorded and then held against someone forever), although it is reasonable to raise character suitability questions about the making of the comments in the first place. I think the work being done in coaching schemes and in training for coaches by the EJCOA is excellent.

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Adam Raoof
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Re: News

Post by Adam Raoof » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:12 pm

Kindness and generosity and a forgiving nature... good qualities to possess.
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J T Melsom
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Re: News

Post by J T Melsom » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:17 pm

Adam Raoof wrote:
Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:12 pm
Kindness and generosity and a forgiving nature... good qualities to possess.
Indeed. Is there much of it at the ECJOA? Or is it mainly plotting?

NickFaulks
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Re: News

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:08 am

Joseph Conlon wrote:
Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:03 pm
On more general matters and in part in reply to Nick: I think people should be able to withdraw written records of comments made in haste late at night
So why hasn't he done that? So far as I can tell, his parting shot was that everyone here - except perhaps, and privately, you, now that he has been informed of who you are - is utterly stupid. He made his final post ( on this visit ) at 7.53am, when you might think that he would have sobered up.
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Mike Gunn
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Re: News

Post by Mike Gunn » Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:01 pm

Returning to the final point of the EJCOA manifesto (the proposal for a junior chess oversight committee) I have a suggestion that is more in line with existing |ECF procedures. Currently (under Regulation 1: the Bids Regulations) a 3 person strong Adjudication Panel consisting of 1) the relevant director (in this case the Junior Director) 2) a ECF director nominated by the Finance Director and 3) a member of the Finance Committee nominated by the Finance Director decides on tenders. Now there is an argument that the award of sought after tenders is too much in the hands of 2 individuals, so my suggestion is that in any particular case a cody submitting a tender could ask for the Adjudications Panel to be extended to 5 members (say) consisting of additional ECF directors and Finance Council members.

I think this suggestion is to be preferred to the oversight committee elected by ECF members which (based on recent experience) would tend to be dominated by particular interest groups who organise a slate for election to that committee. A random selection of ECF board and Finance committee members is much more likely to arrive at a considered (unbiased) decision on these tenders. It would also be good practice to return a grid of bid scores against requirements for each bidding organisation and the winning bid as suggested above.

Roger Lancaster
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Re: News

Post by Roger Lancaster » Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:37 pm

Mike Gunn wrote:
Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:01 pm
Returning to the final point of the EJCOA manifesto (the proposal for a junior chess oversight committee) I have a suggestion that is more in line with existing |ECF procedures. Currently (under Regulation 1: the Bids Regulations) a 3 person strong Adjudication Panel consisting of 1) the relevant director (in this case the Junior Director) 2) a ECF director nominated by the Finance Director and 3) a member of the Finance Committee nominated by the Finance Director decides on tenders. Now there is an argument that the award of sought after tenders is too much in the hands of 2 individuals, so my suggestion is that in any particular case a cody submitting a tender could ask for the Adjudications Panel to be extended to 5 members (say) consisting of additional ECF directors and Finance Council members.

I think this suggestion is to be preferred to the oversight committee elected by ECF members which (based on recent experience) would tend to be dominated by particular interest groups who organise a slate for election to that committee. A random selection of ECF board and Finance committee members is much more likely to arrive at a considered (unbiased) decision on these tenders. It would also be good practice to return a grid of bid scores against requirements for each bidding organisation and the winning bid as suggested above.
There's enough recent experience of "particular interest groups who organise a slate for election" to various positions for this to be a legitimate reason for concern. For that reason, something along the lines of Mike's proposals would commend itself to me.

I'm perhaps slightly less enthusiastic about Mike's final sentence. I believe what he has in mind here is something very similar to that adopted in the public sector [and doubtless elsewhere] which, while excellent in theory, has the drawback of being cumbersome in practice - mainly because there's an extra stage in the decision-making process due to the committee having to agree on the grid requirements before putting the item out to tender. To take just one issue, the committee typically has to identify how much weighting to give to "cost", how much to "quality" and sometimes how much to "speed of delivery". [That's before breaking down "quality" into its component parts].

Roger de Coverly
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Re: News

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:32 pm

J T Melsom (in another thread) wrote:
Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:58 pm
Rob

Good work has clearly been done here. Are you as Chair of the EJCOA able to shed further light on the questions left unanswered by Tim Wall on the news thread please.
It looks as if those uninvolved in junior training are going to have to wait until an alternative candidate is named and an election address issued before any clarity emerges on the reasons why EJCOA want the existing Junior Director replaced.

J T Melsom
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Re: News

Post by J T Melsom » Wed Jul 14, 2021 6:51 pm

Yep, now the potty mouthed Vice Chair has departed, there doesn't seem to be anybody prepared to stand up for the original statement. I doubt we will get to the truth, looks like a campaign more likely to consist of innuendo. But I may be proved wrong...

Roger de Coverly
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Re: News

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:29 pm

A comment in Leonard's latest Guardian column that might be relevant.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... a-disaster
English juniors swept the first prizes in the Open, Major and Minor at the 4NCL congress at Leamington, the first important weekend congress since the pandemic. There are signs of an upturn in junior results as teens and sub-teens use skills acquired from online chess in over the board competition.

This improvement coincides with an apparent switch in policy by the English Chess Federation and its junior director, Alex Holowczak, from sending large teams of juniors to events to giving priority to the best talents. Elite spotting paid off in the 1970s and 1980s. when English juniors were No 2 in the world behind the then Soviet Union, but in the last two decades, when the net was cast wider, not a single English junior has reached a 2650 rating, the level of the top world 100 players.

LawrenceCooper
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Re: News

Post by LawrenceCooper » Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:34 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:29 pm
A comment in Leonard's latest Guardian column that might be relevant.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... a-disaster
English juniors swept the first prizes in the Open, Major and Minor at the 4NCL congress at Leamington, the first important weekend congress since the pandemic. There are signs of an upturn in junior results as teens and sub-teens use skills acquired from online chess in over the board competition.

This improvement coincides with an apparent switch in policy by the English Chess Federation and its junior director, Alex Holowczak, from sending large teams of juniors to events to giving priority to the best talents. Elite spotting paid off in the 1970s and 1980s. when English juniors were No 2 in the world behind the then Soviet Union, but in the last two decades, when the net was cast wider, not a single English junior has reached a 2650 rating, the level of the top world 100 players.
I'm totally confused by the second paragraph :? Can anyone translate?

NickFaulks
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Re: News

Post by NickFaulks » Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:44 pm

I have a feeling there may be other reasons for that, but it would be nice to find out.
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John Upham
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Re: News

Post by John Upham » Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:45 pm

It could be that LWB is referring to the policy in his time of spending more funds on fewer but obviously talented players, i.e. a more focussed approach.

A policy of sending those whose parents could afford to fund them in later years is presumably what Leonard alludes to, a more scatter-gun like approach.
Last edited by John Upham on Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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