Kings Place Chess Festival 15 June 2013

[Richard Bates]

Kings Place required membership (no game fee option). Shame they didn't - could have set their records wider than London...

[Roger de Coverly]

Kings Place required membership (no game fee option).

Adam was challenged on that and apparently would have been open to an unpublished Pay to Play deal. Multiple entry fee levels were too complex for the Kings Place ticketing, he said.

If they wanted non-British tourists to play, they would be asking £ 18 or £ 19 on top of the entry fee otherwise.

[Sean Hewitt]

Got it. The decline in chess playing numbers is the fault of the ECF compulsory membership scheme

No, because you've only just introduced it. It's not going to help reverse the decline to make it more difficult to run events aimed at attracting new players. You could try listening to junior and other organisers when they tell you this.

So you keep claiming, despite the evidence to the contrary. I look at the evidence from MOs, which shows that abolishing game fee helps to increase participation and activity. An inconvenient truth which you always ignore.

[Roger de Coverly]

I look at the evidence from MOs, which shows that abolishing game fee helps to increase participation and activity.

Does it increase the number of players? It's not as if the North of England which went membership only eight years ago is overflowing with new players.

What you fail to realise is that in the South of England there are plenty enough leagues. Reducing the incremental cost of setting up a new one doesn't have a great deal of effect, since those wishing to play a lot already have multiple opportunities. I can accept that a membership only structure increases activity. It would have to since by discouraging reserves and substitutions it forces the regular players to play more in order to avoid defaults.

[Sean Hewitt]

I can accept that a membership only structure increases activity.

Thank you for finally admitting that. If you understood anything about player retention, you would then understand why membership increases the number of players playing the game.

[Roger de Coverly]

If you understood anything about player retention, you would then understand why membership increases the number of players playing the game.

I've heard this strange theory about player retention. It would be my contention that it's the start of the new season when players make the go/no go decision about continuing to play. How does the mechanism used by the national body to collect income affect this?

Past seasons show a natural wastage of 10 to 15 %, although this is obviously higher for juniors. You don't grow the base of players by keeping existing ones, all that does is reduce the shrinkage.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Having just remembered that I did an interview with Adam I see the record at Golders Green was 119.


Whether more people might have entered without the compulsory membership scheme is a somewhat moot point given that entry was capped at 170 (although they went 10% over the maximum anyway). Still there wasn't really any room for any more as far as I could tell.

It really was a special event. Aside from the numbers it must have been a while since a London rapidplay tournament attracted two dozen or more >=200 graded players.

Whether this shows the decline in British chess I don't know, but either way it's something that we haven't had in London for a while and I hope it happens again.

[Sean Hewitt]

Past seasons show a natural wastage of 10 to 15 %, although this is obviously higher for juniors.

Indeed.

You don't grow the base of players by keeping existing ones.

A staggering statement, even by your standards. If you could halve the natural wastage (as you call it) you would increase the number of players playing the game, year on year. I would have thought that would be obvious.

[Roger de Coverly]

If you could halve the natural wastage (as you call it) you would increase the number of players playing the game, year on year. I would have thought that would be obvious.

I am using the term increase in players to mean that each year there are more players than the previous year. You can only do that by attracting new players. so if you start with 100 players and you lose 10 a year, your numbers go 100, 90, 80 etc. If you lose 5 a year it's 100, 95, 90 etc. That's more players than the first series but still a decline. If you want to increase the number of players in absolute terms, you have to recruit new ones.

[Adam Raoof]

I have a real and pressing problem with the membership system. I will have to buy more sets, boards and clocks.

I am experimenting with Dropbox. Can everyone reading this see the crosstable for the Open in my public folder here? Moreover, does the link to the rnd_01.pgn files work?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/253 ... index.html

[IM Jack Rudd]

I am experimenting with Dropbox. Can everyone reading this see the crosstable for the Open in my public folder here?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/253 ... index.html

I can.

[Adam Raoof]

I am experimenting with Dropbox. Can everyone reading this see the crosstable for the Open in my public folder here?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/253 ... index.html

I can.

Great - is the link 'secure', can you get the pgn file, and is there a way to automatically open the link in a pgn reader?!

[John Upham]

Great - is the link 'secure?

Yes, assuming you mean it is using https

can you get the pgn file,

Yes, but no moves, just headers.

and is there a way to automatically open the link in a pgn reader?!

If my http client was so configured then Yes also.

[Roger de Coverly]

I am experimenting with Dropbox. Can everyone reading this see the crosstable for the Open in my public folder here? Moreover, does the link to the rnd_01.pgn files work?

There's no problem with the link, but the pgn file is just a dummy. In other words it just contains the headers but no moves. Unless you were using sensory boards or having observers note the moves, you aren't going to be able to publish games because of the lack of score sheets.

The rating calculation done by the program is a bit off, as it's assumed the ECF grades are Elo ones.

[Adam Raoof]

I am experimenting with Dropbox. Can everyone reading this see the crosstable for the Open in my public folder here? Moreover, does the link to the rnd_01.pgn files work?

There's no problem with the link, but the pgn file is just a dummy. In other words it just contains the headers but no moves. Unless you were using sensory boards or having observers note the moves, you aren't going to be able to publish games because of the lack of score sheets.

The rating calculation done by the program is a bit off, as it's assumed the ECF grades are Elo ones.

We were using sensory boards so I've uploaded pgn files for each round, but not sure where to place them in the SMW folder, and it would be nice if when you clicked them it opened in a graphical pgn reader!