English Chess Forum

Here is the latest news (doing the rounds...) with some rough timescales for people to read

Thoughts and feedback welcomed

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

The quote being sent with it is:

A major new nationwide initiative called Chess for Schools is about to launch in the UK.

Chess for Schools aims to put 10 free chess sets into every one of England’s 25,000 schools in an effort to promote brain-games and strategic thinking in our youth. The initiative is in the process of being registered as a UK charity.

So far, around 8,000 schools have signed up to the scheme and we have carried out several pilot launches in Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire to provide schools in those areas with their free chess sets.

The charity bit is new information I think?

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

A quote from the brochure:

"The Aim:
To create school chess clubs and inter-school chess tournaments."

I'm sorry but I consider this misguided. The first aim should be to provide high quality step-by-step chess education in schools. I spent 15 years of my life running school chess clubs. I eventually gave up because it was clear that, while children enjoyed the clubs and did well in the short term, if anything they put children off developing a long-term interest in the game.

In other countries school chess is skill-based, not competition-based. We should be working towards the same thing here.

By the way, I notice that the board is the wrong way round in the photographs on pages 2 and 3 of the brochure.

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www.chesskids.com
www.richardjames.org.uk

Really it's the same old stuff with the idea of registering as a charity thrown in to delay things a bit. The truth is Holloid will produce 10,000, 250,000 or 8,000,000 free sets, but only if somebody pays for them!
It really it is time for a statement from the ECF, just to clarify where they think this project is going.

I don't quite read it like that (although it isn't clear...) but it does day "Nationwide Distribution" during September does it not?

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

Holloid state distribution starts in September.

It doesn't say they intend to apply for charitable status. I think it just means that Chess for Schools is a philanthropic project.

The source email does even if it's not specifically mentioned in the release

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

I agree competely.

Moreover, I've commented on another thread that Chris Majer will need to make a personal statement if he agrees to accept nomination for re-election as Chief Executive.

I have asked Andrew Farthing for a statement following his visit with David Anderton to Holloid on the 24th but as of yet there has been no response

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

It now seems that £250,000 in sponsorship is needed for these "free" chess sets for the 10,000 schools who have already registered to receive them. Does anybody know where this sponsorship money is coming from or what the plan is to raise it? What happens if no sponsorship is forthcoming? Does Holloid and the ECF just say sorry to those schools? Is there a plan B?

At £2.50 a set this may still represent a good opportunity to encourage chess in schools, but this is hardly the scheme as originally announced ...

I still read it as Holloid providing now 8,000 schools at 10 a pop and this press release is to cover the rest?

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Cheers
Carl Hibbard

There is (IMHO) a very telling line of text in this press release that yet to be mentioned here, which is this :



It would appear to me somewhat strange for HP to declare this project as

Surely it is up to readers of the PR to decide this for themselves.

Is this the main strap line for this project I wonder?

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Well, I have seen some PR puff in my time - but "already endorsed by Parliament" - "government taking an active interest". Those are simply lies aren't they. This is simply a piece of PR trying to encourage sponsors - cos there ain't the money. If I am wrong, I would be pleased for someone to tell me.

Carl,
I read it in the same way as Mike. The release says

250,000 chess sets = 120 tonnes of reclaimed, recycled and out-of-specification plastic.

This is where you come in: The 120 tonnes of plastic required is to be donated through sponsors as either plastic or a monetary donation.

The implication of this (if I understand it correctly) is that donations are required from school number 1.