Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Discussion about all aspects of the ECF County Championships.
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Simon Smith
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Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Post by Simon Smith » Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:11 pm

It seems that 4NCL seems to takea priority over county matches in people's affections. I'm not sure why. As far as I know county chess doesn't require an ante of £28 before you can play ! Not knocking BTW 4NCL, I like it :-) I've always liked county chess because it gives you a chance to be playing on the same side as people who are normally the "enemy" in league chess :-)

Anyway....WARWICKSHIRE PLAYERS.That's right, SHAKESPEARE COUNTY ! Any good player not willing to play should hold their manhood's cheap ! Could you please let me know if you are available for future matches or indeed of someone you think may be interested . It's time to build for next year. No doubt I will have overlooked goodplayers who would have been willing to play.

Let me know through the website or my details on the Warks website:
http://www.warwickshirechess.org.uk/contacts.htm

David Pardoe
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Re: Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Post by David Pardoe » Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:17 am

Hi Simon.
Dont be too disappointed at losing to the `Heinz 57 varieties` of county chess....its all about catchment area, some might think.
I`ve made no secret of the fact that I believe eligability rules need some sharpening up, not least to reduce `poaching` and restrict league eligability where leagues stretch over several county boundaries.
For example, the Stockport league covers Manchester, Cheshire, and Derbyshire. I believe the clubs in that league (and other leagues) should be restricted to just the county they actually reside in.
County boundaries need to be recognised more formally... in an administrative sense. ie, Manchester could reasonably be defined as all areas within say 20 miles of Manchester centre that are covered by Manchester Passenger Transport or Greater Manchester Police. Same goes for Merseyside...and other connurbations. But it is important to make some allowances where genuine long standing historic individual player connections exist. Note... that I talk hear about `administrative sense`, because I`m talking about Administrative boundaries. Some players may feel they have a foot in many camps, so fair allowances should be made, on a case by case basis.
Also, some counties play almost no qualifying matches, so arrive at the `national stages` fresh as diasies, having done little or no travelling, etc....
I mention travel, because this/costs, and time factors/contraints I think are limiting players interest, as well as the `pull` of other events.
However, look at http://www.ecfgrading.org.uk/?club=Warwickshire+CA and maybe start by contacting directly all the top 16 players on that list and asking for there support. An Open team needs to be able to call on at least half a dozen 200+ players if it is to have any chance at the National stages.
Next, note all the clubs mentioned and contact the club secretaries and team captains of all these clubs...maybe even a phone call. Quite often these can gleen useful intelligence and help, whereas emails can get ignored.
If you can find other league and county websites from which to gleen additional players, all the better.
Many league sites carry some useful player and league stats, and contact information....as I`m sure you`ll know.
It might be worth looking at `past players` from the grading lists, and maybe chasing some of these up....to see if they fancy coming out of retirement. Or maybe they have left the area, or gone to college, etc...
The other key option is to contact all congress organisors in your area to see if you can obtain lists of players, perhaps going back a couple of years. Congress results tables can also throw up options, particularly of players who might play congress chess but not league chess.
I`ve also said that counties need two captains for each team (an active `deputy` from another big club can be invaluable).
I quite agree your comments about county chess...it offers much that other events just dont give...but are hard work for captains, who should not underestimate the task. Its far more demanding than league chess, because there`s much more organisation involved. I think some `newbies` might underestimate this. In particular, it takes at least 3 weeks in my experience to put together a team...and its vital to line up at least a couple of reserves, for that inevitable last minute withdrawal. But...an essential ingredient is `transport` (as I`m sure you know), and having several volunteer drivers to provide shared lifts is the bedrock...with shared costs making for a cheap days travel.

Good luck....
BRING BACK THE BCF

Simon Smith
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:33 pm

Re: Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Post by Simon Smith » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:11 pm

Thanks for the thoughtful long reply David. I have asked the (sixteen) highest that I'm aware of and subsequently asked lower graded players as I cross off the "declines" and you have anticipated one of my next steps viz emailing individual clubs.

It had occured to me that the ruthless individualism of good chess players - eg no prize money - goes against the grain of collectivism - although this doesn't seem to be the case elsewhere ! - I think there may be a sense of "uncoolness" about county chess. It was a shame Notts and Gtr Man pulled out of the Midland matches - presumably because of similiar problems recruiting players ?

Perhaps as I get the stronger players out their peers may wish to join the "cool kids" :-)

(On a separate subject I think the Warks website needs a webmaster if there are any volunteers ?)

Alex Holowczak
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Re: Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Post by Alex Holowczak » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:29 pm

Simon Smith wrote:It was a shame Notts and Gtr Man pulled out of the Midland matches - presumably because of similiar problems recruiting players ?
Greater Manchester went down from the "Open" division to the "Minor" division, so didn't play Warwickshire.

Nottinghamshire only returned to county chess last season. They had previously played in the 4NCL, but decided to pull out because of a difference of opinion on a rules dispute, which was well documented on this forum at the time. They then failed to raise a team for any of their matches, and didn't enter again this year.

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Joey Stewart
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Re: Calling All Warwickshire Players.....

Post by Joey Stewart » Mon May 07, 2012 4:47 pm

In fact, staffordshire and warwickshire ought to do the same and drop down to the "minor" counties as they would be eligible even at full strength - then all those other cowardly midlands teams would have nowhere else left to hide !!
Lose one queen and it is a disaster, Lose 1000 queens and it is just a statistic.

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