6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Details of upcoming UK events, please provide working links if possible.
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Mike Truran
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6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Mike Truran » Sat Oct 31, 2015 11:59 am

This will be held at the Mercure Hotel Wetherby on 8-10 January 2016. Full details as usual on the 4NCL website www.4ncl.co.uk.

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Jon Mahony
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Jon Mahony » Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:57 pm

Expect my entry this weekend Mike, quite a lot of local players have been talking about it over the last few weeks, so expect a good turn out :)
"When you see a good move, look for a better one!" - Lasker

Andrew Zigmond
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Fri Nov 27, 2015 6:30 pm

Jon Mahony wrote:Expect my entry this weekend Mike, quite a lot of local players have been talking about it over the last few weeks, so expect a good turn out :)
I'm glad there's a lot of interest from your side of Wetherby, Jon. Nobody in Harrogate seems to be that interested. At least as I'm no longer secretary I don't have to be embarrassed. I'm trying to see if I can get an article in the Wetherby News.

I'll be entering as soon as I have confirmation that I have that weekend off.
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Jon Mahony
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Jon Mahony » Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:17 am

Andrew Zigmond wrote:
Jon Mahony wrote:Expect my entry this weekend Mike, quite a lot of local players have been talking about it over the last few weeks, so expect a good turn out :)
I'm glad there's a lot of interest from your side of Wetherby, Jon. Nobody in Harrogate seems to be that interested. At least as I'm no longer secretary I don't have to be embarrassed. I'm trying to see if I can get an article in the Wetherby News.

I'll be entering as soon as I have confirmation that I have that weekend off.
Yeah it is a shame they seem so badly attended, especially in the lower section, I must admit I made Wakefield and Bolton but didn't end up going to some of the more far afield ones, no desire to end up in Birmingham new street again :wink:

Mind you I've just noticed the usual U135 grading band of the Minor has been moved to U130 which means I'm in the Major :( No big prize for me this time and it'll mean upgrading to Gold ECF membership - I assume this was done to attract more people into the Minor who maybe didn't come because they found the grading a little steep.

Sadly 2 of my mates who were considering going are 132 and 134 lol They may change their mind when they see this :lol:
"When you see a good move, look for a better one!" - Lasker

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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by David Pardoe » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:02 pm

Sounds like a great event coming up...
Maybe a notice in The Yorkshire Post would not go amiss..
I`m tempted to suggest that the Major should be non FIDE rated, because very few games actually receive any FIDE grading points at this level.
Maybe some rule changes need to be implemented to `FIDE rate` such events `free of charge`, ie, accept entries from players who are `Silver`..
My other concern is for players in the lower category events, where numbers are apparently down..
Not sure I quite understand this...
Are we promoting these events correctly to attract these people..?
Are they simply seeing FIDE on the entry forms and saying `not for me`...?
Or do we need to restructure prize funds for the lower sections, cut down on the big payouts and go for more grading and other performance based prizes..
Incidentally, I`m not keen on giving the ladies cheaper entry, but I would favour incentives and special prizes for the ladies... and any measures to attract the junior community would be good. .. maybe even running various one-day events for the youngsters ..and extra prizes for different age groups might be good. Once again, I think the emphasis should be on smaller prizes spread across more prize categories..
This is not targeted at the 4NCL events, which are generally first rate (as are e2-e4), but to all Congresses, as a general commentary..

Incidentally, I favour having a higher prize fund for the top events/sections, tapering down for the lower sections..
I don't share the idea of a £500 first prize for all sections.....
Scarborough and Blackpool`s popularity certainly show that our players do like the seaside...so its not just prize money that attracts interest.
Yes, attractive venues really do count, and I do believe that players will pay a little extra for these touches, that definitely add something to the weekends proceedings.
Having this tapering, to hopefully encourage more entries and prize funds for the top events might incentivise our top gun players to turn out in greater numbers, which would hopefully help to showcase our chess offerings. Also, seeing more big names at these events should encourage others to come along and make an appearance.
BRING BACK THE BCF

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Jon Mahony
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Jon Mahony » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:57 pm

Yeah I’d agree with making the Major none - FIDE rated if there really is no call for it, I don’t mind going in a higher section to get slaughtered, I’ve done it before, but paying an extra tenner for the privilege hmmmm… I did beat a 172 earlier in the season, but I think it was a one off thing :lol:

I’m not particularly bothered about a FIDE rating, as I won’t be playing any international chess any time soon, so it’d be next to useless to me. I think there should be some sort of “Opt out” option for those that aren’t bothered - then again I’m not sure how it would work if you play someone who does want it to be FIDE rated.

As for lower prize money in the minors… There you’ve lost me completely :wink:
"When you see a good move, look for a better one!" - Lasker

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Jon Mahony
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Jon Mahony » Wed Dec 09, 2015 1:39 pm

Well I’ve just upgraded to Gold and gone in Major.

Noticed an error on the website, the U130 section says only open to players U125 - might want fixing that :) http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_06.htm
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Mike Truran » Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:19 pm

Oops. :oops:

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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Mike Truran » Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:23 pm

PS Just to confirm that it is indeed U130 and NOT U125.

Mick Norris
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Mick Norris » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:55 am

Anyone who played want to give us a review of the hotel/location?
Any postings on here represent my personal views

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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by MartinCarpenter » Mon Jan 11, 2016 2:56 pm

Good result for Martin Brown winning the open :)

Intriguing entries really. The open entry looks to have been very healthy. A lot of familiar names but notably bigger than Bradford say and a few more people from over the borders than is normal there. The other events didn't do as well.

Of course even with the open there's an awful lot of very strong players round York/Leeds/Bradford etc not entering but then not (m)any of them play normal congresses either so no surprise.

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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:23 am

Mick Norris wrote:Anyone who played want to give us a review of the hotel/location?
It was an excellent event although given that it was organised by Mike Truran and run on the day by Alex McFarlane and Lara Barnes I wouldn't have expected much less.

I hope Mike won't mind my answering Mick's question publicly. There were a few small things about the hotel venue that could be improved (I didn't stay over being local). Due to space limitations the event and the major section had to be split over two rooms. The lower room suffered from being next to the kitchens and it took Lara several attempts to get through to one of the staff that his whistling was audible. It was perhaps unfortunate that a workman burst in with a loud enquiry - he looked mortified when he realised how much disruption he'd caused.

The only lunch offer available was a packed lunch and anybody wanting a hot meal had to go elsewhere; obviously the market town of Wetherby was only a few minutes walk away. I think the hotel could have made a killing on pub lunches or cheap(ish) tea and coffee.

But otherwise it was a fantastic weekend of chess and I hope 4NCL Wetherby becomes a regular feature of the chess calendar.
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:36 am

Andrew Zigmond wrote: run on the day by Alex McFarlane and Lara Barnes
Were they using computer generated pairings? At Hastings the previous weekend, it was obvious that they weren't. Whilst the pairings during the day for the sections outside of the Masters were available on chess-results with commendable speed, this relied on one of the younger arbiters rapidly transcribing the pairings from cards to computer input.

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Re: 6th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:40 am

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Andrew Zigmond wrote: run on the day by Alex McFarlane and Lara Barnes
Were they using computer generated pairings?
Yes they were. The pairings were posted very promptly.
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