English Chess Forum

I have initiated correspondence between myself and the ECF. I am happy for the exchange to be published but neither I nor the ECF are under any obligation to do so, nor is there a specific requirement to publish on this forum. I don't believe that publication/transparency is always the best way for ...

I will be writing to the ECF asking for clarification on the status of the strategy paper proposals and the endorsement by Council. That seems better than a debate based on conjecture, half truths and guesswork. There is no reason at all why others should not do the same thing.

For clarification ' I am local representative in name only having stepped name at the same time as relinquishing my other roles within the county. My receipt of the papers is simply a transitional arrangement, in the absence of other volunteers. I'm not intending to attend Council. I've never denied...

Almost all of what you have written is simply a project fear extrapolation. Mandatory membership is still only an option. The ranking system is not being destroyed - if possible it will be modernised, something that may suit new audiences, possibly some of the existing members as well. If the ECF do...

Roger Do you agree though that it is critical to reach out to casual players however defined and whatever the exact numbers? I think debating the numbers is missing the key point. I don't know how many new members you have at your club this season, but we have a few and the key challenge is to find ...

The thing about visitors from overseas is not that we care about getting their grades right for its own sake, but that we care about getting their grades right so that English players get appropriate credit for ECF-graded games against them. One of my club-mates is in this position. He played two p...

Thanks that's what I expected to be the explanation but I hadn't checked the arrangements last year. And well done again to the game inputters for the speedy production of pgns for download. Its been good to follow the fortunes of a few friends as well as local rivals

I note the Open schedule has the double round as rounds 7 and 8, thus requiring the players to play the most concentrated chess at the tough end of the event. How common is this sort of schedule, as I thought most events have double rounds much earlier?

Alison Bexfield Please don't be discouraged by this conservative response. There are good reasons for caution but personally I welcome the challenge to change. I'm a little unsure why Go is more relaxed about these issues around reliable/meaningful ratings. But then again Go has a rather more fun ap...

Strikes me that there are many things in life that get tested and feed-back comes in a variety of ways and at a variety of speeds. Exam results and university places are confirmed much more slowly. Good feed-back on chess performance isn't just a number at all, and if the number is at all useful in ...

I note my use of the word 'robustness' was picked up earlier in the thread. I am not a statistician so if it annoys those who are I apologise. I'm using it as a contrast to 'volatility' or similar.

I think the vast majority of posters just want a system that is robust and doesn't impose substantial additional burden on volunteer graders. And it does have to be recognised that whilst there is a group of people predominantly but not exclusively juniors who are keen to get numerical feedback on p...

It is clear to me that these changes are proposed entirely for the benefit of new players. if they play enough games against relevant opponents within a shorter period than six months then let them have a number to amuse them. But just as F grades are generally out-with most competition rules I susp...

It is interesting to note how much continuous improvement happens all around us, without the world falling in. If only we'd been told of these changes in advance we could have debated the issue.

Also not sure about this measure of activity - locally there are very few clubs that have closed, but many have reduced the number of teams they field, some at a faster rate of decline than others. The biggest fear of mine is the number of clubs which are effectively only meeting for match chess and...