Search found 226 matches

by Nigel_Davies
Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:32 am
Forum: ECF Matters
Topic: Chess Recognition
Replies: 96
Views: 10095

Chess Recognition

On the subject of recognition I would like to suggest that others who have contributed towards English chess are similarly recognized. For example it probably takes circa 10,000 hours or more to get to GM, thousands of hours to get to IM (or even FM), 10-20 days training, exams plus years attending ...
by Nigel_Davies
Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:42 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

What they don't teach, of course, is how to stay on topic. "I really must study some endgames today, but just a second, there are some new posts on the English Chess Forum. Whoopeeee!!" :)
by Nigel_Davies
Tue Dec 01, 2015 7:38 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

my personal opinon on the lack of young players - Hello, I am a idiot in his twenties with access to a computer. I think it is fair to say I am a lot younger than the majority of the people who have written on this thread. I have witnessed a lot of young players coming to the chess club with univer...
by Nigel_Davies
Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:41 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Longterm IM title holders deserve more respect
Replies: 15
Views: 1422

Re: Longterm IM title holders deserve more respect

Michael Mkpadi wrote:no less talented than your average GM.
If you manage to find an average GM to show you a thing or two, you might conclude that Arena Master titles are overrated! :)
by Nigel_Davies
Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:14 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

Anyway, returning to the central point of this thread, if the UK wants professionals coming through to compete with those from other countries, there needs to be a way of making a living. And doing that by coaching and then going off to play won't work, you need to play full time to be a real player...
by Nigel_Davies
Sun Nov 29, 2015 8:22 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

British Tennis Tour. (1) The entry fee is £21, perhaps slightly cheaper than a traditional weekender. (2) The duration of the event is 5-6 days, longer than all weekenders that I know of. (3) The prize for the winner is £1,000 for the winner of a Premier event (of which there were only 3 in 2015), ...
by Nigel_Davies
Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:23 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

The 1000th best player in the world (yes, one thousand) is rated 2500. Who is the 1000th ranked tennis player in the world? I think the idea that prize money is the source of the problem misses the point. The 1000th rated male tennis player is a 17 year old Italian who has won $2,377 prize money th...
by Nigel_Davies
Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:54 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

1 Not so. Pat Bowman, the sponsorship manager, had a son who was a keen player and that triggered his interest. Pat still made it clear that chess was competing for the bank's limited sponsorship budget with other recipients, eg a symphony orchestra, and Sir Jeremy also told him that chess had to b...
by Nigel_Davies
Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:55 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

Sponsorship, in the truest sense, is about demonstrating to a company that there is a substantial return on investment to be had. I was able to do that for the British Championships in Aberystwyth, securing a five figure sponsorship deal in the process, but chess in the UK has very few opportunitie...
by Nigel_Davies
Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:38 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

. And why are people not doing it? They scarcely need the ECF, whether or not it is run by a `rag bag` or (as I prefer) hard working, passionate volunteers. There are very few people active in UK chess organization with the skill sets to know how to attract and keep sponsors, and only one with any ...
by Nigel_Davies
Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:27 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

You also need a large number of entries. Take a look at the head count for those 70s and 80s Opens with £ 500 first prizes and ask whether such numbers could be attracted today with any frequency. You also have to recall that these tournaments pre date the 4NCL. If you need the numbers to get the e...
by Nigel_Davies
Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:10 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

Steve Giddins has reminded me that it was quite common for tournaments to have prizes of £500 in the 1970s and 80s and that John Nunn combined his research fellowship with winning the Grand Prix. The risk reward ratio was certainly pretty good then, especially when you consider that travel hotels an...
by Nigel_Davies
Fri Nov 27, 2015 8:42 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

MJMcCready wrote:The Gand Prix events of 1975 offered a 1000 cash prize to the winner. I do have the files to prove it but can't upload them.
Thanks, so that's over £9,000 in today's terms. Not a bad start if someone wants to do chess full time..
by Nigel_Davies
Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:14 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Prizes Then And Now
Replies: 65
Views: 5815

Re: Prizes Then And Now

In reply to Andrew, there were plenty of relatively small events in the 1970s and 80s. As a glance at chess magazines of the time confirms. Matt, if you can post some sample prizes from different eras it would be very interesting I think. I have some old volumes of magazines but unfortunately they ...