English Chess Forum

I've booked the next 4NCL Team and Individual Rapidplay Championships as follows:

1. Date: 15-16 October 2011
2. Venue: De Vere Venues Harben House, Buckinghamshire
3. Contact: Mike Truran 01993 708645

More details incl. entry guidelines etc to follow.

Mike

Mike Truran wrote:I've booked the next 4NCL Team and Individual Rapidplay Championships as follows:

1. Date: 15-16 October 2011
2. Venue: De Vere Venues Harben House, Buckinghamshire
3. Contact: Mike Truran 01993 708645

More details incl. entry guidelines etc to follow.

Mike

Please note that the ECF elections are on the Saturday in London. Whilst I can't imagine a great surge of people to attend the elections it may impact on captains such as myself who are now unable to enter teams. Best of luck to all those who play. It's a fun event.

LozCooper wrote:Please note that the ECF elections are on the Saturday in London. Whilst I can't imagine a great surge of people to attend the elections it may impact on captains such as myself who are now unable to enter teams. Best of luck to all those who play. It's a fun event.

I've noticed too that the Preliminary Round of the Counties Championship is the same day as the April Finance Meeting. Worcestershire had best finish in the top 2 in the Under 140 section!

I had hoped to avoid a clash, but that was the only weekend that De Vere Harben was able to offer in October. I was quite keen to stick with the same venue (they hosted it last year, so know what's involved) and I must admit I was rather banking on the ECF elections not providing too compelling a counter-attraction.

That said, clearly it still leaves the Sunday free for those who want to wind down with a little speed chess after the breathless excitement of the previous day's proceedings in London. And of course there are always postal votes and proxy votes on the Saturday for those who prefer the limpid pools and tranquil backwaters of a rapidplay event to the white water and raging torrents of an ECF meeting......

Mike

Mike Truran wrote:I had hoped to avoid a clash, but that was the only weekend that De Vere Harben was able to offer in October. I was quite keen to stick with the same venue (they hosted it last year, so know what's involved) and I must admit I was rather banking on the ECF elections not providing too compelling a counter-attraction.

That said, clearly it still leaves the Sunday free for those who want to wind down with a little speed chess after the breathless excitement of the previous day's proceedings in London. And of course there are always postal votes and proxy votes on the Saturday for those who prefer the limpid pools and tranquil backwaters of a rapidplay event to the white water and raging torrents of an ECF meeting......

Mike

I don't suppose the meeting could be accommodated at Harben House

LozCooper wrote:I don't suppose the meeting could be accommodated at Harben House

If John Philpott were reading this, I think he'd quote whichever governance article it is that says we have to have meetings alternating between Birmingham and London. I guess that would have to amended at the Finance Meeting for that to be viable.

I hope you do still enter some team(s), Loz - do you have to be there in person to captain the team(s), beneficial though that would be?

I'd be happy enough to have the meeting at Harben House; the rule about London and Birmingham is of the "it's reasonable to override this if there's a compelling reason" type.

IM Jack Rudd wrote:I'd be happy enough to have the meeting at Harben House; the rule about London and Birmingham is of the "it's reasonable to override this if there's a compelling reason" type.

Have we not already fixed the date and venue at the previous AGM though? We definitely set the date, I'm not sure if we set the venue by default when we set the date. I.e. the venue might default to London since no one specified otherwise. I don't know if you need to set the venue at the same time you set the date. It was definitely announced that the 2011 AGM would "on October 16, in London".

The venue is set for London and I think the MCF's London based rep (and other reps not at the 4NCL) might not want to go to Harben House - after all, it is 4 miles from Milton Keynes train station, so for those coming from further afield by train, not convenient

Mick Norris wrote:The venue is set for London and I think the MCF's London based rep (and other reps not at the 4NCL) might not want to go to Harben House

I don't really understand why delegates not at the 4NCL Rapidplay might not want to go there. The venue is on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. It's not a tucked away area of the country that's impossible for anyone to travel to. It's not ideal to get there by public transport, but not impossible. It's a perfectly sensible place to choose to hold a meeting - particularly if the venue is cheaper than the one we'd otherwise use - but, your first point - the fact the venue has already been set - is the problem.

Jonathan Rogers wrote:I hope you do still enter some team(s), Loz - do you have to be there in person to captain the team(s), beneficial though that would be?

After the problems I had last year submitting team lists each round in 2010 there's no way I'm risking a repeat when I'm not even there. It looks like it's down to you to provide the competition to Claire and her army of GMs

LozCooper wrote:

Jonathan Rogers wrote:I hope you do still enter some team(s), Loz - do you have to be there in person to captain the team(s), beneficial though that would be?

After the problems I had last year submitting team lists each round in 2010 there's no way I'm risking a repeat when I'm not even there. It looks like it's down to you to provide the competition to Claire and her army of GMs

You mean, it's down to Claire to provide the opposition to us! (How many times do we have to win this?!)

Jonathan Rogers wrote:

LozCooper wrote:

Jonathan Rogers wrote:I hope you do still enter some team(s), Loz - do you have to be there in person to captain the team(s), beneficial though that would be?

After the problems I had last year submitting team lists each round in 2010 there's no way I'm risking a repeat when I'm not even there. It looks like it's down to you to provide the competition to Claire and her army of GMs

You mean, it's down to Claire to provide the opposition to us! (How many times do we have to win this?!)

In the words of Meatloaf, two out of three ain't bad

Alex Holowczak wrote:

Mick Norris wrote:The venue is set for London and I think the MCF's London based rep (and other reps not at the 4NCL) might not want to go to Harben House

I don't really understand why delegates not at the 4NCL Rapidplay might not want to go there.

Because delegates are used to walking to the venue from the train station if Birmingham was anything to go by, because not all trains from the North to London stop at MK, both of which matter if you are coming from, say, York