Megafinals impact rounds 10 & 11 once again!

[Alex Holowczak]

Alex .. it therefore seems you advocate a status quo and thus no actual idea as a solution to the problem raised at the beginning of this thread. As I already said, I don't mind you saying you might disagree with an idea but to term it as ridiculous is an insult, so perhaps you should learn to be a bit more diplomatic in your comments.

There is nothing wrong in calling a spade a spade.

The problem has been caused by the counties involved deciding to clash with 4NCL, rather than choose another date. This is a problem caused by those counties and is their issue. It's not the UKCC or 4NCL's fault.

It's also nice to see how much you care about the overall game of chess - you are more bothered about getting more of your own top players through to the next stage rather than try and encourage many newcomers to get a foundation in the game !

Wait, what? I'm happy to encourage newcomers to get a foundation. That is a complete irrelevance to the question of Megafinals.

Roger .. Yes, basically allowing players to be seeded for the event and entering at a later stage (as in the FA Cup), therefore allowing many newcomers the chance to play without being whitewashed by more experienced opponents.[/quote]

[David Sedgwick]

"Silence is Golden"

[Alex Holowczak]

"Silence is Golden"

Yes, I'm prepared to apologise for going over the top. Something else happened that infuriated me, and I took my frustrations out in the wrong place.

I maintain, though, that the problem is a local issue, and nothing to do with the wider setup.

[Alan Burke]

Alex .. I think we are all aiming towards a common goal and all have suggestions on how progress could be made, but I don't think that any idea should just be dismissed as ridiculous - some embryonic, seemingly futile idea could spawn the ultimate solution when other people develop it a bit further.

I appreciate the comments in your last post and hope you will also agree that unless ideas are put forward without being totally dismissed at source, progress on many issues would never be made.

[Malcolm Clarke]

Going back to the issue of the dates of the megafinals I believe that the Hampshire megafinal is often on the Sunday of the May Bank Holiday weekend. However when I spoke to the one of the organisers at last year's event he seemed quite keen to avoid clash with the 4NCL, as apart from the players having conflicting interests it made it harder to get helpers.

The scheduling of the date has absolutely nothing to do with me, as I usually turn up and assist with one of the sections if I am available, which I am likely to be this year now it seems very unlikely that my team will be involved in the end of season playoffs. However it does surprise me a bit that it does clash with the 4NCL, unless there are also difficulties with other possible dates.

[Alan Burke]

If any young players are considered good enough to play in the 4NCL, do they really need to be too bothered about playing in the UK Chess Challenge; the main aim of which is trying to encourage new players to get involved with chess ?

Although Mike Basman has done a great job in bringing chess to masses of youngsters, is the whole event really amongst the main tournaments which will increase the standings of already-established young players in the chess world ? The schools' round; Megafinals and Gigafinals are not graded, whilst any decent prize money is limited to a handful of the 70,000 who originally enter.

Again this is not a criticism of Mike Basman and all he is doing for youth chess, but apart from the kudos of winning a trophy, what benefits are there for any youngster to take part who is already good enough to play in the 4NCL ?

If dates clash then I would have thought that the 4NCL must always take precedence for any youngster wanting to progress in the chess world.

[Roger de Coverly]

If dates clash then I would have thought that the 4NCL must always take precedence for any youngster wanting to progress in the chess world.

Depending on the player, the financial rewards for success in the Chess Challenge may exceed those for playing in the 4NCL. There's the prestige element as well. Players who skip the county stage won't qualify for the national stages.

[Alan Burke]

Roger, I agree with your comment, but for anyone wishing to progress in the chess world, surely playing higher quality matches is more beneficial than the odd financial reward and a bit of prestige.

The UK Chess Challenge has done a fantastic job in introducing many youngsters to chess, but any players who are now good enough to play at 4NCL level are surely gaining no benefit by competing against many comparative newcomers just to gain another trophy on the shelf.