British Chess Championships 2010

[Richard Bates]

It is really a sad state of affairs when our federation cannot even get the reigning champion to defend his title

I don't remotely find it "a sad state of affairs" that we have a young player being considered worthy company for the talent invited to the Biel tournament. It'll undoubtedly be extremely tough as bottom seed, but hopefully he'll come through. The British could have had £'00,000s of sponsorship and I think Biel would have been a more attractive all round option.

[Andrew Camp]

Torquay and/or Scarborough for me.

[Alan Walton]

Richard

Maybe I was a little over scathing with "a sad state of affairs" but it does show that our British championships isn't a big pull for our top players, only good sponsorship may turn this around

[David Sedgwick]

The best playing room which I've experienced is the one at the Plymouth Pavilions. However, that venue is less than ideal for the organisers, as there's a shortage of suitable side rooms.

The best venue overall in my opinion is the Riviera Centre, Torqyay.

However, for personal reasons which have nothing to do with the ECF or the British Championships, I would now be reluctant to play at either location.

If the event was going to be in the same place each year, then I'd like it to be in Croydon. I could then play every year without having to incur any travel and accommodation expenses.

Adam, I appreciate that this reply won't help you much. However, I hope it serves to demonstrate that different people want different things from the British. That has always been the rationale for moving the event round the country and to different types of locations and venues.

[Neville Twitchell]

I may simply be duplicating points made by previous posters but looking at the list of entrants on the ECF website for the Congress as a whole the entry (as at 25th June) is very small by comparison with previous years. Apart fom the Championship proper, the other sections are all very poorly supported, or so it seems to me. The Major Open only has 17 entrants, the Under 180 only 13, the junior sections all have very small entries, the Atkins only 11, and so on. Of course there may be quite a few more in the post, but we are now less than a month away. Admittedly I haven't played in it for a few years and this may be typical of the entry in recent years, but I seem to remember that in the 1990s when I played in the Major Open fairly regularly there were over a hundred competitors, and other sections were similarly much more highly supported. What has happened. I can see why sponsorship and prize money would affect the Championsip proper, but not really why it wqould affect other sections such as the Major open.

[Sean Hewitt]

Canterbury is a right old trek from the Midlands and North, and it's not by the sea. I suspect that these reasons may affect participation in some of the other sections.

[Alex Holowczak]

Admittedly I haven't played in it for a few years and this may be typical of the entry in recent years, but I seem to remember that in the 1990s when I played in the Major Open fairly regularly there were over a hundred competitors, and other sections were similarly much more highly supported. What has happened. I can see why sponsorship and prize money would affect the Championsip proper, but not really why it wqould affect other sections such as the Major open.

Compared to the 1990s, we have about half the active chess players we used to. I don't know about nationally, but the Birmingham League is approximately half the size it was even as recently as 2000. Fewer people play chess, so it stands to reason that fewer people attend the British Championship.

[Neville Twitchell]

Admittedly I haven't played in it for a few years and this may be typical of the entry in recent years, but I seem to remember that in the 1990s when I played in the Major Open fairly regularly there were over a hundred competitors, and other sections were similarly much more highly supported. What has happened. I can see why sponsorship and prize money would affect the Championsip proper, but not really why it wqould affect other sections such as the Major open.

Compared to the 1990s, we have about half the active chess players we used to. I don't know about nationally, but the Birmingham League is approximately half the size it was even as recently as 2000. Fewer people play chess, so it stands to reason that fewer people attend the British Championship.

Have the number of active players really dropped that much compared to the 1990s? Obviously there has been some falling off compared to the 1970s and the 1980s when the English chess explosion was at its zenith, but not that much of a decline since the 1990s and as recent as year 2000 surely?

[LozCooper]

It is really a sad state of affairs when our federation cannot even get the reigning champion to defend his title

Alan, just noticed your quote. If it wasn't the Youth/Experience he would have played the World Junior I believe.

[Alex Holowczak]

Admittedly I haven't played in it for a few years and this may be typical of the entry in recent years, but I seem to remember that in the 1990s when I played in the Major Open fairly regularly there were over a hundred competitors, and other sections were similarly much more highly supported. What has happened. I can see why sponsorship and prize money would affect the Championsip proper, but not really why it wqould affect other sections such as the Major open.

Compared to the 1990s, we have about half the active chess players we used to. I don't know about nationally, but the Birmingham League is approximately half the size it was even as recently as 2000. Fewer people play chess, so it stands to reason that fewer people attend the British Championship.

Have the number of active players really dropped that much compared to the 1990s? Obviously there has been some falling off compared to the 1970s and the 1980s when the English chess explosion was at its zenith, but not that much of a decline since the 1990s and as recent as year 2000 surely?

Well, I just checked, and the Birmingham League had 8 full divisions in 2000/1, it now has 6. I know at some point it had 10 divisions, and 8 players per team, not 6. So not half the size, but 25% of the players have gone.

[David Gilbert]

I'm keen to see the next update on entries. Should we expect the floodgates to open before the surcharges kick-in on Monday?

So far no grading prize has been announced for the PM Open events. At Torquay having a grading prize to shoot for helped achieve bumper turnouts in both weeks. Is the absence of a grading prize this year a lack of foresight or good financial management?

[Maria Yurenok]

I have a similar view to several people who already posted here, Alan's on page 4 especially comes to mind.

For me, the British Championship has never been an attractive tournament for several reasons. The main one is it's duration. 2 weeks is too much to take off work for an average working person, even if chess is a love of a lifetime. I qualified this year but as you can guess I'm not going to play. I'd rather go to one of the multitude of Opens run for a week somewhere in Europe from Saturday to Sunday. And it's a bonus that a lot of those Opens are held by the sea in some hot and cheap country like Spain, Italy or Greece. Saving my holiday allowance that way means I can play more tournaments and in a variety of interesting locations during the year. So I'm all for 9-round British running from Saturday to Sunday if you aim to get as many armatures entering as possible. I'm sure it would attract more entries than now!! And I guess it may be cheaper to run. But if you are more concerned about professionals then I'm all for sponsored all-play-all for top players.

200 entry fee is also too steep although I can put up with it. Also, I don't understand the purpose of Major Open - can anyone explain? Why would anyone want to play in it for whole 2 weeks, especially if you are after a norm?

[Adam Raoof]

I have a similar view to several people who already posted here, Alan's on page 4 especially comes to mind.

For me, the British Championship has never been an attractive tournament for several reasons. The main one is it's duration. 2 weeks is too much to take off work for an average working person, even if chess is a love of a lifetime. I qualified this year but as you can guess I'm not going to play. I'd rather go to one of the multitude of Opens run for a week somewhere in Europe from Saturday to Sunday. And it's a bonus that a lot of those Opens are held by the sea in some hot and cheap country like Spain, Italy or Greece. Saving my holiday allowance that way means I can play more tournaments and in a variety of interesting locations during the year. So I'm all for 9-round British running from Saturday to Sunday if you aim to get as many armatures entering as possible. I'm sure it would attract more entries than now!! And I guess it may be cheaper to run. But if you are more concerned about professionals then I'm all for sponsored all-play-all for top players.

200 entry fee is also too steep although I can put up with it. Also, I don't understand the purpose of Major Open - can anyone explain? Why would anyone want to play in it for whole 2 weeks, especially if you are after a norm?

I agree with many of your points, myurenok (don't we have to use our real names on this Forum?). The Major Open should be a norm event, and I am working on that.

Where did you qualify from? Did you inform the organisers that you would not be taking up your qualifying place so that they could pass it on to the next eligible player?

[Maria Yurenok]

myurenok stands for Maria Yurenok. I'm happy to use my full name if someone can explain to me the technicalities of changing my login. I qualified from 4NCL based on performance rating. I'm not sure anyone would be eligible to take a place instead of me, but if they are - please let me know. I don't keep on top of ever-changing rules regarding the British.

[Richard Bates]

I think it should be borne in mind that there are generally somewhere between 900 and 1000 entrants for the British, and the views of a small number of people on here (many giving reasons why they don't play) are not necessarily representative as a basis for seeking to canvass opinion.