So who's going to the British Chess Championships?

[Sean Hewitt]

Sean,
I was unaware of that change and I am not sure what impact it has in practice. However the Ulster Chess Union was part of the Irish Chess Union from 1932 to 2005, this is pretty amazing when you think about it.

Yep. And as a Rugby fan, I always think that the Ireland team showed how sport breaks all sorts of barriers.

[E Michael White]

2013 is extra, extra special. It will be the Centenary event. I would want that to be in an extremely popular venue in England.

I think the conference centre at the Cheltenham Racecourse would be a good venue. Among advantages it has parking for >10,000, room for 1200 people seated, is during the racing quiet period and has nearby accommodation. I will make some enquiries.

One thing that puzzles me Stewart; why is this a Centenary event ? I' m not sure much happened in 1913 unless you count the British championship being held in Cheltenham in 1913.

[Stewart Reuben]

To E Michael White.
Perhaps I used the wrong term. 2013 will see the 100th British Chess Championship. We have already celebrated the Centenary of the British Chess Federation, and thus the championships, in 2004.
Do go ahead with looking into Cheltenham Race Course. The problem is likely to be that they will want to charge a commercial rent. Also there may be a lack of accommodation in close proximity. There may be another large venue in Cheltenham.

Hastings we celebrated the Centenary in 1995. We can have a second go in 2019 when that will be the 100 year anniversary of the Hastings International Chess Congress. 2024 it will make the 100th congress. What odds would bookmakers give on both the event and I surviving until then?

Stewart Reuben

[JustinHorton]

There are some large public schools in Cheltenham which might, I suppose, have halls large enough to suit?

I'd be surprised if a place that holds a well-attended racing festival didn't have sufficient accommodation for a chess championship.

[John Saunders]

Out of interest, can anyone tell me whereabouts in Cheltenham the 1913 British Championships were held? I couldn't find this in my library (my BCMs don't go back that far).

[Mike Truran]

They were held in the Town Hall (mine do).

[Alex Holowczak]

Indeed England played under the Union Flag in chess for many years. The only reason for that, as far as I could see, was that it annoyed the Scots. Eventually, when I was first in charge of such matters, I changed it to the St George Flag.

You had to spoil it!

Seriously though, I think that was true of many sports. If you look at the photographs of the 1966 World Cup Final, nearly all the flags being waved are Union Flags. St. George's Flag only really increased in popularity more recently. Of course, officially, the Flag of Scotland is the Union Flag, as it is with every other nation in the United Kingdom.

In the Olympics, people from Northern Ireland are neither in Team Ireland, or Team Great Britain, so they are allowed by the IOC to choose, apparently. I think that's because pre-independence, they were the team names in the Olympics, so post-independence, they kept them the same.

[John Saunders]

Thanks, Mike (I now know whom to email the next time I need a pre-1928 BCM look-up!).

Cheltenham Town Hall was also the venue for the first six rounds of the 1951 Staunton Centenary Tournament.

[John Saunders]

Re nomenclature: the geographical term 'British Isles' is often objected to by people in the Irish Republic who, for quite understandable reasons, resent the location of their nation being described as 'British' in any sense. So 'the Championship of the British Isles and Ireland' is perhaps a more diplomatic long form of the name of the congress we usually refer to as the British Championship. Even so, it does not quite cover all bases as it doesn't acknowledge the Gibraltarians, Bermudans, etc, whom I believe are entitled to participate.

This collection of islands beyond the North Sea that we inhabit is very far from being the only part of the world where use of the wrong name can cause offence. I recall visiting the parents of an Iberian friend when first venturing into that region in the 1970s. "It's my first visit to Spain", I informed my friend's father. "You still haven't been there!", he swiftly replied. "This is Catalonia!".

[Stewart Reuben]

>Re nomenclature: the geographical term 'British Isles' is often objected to by people in the Irish Republic who, for quite understandable reasons, resent the location of their nation being described as 'British' in any sense. So 'the Championship of the British Isles and Ireland' is perhaps a more diplomatic long form of the name of the congress we usually refer to as the British Championship. Even so, it does not quite cover all bases as it doesn't acknowledge the Gibraltarians, Bermudans, etc, whom I believe are entitled to participate.< John Seunders

I have come across this dislike of Ireland being in the British Isles before - in Las Vegas, although British Isles is njust a geographic, non-political area. The fact is that it is the British Chess Championships and we have had various groups allowed to play for historical reasons. John is quite correct and Gibraltarians do indeed play, though only in the junior championships.

Stewart Reuben

[Richard Bates]

>Re nomenclature: the geographical term 'British Isles' is often objected to by people in the Irish Republic who, for quite understandable reasons, resent the location of their nation being described as 'British' in any sense. So 'the Championship of the British Isles and Ireland' is perhaps a more diplomatic long form of the name of the congress we usually refer to as the British Championship. Even so, it does not quite cover all bases as it doesn't acknowledge the Gibraltarians, Bermudans, etc, whom I believe are entitled to participate.< John Seunders

I have come across this dislike of Ireland being in the British Isles before - in Las Vegas, although British Isles is njust a geographic, non-political area. The fact is that it is the British Chess Championships and we have had various groups allowed to play for historical reasons. John is quite correct and Gibraltarians do indeed play, though only in the junior championships.

Stewart Reuben

The Entry Form describes it as "the Championships of the British Isles".

[John Saunders]

I have come across this dislike of Ireland being in the British Isles before - in Las Vegas, although British Isles is njust a geographic, non-political area. The fact is that it is the British Chess Championships and we have had various groups allowed to play for historical reasons. John is quite correct and Gibraltarians do indeed play, though only in the junior championships.

Dismissing something as 'non-political' is a surefire way to make it political - I would draw your attention to an article on Wikipedia which discusses this particular naming controversy.

The Entry Form describes it as "the Championships of the British Isles".

Richard, thank you for drawing my attention to the entry form. I noticed that, despite various discussions held here in the past and reassurances made, nothing has changed as regards the age limit for the British Senior Championship (the 2009 championship is "open to players born before 1 Sept 1948"). It appears that I (and many others) will still have to be 61½ or even older before we are allowed to enter a competition which one would expect to be open to players aged 60 and over. And yet a non-British/Irish citizen, registered for a non-British/Irish country, can live somewhere in these difficult-to-name islands for a year (the entry form doesn't even bother to give a qualifying date by which they must be resident) and qualify to play in the British Championship. Makes no sense whatsoever, does it?

[Alex Holowczak]

And yet a non-British/Irish citizen, registered for a non-British/Irish country, can live somewhere in these difficult-to-name islands for a year (the entry form doesn't even bother to give a qualifying date by which they must be resident) and qualify to play in the British Championship. Makes no sense whatsoever, does it?

I think the law says that to qualify as a British citizen, you have to reside here for 5 years (it may be 10), or have parents (not sure about grandparents) who are British. I suppose anyone who would be trying to take advantage of the opportunity to play in the British Championship through residence, who represents a non-British country will already be well aware of those rules, through common sense as much as anything. The ECF just need to make sure that those rules are adhered to.

[Leonard Barden]

The list of entrants for the 2009 British Championship includes Dietmar Kolbus of Germany, who was in contention for the lead for several rounds last year.
Whatever the legalities, if Kolbus should win the title (unlikely for a 2399, but not impossible given his 2008 performance) the ECF would be the laughing stock of Europe.

Stewart Reuben wrote earlier in this thread

There is going to be a discussion with the British Isles Coordinating Committee about whether players registered with non British Isles Federations, who are fully eligible to play under current regulations, should be allowed to continue to play in the Championship. Such players include Gallagher, Kosten, Lalic, Kolbus, Lane. The matter has been raised and is worthy of discussion.

Gallagher, Kosten, and Lane were all English in their junior years. Lalic has represented England in the past, resided here for decades, and has been married to an Englishwoman. Kolbus?

[John Saunders]

Dietmar Kolbus is a German national who has been living and working in the Isle of Man for quite a number of years. He is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet. But of course that is irrelevant. I've nothing against any of these quoted players who are registered for non-British/Irish federations but I too cannot understand why any of them - even the ones born here, some of whom presumably retain British citizenship - should be allowed to play in the British Championship when they have opted to register for another federation.

Perhaps there is some legal objection to this to which we are not privy. If so, a simple answer may be to throw the doors open, combine the championship with the Major Open and make it the British Open Championship, awarding the championship title (and suitable prize) to the highest scoring player from one of the six 'home' federations (the actual winner could of course legitimately be referred to as the 'British Open Champion' - incidentally, this is how the Indian chess press generally referred to RB Ramesh and A Kunte when they won the championship).

If that means a lot of us non-qualified British plebs can also enter... does it matter? So much the better - we can be charged a higher entry fee than titled players and other people who make qualifying scores in weekenders. I suppose it would be akin to the old Lloyds Bank Masters, which always struck me as a much better balanced tournament. Scotland has had the courage to do something similar with its own championship this year (and the Scottish Championship has a much longer tradition than the British Championship).