English Chess Forum

Hello everyone

First and foremost I hope you and your families are remaining fit, healthy and safe during this time.

It seems unimportant, but nevertheless I will post this topic anyway.

Will clubs lose members once we restart over the board. People have got out of the habit of going, and many older members of clubs may feel that enough is enough once we restart.

The lock down at the moment will last for an unspecified amount of time, and there seems to be no exit strategy. It of course will not last forever, but could last for months.

I do not want to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but it is fair to say that there will be a lot of work to do for everyone once chess restarts.

As I said it is unimportant at the moment, but it is still something to think about.

I think we might actually see a boom when everything calms down: online platforms are bursting at the seams. I’ve picked up four new students in the last week alone and I’ll definitely be encouraging them to join their local club. I would imagine kids are particularly being encouraged into the game by a lot of tired furloughed parents.

David Blower wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:39 pm

I do not want to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but it is fair to say that there will be a lot of work to do for everyone once chess restarts.

As I said it is unimportant at the moment, but it is still something to think about.

What I worry about is the loss of chess club venues — pubs and social clubs closed down, never to reopen. Add to that a learnt reluctance for elderly people to go out and mix, not only at chess clubs and congresses, in continuing fear of a virus that in the future may be tamed but not totally eradicated.

I suspect that, even when the lockdown is lifted, many of us oldies will not want to play OTB until a reliable vaccine is generally available — which I understand Is 12 to 18 months away. That’s easily long enough to lose interest.

David Blower wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:39 pm

I do not want to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but it is fair to say that there will be a lot of work to do for everyone once chess restarts.

Phil Makepeace wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 07, 2020 11:17 pm

I think we might actually see a boom when everything calms down: online platforms are bursting at the seams. I’ve picked up four new students in the last week alone and I’ll definitely be encouraging them to join their local club. I would imagine kids are particularly being encouraged into the game by a lot of tired furloughed parents.

I am with Phil i see this as a huge opportunity. I started my chess club in the village (i wonted to give something back) and i have 16 students who have joined and we are receiving extremely positive feedback. I could not have done it without the help of CSC particularly Malcolm Pein, Andrew Varney, Alex Holowczak, Richard James chesskids website and Mike Truran so thanks guys. It was the chess playing community at its very best. It reminded me of the days when I joined Witney chess club (there were five members) and it took some hard work (in this case learning the software was a bit of a faff) but in the long term it was worthwhile as the last couple of pages on our submission to become ECF club of the year showed. So my challenge to you forumites is to identify not what difficulties face us but what opportunties the crisis presents. There are a significant number of bored children just waiting to learn to play chess and parents who want (a) pay subs to your chess clubs and (b) help out when the crisis ends who are just crying out for people to make a difference!

But what if Covid outlasts chess itself?

Not terribly likely.

MSoszynski wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:39 am

David Blower wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:39 pm

I do not want to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but it is fair to say that there will be a lot of work to do for everyone once chess restarts.

As I said it is unimportant at the moment, but it is still something to think about.

What I worry about is the loss of chess club venues — pubs and social clubs closed down, never to reopen.

That's my worry too, which is why I was reluctant to suspend activity until absolutely necessary; we've had 2 clubs having to move venues last year because their existing venues decided that opening during the week was uneconomic

I'm not sure that I see the point of this discussion. My own league will, as soon as it is permitted and logistically possible, reopen for play. We shall then discover how many existing members, or perhaps new ones, wish to resume or join.

Until then, I doubt that much will be learned on a contingent basis.

Just because you can't see the point of a thread doesn't mean others won't find it worthwhile. There are many organisations starting to think about life beyond the current pandemic, albeit at this stage there is considerable guesswork involved. I hope the ECF is doing so, and if the Non Execs aren't asking the questions, perhaps those with an interest in the finances might do so. Chess may well be disproportionately impacted and some clubs are particularly vulnerable to a relatively small loss of members, so of course this thread has merit.

Still no mention above (apart from Phil) of the opportunites CV19 provides. You may like to have a look at the video I posted on the subject on my youtube channel. It gives some inside information about what it is like to be in the same chess club as Mike Truran https://bit.ly/2xU0QsN.

In addition to J T Melsom’s points, from our individual perspectives the likely prospects for OTB chess may be relevant to the way we choose to spend our time in the immediate future. If I’m not likely to resume playing even when we are allowed to do so, studying the game will soon slip down my list of priorities. And it’s a vicious circle: if I’ve got rusty by the time there is a vaccine, that will itself make me less inclined to start playing again.

As for the opportunities offered by the current situation, it’s not surprising that there should be a flurry of interest in online chess. But the kids I coach regard it as a poor substitute for the real thing, and I fear it won’t sustain their interest for very long.

maybe the ecf will give chess players an reduction on membership??

Jacques Parry wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:41 pm

As for the opportunities offered by the current situation, it’s not surprising that there should be a flurry of interest in online chess. But the kids I coach regard it as a poor substitute for the real thing, and I fear it won’t sustain their interest for very long.

I do not agree - i know lots of players who play on chess.com who would not turn up to a chess club. It is a bit depressing reading this thread. Is anyone out there able to cheer me up?

I think there are positives to emerge from the on-line initiatives, even if I'm not inclined to participate myself. I restrict on-line chess to the daily move type stuff. Some players are getting opportunities to play opponents from further afield at effectively zero cost. Good to see the South West well represented in 4NCL on-line. It may be difficult to get these clubs/groups further involved nationally because of the geographical obstacles, but it would I think be a positive if these current initiatives continue under the ECF and/or 4NCL banner because its a very significant step in widening the scope of the national body, and enhancing perceptions of the same. And we need to recognise and share with club colleagues how good some of the on-line material is for learning. Clubs rarely have natural coaches counted in their members, so we need to learn about these other ways of learning to direct others.