(Chess) Life Returning To Normal

[Simon Rogers]

We will all be cheering you on in these tournaments Tim.
When are you playing John Cooper online next?
I beat John a few years ago in the League Cup when I played 1.b6 with black. Perhaps you could try that.
Hope too see you at our local Blackpool Chess Congress in the future.

Ha! No idea re John Cooper. These days I only play corr chess when invited to play for a team. But if you want to see how I got on against your friend: https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/ ... chess.html

Thanks Tim for posting your game and analysis with White against John Cooper.
I've never beaten John with White before.

[Simon Rogers]

Castle Chess Fareham Congress, 25th to 27th September. The number of entries has increased to 14.

[Tim Spanton]

Castle Chess Fareham Congress, 25th to 27th September. The number of entries has increased to 14.

Here is the list (quite a few of the usual suspects):

Open
Peter CHAPLIN, Jessica MELLOR,
Major U155
John BELINGER, Ian BLENCOWE, Ronnie BURTON, Larissa CUTHBERT, Russell FINCH, Tim JONES, Gillian MOORE, Paul O'BRIEN, Fraidon SHABGARD,
Minor U115
David ARCHER, Ian SCHREIBER, Hazel WELCH,

[Wadih Khoury]

In case this was'nt shows here previously, these are the French federation guidelines:

http://www.echecs.asso.fr/Actus/12766/g ... ations.pdf


In essence:

• 1 meter at least between everyone, except the 2 opponents on a board
• All boards separated by at least 1 meter
• hand sanitiser at every room entrance + available for participants
• "limited" spectators, and players to leave the room when finished
• Masks: not mandatory for players, but mandatory for spectators, arbiters and organisers. Recommended for players older than 11. Organiser may decide to impose masks to all.
• Normal play at the board. No handshakes.
• No post game analysis.
• Players should ideally stay at their board during the game (not mandated)
• Good ventilation. Do not play if poor ventilation
• Regular clean of WC. Clean clocks between rounds

When I see this list for a country that is similar to the UK (they fdid slightly better than us), I wonder why a tournament couldn't be held here too.
Usual 4NCL venues in hotels should have a lot of Covid safe measures (sanitizing gels everywhere, regular toilet cleaning, big well ventilated rooms).

[Roger de Coverly]

Clean clocks between rounds

It also says clean the pieces. But why? Is the plastic or wood a harbourer of viruses? They have at least dropped the notion of separate sets.

[J T Melsom]

I believe there is risk of transmission through common surfaces which is why charity shops have decided to 'effectively quarantine some donated items, before putting on the shelves. How much risk may well depend on which expert you speak to.

[Tim Spanton]

Anyone thinking of playing abroad should be aware some tournaments are filling up very fast.
I was planning to enter Tegernsee (Bavaria), which starts on October 31, but there are already 351 registrations for a tournament that has been limited to 340 players.

[MartinCarpenter]

I believe there is risk of transmission through common surfaces which is why charity shops have decided to 'effectively quarantine some donated items, before putting on the shelves. How much risk may well depend on which expert you speak to.

That's what all the emphasis on hand washing is about - it gets onto/remains on indoor surfaces fairly readily and annoyingly durably.
(I think someone found that UV does for it outdoors)

Getting it on your hands isn't bad in itself, it needs to get at the face to actually infect and soap/water will kill it.

As to precisely how risky anything is and/or how much it spreads by contact as opposed to direct droplet infection, I've got no idea. Seems hard to find out!

[J T Melsom]

Thank you for amplifying my post. I'm slightly bemused that at this stage in the pandemic this key bit of knowledge hasn't sunk in with other posters.

[Simon Rogers]

Apologies all, for keeping you in suspense.
Simon's Hot Tip
Manx Championship 2020
Organised by the Isle of Man Chess Association
Venue: Claremont Hotel, Douglas.
Friday 9th October to Sunday 11th October
6 Rounds
No Entry Fees
£1500 in Prizes
Open Tournament split into 3 Zones : Open, Candidates and Challengers.
Entries open 2nd September , Close 2nd October.

I'll start a new Topic for it in Congress Diary for discussion.

Entries have opened today for the Manx Chess Championship.
4 players have already entered.

[Tim Spanton]

Crowds are being allowed back into football and rugby, eg (from the BBC):

Up to 20,000 fans could be allowed into Twickenham to watch England play Barbarians on 25 October, the Rugby Football Union says.
It would be the largest crowd at a sporting event in the UK since lockdown restrictions were imposed in March.
Clearance to admit fans is subject to the obtaining of the relevant licence and approvals, including those from public health authorities.
The match was postponed in June because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Less than a quarter of Twickenham's 82,000 capacity would be filled under the proposal.
The RFU is planning a number of safety measures to reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted in the stadium - with fans required to wear face masks except when in their assigned seats, or when eating or drinking, digital tickets only, as opposed to paper ones, and one-way systems to manage crowd movement.

[Mick Norris]

I assume there's no outdoor chess events planned in the UK so not relevant

In Bolton, we came out of lockdown today and went back in today, an example of chaotic government

[Tim Spanton]

I assume there's no outdoor chess events planned in the UK so not relevant

Fair point, although Twickenham and the football grounds being allowed to have fans are largely enclosed stadiums with definite enclosed areas between the outside and the seats

[David Gilbert]

Crowds are being allowed back into football and rugby.

Indeed the Haddocks are likely to run a test event to allow about a thousand fans into The Valley for the first home game against Donny Rovers on Saturday, 19 September 2020, with details to be announced. Fans will have to bring along their own pie. Come October they hope to have attendances of between 6,500 and 8,000. Which is brilliant because it's more than they might expect on a non-COVID Saturday afternoon, maybe.

[Paul Robert Jackson]

Apologies all, for keeping you in suspense.
Simon's Hot Tip
Manx Championship 2020
Organised by the Isle of Man Chess Association
Venue: Claremont Hotel, Douglas.
Friday 9th October to Sunday 11th October
6 Rounds
No Entry Fees
£1500 in Prizes
Open Tournament split into 3 Zones : Open, Candidates and Challengers.
Entries open 2nd September , Close 2nd October.

I'll start a new Topic for it in Congress Diary for discussion.

Entries have opened today for the Manx Chess Championship.
4 players have already entered.

5 entries now
....all residents of the Isle of Man.