(Chess) Life Returning To Normal

[Simon Rogers]

According to the Irish Chess Union website Calendar the following events are still going ahead:
24th-26th October The Limerick Open, Limerick.

4th-6th December The CUS Chess Congress 2020, Dublin.
6th December The CUS Charity Christmas Blitz, Dublin.

I suspect that the two Dublin events are in danger of being cancelled due to the increased restrictions in the city.

[Roger de Coverly]

I suspect that the two Dublin events are in danger of being cancelled due to the increased restrictions in the city.

There isn't anything about a 2020 tournament taking place at the Limerick chess club site.

http://www.limerickchessclub.net/

[Simon Rogers]

Yeah. I had the same problem which I mentioned on a different thread last week.
The Limerick event is mentioned on the Irish Chess Union website with a contact number.
I couldn't find the number of entries either.
I can think of a couple of Limericks but not involving Chess.

[Simon Rogers]

I've found some junior OTB Events going ahead and as a result I have started a New Topic in the Junior Chess section.
I have also found a number of International OTB Events going ahead but are quite obscure. I'll post them in a New Topic in the International News section over the next couple of days.

[Matt Bridgeman]

A little note of caution in a BBC article, pointing out that realistically a vaccine will take up to 12 months to roll out. So if the roll out starts in March 2021, it might still be rolling come March 2022, Mass production and administration of say the Oxford vaccine might needs something like 30,000 staff and a lot of time. Lots of questions still to be answered - the big thorny conundrum being testing trials around the world might be producing an immune response, but none yet show they provide full protection or lessen symptoms of Covid;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54371559

The Royal Society report published today; https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020 ... eport.html

[Simon Rogers]

I've found some junior OTB Events going ahead and as a result I have started a New Topic in the Junior Chess section.
I have also found a number of International OTB Events going ahead but are quite obscure. I'll post them in a New Topic in the International News section over the next couple of days.

I've started a New Topic in the International News Section for obscure OTB Events Going Ahead.
I've added a couple of Seniors Events Going Ahead in the Seniors Section.
I've also started a New Topic in Women's Chess for events that are going ahead.

[Roger de Coverly]

Shaun Press who is an Australian/ Papua New Guinea player/arbiter/organiser writes a blog at
http://chessexpress.blogspot.com/

In it, he mentions events in Canberra, one of which hopes to be OTB.
http://chessexpress.blogspot.com/2020/0 ... ossed.html

[MartinCarpenter]

A little note of caution in a BBC article, pointing out that realistically a vaccine will take up to 12 months to roll out. So if the roll out starts in March 2021, it might still be rolling come March 2022, Mass production and administration of say the Oxford vaccine might needs something like 30,000 staff and a lot of time. Lots of questions still to be answered - the big thorny conundrum being testing trials around the world might be producing an immune response, but none yet show they provide full protection or lessen symptoms of Covid;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54371559

The Royal Society report published today; https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020 ... eport.html

They have at least already started mass production, well in advance of knowing if it'll actually work out or not. Huge amounts of money invested (Gates foundation I think but others) to make that happen. Its one of the few deeply sensible things that's happening.

Obviously actually vaccinating the population will take a while, but we probably won't need to do the whole population. Quite who we decide to vaccinate will depend on precisely how effective the immune responses are in protecting various groups.

If its really effective protection you could just do the at risk groups & the remaining groups will have some serious illness, but probably not enough to merit keeping the economy/peoples lives throttled. If its only 70% effective or something you'd need to do something approaching the whole population etc.

Hence having to wait for the big/long stage 3 trials. There's people in the NHS/civil service who'll work out a good strategy.

[NickFaulks]

Quite who we decide to vaccinate

Excuse me?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"There's people in the NHS/civil service who'll work out a good strategy."

True - unfortunately, Governments of the last 20+ years have concentrated on outsourcing such things to people who are inexperienced and not accountable (and much more expensive).

[Wadih Khoury]

An article on the Guardian lists only 6 countries where there are no restrictions both way:

Germany
Italy
Sweden
Greece
San Marino
Gibraltar

[Wadih Khoury]

An article on the Guardian lists only 6 countries where there are no restrictions both way:

Germany
Italy
Sweden
Greece
San Marino
Gibraltar

We found a chess tournament that looks to be still on in Germany, during half term. 7 rounds, long play over 4 days. Flight look cheap (but Ryanair...)

https://chess-results.com/tnr535087.aspx?lan=0

[Tim Spanton]

An article on the Guardian lists only 6 countries where there are no restrictions both way:

Germany
Italy
Sweden
Greece
San Marino
Gibraltar

That's useful, particularly in conjunction (for some of us) with this from Tim Harding's website:

* 2-10 December: 20th Mecklenburg-Verpommen Open Senior Championship at Binz. For women born in 1965 or earlier, and men born 1960 or earlier. So far there are 170 entries (if this is allowed when the time comes.) Here is a link to the organisers' website. Binz is a resort town on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen.

[MartinCarpenter]

Quite who we decide to vaccinate

Excuse me?

Which section(s) of the population to get the biggest net benefits. Not easy decisions given how the virus behaves.

For instance, the vaccine won't be absolutely side effect free, so in an ideal world you probably wouldn't want to do the children. If it was 100% effective (it won't be!) then you could just vaccinate the at risk groups.

More likely it'll be a chunk less effective than that, then you need to vaccinate widely enough to stop transmission in the population.

Also, quite plausibly, they'll have the option of vaccinating the at risk/most exposed groups in the first then starting to reopen the economy really quite quickly while you catch up on everyone else.

[David Sedgwick]

Quite who we decide to vaccinate

Excuse me?

Which section(s) of the population to get the biggest net benefits. Not easy decisions given how the virus behaves.

For instance, the vaccine won't be absolutely side effect free, so in an ideal world you probably wouldn't want to do the children. If it was 100% effective (it won't be!) then you could just vaccinate the at risk groups.

More likely it'll be a chunk less effective than that, then you need to vaccinate widely enough to stop transmission in the population.

Also, quite plausibly, they'll have the option of vaccinating the at risk/most exposed groups in the first then starting to reopen the economy really quite quickly while you catch up on everyone else.

If we are still a free country, then people will have the option of not being vaccinated.

If we are not still a free country, then those who do not consent to vaccination can be placed under house arrest, using the powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Which do you think it should be?