British 2012 Website

[Lee Bullock]

Just wondering what people thought of the new website for the British?

Here it is if nobody has seen... http://britishchesschampionships.co.uk/

For me the old one was a lot better but I don't know the politics on why the old style was changed? The old one was easier on the eye. It was easier to navigate and not as many clicks to get to certain pages etc. Also it had the player entry lists in order of rating which was a nice touch and a lot easier to see who may be your rival etc and who are the best players who have entered the British.

Anyway just also wondering if anyone knows why the old style and set up was changed?

[Sean Hewitt]

The previous webmaster wasn't prepared to do it anymore (don't know why) so a new website and content was required and created.

[Andrew Camp]

Opening spread on this thread is 8-10 pages of arguing and bickering.

[Lee Bullock]

Opening spread on this thread is 8-10 pages of arguing and bickering.

Really that much politics?

[Lee Bullock]

I have been told so end of debate Shame though.

[Andrew Camp]

I'm sure folks on here will find a way.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Did the material on the old websites get saved or otherwise archived? Not just kept online, but also archived offline in case of future problems?

I see the 2011 site is here:

http://www.britishchess2011.com/

And the 2008-2010 sites are here:

http://www.britishchess2011.com/championships_0810.htm

But you never know where websites might disappear to in future.

Where are the websites before that, for example? Googling the 2007 championships and earlier fails to find much.

Going back a few more years than that, I see that the 1912 British Chess Championships were held in "Richmond". Was that Richmond, Surrey (not Richmond, Yorkshire)? I'd never realised that. There isn't any particular reason why it would be recorded in the history of local chess clubs in the area including the one I play for (Richmond and Twickenham Chess Club), and I'm not sure the history of any of the local clubs go back that far (well, Harrow was founded before 1912), but I'd be interested in more details of the venue in 1912 if anyone knows that.

[Richard James]

Going back a few more years than that, I see that the 1912 British Chess Championships were held in "Richmond". Was that Richmond, Surrey (not Richmond, Yorkshire)? I'd never realised that. There isn't any particular reason why it would be recorded in the history of local chess clubs in the area including the one I play for (Richmond and Twickenham Chess Club), and I'm not sure the history of any of the local clubs go back that far (well, Harrow was founded before 1912), but I'd be interested in more details of the venue in 1912 if anyone knows that.

Richmond Surrey, but I don't know where. Will try to find out. There are references to Richmond (Surrey) Chess Club back in the mid 19th century but not sure how long the current club has been in existence. Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club was formed by the merger of Richmond Chess Club & Twickenham Chess Club in about 1958.

Tim Harding and Brian Denman have given me some information on this & they will know more than me.

One day I'll try to do some proper research but I have other priorities at the moment.

[Richard James]

A quick look in the Times Archives only confirms that it was "Richmond on Thames" and that the weather was very much the same as it was to be 100 years later.

I guess R&TCC might have considered doing something to celebrate the centenary of this event.

I note, by the way, that the Times used C for Castle (not R for Rook) when publishing the moves of the more interesting games. Was this standard in newspapers at the time? When did they change to 'R'? I remember some time ago being shown a chess book published by the Daily Express in the 1930s (it might have been this one) which used C instead of R.

[Lara Barnes]

The website is now up to date as of entries received by the 12th and I have listed the entries in rating/grading order.
Some of the FIDE ratings are not the new ones however so I will have to update again.

I tried to get a new webmaster as long ago as last November, but no-one could either do it for cheap or could produce what we needed (especially the ability of arbiters to update results as they came in without needing a programming degree).

A friend set the Wordpress site up gratis and Andrew Walker and myself have been trying to keep it up to date. Andrew is now busy with Chessmoves and the ECF site so I will be relying on the control team to pitch in.

If I am in the role next year I will need a webmaster, even if I have to budget for it. Having a full time job and trying to sort all the other work that needs doing for The British has made it impossible to do a good job with the website so far.

Any suggestions / advice will be most welcome.

[Clive Blackburn]

A quick look in the Times Archives only confirms that it was "Richmond on Thames" and that the weather was very much the same as it was to be 100 years later.

I guess R&TCC might have considered doing something to celebrate the centenary of this event.

I note, by the way, that the Times used C for Castle (not R for Rook) when publishing the moves of the more interesting games. Was this standard in newspapers at the time? When did they change to 'R'? I remember some time ago being shown a chess book published by the Daily Express in the 1930s (it might have been this one) which used C instead of R.

There is an interesting game here from the 1912 British Championships (see 5608. Wahltuch v Griffith)

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter47.html

Richard Griffith, the eventual winner of the championship, was winning comfortably but then allowed his opponent to force stalemate.

Part of the game score is shown, as published in the BCM at the time, and the notation for the rooks is "R".

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thanks Clive and Richard. I may dig around and see if I can find anything as well. What I was wondering was whether it would have been likely to have been held in a grand venue such as the Star and Garter Hotel, though thinking about it, probably not. What I'm looking for is an idea of the number of players participating, which would give an idea of the size of venue that might have been used at the time (or indeed the type of venue used for any of the major chess tournaments held in the UK in the last decades of the 19th-century and pre-WWI, i.e. the late Victorian and Edwardian period).

For instance, the 1899 tournament, according to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_189 ... tournament

was played "in St. Stephen’s Hall with a time limit of fifteen moves in one hour. Participants were entertained by the City of London chess club at Crystal Palace and the Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond. A banquet took place in the International Hall of the Café Monico on 29 June".

I have a vague memory that this is the St Stephen's Hall in the Palace of Westminster, but looking things up it seems that is wishful thinking:

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/london1.html

"The writer was unimpressed by the playing conditions: ‘I think it would have been difficult to find premises more shabby, more grubby and more unhealthy than St Stephen’s Hall"

Look at the picture, you can see St Stephen's Hall at lower right, part of or attached to the Royal Aquarium building. It sounds like it was no Simpsons in the Strand. The banquets would have been more pleasant.

PS. I'm moving this to a new thread; see here: http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4507

[Lara Barnes]

For those interested in the history of The Championships Alex McF put a lot of work into the items in http://britishchesschampionships.co.uk/ ... formation/

[Lara Barnes]

The wonderful Judy Brown (Martin's Mum) is updating all the FIDE ratings for me while I run a section at The Scottish. Thanks Judy