The guy who does the SCCU fixtures couldnt...

[Ben Purton]

Organize a piss up in a brewery.

Feb 14th Valentines day
March 14th Blackpool(one of the biggest events)

Your going to say "theres now 8 4NCL's" or something. This is a proper joke, most open players play 1+2.

I mean is there any reason there isnt a match this weekend or next weekend...

[JustinHorton]

Which dates would you have preferrred and with what other events would those dates have coincided?

[Ben Purton]

As I said whats actually occuring this weekend and next..

[Ben Purton]

Perhaps Kidlington next weekend, but this weekend no excuses.

[Sean Hewitt]

4NCL next weekend.

Gibraltar this weekend.

[Ben Purton]

Please dont say you just compared Blackpool for Open county players to Gibralter....You can take everyone whos english and 2300+ out of the English players there, So whos between 165-190, Alister Compton maybe. But the amount of 165-180 ish players who go to blackpool.

[Ben Purton]

+Its not 4NCL 4NCL next weekend, its conference 4NCL

[Sean Hewitt]

I didn't compare anything with anything Ben. You asked what was occuring this weekend and next. I simply answered.

Anyway, what's the issue? Didn't you say you "wouldn't waste your money going to Blackpool as it's no longer FIDE rated?"

In the MCCU I ask captains to tell me which dates they dont want matches. I dont care what the reason is (Be it 4NCL, Blackpool, Scarborough, some local congress or even a football macth). I then don't schedule that team with a match on that date.

[Neill Cooper]

Organize a piss up in a brewery.

Feb 14th Valentines day
March 14th Blackpool(one of the biggest events)

Your going to say "theres now 8 4NCL's" or something. This is a proper joke, most open players play 1+2.

I mean is there any reason there isnt a match this weekend or next weekend...

Do look at http://www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/fixt.htm which shows ALL the SCCU fixtures

Fixtures are arranged in sets: Open U150 U100 on one Saturday; U175 and U125 on another Saturday.
This allows some venues to be usedfor two fixtures without risking clashies for people who play in 2 teams.

This weekend there are U175 and U125 fixtures.
4NCL would clash for U150 and U100 (infact Div 3 has lots of over 2000 and quite a few over 2200 playing).

Also match captains are free to rearrange matches if they think the date is unsuitable.

How many chess players are there for whom Valentines day is so important that going out the night before is not a suitable alternative?

[Ben Purton]

I did indeed say Blackpool would be a waste of money for FIDE rating players . Hence why Sarah is definately not go. I have been invited by my m8s to both middlesex key match and also blackpool for 4 days to get merry. I think the clash on Valentines day is annoying, however as Neil said, not many chess players need to worry about the date.

Why isnt there Open matches when division 3 4NCL is on...Why do they have to be grouped together... Im pretty sure Middlsex dont have two teams playing upstairs in the pub.

Its very annoying, I either have to let down the county or friends.

Ben

[Neill Cooper]

Middx might only play one game, but Herts vs Sussex is Open and U150, and Kent have 2 matches at home macthes on the same date (and one away).

The really good thing, Ben, is that someone like you (in their 20s!) wants to play inter-county chess and is frustrated when you can't. It is only a couple of seasons ago that Middlesex resurrected their Open team.

[John Philpott]

"The guy who does the SCCU fixtures" has a near impossible job trying to fit the matches into the limited dates available while avoiding teams from a County in adjacent divisions playing on the same day and achieving a reasonable spacing of matches for each team. His task is made very much harder by the fact that the competition rules require, in the absence of unanimous agreement by captains to the contrary, the U175 Division to be contested on a double round basis. The avoidance of clashes with all 4NCL dates is a well established policy which should not be used as a pretext to criticise a particular individual: while Middlesex might not suffer if Open matches were scheduled to clash with Division 3 dates, the same would not be true of Essex whose Open squad includes players associated with all of Mind Sports, Metropolitan, SCS and Iceni. In any event, as Neill has pointed out, matches can be rearranged by mutual consent: Anthony Fulton did enquire whether Valentine's day was difficult for Essex, but as acting Essex Open captain I could see no reason why it was likely to prove more problematic than any other plausible date.

The SCCU AGM has now been arranged for 11 July at the Exmouth Arms. Anybody who would like to stand for election as County Match Controller because they think they could do a better job than the present incumbent should make their intention known in good time to the Union's Secretary Richard Haddrell.

[Ben Purton]

Youll be pleased to know, Ive decided to miss Blackpool for the middlesex match

[JustinHorton]

I've alerted the Blackpool Gazette