The Death of League Chess?

[Chris Goodall]

The Northumbria Chess League continues with 30 teams in 3 divisions. The same number as in 1999.

Fewer clubs means a more critical mass in each club. And when chess is played mostly by retired people to begin with, the crucial factor is not a steady supply of secondary school players turning into university players. The crucial factor is a steady supply of people retiring.

Usually people who played chess as children, found more meaningful things to do with their next 40 years, but remembered how the horses move. You lose 90 year olds, you gain 60 year olds, and some of those 60 year olds have more energy than I do at 33.

So to Baron Robertson of Macclesfield's sneer that

Strategic analysis and horizon-scanning aren't among your hobbies, I'm guessing

I say tu quoque, bro.

[Roger de Coverly]

The crucial factor is a steady supply of people retiring.

Don't forget to look at what was happening forty to fifty years ago. That was when there was a steady stream, sometimes a flood, of players coming from secondary schools and universities. The last surge of new players, other than at primary schools was during and after the Short match over twenty five years ago.

[Joey Stewart]

I do foresee a death of league chess as well, but more likely based on clubs bring priced out of their venues and gradually running out of people willing to do the large amount of unpaid admin work it takes to run them.

Still, it is 4 years since this post was made and the league deaths are not happening yet so let's just enjoy our chess while it is going strong !

[J T Melsom]

Our club AGM considered a proposal to raise membership fees this week, and in response those seniors present proposed waiving their half price memberships. The demographic is such that we were able to leave fees at the existing level as a result. I wouldn't wish to generalise about the relative wealth of pensioners or the sub-set that play chess, but this was a bold gesture - as alternatives such as two-thirds full fees or a smaller across the board increase could have been proposed.

[MartinCarpenter]

I do foresee a death of league chess as well, but more likely based on clubs bring priced out of their venues and gradually running out of people willing to do the large amount of unpaid admin work it takes to run them.

Still, it is 4 years since this post was made and the league deaths are not happening yet so let's just enjoy our chess while it is going strong !

I don't think the problem was ever going to be immediate collapse. Its more you look at the demographics playing active league chess, look at the new player replacement rates from juniors and (in the North anyway) it isn't that pretty.

What I guess we don't know is how many people there are that might take the game (back) up post retirement/kids/whatever. That demographic has kept bridge going for ages already.