Re: The Death of League Chess?
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:00 pm
Captain Roger
Thanks very much, I will work on some cunning plans..... faster, faster
Thanks very much, I will work on some cunning plans..... faster, faster
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It's 2016.David Pardoe wrote:One change I`d make is to encourage an accelerated playing session, with say 35 moves in the first 75mins, followed by say 20 moves in next 15 mins. This would give a game session of 55 moves, which could be followed by either adjournment or adjudication..
My preference would be adjournment after 55 moves, which gives both players plenty of chance to demonstrate they can/are winning, or not..
In practice, this should result in over 97% of games finishing on the night, with most being agreed without resumption..
David Pardoe wrote:The title of this thread is somewhat curious...?
Is not the 4NCL a league....and surely not dead.
Maybe in need of a lick of paint, or a few tweeks and upgrades/enhancements..
So too, the more basic traditional formats, which provide hours of `entertainment and challenge` for our players.
Yes, I`m sure there is room to give our league offerings a makeover, and to reinvigorate them with fresh input from a new generation of officials and volunteers, at all levels..
One change I`d make is to encourage an accelerated playing session, with say 35 moves in the first 75mins, followed by say 20 moves in next 15 mins. This would give a game session of 55 moves, which could be followed by either adjournment or adjudication..
My preference would be adjournment after 55 moves, which gives both players plenty of chance to demonstrate they can/are winning, or not..
In practice, this should result in over 97% of games finishing on the night, with most being agreed without resumption..
I`d guess that only a handful of games per season per league might go to more than one playing session, and it would remove the current madness of the open -ended blitz lottery style finishes, where its quite possible for players who may be theoretically winning, to actually lose on time., even with so called 10 sec increments, which are plain daft anyway, and amount to no more than another form of lottery.
That's no way to conclude a good evenings chess... and many think actually spoils a good evenings chess in many cases.
Very exciting and heart stopping it might be... its just turning chess into a lottery..
For those players with good Openning knowledge, a great advantage can be had by reeling off say the first dozen or so moves in 5 mins... but again, this is not a practice that I`d particularly encourage, nor does it make for good chess.
However, on the other side.. chess numbers have lessened over the years since the great Fischer BOOM.
Our Officianadoes and players need to remain proactive and supportive in the cause of encouraging and promoting chess take-up, and in offering their services as volunteers to keep the wheels turning...
Can our clubs and leagues also do more to promote chess, and get publicity in local Press, with occasional league updates and reports, commentary/analysis.. etc.. to keep their local communities in touch with what is going on...and welcoming messages to encourage newbies to visit their local clubs.
Burying ourselves in the web, and hoping joe-public might click the right buttons to find us is not enough.. Many people don't bother trolling through websites looking at such stuff...but I accept that many do, and that does offer some opportunities to reach out to our public..
Make those websites interesting and keep them updated.... a good enthusiastic webmaster is a definite asset to any club or league/county body...
On the matter of publicity.. notices in local shop/Post Office or libraries can help...
I`d also say that the ECF Diary was another option that could be useful.. I found it a good publication... and also a potential tool for advertising and promotion.
It also makes a good Christmas gift/stocking filler...
Having a physical presence has to be good for any group, but again, its important to promote such things..
And sometimes cutting costs slightly by scrapping such things can be counter productive.
I`m not sure the 16 month format was necessary, but I can see why it happened.
I`d also urge clubs to look for good playing venues, and maybe spend a little more on membership, if necessary... but its not always easy, I know, to find good spots in the right locations..
The new season is upon us..so good chessing
In most parts of the country the consensus is that you want no resumptions at all and you want a full game in the evening. That rather leads to the idea that if the available playing session is three hours, you just divide it in two and give players ninety minutes each, or a variation on that theme. It's then up to players to manage their time, that if not particularly good at seeing and playing good moves within ten seconds, that they utilise their time accordingly.David Pardoe wrote:and lead to very few resumptions
There are some players that always collapse and play horribly in time scrambles. Not just older players. Evening chess with a single playing sessions disadvantages those players. There is no way around that, and that is probably why you will always have some opposition to the idea of single playing sessions that are not long enough for those who play at a certain tempo.Roger de Coverly wrote: It's then up to players to manage their time, that if not particularly good at seeing and playing good moves within ten seconds, that they utilise their time accordingly.
I can see your point, but like your venue in stockport is very hard to get to from public transportDavid Pardoe wrote:Thanks for your comments John...
As I said earlier, league chess is far from dead... many see it as the main bread and butter option for chess, and it has plenty to offer the aspiring new generation of chess enthusiasts...
(our Club President is Not the President of the MCF get your facts right, as it is Mark Davis)As regards your comments re time controls, and Urmston (and other clubs/players), having there reservations about time controls and blitz/pot luck finishes... why don't you raise these points with your club President (who is also President of the MCF). He could then raise this as a formal motion, and try to get things changed.
I agreed with you but some clubs are so against itNote...my suggested option would entail a more orderly conclusion, avoiding some of the worst excesses of the current time control fiasco, and lead to very few resumptions. I`d also favour the option of neutral venues for some resumptions.. if suitable venues can be found, to help with travel concerns.
What was your last Volunteer Job and when?As to your comments about volunteers... I do my bit to try to help... but what is vital is that the new generation of players steps forward to join our clubs and volunteer to serve as Officials.. This would help breath new energy into the chess scene, and our clubs and leagues across the country should be doing there utmost to encourage new members.
There are huge numbers of quite good (and some very good) players playing casual chess on the web... Many would be very welcome at our clubs, and should be encouraged to join up.. Starter/novice leagues for such players should be encouraged/started across our leagues, to cater for the U75, U50 and beginner level players to get on the ladder..
Many players are happy to give advice and informal coaching/tips, etc to new players.. and point them in the right direction.. You don't have to study endless book openings to enjoy club chess, but these options can improve players who aspire to higher levels..
Meeting fellow players face to face, with some banter and social chat can add to the experience, and players can benefit hugely from words of wisdom of other club players. You cant get that on the web...
Enjoy....
Home teams in the Manchester League can insist on incremental time controls this season (it was only an option last season), but it looks like not all clubs that have digital clocks will use this option - however, as more players get used to the idea, I expect the take up to growChristopher Kreuzer wrote:There are some players that always collapse and play horribly in time scrambles. Not just older players. Evening chess with a single playing sessions disadvantages those players. There is no way around that, and that is probably why you will always have some opposition to the idea of single playing sessions that are not long enough for those who play at a certain tempo.
I do think more people should consider playing chess on an increment in evening league chess. If that was offered as an option, I'd take it ahead of normal quickplay finishes.
Apart from the last five minutes, there's not a lot of difference between playing 90 0 and 80 10. In both cases, you play at as fast a tempo as you feel comfortable with and only bother about the clock when you are down to the last five or ten minutes or so. The difference is that if playing 35 in 75, you look at the scoresheet and it says move 20, you look at the clock and it says 15 minutes to go, then you have to play fifteen moves in fifteen minutes. On the other hand, if you were playing G/90, the clock would say you had thirty minutes left. That's enough for an entire game !Christopher Kreuzer wrote: I do think more people should consider playing chess on an increment in evening league chess. If that was offered as an option, I'd take it ahead of normal quickplay finishes.
John..John Reyes wrote:I can see your point, but like your venue in stockport is very hard to get to from public transportDavid Pardoe wrote:Thanks for your comments John...
As I said earlier, league chess is far from dead... many see it as the main bread and butter option for chess, and it has plenty to offer the aspiring new generation of chess enthusiasts...(our Club President is Not the President of the MCF get your facts right, as it is Mark Davis)As regards your comments re time controls, and Urmston (and other clubs/players), having there reservations about time controls and blitz/pot luck finishes... why don't you raise these points with your club President (who is also President of the MCF). He could then raise this as a formal motion, and try to get things changed.
I agreed with you but some clubs are so against itNote...my suggested option would entail a more orderly conclusion, avoiding some of the worst excesses of the current time control fiasco, and lead to very few resumptions. I`d also favour the option of neutral venues for some resumptions.. if suitable venues can be found, to help with travel concerns.
What was your last Volunteer Job and when?As to your comments about volunteers... I do my bit to try to help... but what is vital is that the new generation of players steps forward to join our clubs and volunteer to serve as Officials.. This would help breath new energy into the chess scene, and our clubs and leagues across the country should be doing there utmost to encourage new members.
There are huge numbers of quite good (and some very good) players playing casual chess on the web... Many would be very welcome at our clubs, and should be encouraged to join up.. Starter/novice leagues for such players should be encouraged/started across our leagues, to cater for the U75, U50 and beginner level players to get on the ladder..
Mine was the Silver Rep for the ECF as well as the Stockport league captain for our team
Also been to the Lancashire and NCCU meeting as well as the last MCF council meeting
Been tried but as you can see from the Stockport and other league it work for a season and that is?
The rapidplay league is a idea but maybe that well into the future
Many players are happy to give advice and informal coaching/tips, etc to new players.. and point them in the right direction.. You don't have to study endless book openings to enjoy club chess, but these options can improve players who aspire to higher levels..
Meeting fellow players face to face, with some banter and social chat can add to the experience, and players can benefit hugely from words of wisdom of other club players. You cant get that on the web...
I know that Aiden has set up a Social Chess Club right In the heart of the City Centre and hope you will have the time to come down to it as well as anyone else
it at the Crown and Anchor, 41 Hilton St, Manchester M1 2EE
Enjoy....