English Chess Forum

Reinstate Roger Edwards as ECF President, if he`s agreeable
Appoint Andrew Paulson as special adviser to the board, if he`s agreeable, and would sign a confidentiality agreement.
Set up a `court of star chamber` of the great, the good and the wise man of chess...to advise the board/ECF and offer there help as independent `champions` of chess.
They could start by looking at our voting system, the Charitable status question...do we really want to split the ECF down further. And to look at funding issues for the ECF., and the current structure of the ECF as a corporate body....is there better ways forward.
Take note of key concerns and issues...board to discuss
Most importantly...recognise all the good things that are going on in chess at this time. We have a brilliant chess offering, which satisfies 99% of our chess players.
Press on with the UK chess crusade

Altrnatively, except where we are and continue as normal..
Or ..other suggested options..?

Let me make it clear. I speak only as a Forum member. These are purely my own opinions. There is no instant fixes to these issues..its longer term `work in progress`.

Here is what should happen next

1. David Pardoe should be banned from the forum because all his posts are incomprehensible.

2. Sean Hewitt should recognise that {the policy he supported and argued for} of enforcing membership on the National Schools' Championships has been soundly defeated and should step down as a non-executive director.

3. The ECF should recognise that losing Jack Rudd's passion and enthusiasm is a big loss to the organisation and he should be encouraged to take up another role (County Champs Controller?)

4. Serious discussion should take place on who is going to manage the British Championships (Sean Hewitt?)

5. Everyone should wish Andy Paulson and Phil Ehr the best of luck.

Matthew Turner wrote:5. Everyone should wish Andy Paulson and Phil Ehr the best of luck.

I think we should all move on to the above.

Doubt that's going to happen though I don't waste my time really following it, but it's quite amusing.

Mark Howitt wrote:I don't waste my time really following it, but it's quite amusing.

Are you referring to

http://markhowitt.blogspot.com ?

And now I've ignored all of someone else's posts (and all communication for life)- time saving!

Matthew Turner wrote:3. The ECF should recognise that losing Jack Rudd's passion and enthusiasm is a big loss to the organisation and he should be encouraged to take up another role (County Champs Controller?)

I have a vacant post in my Directorship to which I think Jack will be well suited. I'll speak to him and see if he's up for it. It isn't County Championship Controller, however.

Matthew Turner wrote:4. Serious discussion should take place on who is going to manage the British Championships (Sean Hewitt?)

Somebody who isn't Sean is already lined up for this.

Despite the large number of current vacancies within Home Chess, there are lots of ducks standing patiently in a row waiting to be appointed at the next Board Meeting.

The Streatham blog has a piece and an almost unprecedented number of comments, which mostly repeat what's already been written on this forum.

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.c ... wards.html

Right at the end, there's a link to an interview with Nigel Short in Indonesia by a Serbian WGM. Nigel's key point remains, as it did in his AGM report, as to as to why FIDE haven't terminated the Agon contract on the grounds that Agon are in breach and whether there are financial links between Agon and the FIDE Board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UtU78p ... e=youtu.be

Alex Holowczak wrote:

Matthew Turner wrote:4. Serious discussion should take place on who is going to manage the British Championships (Sean Hewitt?)

Somebody who isn't Sean is already lined up for this.

Adam?

Carl Hibbard wrote:Adam?

Rather than guessing, why don't we wait until the Board appoints someone?

This place should accept and not 'except' David Pardoe - just as the House of Commons does with the Beast of Bolsover, Dennis Skinner. Unless of course this place is actually a house of chess lords. A word of warning to Alex H - if his row of ducks break cover here they may be mistaken for clay pidgeons and shot to pieces.

"Rather than guessing, why don't we wait until the Board appoints someone?"

Because it's much more fun this way... Then we can complain about the person appointed. If we are going to sack the President a couple of days after he has been elected, we should perhaps go for someone really exciting who will bring a lot of publicity to chess, like Kim Kardashian! Or we could just accept the result of the election, assuming it was conducted correctly.

Alex - please don't talk about "ducks in a row" - it's a short step from there to "functional silos" and then there'll be trouble.

A senior manager at work has appointed me "Custodian of the English Language" and I am allowed to tell him off every time he lapses into management jargon.

I think we should all run around waving our hands in the air.

>2. Sean Hewitt should recognise that his policy of enforcing membership on the National Schools' Championships has been soundly defeated and should step down as a non-executive director.

This is a ludicrous suggestion for at least the following reasons.

1. Sean is obviously an excellent NED.

2. NED's do not have 'policies' anyway.

3. The last thing the ECF needs is more flouncing.

4. Given that the same meeting of the Council that supposedly rejected this policy also appointed Sean, it's safe to say that any such step would contravene the will of Council, which is not how the ECF is supposed to work.

John Cox wrote: 2. NED's do not have 'policies' anyway.

Except when they do. Sean's being to defend and extend the concepts of compulsory membership, as witnessed by his sponsorship of the RE knee capping motion. For that matter a previous non-Exec had walked out over policy differences between the Board and Council.

To be fair, Sean wasn't acting as a non-Exec when as acting DoMM, he {supported and argued for the extension of} compulsory membership to schools chess. In fact, it was a failure of the non-Exec role that the policy wasn't adequately challenged. At the very least, the Council meeting then due in a month's time could have been asked to note or endorse the decision. In my view it looked political sleight of hand to not announce the decision until after the Council meeting. In the event, to no-one's particular surprise, the policy was eventually overturned six months later by the wider voting membership.