ABERYSTWYTH - ARE YOU GOING?

[Ken Norman]

I'm not going.

Inaccessible

There is no motorway access to Aberystwyth.

There are no direct trains from the south east of England.

Inaccessible is a very accurate description.

[JustinHorton]

There are no direct trains from the south east of England.

Is it so hard to change at Birmingham New Street? (I had to change more times than that when commuting in London.)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

It is possible that accessibility may refer to things such as wheelchair access, both at the venue and at train stations. I did have brochures about the venue that I picked up when at Torquay last year, but I've just thrown those away so I can't check... (yes, throwing the brochures away means I'm unlikely to go this year!). Hope the championships are as excellent as ever and that those who go enjoy the delights of Aberystwyth and the surrounding region.

[Reg Clucas]

There is no motorway access to Aberystwyth.

And long may that continue.

[Alan Walton]

I'm not going.

Inaccessible

There is no motorway access to Aberystwyth.

There are no direct trains from the south east of England.

Inaccessible is a very accurate description.

Bloody stupid comments, the vast majority of places within the country don't match the above criteria (even Scarborough)

And supposedly the train journey from Birmingham is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country through the mid-Wales valleys

[Stewart Reuben]

I last went to Aberystwyth for the 1961 British Championship. I suspect I have travelled further afield than that for chess in the intervening 53 years. Indeed so far this year Gibraltar, Croatia. And Liechtenstein, Greece, Lithuania all before Wales. Southend and Daventry were both relatively inaccessible on the bank holidays,
It never ceases to amaze me about how people whinge about distances in Britain. Our country is so small relatively speaking.

[Alex Holowczak]

Bloody stupid comments, the vast majority of places within the country don't match the above criteria (even Scarborough)

And supposedly the train journey from Birmingham is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country through the mid-Wales valleys

I've made that train journey. It is indeed very scenic. I thoroughly enjoyed it on my visit to the site.

I assumed David Robertson's comments were based on disabled access, rather than ease of getting there. I'm currently checking this point with the Organiser.

[CliveHill]

I understand that the Olympiad has funding issues. If the Norwegians decided to cancel would the ECF reschedule the main British Championship to the normal Monday to Saturday plus Monday to Friday schedule? It's currently planned to run Saturday to (second) Wednesday!

[IM Jack Rudd]

I understand that the Olympiad has funding issues. If the Norwegians decided to cancel would the ECF reschedule the main British Championship to the normal Monday to Saturday plus Monday to Friday schedule? It's currently planned to run Saturday to (second) Wednesday!

With about 2½ months to go before the championships? No, no, it wouldn't. That would be seriously disruptive and would cost a lot of goodwill, even if it could be done.

[Roger de Coverly]

With about 2½ months to go before the championships? No, no, it wouldn't. That would be seriously disruptive and would cost a lot of goodwill, even if it could be done.

The only scenario that might require the ECF to take action, would be if the Olympiad moved a few days earlier in its substitute venue. That said, the ECF have another potential three days in reserve, the rest day and the possibility of dropping down to a nine round championship. Very much in extremis.


The last time this happened, when Greece pulled out in 1994 because their Government wouldn't fund it, Kasparov stepped in and secured both private funding and the parallel election for Campomanes.

[CliveHill]

http://www.chessvibes.com/?q=troms%C3%B ... in-trouble

This is only a couple of hours old; so not very encouraging. Perhaps a 9 round tournament for the British would have been a better bet anyway; just stopping 2 days early ...

[Richard Bates]

Or alternatively the British could just be run without David Howell...

[Keith Arkell]

I've not been following this, so apologies if I'm saying something which has already been said, but the irony is that in moving the Championship backwards in order to fit in the Olympiad, I have to miss the first 2 rounds in order to fit in the World Senior team Championship in Lithuania! That's life though I guess, and I've no issue with anyone over it.

[Stewart Reuben]

When the ECF, in its wisdom, changed the schedule for the British Championship, nobody had any idea about the overlap with the World Senior Team Championship. So Keith is absolutely correct, the overlap with the two events is nobody's fault.

"However, initially the Norwegians didn't know that they also needed to stage the 2013 World Cup. “We first asked the government for support for the Olympiad as early as May 2009,” Børge Robertsen, CEO for the Olympiad told Chess.com. “But only later FIDE made the World Cup an obligatory part of the bidding procedure.”

This is also absolutely correct. FIDE changed the goal-posts. Norway should have refused to hold the World Cup. It would be melt-down now to cancel the Olympiad. It is no use pretending it would be a postponement. Greece to Moscow there was much more advance notice.

They can cancel expensive Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
FIDE's fee can be waived.
FIDE has other funds.
The federations able to do so could chip in.
The support for the poorer federations could be reduced or dropped. That would lead to fewer entries and thus save money.

Perhaps after all we should have voted for Bulgaria instead of Norway. Then the event would not have been close to the British.

[Stewart Reuben]

Not changing the subject. Keith needs an opponent to play the first round of the British in advance. Any ideas?
There is precedence. Round 1 in 1987 Anand played Levitt in advance. Where was the British held? In Swansea. The fact that Vishy didn't later turn up was unfortunate.