English Chess Forum

O.G. Urcan wrote: If, as I hope, we can focus on the key issues

Something of a first for the forum

O.G. Urcan wrote: I'll be pleased to see any further facts about the "English Chess Association" which members of this forum can provide.

The Hastings Congress had Raymond as Chief Arbiter for a year or two. For example the 1989-90 Congress.

Page 35 of the Congress Programme has a full page advert for the ECA. This announces the opening of the ECA/Granada Chess Centre in London SW 11. This was based in the Granada Club on St John's Hill near Clapham Junction Station.

There are various name checks in the advert.

Ray Keene, Julian Simpole and Professor Alexander Kennaway are named as ECA founders (January 1988).

Murray Chandler and Tony Gaffney are named as providers of "an unparalleled range of Chess goods and activities"

Granada Leisure PLC, Thames TV, Watson Farley Williams and the City of London Corporation are named as sponsors or "those who have supported our initiatives".

Gary Kasparov is named as "chief Consultant in our drive against drug abuse in inner city schools".

I don't think the Centre lasted very long, but it was not long afterwards that Murray Chandler bought the British Chess Magazine and relocated it to a shop in West London. Also in that era Malcolm Pein acquired Chess magazine from the ruins of the Robert Maxwell empire and set up shop in the Euston Road.

Thames TV had covered the 1986 match and did a series on 12 great players with you know who as the commentator. Watson Farley Williams were a legal firm who sponsored the second of the Short v Speelman matches and a tournament or two.

A year later for the 1990-91 Congress, there's no direct advert for the ECA or the Centre, but in an advert for ChessBase 3.0, it could be obtained from The London Chess Centre, Granada Social Club. Byron Jacobs would also demonstrate it in the Bulletin Office.

There are several adverts for "The London Chess Centre" in 1990 BCM's, all of which imply that it is run by Murray Chandler. Murray is named as a director of the BCM from July 1990 onwards.

(edit) There's some material by Edward Winter about the formation of the ECA in October 1987.
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/relief.html (/edit)

Mr Keene does use twitter and I'm sure he would respond to direct queries.

Although there are an awful lot of direct queries he has never responded to.

I can add that two of Edward Winter's "Chess Notes" items (1765 and 1867, written in the late 1980s) were included on page 168 of his book "Chess Explorations" (Cadogan Chess):

I've now managed to get hold of an English Chess Association brochure from the late 1980s:

Out of interest, which of the ECAs stated aims would you consider to be NOT laudable?

John

To get Chess accepted as a sport is not laudable.

Well that is certainly debateable

Though saying the ECA had/has "laudable aims" is missing the point somewhat, I feel.........

I've bitten my tongue so far but I'm not quite sure what purpose this thread is now serving. Surely the only person who can answer questions about the ECA and its current activities (if indeed there are any) is Mr Keene.

I was at the meeting of the BCF Board where Raymond Keene's resignation as Director was announced as was his formation of the English Chess Association. My recollection (probably hazy) was that the meeting was at the Great Eastern Hotel at Liverpool Street. It was at this meeting that Tony Miles allegation about the £1000 paid to Raymond Keene to act as his second at the Interzonal was first reported. An investigation into this by the Federation never made any progress because of Keene's refusal to co-operate.

By 1991, the BCF and Mr Keene had reached a rapprochement following a meeting between John Poole, the then President and Mr Keene. Mr Keene advised that the ECA would recommend to his colleagues that the ECA's name was changed and that it would act purely to promote chess. Mr Keene offered the BCF his membership list comprising of some 5000 members which it could use for chess promotion. Nothing was ever heard of the ECA after 1991. I have no doubt that the membership list of 5000 was never seen.

Neil Graham wrote:I have no doubt that the membership list of 5000 was never seen.

One wonders if it was seen by the officials of the ECA?

John Upham wrote:

Neil Graham wrote:I have no doubt that the membership list of 5000 was never seen.

One wonders if it was seen by the officials of the ECA?

According to the ad above you sent off a cheque for £8.00 made payable to the ECA to the General Secretary in Brighton. I have no doubt that the organisation had a written constitution and that the £40,000 paid out by the 5,000 members was properly administered.

We have 1,000 members on this message board, I bet loads of them joined this prestigious organisation and can advise us what they obtained for their subscriptions.

Neil Graham wrote

We have 1,000 members on this message board, I bet loads of them joined this prestigious organisation and can advise us what they obtained for their subscriptions.

Largely out of curiosity I sent off my £8. I received a copy of volume 5 of Comprehensive Chess Endings by Estrin & Kopayev shortly thereafter, but do not remember ever being contacted again.

Very simple to prove chess is not a sport, ensure at all big tournaments, that there is an entry door and an exit door, put a pressure mat on the floor in each portal, weigh the people leaving and weigh the people entering, prove that chess does not burn calories and you have proved your case, otherwise I'm afraid case lost, if chess burns calories, it is a sport.

Isn't it nice how easily we can use poor definitions to claim exactly whatever nonesense we want to be true.