English Chess Forum

Recently I had cause to e-mail the ECF to update rating data to reflect that four players had passed away.

A glance at any club data will show that the "live" players are always outweighed by those who are inactive.

It might be a good idea for forum members to check who is showing on the database for their own club/area to see if any deceased players are not shown as such and to notify the grading administrator accordingly.

Neil Graham wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:19 pm

Recently I had cause to e-mail the ECF to update rating data to reflect that four players had passed away.

A glance at any club data will show that the "live" players are always outweighed by those who are inactive.

It might be a good idea for forum members to check who is showing on the database for their own club/area to see if any deceased players are not shown as such and to notify the grading administrator accordingly.

Over the years I have emailed Matthew Carr many times to inform him of deceased players and this notification will get acted upon.

The ECF could create a more formal notification method fairly easily. The chances of someone deliberately mis-informing are probably slim but not impossible. As we know ECF directors are not permitted to comment on forum suggestions so we may never know if this was a good one.

Death is not the only reason for a record changing and we will act on any email. I did resurrect one member this year!

We've got four unmarked dead members at Barnstaple that I know of - Steve Knight, Richard Nash, Peter Sandon and Roy Shapland.

Firstly I would suggest to the moderators that this probably best belongs in the grading debate section.

Secondly I have noticed that the Harrogate list contains many supposedly active players who are many years deceased. I did consider compiling a list for the grading team then I decided it would serve little purpose. But if it would be helpful I'll happily do it.

More information is always helpful, as a rule.

In this case, even if said players have been inactive for many years it might reduce the chances of confusion with similar names in the future.

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:06 pm

Firstly I would suggest to the moderators that this probably best belongs in the grading debate section.

Moved.

IM Jack Rudd wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:27 pm

We've got four unmarked dead members at Barnstaple that I know of - Steve Knight, Richard Nash, Peter Sandon and Roy Shapland.

Please advise Matt ([email protected]); it's far easier to administer with mail than trying to monitor the forum.

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:06 pm

Firstly I would suggest to the moderators that this probably best belongs in the grading debate section.

Secondly I have noticed that the Harrogate list contains many supposedly active players who are many years deceased. I did consider compiling a list for the grading team then I decided it would serve little purpose. But if it would be helpful I'll happily do it.

The ECF has a duty to maintain accurate records as far as possible under GDPR so we'll process what we know.

Brian Valentine wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 7:14 pm

Death is not the only reason for a record changing and we will act on any email. I did resurrect one member this year!

Ah, 'Life of Brian'. So that was you!

Andrew Zigmond wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:06 pm

Firstly I would suggest to the moderators that this probably best belongs in the grading debate section.

Secondly I have noticed that the Harrogate list contains many supposedly active players who are many years deceased. I did consider compiling a list for the grading team then I decided it would serve little purpose. But if it would be helpful I'll happily do it.

The ECF has a duty to maintain accurate records as far as possible under GDPR so we'll process what we know.
[/quote]

Is that a yes? If so I'll compile such a list and send it to you.

It is a yes

Brian Valentine wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 07, 2023 7:28 pm

It is a yes

The list is now in your inbox.

Another question is what the criteria is for a player becoming inactive and whether this should be communicated as well.

For example Harrogate currently has 155 unrated players listed of whom only 17 I can identify as definitely or almost certainly deceased. The vast majority are players who must have given a club affiliation to Harrogate at some point but who I don't know at all and of those I do remember there are a fair few who may have played a couple of games as an 8 year old in 1999 and never since.

That said there is a chance that a player who last played a rated game in 2010 may re-enter the land of the active next weekend.

The general situation is that players remain active until we are informed of their death.

Brian Valentine wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 08, 2023 8:24 am

The general situation is that players remain active until we are informed of their death.

What about duplicate identities? Does it make sense to merge when known for certain? That's where someone played as a junior, later re-emerging as an adult with a new code.

Reflecting on my post above I suppose the database naturally separates players with current ratings and those that don't anyway. Some duplication is inevitable but it's surely not beyond the wit of club officials to track down new members who may have some past history in the database.