British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Details of upcoming UK events, please provide working links if possible.
LawrenceCooper
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:05 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:54 pm
LawrenceCooper wrote:
Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:33 pm
Ameet Ghasi v Mickey Adams play-off for the title:
Who gets the two qualification places for the "Hastings" all play all?
I'm assuming Wadsworth & Turner.

David Sedgwick
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by David Sedgwick » Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:41 pm

LawrenceCooper wrote:
Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:05 pm
I'm assuming Wadsworth & Turner.
That's correct, unless the ECF disqualifies one of them. :lol:

Matthew Turner
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Matthew Turner » Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:51 pm

Fortunately my computer didn't know you couldn't take Queens off with Bishops that are pinned, so I think I've dodged the anti-cheating protocols.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/6132596403

Matthew Turner
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Matthew Turner » Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:07 pm

All in all, I think this was a very successful tournament, so a big thank you to everyone involved.

David Sedgwick
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by David Sedgwick » Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:00 am

Matthew Turner wrote:
Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:51 pm
Fortunately my computer didn't know you couldn't take Queens off with Bishops that are pinned, so I think I've dodged the anti-cheating protocols.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/6132596403
You deserved to qualify and you would have been very unlucky had you not done so.

Mick Norris
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Mick Norris » Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:04 am

TWIC
We need to get through the Coronavirus crisis first but I think there might be room for a British Online Championship with this format going forward. Probably unlikely, but worth thinking about.
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Andy Stoker
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Andy Stoker » Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:36 am

I was able to play in one event only - Old Folks Rapid. I had some difficulties knowing how to get into it, which others on this Forum helped with (I'm grateful). Really well organised and controlled - efficient, friendly, touches of humour... I think all the old folk behaved. Very enjoyable. My thanks to all concerned.

David Sedgwick
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by David Sedgwick » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:12 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:04 am
TWIC
We need to get through the Coronavirus crisis first but I think there might be room for a British Online Championship with this format going forward. Probably unlikely, but worth thinking about.
There will need to be at least one more British Online Championships.

The one definite sanction being imposed on those who have been found to be cheating is that they will be banned from the next British Online Championships. If there are no such Championships, there will be nothing from which to ban them.

Matt Bridgeman
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Matt Bridgeman » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:24 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:12 pm
Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:04 am
TWIC
We need to get through the Coronavirus crisis first but I think there might be room for a British Online Championship with this format going forward. Probably unlikely, but worth thinking about.
There will need to be at least one more British Online Championships.

The one definite sanction being imposed on those who have been found to be cheating is that they will be banned from the next British Online Championships. If there are no such Championships, there will be nothing from which to ban them.
I think it was a terrific Championship, for the size and number of events, and particularly the great commentary from Matthew and Natasha. I think if there is to be another one, they should run all events on Zoom. The non-Zoom qualifiers and rating limited events were slightly painful experiences it seemed for players hoping to get some honest games in.
Last edited by Matt Bridgeman on Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mick Norris
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Mick Norris » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:41 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:12 pm
Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:04 am
TWIC
We need to get through the Coronavirus crisis first but I think there might be room for a British Online Championship with this format going forward. Probably unlikely, but worth thinking about.
There will need to be at least one more British Online Championships.

The one definite sanction being imposed on those who have been found to be cheating is that they will be banned from the next British Online Championships. If there are no such Championships, there will be nothing from which to ban them.
Thanks to all who worked hard to make it happen

Do we know how many players were found to be cheating?
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Wadih Khoury
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Wadih Khoury » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:51 pm

In case the organisers do read the forum:

Thank you for organising the event, it was long overdue, and as some said above, the Zoom finals were fantastically managed. Hopefully OtB will be back and we will not need another one, but if we do, I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Thank you gain for a great event :)

Some hopefully constructive criticism:
  • As above, the non-zoom bit were uncomfortable, with a lingering fear of cheaters. The number of 1200 players (playing a high volume of games in December, never beating 1500+) suddenly beating 1800s or above felt above the statistical norm.
  • I understand the logic of some of the tournament ratings, but they should use the highest available rating rather than Fide followed by ECF followed by x/y/z.
  • Too many sections. Surprisingly, this was a negative while I thought initially it was a great idea. Some sections barely had enough players (U18, with most players actually U12s I think...), some were over-represented due to qualification routes (U12 had 4 of the best U10s, since U12 qualified to the main championship).
  • Using rapid as a gateway to standard feels deeply unfair. You can't gate standard play behind speed chess. Rather than 3x rapid qualifiers, just do a 9 round standard qualifier, with zoom, and take the top 12

Matt Bridgeman
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Matt Bridgeman » Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:33 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:41 pm
David Sedgwick wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:12 pm
Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:04 am
TWIC

There will need to be at least one more British Online Championships.

The one definite sanction being imposed on those who have been found to be cheating is that they will be banned from the next British Online Championships. If there are no such Championships, there will be nothing from which to ban them.
Thanks to all who worked hard to make it happen

Do we know how many players were found to be cheating?
The chess.com anti-cheating measures seemed shockingly bad at detecting people. I can only think smart cheaters are now beating their measures very easily. Hopefully the Regan tests have more luck.

Matthew Turner
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Matthew Turner » Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:48 pm

Matt Bridgeman wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:33 pm
Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:41 pm
David Sedgwick wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:12 pm


There will need to be at least one more British Online Championships.

The one definite sanction being imposed on those who have been found to be cheating is that they will be banned from the next British Online Championships. If there are no such Championships, there will be nothing from which to ban them.
Thanks to all who worked hard to make it happen

Do we know how many players were found to be cheating?
The chess.com anti-cheating measures seemed shockingly bad at detecting people. I can only think smart cheaters are now beating their measures very easily. Hopefully the Regan tests have more luck.
The form to complete is here
https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/fair- ... aint-form/

Chris Rice
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by Chris Rice » Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:48 pm

Fide have now produced regulations for online chess and a thread has been started here

David Sedgwick
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Re: British Online Chess Championships 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021

Post by David Sedgwick » Mon Jan 04, 2021 7:23 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:41 pm
Do we know how many players were found to be cheating?
Matthew Turner will know, but quite rightly he won't say, unless the ECF decide to issue a statement.

I will say that the number was fewer than the organisers and arbiters anticipated beforehand. I note the concern about the non-Zoom events, but some cheats were detected therein.

If we had every event on Zoom, there would have to be fewer tournaments, or they would have to be spread out over a longer period. If we don't get a return to OTB even by the summer of 2021 or thereabouts, then a longer British Online Championships, all on Zoom, might be an attractive option. If we do get a return to OTB, then I would expect a future British Online Championships to comprise fewer tournaments.

I am very pleased by the generally positive reaction to the event. Beforehand I was one of those who thought that it could turn out to be more trouble than it was worth. Now I feel that it definitely was worth the effort.

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