English Chess Forum

Hastings is going ahead this year. The e-mail I got earlier today says I should "note that it will be a very different Congress too that which took place to prior to the pandemic", but I can find nothing saying how it will be different.

Here you go: https://hastingschess.com/hastings-cong ... on-policy/

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:36 pm

but I can find nothing saying how it will be different.

By Christmas there will have been several months of Congresses running without the restrictions Hastings seem to think are necessary or required.

Here's the list

It is recommended that all players attending the Congress should have been double-jabbed, although this is not a condition of entry
The wearing of face masks is not obligatory; however should your opponent request the wearing of face masks we ask you to oblige. Failure to do so will result in additional measures, such as playing over two boards or in separate rooms, being employed
There will be no analysis room
There will be no spectators in the playing room. It should be noted that when your game is finished you become spectators
There will be no bookstall
There will be no live commentary at the venue
There will be no evening events
We will be operating a one-way system in and out of the playing hall and venue
Anybody that the arbiters have concerns about will be required to take a Covid test. Acceptance of this is a condition of entry.
The organisers also reserve the right to take players temperatures
Boards and pieces will be sprayed with sanitiser each day
Hand sanitiser and masks will be made available to players
These pandemic precautions are subject to change and will be dependant on Government recommendations in force during the event.

No this, no that. In summary, all the fun of the game gets taken away.

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 8:44 pm

No this, no that. In summary, all the fun of the game gets taken away.

That was also my initial reaction, but I have been talked down. My complaint about the document seems to have far more to to with its tone that its substance.

The emphasis could easily have been "we're back this year, putting on a tournament which we hope you will enjoy. Covid restrictions are of course a nuisance, but we have managed to keep the important elements intact and you will be inconvenienced as little as possible".

Instead, it reads to me ( and evidently others ) more like "there will be a tournament this year, but because of Covid you have to accept that it will be nowhere near as pleasant an experience as you have come to expect".

I shall give them the benefit of the doubt and presume that the team in charge is actually more inclined towards the first view.

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 10, 2021 12:42 pm

I shall give them the benefit of the doubt

I'm not sure why. There's a document of a similar tone at the Hastings club website.

In their defence, Hastings has often been a notorious flu and cold spreader with the volume of noise from coughing increasing as every day of the Congress passes and for that matter players seeking last minute half point sickness byes.

I particularly look forward to examples of

Failure to do so will result in additional measures, such as playing over two boards or in separate rooms[/b], being employed

This could be a real hoot.

Not the friendliest delivery of rules.

Oh and by the way, we really do not want to have to organise this event but if you insist we will be draconian.

Despite the reference to “Govt recommendations”, it seems to me that a significant number of the proposed “precautions” either barely align with existing govt recommendations, let alone requirements, and/or are known to be hangovers from when we knew a lot less about Covid and how it spreads than we do now.

How many places are seriously still operating one way systems? Repeated sanitisation of boards and pieces for something which is largely accepted as an airborne virus. You can (practically) insist your opponent wear a mask but what about the person on the adjacent board? Spend all afternoon in the playing hall together but don’t expect any evening events (organise your own entertainment with the masses in the pub instead).

It’s going to be interesting to find out over the next few months whether organisers taking the “extreme precaution” approach will be successful or are just making allowances for people who would rather not take the risk anyway.

Richard Bates wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:05 pm

How many places are seriously still operating one way systems?

You do still see the signs on the floor in train stations and in supermarkets. Not sure if that is just because no-one has removed them. I don't think many people observe them in supermarkets. Maybe in train stations and other transport hubs it just helps manage the flow of people better anyway, regardless? You do get bottlenecks in congress venues where it can help to have one-way systems, but agreed that anything like this should be separated out from any Covid restrictions.

I should say that, in relation to the mask issue in particular, i don't mean to downplay or belittle those who think masks are important and/or provide them with reassurance. Just as some people really don't like wearing them. But i don't understand the approach that tries to mix and match (and this applies equally to the IMO strange regulations about half pt byes that the 4ncl tournaments have come up with). IMO either an organiser should mandate masks (and risk putting off those who don't want to wear them) or they should not (and put off those who won't play without them). And everyone knows where they stand from the start.

I see no sensible argument for making it something only relevant to a player and their opponent when that really isn't sufficient for Covid in a relatively crowded arena. And of course whilst there has been the debate about whether masks are worn to protect yourself or others around you, there are masks now that are believed to provide substantial levels of personal protection to the individual, regardless of what others are doing.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:34 pm

Richard Bates wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:05 pm

How many places are seriously still operating one way systems?

You do still see the signs on the floor in train stations and in supermarkets. Not sure if that is just because no-one has removed them. I don't think many people observe them in supermarkets. Maybe in train stations and other transport hubs it just helps manage the flow of people better anyway, regardless? You do get bottlenecks in congress venues where it can help to have one-way systems, but agreed that anything like this should be separated out from any Covid restrictions.

Yes fair point - i understand the purpose in confronting/limiting potential for overcrowding. But there is a difference between Clapham Junction and the Horntye Sports centre.

Anyway good luck to them. Hopefully it won't prove too expensive. I think they might have been better running an all-play-all and a couple of weekenders but we'll see.

I hate to sound like the teacher's pet but I'm very grateful to the organisers for giving me an opportunity to play chess in the bleak midwinter notwithstanding negative tone and fussy rules.

My daughter started 6th form college this week and they have a 1 way system that means sometimes to get to the classroom next door she has to leave the building

Big university buildings and libraries can have one-way systems as well, meaning you may need to go up a floor and around and down again to get out of the building... It can seem crazy at times. Limits of one person in a lift as well (unless you are in the same 'household').

Richard Bates wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:46 pm

Yes fair point - i understand the purpose in confronting/limiting potential for overcrowding. But there is a difference between Clapham Junction and the Horntye Sports centre.

In the past, the most crowded areas in the Horntye centre have been the bar and the cafe area. That was particularly the case in 2019-20 when the cafe area was closed because the roof had been blown away.

It is or perhaps now was, one of the few Congresses to attract day visitors.

I sometimes feel I should choose between Hastings and the London Chess Classic FIDE Open. I'm guessing the latter isn't likely to take place this year.