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Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:35 pm
by Mike Gunn
3 sections:
FIDE rated Open, incorporating SCCU Championship
FIDE rated Major (U1900 and U160)
ECF graded Minor (U130)
Chief Arbiter: Adam Raoof.
Full details, online entry and entry form can be found at www.surreychesscongress.co.uk

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:11 pm
by Roger de Coverly
Mike Gunn wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:35 pm
Full details, online entry and entry form can be found at www.surreychesscongress.co.uk
No on-site parking and £ 1 per hour elsewhere is something of a discouragement for players outside London. It's not even as unlike Olympia, Kingston is not Central London.

(edited)

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:20 pm
by Tim Spanton
Sounds pretty good to me … EXCEPT it clashes with Guernsey

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:23 pm
by Roger de Coverly
Tim Spanton wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:20 pm
EXCEPT it clashes with Guernsey
Scarborough as well.

http://www.scarboroughchesscongress.org.uk/

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:49 pm
by John McKenna
Therefore Guernsey already "clashed" with Scarborough before Surrey (Kingston) appeared.

Don't the distances between those three locations make a "clash" a remote possibility that only inveterate chess tourists would encounter?

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:56 pm
by Alex Holowczak
Mike Gunn wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:35 pm
3 sections:
FIDE rated Open, incorporating SCCU Championship
FIDE rated Major (U1900 and U160)
ECF graded Minor (U130)
That format looks remarkably like the MCCU Championship format I used. I'll take that as a compliment. :)

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:57 pm
by Nick Grey
I have missed the Big Surrey Congresses and am delighted for all those that are organising Chess in Kingston.

Well done and thanks. Will see you at the Congress.

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:59 pm
by Roger de Coverly
Mike Gunn wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:35 pm
FIDE rated Major (U1900 and U160)
Presumably like the recent changes to 4NCL Congress eligibility, you need to be both under 1900 and under 160 if you have both a FIDE rating and ECF grade.

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:29 pm
by Nick Grey
The entry form is very clear to me as are Mike's words. I also liked the photo from the 1st Kingston Rapidplay.

An excellent team running the congress.

There are hotels in Kingston, car parks, and excellent public transport routes. A lovely town centre, facilities, and the River.

A fantastic end to the half term break for juniors and those that work in education. What more could you want?

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 8:02 am
by Kevin Thurlow
"No on-site parking and £ 1 per hour elsewhere is something of a discouragement for players outside London. It's not even as unlike Olympia, Kingston is not Central London."

And if you use a car, the local council is very eager to punish anybody who strays into a bus lane, or yellow hatched lines at a junction, or who overstays car parking time. As with other parts of London, some car parks charge up to about 11 pm. Don't expect buses to stop for red traffic lights!

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:17 am
by Ken Norman
Nick Grey wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:29 pm
The entry form is very clear to me as are Mike's words. I also liked the photo from the 1st Kingston Rapidplay.

An excellent team running the congress.

There are hotels in Kingston, car parks, and excellent public transport routes. A lovely town centre, facilities, and the River.

A fantastic end to the half term break for juniors and those that work in education. What more could you want?
A separate section for Seniors with the highest eligible player being awarded the title Surrey Seniors Champion.

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:11 pm
by Mike Gunn
Alex, we did look around at other congresses before deciding what sections to offer, but not the MCCU, as it happens.

Ken, we did offer a Seniors section about 6 years ago but had to cancel it because we only received a handful (3?) of entries. Maybe we'll offer one next year though ...

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:48 pm
by Kevin Thurlow
I suggest putting car parking details on the website somewhere. The one off Penrhyn road is a bit confusing to get to (as is the one near the station)and you don't want to circumnavigate the one-way system too much! The big car parks next to the shopping centres do get full at weekends sometimes.

I'm not trying to scare people off! Adam, Daniel etc will do a good job.

(For the uninitiated, I had a bit of an argument with Surrey Congress organizers about 25 years ago, but happily those individuals appear not be involved this time.)

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:22 pm
by Alex Holowczak
Mike Gunn wrote:
Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:11 pm
Alex, we did look around at other congresses before deciding what sections to offer, but not the MCCU, as it happens.
We seem to have independently come up with an identical format in all details, except your Friday night round starts an hour earlier than mine and my prize fund was higher. But the section limits, the entry fees, the number of FIDE-rated sections... everything is the same. Great minds do indeed think alike. I'm sure it'll be a great success.

Hopefully now it's launched you can get back to the unread (or at least, unacted upon) emails in your inbox. :wink:

Re: Surrey Chess Congress October 26-28

Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 2:24 pm
by John Foley
Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:48 pm
I suggest putting car parking details on the website somewhere. The one off Penrhyn road is a bit confusing to get to (as is the one near the station)and you don't want to circumnavigate the one-way system too much! The big car parks next to the shopping centres do get full at weekends sometimes.
How to get to Kingston University Penrhyn Road for the Surrey Chess Congress Directions

The nearest public car park is Bittoms, located behind the Crown Court.
https://www.kingston.gov.uk/directory_r ... 98/bittoms