UKCC Mega Finals results?

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Alex Holowczak
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sat May 14, 2011 7:32 pm

Jon D'Souza-Eva wrote:As far as I know there are no money prizes at any Megafinal (I'd be astonished if any did offer cash prizes) and the prizes at the Gigafinal are all-or-nothing - £100 for first place and nothing for anyone else.
This is correct. Cash prizes only really kick in at the Terafinal.

Mark Howitt
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Mark Howitt » Sun May 15, 2011 10:46 am

Obviously I couldn't remember the names of the many different 'Finals'! I remember when I first read the names years ago.... thinking "But... Megafinal sounds better than Terafinal"! Pity that most of the kids in the 'Megafinal' won't actually be that good at chess (and because they are in the MEGAFINAL they could be under the impression they are 'mega' at chess, falsely).

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John Upham
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by John Upham » Sun May 15, 2011 11:46 am

I had a number of children qualify to the Hampshire and Berkshire Mega Finals from a number of schools.

Of these only a handful took up their place an entered.

One of the main reasons for this is that these Mega Finals were held on a Bank Holiday weekend and when I asked the children I was told that
"I could not go because we had something else planned for that weekend"
Some of these children were very much looking forward to playing.

Surely using the weekend following is very reasonable?
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Paul Dupré
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Paul Dupré » Sun May 15, 2011 11:56 am

John Upham wrote:Someone from Surrey Junior Chess could flesh out the details much better than I.
John is that the real Surrey Junior Chess you're talking about, or the fake one run by CCF?
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John Upham
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by John Upham » Sun May 15, 2011 12:04 pm

Paul Dupré wrote:
John Upham wrote:Someone from Surrey Junior Chess could flesh out the details much better than I.
John is that the real Surrey Junior Chess you're talking about, or the fake one run by CCF?
Paul,

I was referring to the generic concept of junior chess in Surrey regardless of those involved. Can we keep this thread free from acrimony please?

Having looked at http://www.surreyjuniorchess.co.uk/ I found the colour scheme to be so garish that my eyesight has yet to recover and to look again would require a great deal of persuasion! :D
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Alex Holowczak
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sun May 15, 2011 5:46 pm

Mark Howitt wrote:"But... Megafinal sounds better than Terafinal"!
Mega, Giga and Tera are 10^6, 10^9 and 10^12 respectively. Kilo is 10^3. 10^15 is Peta from memory.

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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Mark Howitt » Sun May 15, 2011 7:24 pm

Maybe u should ask how many schoolchildren know that! (If they do, they may be too geeky, even for chess.)

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sun May 15, 2011 7:29 pm

Mark Howitt wrote:Maybe u should ask how many schoolchildren know that! (If they do, they may be too geeky, even for chess.)
Probably more than in the past, given what has happened to computer specs over the years.

Alex Holowczak
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sun May 15, 2011 7:29 pm

Mark Howitt wrote:Maybe u should ask how many schoolchildren know that! (If they do, they may be too geeky, even for chess.)
I knew it aged 17; it was part of A Level Physics. 8)

Susan Lalic
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Susan Lalic » Mon May 16, 2011 8:34 am

Jim Wadsworth wrote:By way of comparison, in Berkshire we had a total Megafinal entry of just over 200. Of these 26 were teenagers.

If my understanding is right then Surrey had almost 400 entrants, of whom about 28 were teenagers. What was excellent to see in the Surrey entry is that about 50% of participants were female. Clearly they are doing something right - in Berks our female entry was only about 17% of total. Would love to know what Surrey's formula is.
Jim, It could be due to the number of all girls schools in Surrey. I teach in two and have had 21 qualify through to the Gigafinals. Girls' chess thrives in single gender schools, but I have a lot less success with the U-11 girls from mixed schools.

The number of girls playing in Surrey is probably also helped by the tradition of Wey Valley (Surrey) having successful teams in the English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) National Inter-Association competition for the last 30 years or so. Success tends to breed success and many girls are motivated to become part of the team.

I also agree with Neill Cooper that Neil Clifton (Coloma Convent) created a fantasic legacy for girls chess that still lives on.
Last edited by Susan Lalic on Mon May 16, 2011 8:46 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Susan Lalic » Mon May 16, 2011 8:39 am

Mark Howitt wrote:Obviously I couldn't remember the names of the many different 'Finals'! I remember when I first read the names years ago.... thinking "But... Megafinal sounds better than Terafinal"! Pity that most of the kids in the 'Megafinal' won't actually be that good at chess (and because they are in the MEGAFINAL they could be under the impression they are 'mega' at chess, falsely).
I also used to have difficulty remembering which is which and think that it won't be obvious to parents. Therefore, when submitting a report to a school magazine, I always clarify with Surrey Megafinals, Southern England Gigafinals or National Terafinals.

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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon May 16, 2011 12:16 pm

See http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/c ... fixes.html

Susan's solution "Therefore, when submitting a report to a school magazine, I always clarify with Surrey Megafinals, Southern England Gigafinals or National Terafinals." is a good one...

I did ask Mike Basman once when the yottafinal was and he looked a bit puzzled...
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Alex Holowczak
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Alex Holowczak » Mon May 16, 2011 4:44 pm

Susan Lalic wrote:I always clarify with Surrey Megafinals, Southern England Gigafinals or National Terafinals.
This is what I had to do in school reports of them, in order for the report to get read out in assemblies. :shock:

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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by Mark Howitt » Tue May 17, 2011 6:30 am

I think the actual Final should be renamed "YO HOMMIES THIS IS THE CHESS MEGGGGGGGGGGGGGA MEGAAAA COOL AND STREET FINAL! THIS IS THE REAL DEAL FINAL PLAYAS WHERE THE TRUE CHESS G'S COME OUT FOR THE ULTIMATE FINAL.... IN THE WORLD".

Know your audience ;).

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John Upham
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Re: UKCC Mega Finals results?

Post by John Upham » Fri May 20, 2011 10:06 pm

I've been informed by Pat Armstrong that the complete set of Hampshire results are now at

http://www.ukchesschallenge.com/ which means I can complete the schools parent newsletter reports!

Thanks Pat! :D
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