British Chess Championships 2010

[David Haydon]

hmm, i would love to enter the british this year...but £200 quid to enter? thats quite a bit for a poor old guy like me...i guess i will have to find sponsorship....im pretty sure i could dismantle david howell and michael adams if i entered.... cant be too hard....lol

David.

[John Cox]

Speaking for myself the main reason I don't play the British is that it's two weeks off work whereas a continental nine-round open is almost invariably nine rounds from Saturday to Sunday, thus only one week off. Not that I expect them to change it for me, but I would have thought many people take the same view.

[Gavin Strachan]

I would like to play at the British this year in some of the sections but with a pregnant wife I may have to wait until the British comes back to the SCCU.

[Stewart Reuben]

John Cox >Speaking for myself the main reason I don't play the British is that it's two weeks off work whereas a continental nine-round open is almost invariably nine rounds from Saturday to Sunday, thus only one week off. Not that I expect them to change it for me, but I would have thought many people take the same view.<

Of course we inherited the structure of the British Championships. But there is a great deal to be said for, 'If it aint broke, don't fiddle with it'. Something that attracts 900 entries cannot be all wrong.

Gavin Strachan >I would like to play at the British this year in some of the sections but with a pregnant wife I may have to wait until the British comes back to the SCCU.

What is the grade of your unborn child?

Stewart Reuben

[Adam Raoof]

John Cox >Speaking for myself the main reason I don't play the British is that it's two weeks off work whereas a continental nine-round open is almost invariably nine rounds from Saturday to Sunday, thus only one week off. Not that I expect them to change it for me, but I would have thought many people take the same view.<

Of course we inherited the structure of the British Championships. But there is a great deal to be said for, 'If it aint broke, don't fiddle with it'. Something that attracts 900 entries cannot be all wrong.

Stewart Reuben

The format of the British is aimed at attracting the widest range of players. It is the biggest chess Festival in Britain, with events to suit all - of varying durations and timings. If we had a 9 round Championship it would make it difficult to schedule a rest day, and make it more like all the other 9 round opens out there!

[PaulTalbot]

Alan Walton...... I think the main problem with the British for the amateur is the cost of playing, a conservative amount you have to pay after accom, entry, travel, and spends is about £1,000...................I think we have to look at what we want from the Championship.

hmm, i would love to enter the british this year...but £200 quid to enter? thats quite a bit for a poor old guy like me..

However.

There are more reasons to play in the British than just a chance to make some money - though I accept that this is one incentive amongst many. There is the chance to win a national title. It is the biggest chess festival in the UK, and a chance to get together with friends from all over the country in one spectacular event. Apart from the many titles on offer, the Festival features tournaments for every class of player, coaching, informal tournaments, commentary and many other side events such as quizzes.

Canterbury is a beautiful place to spend a day. You can get there in 55 minutes from London St Pancras. Come on!!

IMO the British is trying to play too many different roles to too many different people. For me, the cost is considerable, about £2000, because we treat it as a family holiday and have booked a cottage for 2 weeks. My 2 sons enjoy taking part in the championships and me and my wife wander around visiting little coffee shops etc. I'm sure there will be many other people like us who also treat the championships as a holiday that involves chess. That is why the place where the championships are held is very important.

Next year the championships are in Sheffield, which cannot in any way be described as a holiday destination, which is why my family won't be there. I assume that other people who also treat the championships as a holiday will be similarly disappointed and also not attending.

The reason I mention this is because if the championships are relying on the entries fees from lower graded players, as stated by Stewart, "to make it viable", then many of these players may not enter if the destination is not right. I think therefore, it must be time to decide what we want from the British, and/or, what we are able to have from the British.

Do we want a championships where the "top players" compete for the title and prize, in which case the destination does not really matter, or do we want to encourage the entries of a lot of 'woodpushers' and make it a large (well attended) event, in which case the destination matters more. As has been said, the cost of entry is high for weaker players.

I think now must be the right time to canvass people's views and make a decision on these questions or we may end up with a situation, in the future, where the non attendance of all levels of player causes the championships to become an embarrassment.

[Adam Raoof]

Paul - I understand the point you are making, but I can only repeat the points made earlier in this thread. Find us a suitable and free venue in the holiday location of your choice and I guarantee we will make every effort to locate the British there!

[PaulTalbot]

Torquay was nice I would go there again. I've not been to Canterbury before but I expect it to be very nice. Aberystwyth is a lovely town and has got a marvellous university and I'm sure that would be an excellent venue. I don't know about any costs, you would know much better than me. Would any of these places be possible?

[Alex Holowczak]

There seem to be two main objections:

a) The entry fee is too high, so weak players won't enter unless it's near the sea.
a2) No suitable venues that are that near the sea can be found.

b) There is no money to pay for professionals, so they won't enter.

The entry fee needs to be higher than it is now to acquire money to satisfy b.

a2 can't be satisfied, meaning the number of weaker players referred to in a don't enter, making it harder to satisfy b.

So, the priority would seem to be a seaside location.

[Richard Cowan]

Splitting the Major Open into two, week long, 9-round FIDE rated tournaments might be a good plan though.
You would still have the chance of winning something after a poor first week, as there would be the second tournament to compete in if you entered both! Also, this would give amateurs the thing that it's hard to get - FIDE rated games!
Additionally, it would provide a week long FIDE rated tournament at the British which might attract some players who might go abroad for these (especially if they live locally).
ALso, if this doesn't fill a niche that a certain section of players want, maybe the ECF should organise another tournament which does fill those needs? If there's enough demand you will get entries, simples!
Any supporters?

[Alex Holowczak]

Any supporters?

Like the idea of two 9-round events in each week. But you'd have to have more than one round per day. Presumably, the playing venue is booked Sunday-Saturday, a total of 14 days. Presumably you'd run week 1's Open from Monday-Friday, and week 2's from Monday-Friday, and have two rounds per day on four of the five days, one in the morning session, and one in the afternoon session. That would work? Or would people complain about 4-hour sessions, not 7-hour sessions?

[Adam Raoof]

There seem to be two main objections:

a) The entry fee is too high, so weak players won't enter unless it's near the sea.
a2) No suitable venues that are that near the sea can be found.

b) There is no money to pay for professionals, so they won't enter.

The entry fee needs to be higher than it is now to acquire money to satisfy b.

a2 can't be satisfied, meaning the number of weaker players referred to in a don't enter, making it harder to satisfy b.

So, the priority would seem to be a seaside location.

You can't treat it like a mathematical problem

The entry fee is not too high. Discuss. (don't forget there are 24 events with differing fees)
A suitable venue by the sea may exist, but we have yet to find one.
Does it have to be by the sea? York would be a great venue, no seaside...
Not everyone who plays in the Championship section is there to make a profit. This is still true of titled players, though I support appearance fees.
The priority appears to be sponsorship!

I support the transformation of the Major Open into a norm-seeking event, and I know that we could greatly increase the number of entries if we made changes in that direction.

[Richard Cowan]

keep Sunday as a rest day, 3 days have two games/day in week one; 4 days have two games/day in week two.
Would seem to be the obvious way of doing it... I mean, if it's not at the seaside, might as well maximise the chess! people could always do a week at the british and a week abroad after?
Dunno about how many people are bothered by the time of the sessions, but people are saying they'd rather go abroad, and that's what you'd get there, so seems like a trial might be an idea?

York would be a great venue, no seaside...]

It would! No travelling for me!
Unfortunately, all the hotels can easily rely on being pretty full at that time of the year, and you wouldn't get any concessions or a free venue - unless you could get something off the council... (doubtful expression!)
Contacting York st John uni might be worth a punt though - hint, hint

[Richard Cowan]

Oh I forgot, it has to move around and Yorkshire twice in two years would be in violation of the terms of the british (I seem to remember reading this somewhere)...

[Alan Walton]

I do like the idea of the Major Open being a norm event, but unfortunately you would have to bring in "foreign" titled players as the British titled players are already in the Championship.

Another problem is that the British has a high level of players under 2200, this is mainly due to the high volume of qualifying events around the country (now all FIDE rated tournaments get a place).

Maybe the Championship should just have the follow entry criteria

1) all players over certain rating criteria, the current levels are fine (adult & juniors)
2) only 10-20 qualifiers from tournaments, maybe go back to regional qualifying tournament
3) Top 5 players from the previous years Major Open

By having more strigent criteria to qualify for the Championship would make the Major Open stronger and more attractive to enter, and should increase entries and thus not affect income significantly