Your biggest beef

[John Upham]

https://hampshirechesshistory.co.uk/wp- ... ary-97.pdf

Maybe one of the other players can remember more?

Devon Hants 1997.jpeg (354.62 KiB) Viewed 1716 times

I did a little checking and found that the ambient temperature would have been around 3 degrees Celsius.

I asked Ken Coates about this match and

"I dressed in my skiing gear and played in skiing gloves to keep warm. The toilets were frozen and didn't work."

[MartinCarpenter]

Goodness, I've always been impressed by the fact that 3C's 2 played a match vs Chorlton when our heating had failed one winter. It wasn't quite that cold, but still easily bad enough for them to have just claimed the match!

Various rubbish venues over the years of course, I'm not sure if it would be very fair to pick on any specific one(s).

[Christopher Kreuzer]

There is a four-page thread from 2011 (PLAYING CONDITIONS - NOT THE WORSE? SURELY?) with more horror stories (similar threads elsewhere in the forum are available). Notable highlights from that thread include an infamous Hounslow pub that was eventually closed down by the police.

[John Clarke]

Rubbish venues would have to be high on anyone's list of beefs. I've experienced my share, but will name only one. The Old Elizabethans club (now merged with Barnet CC) used to meet in a sports pavilion which might have been warm enough when heaving with thirty-odd animated rugger-buggers plus hangers-on, but decidedly frigid with just sixteen motionless chess players and a only couple of domestic-style electric fires to provide the therms. Froze my buns off there at least twice.

But at one time my main bugbear was defaulters. I once had four in the course of a single half-season. OK, so our team scored the points. But they didn't count for rating purposes, and by the time one had sat there for an hour to establish the w/o there was little or no chance to arrange another meaningful game.

[Mick Norris]

Defaulters yes, especially if you have travelled quite a distance to a county match and don't get reimbursed the train fare for the wasted journey

[MSoszynski]

I remember playing in Dudley many years ago. Twelve of us were squeezed into a storeroom with strangely-shaped boxes stacked the against the walls. I asked what they were. It was flamingly obvious once I was told the answer - coffins.

[Clive Wismayer]

As a captain wondering why team mates considered setting up the pieces (or putting them away again) not part of their job description.

Also, not a beef but a curiosity, players who need a reminder of the time control every time they play

[Stephen Westmoreland]

Players assuming there is a magic match set up and tidy up fairy.

[Kevin Thurlow]

I had a series of matches as captain where I set up before the match (alone) then put everything including furniture away afterwards, then joined the others in the pub. Most of the players turned up just in time for the official starting time, others a few minutes late. We never started on time. Then we had another home match. I had a great shock when two visiting players turned up ten minutes before the starting time. They immediately helped set up, then we had a friendly chat, and exchanged team lists. Then they said, "We always start late - can't we start on time?" "Great idea!" For ten minutes we continued the friendly chat whilst our opponents' clocks ticked and then players from both sides straggled in over the next 15 minutes and looked in horror at all the clocks ticking. I still cleared up on my own, but it made the point...

My own biggest beef - cheating and the inevitable resulting cover-up. Even this forum is guilty of that. I was told I'd be thrown off the forum if I mentioned one case! I might still do it...

Although organizations covering up sexual abuse is worse obviously.

[MJMcCready]

Well theres no doubt antics occur but I was thinking more in terms of venues, playing conditionsand adminsitrative mess ups. Like once when Bedfordshire played Nottinghamshire in the quarter or semi final of the county championship in 93/94. They decided to make everyone stop playing and stop the clocks in the middle of the match for about half an hour, then brought out tea and biscuits. Who wanted a tea break -no one. All a bit embarrassing I thought

[NickFaulks]

Even this forum is guilty of that. I was told I'd be thrown off the forum if I mentioned one case! I might still do it...

That is a serious accusation. I think you have to back it up now!

[Roger de Coverly]

They decided to make everyone stop playing and stop the clocks in the middle of the match for about half an hour, then brought out tea and biscuits. Who wanted a tea break -no one. All a bit embarrassing I thought

Breaks in the middle of county matches used to be traditional. My first ever county match was at the Royal Festival Hall when the SCCU used it as a central venue. It was most impressive to see the boards and sets in every direction. But after an hour and a half or so, all clocks were stopped, games abandoned and the players all trooped off to the tea room/cafe.

[Roger de Coverly]

Players assuming there is a magic match set up and tidy up fairy.

I rather dislke it when people start to pack up sets whilst games are still in progress. It can be noisy and dsitracting and for that matter you end up playing in an empty room. I don't think it necessary to do any more than reset the pieces so you can see at a glance that it's a full set when finally clearing up.

[NickFaulks]

I rather dislke it when people start to pack up sets whilst games are still in progress.

That is easily solved. You say "don't worry about the clearing up, I'll do it".

[Roger de Coverly]

That is easily solved. You say "don't worry about the clearing up, I'll do it".

Only for home matches when you are the person in charge where I would tell anyone being noisy in tidying up while games were in progress to desist.