A report from  Andy

Despite, or perhaps because of, the early announcement of the event, only 3 clubs participated this year. Fortunately, both Maryport and Penrith had entered two teams. Maryport, however, arrived a player short but as Ulverston had an extra player, Peter Caulfield was allowed to transfer to Maryport from Ulverston for a fee that Peter Hanks and Gary Sharkey have yet to agree upon.

After five tough rounds, Crown Princes, consisting of Lewis McAtear, Eggert Fruchtenicht and Andrei Carp, emerged victorious after winning all their matches and clearly outshone Crown Jewels, consisting of the two highest rated players, Holden Davis and Dennis Hale along with Dave Hood, who sportingly agreed to make up the team despite being the first to admit that he cannot play fast games.

All in all, despite some conspicuous absences, in was a very enjoyable day and thanks go to Peter Hanks for all his hard work in organising and creating the trophy and awards and of course many thanks to Mike and Anna of the Crown for allowing us to cut short their shopping trip and to take over their dining room for the day.

..............Andy.

Children from 6 to 17 in age, and from Carlisle to Ulverston in geography participated.

The tournament was in 2 sections, Under 18 and Under 13.

Andrei Carp became the Cumbria Junior Chess Champion, winning the Under 18 section with a perfect 7/7 score. Cooper Richardson was the Runner Up with 6/7

Stanley Wilson, at the age of 7 became the Under 13 Cumbria chess Champion. Stanley also achieved a perfect 7/7 score. Aaron Richardson was the runner up with 6/7

All players received certificates of attendance, with other certificates being awarded for highest finishers from different ages.

Congratulations to Andrei and Stanley.

A full report can be read here.

Many thanks
John

Ulverston's Charter Festival Postponed
 
Dear All
Unfortunately, tomorrow's street chess event has been postponed due to the period of national mourning. I will contact you again when we have a new date.

Best Wishes
Hanksy

On Saturday September 10th we have been invited to be part of Ulverston's Charter Festival and asked to play outdoor chess. We have three large outdoor chess sets and we have been given a gazebo on New Market Street.

The event is between 10:30 and 3pm so please come along when you can and encourage members of the public to play.

Dave;

This is an interesting article in today’s Guardian – you may want to put the link on the site.

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/05/online-chess-addiction-ruining-life

Cheers,
Dave

Are you saying we should give up online chess ? Good Idea !

Date 8th Oct

Time 10:00-17:30

Entry fee £5

Entries to be in by the 1st Oct

Entries after the 1st to incur an extra £1 late charge 

Both of these documents are also available on the Library Page and the Archives Page.

As a very brief summary here are the outcomes of the 3 proposals that were discussed.

• Proposal 1 was supported. In future all match arrangements should be carried out via email to provide a documented trail for the League Controller in the event of disagreement between captains or him being required to default a team.
• Proposal 2 was rejected. The meeting agreed to retain the existing wording with matches being played within 4 weeks and 2 days of the stated fixture date. Applies to the Open League, South League, and the Whitaker.
• Proposal 3 was supported. The League Controller is empowered to remove teams from the League if they default on two matches using the definition of default used in the Proposal.

1. All correspondence between team captains is to be by email. This provides documentation in case of any disputes. The League Controller should be cc'd.
2. The time limit for matches is as it was pre-covid. This is to be enforced. It may seem harsh if clubs cannot raise a full team, or even their best team. This means we will have all matches played thus providing real incentive to do well in the leagues and Whitaker.
3. If a match is not played within the time limit of 4 weeks and 2 days one of the teams WILL be defaulted. If any team defaults twice they will be removed from the applicable league and all results removed. If a team has less than the 3 players it is simply a board(s) default - NOT a team defailt.

Hi folks,

Following on from the success of the online North v South Challenge match in September 2020, which the North won 60.5-46.5, I have proposed to ECF Counties Championship Controller Mark Murrell that there be an over-the-board North v South Challenge later this year.

There are various options for a venue, including one in the North (eg Leeds or Manchester), a neutral one in the Midlands (eg Birmingham) or in the south (eg London).

If the event takes place annually, the venue could rotate between North, neutral and South.

I believe this contest could be a great way to galvanise support for chess in the North, and I would be happy to help organise it from our side (alongside other county captains).

What do you think? Could you raise players from your counties to support this event? 

Could Cumbria players let me know if they are interested in playing in the N v S match by the 12th August so I can report any interest to the NCCU AGM.

Cheers,
Dave 

davecole5310@gmail.com

As a quick summary the proposals that were voted through are -

• All contact between team captains is to be by email.
• Matches to be played within 4 weeks and 2 days of the fixture date - as it was pre-covid. Applies to Open League, South League, and the Whitaker.
• If a team defaults a match twice they are removed from the applicable league and all their results discounted.

A just result as Carlisle B are the only team to have played every round.

Dave Cole has covid and so he is isolating for a few days. Jonathan is going to chair the meeting as well as performing his usual role as Secretary. 

Dave has sent a report for the meeting which is attached here. It is worth a read before the meeting as there is a lot of information included.

Here are the other attachments.

Agenda, Minutes of the last meeting, Proposals, Accounts

Hello, 

I attended on Friday the 24th to support the event.

I loaned them some sets from Cumbria Chess, and arranged for some more from Carlisle Chess Club.

Not sure if both of you know this, but 2 years ago the school gained an award (Engraved Board, Chess Set and Chess Clock) from the British Chess Educational Trust.

Due to the pandemic the award has been in my house for that 2 years, but I'm delighted to say that I presented the thoroughly deserved award to the Head Teacher (Rachel Smith) after the tournament (See attached pic). 

On a personal note, I'm delighted to say that Hayton Primary School (where I teach kids to play chess) entered a team for the 1st time. They won the team event, and came 1st and 2nd in the individual placements. 

I hope to be forwarding some pics of the children, with a request put an article on the web site.

As they are children, that won't happen unless I get parental permission.

Hopefully there will be a follow up. 

Many thanks
John

Dear Club Secretaries and Captains

I attach the agenda for this meeting together with the Minutes of the last meeting and proposals for discussion received from David Shaw.

I would ask you to encourage as many of your members as possible to come to the AGM to ensure that we can get the season off to a positive start. 

You will recall that last year, to accomodate Covid, teams of 3 rather than 4 were allowed together with much more flexibility around the fixing of dates for matches.  There has been no proposal to amend the number of members in a team but the League Controller's proposals seek to tighten up the organisation of match dates.  The rules as currently drafted are included in the Constitution which is available on the CCA website.
 
I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Jonathan Rashleigh

The 24th South Lakes Congress took place this weekend.  A list of the prize winners can be seen here. The full results are here.

Dear Club Secretaries & Officers

The next annual general meeting of the Cumbria Chess Association will be held on Saturday 9th July.  Subject to final confirmation, it will be held at the Crown at Eamont Bridge starting at 2pm.
 
The impact of Covid haunted last season with quite a few matches not played despite the reduction in team size and the increased flexibility around fixture dates. Hopefully this will not be a factor next Winter and it is therefore important that all clubs join in discussion of what they want out of league and cub chess and what rules should apply so that there can be a full and enjoyable season ahead.  As always, it is important that all clubs be represented at the meeting.
 
As required by the Constitution, I will send out an agenda at least two weeks before the meeting and would be grateful if, before then,  you could give me any items or proposals that you would like to be included.
 
Best wishes
Jonathan Rashleigh

Dear North East chess organisers,

I would like to invite juniors from your area, school and chess club to take part in the North East Final of the 1st National Youth Chess Championships.

 It is being held on Saturday 28 May, 2022, from 10:00am to 5:00pm at St Mary's Catholic School, Benton Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7PE  

 I am organising the North East Regional Finals on behalf of the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA). 

 Competitors will be organised into several age categories (Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20, with ages as of 01/01/2022) and will play five rounds of chess (each player will have 25 minutes to make all their moves, plus 10 seconds per move). 

 The winning boy and girl in each category will be eligible to compete in the National Finals at Nottingham High School, July 8-10. There will also be trophies and other prizes, to be announced on the day, depending on the number of entries.

 To enter the North East Regional Final, go here:

https://ejcoa.co.uk/online-payments/nyc-regional-final

Further details can also be found here:

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/#event=70309544;instance=20220528100000

This is not a school-run event and so St Mary's Catholic School takes no responsibility for admissions or to attend/supervise on the day. The students and their parents are responsible for these things.

Please don't hesitate to get back to me if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Tim Wall

EJCOA Regional Organiser

Tel: 0750 372 2366

timpeterwall@gmail.com