Chess Scotland Noticeboard

Trevor Davies · Queen Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 131

It's remarkable how the rankings match so closely the final results. Only Bulgaria stands out to confound the rankings. (It could save an awful lot of money and time if countries simply submitted a teamlist and stayed at home Wink

)

Geoff Chandler · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:19 am Post subject:

Ah well that is that. I've enjoyed these wee chats.

I cannot wait to see all the presents that Alan has brought back for me.
I've been looking after his yellow bike in exchange for gifts from Serbia.

Where is the next event being held?

Andy if you give one chess lesson a week for the next two years
and charge £10 a throw then you will have enough money to go.

I hope all your other troubles get sorted out soon and you and your wife
can put all this behind you.

AMcHarg · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:27 am Post subject:

Well played team! Don't be upset at finishing in this position, you were outgraded virtually all the time!

Geoff I think the population issue shows potential for Scotland but the actual population of the country is not as important as the number of Chess players. If as many people in Scotland played Chess as play football then we would be much much better at Chess than we are at the moment as we would have far more GMs etc (statistically). So the key is... how do you make someone who normally plays/likes football turn to Chess!? I think Chess Scotland needs a billionaire investor so we can sponsor Celtic and Rangers! Imagine the Chess Scotland logo in front of their shirts?

A Very Happy

Geoff Chandler · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:50 pm Post subject:

Hi

It's just I've heard people saying Scotland won't be good at this or that
because there are only 5 million inhabitants. So settle back to a life of mediocrity.

McNab, Motwani and Rowson are not freaks.
They were determined young men who worked hard to achieve their GM titles.

If you want it bad enough you will get it, but you have to be preapred
to put in the work and not look for an excuse(s) why you will fail even
before a pawn has been pushed.

Take the four lads who were at the European event.
4 good chess players. They know all they need to know about chess.
They finished 2nd bottom because they expected to finish 2nd bottom
and received no help at all from anyone.

What should and could have happened is this.

Each player is allocated 3 coaches (stong players) who live near each other.

A month before they go the coaches ask the player if there is
part of the game the player needs help and gives him a training
program.

During the event these coaches get together and look at futiue
opponents games looking for wrinkles and email their findings to their man.

This kind of support from back home would have been invaluable.
Everyone benefits, including the coaches.

Is this a silly pipe dream. No. It can be done.

I have another idea.

Why not just let these four guys see each other for the first time
at the airport, give them no help at all and celebrate the fact they
finished 2nd. bottom because they were expect too.

The support these 4 guys got, or the total lack of it was nothing
short of terrible.

admin · Site Admin Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1386

Phil Thomas · King Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 758

As I understand, when budgets were fixed in April 2009 all directors received all the budget they asked for.

Andy Muir was not in post at the time.

HughBrechin · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:07 pm Post subject:

Graeme Forbes · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:44 pm Post subject:

A Muir · King Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 489 Location: Dumbarton

The Junior budget is £10k. The Adult budget is £5k last year and £0k this year. I don't really understand this. Why should adults not get a higher budget ?

Can we please have a breakdown of where the £10k is spent ?
How much is Turkey costing , broken down by player ?

admin · Site Admin Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1386

Phil Thomas · King Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 758

A Muir · King Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 489 Location: Dumbarton

Two more interesting things on the last days:

Guest of honour at the closing ceremony was 76-year old Svetozar Gligoric, one of Jim's favourite players. Jim was looking for a copy of Fischer's memorable games for him to autograph in the hotel lobby. The backing music to the prizegiving was "We wish you a merry christmas"

The organisers arranged a taxi for the 280km drive to Budapest Airport for Alan and myself. They phoned us at 11.30pm to say it would arrive at 7.30 am for our 12.20 pm flight. At 7.50 am it had not arrived so Alan phoned the organiser. A minibus arrived at 8am and took us to a garage by 10am with the driver on the mobile phone throughout. At the garage, lived a family of 4 urchins, with the 10 year old boy smoking, to beg.
After a twenty minute wait we transferred to a fast car where the shaded driver hit 150km per hour to get the flight. At the end he made a wrong tuming and we arrived at 11.45am. Just in time for 30 minute check in we thought, but we were told it was 40 minutes and were refused flight. We then went to departures without checking in and I claimed my suitcase was a light hold-all. Luckily they let us on the flight and transferred my suitcase to the hold for a £20 charge.

robin moore · King Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 164

Look guys Phil and co. were democratically elected at the agm, the budgets were set and that truly should be the end of it. Please allow Phil to get on with the task in hand, a job that requires voluntarily giving his services along with the other junior directors on a higher level than most of us can even imagine. So let's get behind them and support them in any way we can and let's not get the handbags at dawn stuff trawled out again....please!

Robin.

Jim Stevenson · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:16 pm Post subject: Pulp Fiction

Thanks for your enthusiastic support Geoff. Smile

The team always enjoyed your witticisms. I could not possibly comment on whether we agreed with the serious Confused

points hidden in amongst the gags. (fyi: Radjabov told me that The Doors are legends in Baku ( He wasn't sure whether to invite me or Graham there Cool

), and constitute a core part of all Azeri training sessions. He also asked ' Mosquitos I now know all about, but who are these beetles' (sic)?

But I can say that, passing over shall we say, some interesting 'administrative quirks', it was a great pleasure and privilege to represent Bonnie Scotland in, arguably, Laughing

the world's strongest team tournament Evil or Very Mad

in the company of such excellent team mates, and fine players as Graham, Andy and Alan. Many thanks also to Lynne for her invaluable support and calming influence. I think Alan will certainly put the experience to good use as he closes in on the IM title over the next couple of years.

For myself, I can only wish I had even a basic opening repertoire and the same energy as my many youthful professional opponents.

If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend it to any aspiring young player, despite the obvious difficulties associated with funding etc.

Andy is right, 86 year old Gliga was a star attraction at the closing ceremony, giving a lucid and entertaining speech in excellent English. Fellow Yugoslav icon Ljubojevic was also in attendance, keen to present awards to the ladies.

Finally I see that John Saunders on the BCM website has also joined the ...Rc7 bandwagon. I am delighted to see rigourous standards of professional journalism are thriving on both sides of the border. No wonder chess enjoys such a highly respected place in the general media with such accurate reporting.

I am considering issuing a press release describing my imaginative rook sac against Topalov, passing of Bacrot's sublime performance against Aronian as my own, and not forgetting my accurate defence in a rook ending against Gashimov....

Geoff Chandler · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:44 pm Post subject:

What do they know about music in Baku?

I see the site still has the original score with the missed win.

Wait till apears in some book and then get it sorted.