Yorkshire Chess Association

Notices

05/04/2021

ECF Inter-County Chess

Papers published ahead of the 2021 ECF Finance Council Meeting on 24/04/2021 include proposals on changes to the structure of the ECF County Championships, to be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/C34.13-14-Changes-to-the-County-Championships.pdf. That document seems to predate decisions made regarding the unfinished 2019-20 championships.

Statement from the Director for Home Chess

The Director for Home Chess has issued the following statement regarding over-the-board inter-county chess, this being item 13 on the Agenda, “to note” (meaning it is not something to be voted on):

The 2019/2020 OTB Counties Season will be formally abandoned at the regional stage, with no final stage.
[i.e. there will be no playing of the suspended 2019/20 county finals].

The ECF intends to run a friendly 2020 [must mean 2021!] Counties ‘Summer’ Competition in August and early September, open to any County Association that wishes to participate.

The 2021/2022 Counties Season will start with a new set of regional matches [i.e. Union competitions] in the Autumn of 2021, based on a clean break from previous years [i.e. any nominations by Unions already for counties to play in the 2019/20 county finals will not be brought forward].

(The ECF does not have the right to direct Unions as to the conduct of their own arrangements for nominating counties for the 2021/22 ECF county finals; it is a matter for individual Unions to decide what they do, but this is a minor point.)

The ECF plans in 2 and 3 above are of course subject to Government response to developments in the current pandemic.

Proposed Restructuring of ECF County Championships

Council will be asked to approve an inter-county competition structure consisting of an Open section plus only 4 rating-limited sections, rather than the previous Open plus 5 grade-limited sections, as follows. Yorkshire team captains and officers are being canvassed for views by e-mail. Views of players are welcomed to influence how Yorkshire votes.

New

Rating Limit

Grading Limit

Comments

Open

Preserves an open competition

U-2000

(c. 173 grade)

U-180

(= 2050 rating)

Aligns to a 100-multiple rating boundary and increases the pool for Open team selection.

U-1800

(c. 147 grade)

U-160 (= 1900)

and

U-140 (= 1750)

Aligns to 100-multiple rating boundary, and reduces the number of competitions/teams in line with feedback.

U-1600

(= 120 grade)

U-120

(= 1600 rating)

Aligns to 100-multiple rating boundary

U-1400

(c. 93 grade)

U-100

(= 1450 rating)

Aligns to 100-multiple rating boundary at a lower level to accommodate ‘new’ players at lower ratings.

These are upper rating limits for each player in a team (as is current practice) rather than averages over all players in a team.

Players’ ratings as regards eligibility and board-ordering rules would be based on the monthly rating list in effect at the start of the season. This will be the Original Official September list as published unless otherwise specified by the Counties Controller.

The above-mentioned paper says, “Feedback has been generally supportive for 100 point Elo boundaries and with a clear preference for reducing the number of rating bands to make it easier to provide county teams going forward.”

For reference:

Rating = (7.5 x Grade) + 700

Grade = (Rating - 700) / 7.5