The clash of date with the County Semi-Finals meant two team captains who would generally have attended on behalf of their counties, or as officials, were absent, and it was some time after the scheduled start-time that a quorum was assembled and the meeting could commence. Noel Stewart and Steve Mann were the delegates from Yorkshire on this occasion.

6 of the 7 affiliated counties were represented, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland and Yorkshire. Cheshire & North Wales were the unrepresented affiliate. Cleveland ceased affiliating a year or so ago. Greater Manchester is affiliated to the Midland Counties, historically more for reasons of politics than geography.

These meetings are largely routine, but the following summarise the bits which might interest some people.

NCCU County Championships

Apart from Lancashire who entered all six sections, and Yorkshire who fielded teams in five sections, only two other counties had entered. Cumbria had entered an U-160 team, but had no aspirations to proceed to the national “final stages” run by the ECF. Merseyside entered an U-140 team. Section winners were:

Open	Lancashire
U-180	Yorkshire
U-160	as yet unresolved *
U-140	Yorkshire
U-120	Merseyside
U-100	Lancashire (by default)

* The fixture Yorkshire v Cumbria has yet to be played.

Possible One-Day County Rapid-play Jamboree

A suggestion from Tim Wall of Northumberland was that a one-day rapid-play event of 3, 4 or 5 rounds might encourage more counties to participate in inter-county chess. (This would NOT be instead of the standard-rate county championship events.) It was agreed the idea was worth trying, and Tim is very vaguely looking at organising it around the end part of October 2018. It would initially have just one (Open) section, though if the idea took off then separate grade-limited sections might be introduced.

NCCU Club Championships

The NCCU Club Championships, originally initiated by Bill O'Rourke of Lancashire as a Northern version of the ECF's National Club competition, have fizzled out to the point where only one section received more than one entry. Accordingly, a South Shields v Knotty Ash match in the “seniors” section is to be played on 30/06/2018.

NCCU Proposals on “Simplifying” the ECF Individual Membership Fee Structure

The NCCU had earlier submitted to the ECF a proposal that “Bronze” and “Silver” membership fees be merged into one rate. This was defeated heavily by the 2018 April ECF Council Meeting. Despite this, the NCCU is intending to press on with wider consultation and engagement, with a view to a proposal of some sort eventually coming from a wider group than simply the one Union. No support from Yorkshire players is evident, so the YCA is unlikely to be involved in this initiative.

Under 16 (age) Pennine Cup Team Competition

There has long been a rumour that Tim Wall planned to run this jamboree event on behalf of the NCCU in 2018. He has re-iterated this intention, though nothing concrete has yet been arranged.

Yorkshire's Turn to Nominate a School for a BCET Award

The British Chess Educational Trust (Charity no. 313172) receives applications through the Unions, annually, for awards recognising chess educational activities. The NCCU's option to make an application passes round the member counties from year to year, and this time it is Yorkshire's turn. Successful applicants receive a wooden engraved board, a set of wooden pieces and a digital clock.

No Pie & Peas!

Although pie & peas had been ordered, the staff on duty knew nothing of this, and none were forthcoming. Despite this, the same premises will probably be used for the NCCU December meeting, which is scheduled for 01/12/2018.

Steve Mann

10/06/2018