ACF Bulletin No. 38 - October 10, 1999
PROPOSED RESTRUCTURE OF AUSTRALIAN CHESS
Following on from my trip around the states it was clear to me that there
was a mood that changes are required if Australian chess is to move
forward. After various discussions amongst the executive and endless
correspondence with many who care about the future of Australian chess, the
executive has put out a draft proposal for a complete restructure. This is
being circulated today separately as Bulletin 38A. No doubt this will
generate a wealth of correspondence which hopefully will seek to build upon
the ideas in the proposal. The executive is keen to incorporate good new
ideas and will withdraw ideas which are shown to be clearly unworkable.
RE-AFFILIATION OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA
GARY BEKKER <gbekker@mira.net> is
intending to co-ordinate the
re-affiliation of the PNG Chess Federation with FIDE. Could all those chess
players either born in PNG, or with PNG citizenship or residency, who are
willing and able to represent PNG in international chess events, e-mail him
with their details. The cost of PNG rejoining FIDE is around $1600 and it
is expected that each founding member of the new PNG Chess Federation would
be asked to contribute up to $200 towards re-affiliation costs.
If anyone has any info regarding any chess activity at all in other Pacific
nations please let me know.
FIDE CONGRESS IN QATAR
Many thanks to Phil Viner for travelling to Qatar at his own expense in
order to look after our interests. We have lost count of the number of
times that Phil has attended FIDE Congresses representing Australia. We are
indebted to you, Phil.
PHIL VINER reports from the FIDE Congress in Qatar:
I have presented the Zonal results and I have been assured by Casto Abundo
(FIDE Ratings Administrator) that the automatic titles arising from the
Oceania Zonal Championships are going to be registered by the FIDE
Secretariat and will be recorded in the Congress Minutes.
Jason Lyons' IA title was approved by the 1998 FIDE Congress, held in
Elista, on the condition that more information was provided about his IA
norm tournaments. Mikko Markkula (Chairman, FIDE Titles Qualification
Commission) would like to know the ratings period in which these
tournaments were rated.
Re-admission of the PNG Chess Federation was agreed to, subject to the
payment of 1000 Swiss Francs in settlement of arrears, plus this year's
dues.
WORLD UNDER 20s IN ARMENIA
STEWART REUBEN, President of UK Chess Federation: I was the arbiter for the
World Girls' U-20 Championship in Yerevan. The three Australian players and
their coach were all a credit to their country. They were unfailingly
courteous and tried their hardest at all times.
TASMANIAN CHESS
My apologies to David Christian. Kevin Bonham advises that the Sandy Bay
newsletter is put out by David and not Kevin as previously stated.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
A reminder that this will be held at the Mingara Club on Thursday 6 January
2000. This is a rest day at the Australian Championships. Under the
constitution I have to give at least 56 days notice of the meeting. Please
advise of any motions that you wish to have put to the meeting. A copy of
the ACF Constitution is available on the ACF webpage:
http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/chess/
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
MAL MURRELL: Greetings from the Mingara Chess Club - the home of the 2000
Australian Championships. Since the passing of Kevin Jones our Club
President and Australian Championships Organiser the club has resolved to
carry on with the running of the Australian Championships in memory of
Kevin. On the 20th of September 1999 the Mingara Club held its AGM . The
new President is Mal Murrell and the new Vice President is Joe Keaveney. On
the 27th of September some of Kevin's work came to fruition when the NSW
Dept of sport and Recreation presented the Mingara Chess Club with a cheque
for 1200 dollars . This came about by Kevin lobbying the local member for
the Entrance Mr. Grant McBride and by writing letters to the Minister.
We can not stress strongly enough that the NSW Central Coast is a very
popular tourist destination and if you do not book early you will be unable
to find accommodation. You can find some accommodation options by visiting
the Mingara site at http://www.mingara.com.au/chessmain.htm
or by ringing
Central Coast Tourism on 1800 151123 or (02) 43854430
We posted out 1100 entry forms to chess players all over Australia. Please
note there is a typographical error U1600 $100/$50 should read U1500
$100/$50. If there is a surplus then some ratings prizes in the Minor may
be increased dependent upon the number of entries.
If anyone did not receive an entry form please find it at the very end of
this Bulletin. Just copy and paste it into your word processor and print it
out.
GARRY KOSHNITSKY
More info about Garry's life from his son, Peter.
Dad's Farewell
Firstly Dad would be have been embarrassed and overwhelmed to see so many
people at his funeral. He also would have felt very honored. He had
always said he had wanted a good wake and he would have loved to be the
excuse for a good party and a gathering of his friends. Dad was always one
to live for the present and the future, but when questioned, there were
always great reminiscences of an amazing life.
I try to picture this 10 yr. old Russian boy in Moscow, the son of a well
educated pharmacist, businessman and a mother who was a keen amateur
actress, who had appeared in several movies - at the start of the century!!
She was a lot younger than his father and eventually asked for a divorce
and married her lover an electrical engineer who was a very good step
father. Dad had had a good childhood and was going to probably the best
school in Russia, topping his class and loving the education there.
And at 10 this was interrupted by nothing less than the Russian Revolution.
I think Dad always missed and felt keenly this break in his formal
education. Yet, as we all know he was one of the most educated men one
could meet.
After the next few years of struggle eventually leading to near starvation
his mother and step father decided it was best for Dad and his sister to
leave Russia and try and find his father who was reported to be doing well
in Harbin.
Again I often try and imagine that 14yr old boy, in 1922, saying farewell
to his beloved mother at the border, knowing he would never see her again.
He then spent what must have been 4 interesting years in Harbin and
Shanghai with his father not fully appreciating the presence of this
youngster turning up on his doorstep, or the amount of time he spent at the
local chess club establishing himself as one of Shanghai's best. He then
spotted the option of migrating to Australia.
So in 1926 this 18 yr old young man arrived on his own in Queensland - his
only English what he had taught himself watching silent movies, 4 Pounds to
his name, and a promise to his father not to play chess until he had a job.
Well he couldn't get a job and became very frustrated and I imagine
desperate. Until he went to the Brisbane Chess Club and cleaned up all the
players including the current State Champion. They, of course, were bowled
over by this 18yr old Russian turning up on their door step. They welcomed
him and one of them helped him get his first job. From Dad's perspective,
after all his struggles he felt he was starting a new life in which he owed
everything to chess - and he spent the rest of his life repaying that debt.
And what a life he made, always repaying that debt to chess but also to
this new community he found himself a part of - Australia, NSW, SA. He
never stopped giving. Especially for women and the school children.
He
loved the company of all, and he certainly wanted to help them all play
chess.
Of course, as all who knew him know, after the achievements of his first 33
years, as the then Australian Champion, he met, and at that first meeting,
swept my mother of her feet and they went on to form a most amazing chess
and life partnership.
I have been lucky to also be involved in elite sport. I have seen and
worked with many of the best people in sport in Australia but I learnt most
about sport from my parents, two of the best, wisest and most committed
sportspersons and organizers to bless Australia.
In my youth I saw Dad help foster and see Australia lead the development of
the new Asian Chess Zone. He was delighted to see so many of those
countries become World powers but, of course, this was done with their
Government's full recognition and support. It was a great disappointment
to him that his country he loved so much could never find a way to support
chess, providing an opportunity for ALL and for out best to be supported in
becoming World Competitive.
The first 5 Australian Olympiad teams had Dad unquestioned as the captain
and saw him involved in lots of travel but always being at the home he
helped establish with Mum was most important to him. He also loved being
accepted and included into Mum's large Esau clan, one of the great South
Australian families.
In 1978 I was home alone with Dad when he had his first heart attack and I
was sure I was losing him then. I personally feel so grateful to the
medical profession and the support of so many who helped me and all of us
enjoy another memorable 21 years with this great man.
Dad has always been there with great wisdom, support, and generosity for
both Nick and me as well as anyone in the chess community.
This truly self made man, who never thought he would live past 35, made not
only a life to be so proud of but a great life for his family and what I
saw was a better life for all whom he touched. DAD, thanks, I'll miss you
so much.
DANDENONG CHESS CLUB WEBSITE
The address of the website is http://www.chessnet.com.au/dcc
May I encourage all clubs who have not already done so to set up
informative websites.
ASIAN UNDER 10/12/14 AHMEDABAD, INDIA 15-25 DECEMBER
Robert Jamieson is trying to find out full details of this event. To date
we have registrations of interest from Jade Lauer-Smith, Juanita
Lauer-Smith and Tomek Rej. Please let me know if you are interested in
being considered for selection.
SWISS PERFECT/ DARWIN CHESS CLUB
Licence number 57 has been issued to the Darwin Chess Club. The Darwin
Chess Club does not have any rated players. They are very interested in
being visited by ACF rated players so that they can set up some rated games
and get the rating system going in Darwin. If anyone is interested, or
planning to go to Darwin, please contact Terry O'Neill
<colon@topend.com.au> or John
McElroy <jude@octa4.net.au>.
WORLD JUNIORS OROPESA DEL MAR, SPAIN 23 OCTOBER TO 6 NOVEMBER
In a few days our juniors set off once again to the main junior event of
the year and we wish them well. There is a link to the World Juniors
webpage from the ACF webpage http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/chess/
You will
be able to follow the progress daily from there.
CORRESPONDENCE CHESS LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA
In today's correspondence, Chris Depasquale makes the fair point that we
have tended to neglect the Correspondence Chess League. I'd like to try and
rectify this situation by inviting those concerned to make contact and I'll
be only too pleased to invite them to participate in the ACF Council phone
hook ups and involve them in any way I can. The same, of course, applies to
the Australian Women's Chess League (Evelyn Koshnitsky has attended
meetings).
NATIONAL COACHES ASSOCIATION
Nik Stawski and Brett Tindall are working on this and the National Coaching
Accreditation Scheme. In fact they are sending out papers to a number of
coaches for feedback this week. I feel that it is essential that we give
our coaches as much backing as we possibly can to enable them to become
more and more professional.
We would appreciate feedback of the names and contact details (preferably
email addresses) of all those involved in chess coaching in Australia. This
info can be emailed to me and I'll forward it to Nik and Brett.
A TOURNAMENT FOR CHESS PURISTS AT A REASONABLE COST
November Weekend Tournament on Saturday and Sunday 13 and 14 November 1999
at St. Joseph's Church Hall, Walz Street, Rockdale (Entry on Parker
Street). Ample parking available, 1 minute walk from Rockdale Station.
Entries Close: 10.00 am Saturday 13 November
Entry Fees: Full $20 (Junior U18 $15, U14 $10)
In response to a number of inquiries from regular competitors at NSWCA
tournaments the November Weekender is to be a cash prize-free Tournament
with low entry fees. The winner of the Tournament and winners of rating
sections (to be determined on number of entries) have the choice of a
trophy or book prize with certificate insert.
This is another innovative change in tournaments run by the NSWCA following
the introduction of the Handicap Quickplay Tournament in February 1998 and
the July Weekend Restricted Tournament this year. The NSWCA welcomes
constructive comments and suggestions from competitors to assess whether
their tournament needs and requirements are being fulfilled.
Rate of Play: 60 minutes for each player.
Round Times:
Saturday 13 November Round 1 10.30am - 12.30pm
Round 2 12.45pm - 2.45pm
Round 3 3.00pm - 5.00pm
Round 4 5.15pm - 7.15pm
Sunday 14 November Round 5 10.00am - 12.00noon
Round 6 12.15pm - 2.15pm
Round 7 2.30pm - 4.30pm
Awarding of Trophies 5.00pm
Entries to NSWCA: GPO Box 2418, Sydney NSW 2001
Enquiries: Charles Zworestine (02) 9556 3960 (H)or 0414 597407 (Mobile)
NATIONAL SCHOOLS FINALS WEEKEND, CANBERRA GRAMMAR SCHOOL, 11/12 DECEMBER
Venue: Canberra Grammar School, Monaro Crescent, Red Hill, ACT.
Teams: QLD: 4 teams; NSW: 4 teams - names not confirmed;
VIC: 4 teams;
TAS: 1 team; S.A.: 4 teams - names not confirmed; W.A.:
?; ACT: 2
teams.
Time Controls: High School Level: 120 minute session. Each
player has 55
minutes on the clock and gets a 10 second increment per move every move.
Primary School Level: 90 minute session. Each player has 40 minutes
on
the clock and geta a 10 second increment per move every more (option 23 for
digital clocks).
Girls' Competition: At present there appears to be 4 high schools and 4
primary schools. If this situation remains the same, they will play a
double round robin.
Canberra Grammer has set the following conditions: All facilities used are
to be left the way each was originally set-up and in a clean, tidy and safe
condition. All motor vehicles must be parked in designated car parks (just
inside the front gate). No alcohol may be brought into the school. Any
damages must be paid for during our use.
Please send any queries to either Evelyn FitzPatrick <afitzpat@pcug.org.au>
or Debbie Poulton <wpoulton@pcug.org.au>.
Phone numbers: Evelyn - (02)
6254-9103; Debbie - (02) 6231-8577 (ah).
CORRESPONDENCE
BILL POWELL: Past CAQ President ( 1979 -1981, 1992-1994). Debate on ACF
Funding
This issue raised by Michael Partis, President, CAWA is an issue that keeps
on raising its head as new administrators take over control of State
Associations, I first heard of this agreement in 1975 (24 years ago). While
the message is presented in different format from time to time, it is still
the same argument.
Let's look at why it was introduced,
(a) Based on population was and is a fair
distribution (even though
poor NSW has been slugged the most over all these years).
(b) Chess players, Chess Clubs and Chess Associations
would cheat on
the system if any other system was devised, but with the population quota
cheating can not occur.
(c) If a Chess Association is successful and has a lot of
members, it
is rewarded by paying less per head to the ACF, if the Chess Associations
are lazy and are down on membership then they have to pay more per head to
the ACF, this is called incentive to get more members for your Association.
Now let's look at the WA problem, it is a long way from the east coast and
its population is spread over a wide area. On my visits to WA I found most
of the population lived in the south west corner of the State, around the
Perth area. Qld also has a large state, but unlike any other state its weak
link is its capital city (Brisbane). Therefore it had to develop its main
stream from outside its capital; in 1975 Ipswich had the largest club; from
1976 to about 1984 Townsville was the largest club. In the early 1990s the
Sunshine Coast had the largest
club. In the late 1990s the Gold Coast the largest. Over the 7 years that I
published The Australian Chess Directory I can not recall too many WA clubs
outside the south west corner of the state; come to think of it I cannot
recall any. While in Qld it was closer to travel from Brisbane to Melbourne
than go from Brisbane to some of our regional
clubs.
I for one would not change the quota system, be very careful if you do as
the back lash by membership cheats will cost you dearly ACF.
ALEKS WOHL International Master:
I started playing chess in 1978. My first tournament was the NSW State
Championship Reserves.
The first prize in the championship was over $1,000 and all the top players
of the day participated. The Chess Centre in Sussex Street was full of
players of all age groups.
There were numerous weekenders with considerably more prize money than now
(20 years later) and we had one permanent chess centre which was open 7
days a week, 11am - 11pm. Also we had numerous successful clubs all over
Sydney.
Since then prizes and conditions have deteriorated gradually but
consistently to the point where 20 years on prizes have halved (despite
inflation) and the NSWCA has half the membership it had in 1978.
Just when I thought we had hit rock bottom, I read the proposal "in
response to a number of inquiries" to hold a tournament with NO PRIZEMONEY.
To be fair, it is in keeping with the proposal to award Grand Prix points
according to your dress sense and distance from venue.
I urge the people responsible for these suggestions to resign and try to
ruin some other sport and leave the game I love alone.
CHRIS DEPASQUALE: ACF - Change of Name
I would like to propose that the Australian Chess Federation Inc. change
its name to the Australian Cross-board Chess Federation Inc. The reason is
that for many decades now the ACF has studiously ignored Australia's great
history and tradition at correspondence chess.
Alternatively, the ACF could change its attitude and approach to
correspondence chess. The first indication that the ACF is moving in the
right direction on this might be to make it ACF policy that those people
who achieve the IM and GM title in correspondence chess get the same
benefits as those having the same titles for cross-board chess, such as
free entry to GP tournaments and other events.
Best wishes to all
Graeme Gardiner
**************************
ENTRY FORM - Australian Chess Championships 1999-2000 proudly sponsored by
Mingara
I confirm that I am a current financial member of the Chess Association (or
Junior chess League) of the state in which I reside.
Name of State Association or Junior League
Signature
Surname:
Given Names
Date of Birth: (Senior or Junior Only)
Postal Address
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
postcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Telephone:(
). . . . . . . .
.
Address During Championships (if known)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
postcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Telephone:(
). . . . . . .
.
ACF Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
Other: FIDE/Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rating. . . . . . .
.
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,
agree to abide by
conditions set by the organiser.
Entries for all categories close by last mail on 3rd December 1999. Note:
No late entries will be accepted for the Australian Championships
Tournaments - please tick one only
( ) Australian Championships $120 (concession $94) (GMs &
IMs Free)
(Must submit entry form)
Restricted to leading players as determined by the A.C.F.
( ) Reserve Championships $100
(concession $78)
Restricted to players with an ACF Rating Under 2100
( ) Seniors Championships $90
(concession $70)
Restricted to players born in 1939 or earlier.
( ) Under 1600 Minor $80 (concession
$60)
Restricted to players with an ACF rating under 1600
Concessions are available to juniors (under 18 years) full time students
and seniors over 60 years. Year date as at January 1st 2000.
Entries for the Lightning and Rapid play ($40 ; Concession $32) are payable
when entries are taken at the venue prior to these events.
Entries Should be made on the above entry form and sent with a cheque
payment to
Mingara Chess Club, P.O. Box 8255, Tumbi Umbi, NSW 2261
Note cheques should be made payable to ' Mingara Chess Club'
Eligibility:
All players must be current financial members of Chess Association or
Junior Chess League of the state or territory in which they reside. ACF
bylaw A.26 FIDE or other ratings will be to determine placement of players
who do not have ACF ratings. Players without any rating can play in the
Reserve Tournament or if eligible by age the Australian Seniors Tournament.
You can find prize details and some accommodation options by visiting the
Mingara site at http://www.mingara.com.au/chessmain.htm
or more
accommodation options by ringing Central Coast Tourism on 1800 151123 or
(02) 43854430
Please send any enquiries about the Australian Championships to Mal
Murrell murrell@bigpond.com or Mingara
Chess Club at the above address or
telephone Mal Murrell on 02 439238783 or Joe Keaveney on 02 43 322023.
-------------------------------------------
Graeme Gardiner
President, Australian Chess Federation
C/- Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba Q 4213
Phone 07 5530 3777 (w) 07 5530 5794 (h) Fax 07 5525 2676 (w)
Email: ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au
http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/chess/
Chess - the clever sport!
RESTRUCTURING AUSTRALIAN CHESS
Following on from the draft National Development Plan, the President's
meetings with key chess people around Australia and various correspondence
generated by the ACF Weekly Bulletin, the ACF executive has formulated a
more advanced plan for the future of Australian chess. With the support of
the Australian chess community the executive believes it is sensible,
achievable and sustainable. The restructuring proposal is all about
efficiencies, rationalisation and providing Australian chess with a strong,
reliable income stream.
DEVELOPMENT OF INCOME STREAMS
Membership system:
Major changes are needed to streamline the membership system in Australian
Chess. The present system is unnecessarily cumbersome as it entails clubs
and states/territories having members and states/territories paying annual
charges to the ACF. It is proposed to simplify it so that the ACF would
derive its income directly from the rating of games and the
states/territories would receive a proportion of this income. The
states/territories would no longer have to administer and maintain
memberships because players playing one or more rated games would qualify
automatically to be members of the ACF for 12 months. This would lead to a
much larger membership list which should help with government funding. This
proposal will be widely canvassed through the chess community between
September 1999 and January 2000. It is proposed to discuss and consider
implementing this new membership scheme effective 1 January 2001.
It is also proposed that membership will be available by purchasing a
quarterly subscription to Australian Chess Forum ($20pa) or paying an
annual fee of $5.
In order to participate in state or national titles or be eligible for
Australian selection membership will be compulsory.
It is calculated that this rating system restructuring would provide extra
income for Australian chess which could be used for some or all of the
following projects:
· National CEO/Office
· A National Coaching Accreditation Scheme;
· A National Officials Accreditation Scheme;
· A National Coaches Professional Association;
· Scholastic chess;
· Development of the National Schools' Competition;
· Public relations campaigns;
· General development of Australian chess.
ACF income would be raised by charging:
· $1 per adult player per ACF rated game/juniors 50cents;
· 50 cents per adult player per ACF rapid rated game/juniors 25 cents;
· 25 cents per player per ACF junior game.
An alternative method of charging for rated games would be:
· Adults $8/Juniors $4 per player, per ACF rated tournament
· Adults $4/Juniors $2 per player, per ACF rapid rated tournament
· Juniors $2 per player, per ACF junior rated tournament
Endowment Fund:
· Funding to assist with travel for international competition has been
provided on an ad hoc basis.
· Funding to assist with travel for international competition needs to be
provided on an increasing and sustainable basis.
· Funds committed to the Endowment Fund will never be spent. Only the
interest over the rate of inflation each year will be spent. Over the years
the funds available will increase in real terms each year.
· Grants from the Endowment Fund do not need to be limited to assistance
with overseas travel.
>From 1 January 2001, all schools in the National Schools' Competition would
be charged a minimum of $30 per team of 4 of which 10% would be transferred
to the Endowment Fund. The interest over and above the rate of inflation
from the Endowment fund would be used to assist with travelling costs for
Australian representatives at international events and perhaps other
matters benefiting Australian chess. This proposal was widely accepted by
those people attending meetings on the President's recent national tour. It
is proposed to canvas opinions further on this issue before implementation.
Funding for National Office:
· All self-respecting sports are administered by professional staff.
· Administration of Australian chess lacks continuity due to regular
changes in the amateur executive.
· Regular changes in the amateur executive are due to the burn-out factor,
caused by very high workloads.
· Important initiatives and programmes need to be driven on a day-to-day
basis by an energetic CEO.
The President will be pursuing a national sponsor to provide funding for
the National Chief Executive Officer plus on-costs amounting to $100,000
per annum for a minimum of five years. Timetable - ASAP.
National Chess Academy:
· Like all sports, Australian chess needs heroes;
· In order to gain credibility with Government and the community,
Australian chess needs regular top ten finishes, rather than the normal
'mid field' at international events;
· A National Chess Academy provides rank and file juniors who are very keen
on their chess with a goal for which to strive. This gives the national
schools competition and national junior titles more relevance;
· Develops the champions of the future.
The President will continue to lobby the Federal Government for funding for
a National Chess Academy, costed at $200,000 per annum guaranteed for a
minimum of 5 years. Timetable - ASAP.
Other:
Other areas of income will be investigated, eg philanthropy and airline
sponsorship.
CONSTITUTION
For the suggested changes in the membership system to be implemented, it
will be necessary to rewrite the constitution during the year 2000. If
approved, implementation of a new constitution would be on 1 January 2001.
It is proposed to change the way Australian Chess is administered and
organised along the lines of successful sporting organisations such as the
Australian Football League and the Australian Swimming Association. The
main changes proposed involve states/territories becoming branches of the
ACF, thus ceding their powers to an independent board of elected experts
who would run the ACF.
These changes would relieve states/territories of the necessity of having
separate legal and financial responsibilities and provide cost efficiencies
relating to insurance, workers' compensation and bulk purchasing of chess
equipment. It would also relieve states/territories of the need to maintain
membership records. It is implicit in the changes that states/territories
would retain existing funds held by them and receive a proportion of the
funds received by the ACF for rated games.
Most importantly, decision-making would be taken away from cumbersome
council meetings and handed to a board composed of expert administrators.
The ACF Council would be replaced by an eight person commission as follows:
· Same powers as council plus can appoint all office bearers;
· Elected at National Conference for two year term with half coming up for
election each year;
· Maximum three commissioners from each state;
· (Alternatively, the commission could be elected directly by the members).
Advantages of this system would include:
· The Council tends to look after state interests whilst the commission
would look after the interests of Australian chess;
· The commission would tend to be made up of experienced administrators
rather than chess players;
· The commission would, as a group, be more experienced/knowledgeable in
ACF matters than a group of delegates;
· It would give the ACF more continuity as commissioners hopefully would
serve longer than state delegates;
· It would mean that the Executive would have a more effective support
group than before;
· Australian chess would be able to retain the expertise of experienced
past officials.
These major changes would need to be widely canvassed before implementation.
It is intended that the proposed constitutional changes be put before a
general
meeting for approval in time for them to take effect from 1 January 2001.
A constitutional sub-committee would be formed with the task of careful
planning
of all matters relating to the changes to Australian Chess.
SWISS PERFECT PAIRINGS PROGRAM
It is proposed to upgrade the functions performed by the Swiss Perfect
program in the running of Australian Chess. Several clubs in all Australian
states/territories now utilise Swiss Perfect and it is planned to develop
its use further for tournaments. In addition, the ACF will work with Robert
Rozycki so that the program will interface with the ratings systems,
incorporate membership details such as name, address, phone, date of birth,
club, email address, etc and also provide a swipe card facility.
Standardising the computerised pairings system would confer the following
benefits:
· Encourage more large chess tournaments (use of pairings cards is
inefficient);
· More efficient organisation of all tournaments, thus encouraging more
people to participate;
· Easier to publish results on the internet;
· Make it very easy to compile a national membership register;
· It is proposed that some incentive be given to tournament organisers to
send their results in using Swiss Perfect as this would be the programme
upon which the administration of Australian chess membership will be based.
RATINGS SYSTEM
It is proposed to have a system comprising three separate ratings in
Australian chess: one would be a continuation of the existing system for
one hour plus games; the second would be for rapid-play chess (games under
one hour per side); the third for junior chess (all time controls).
As mentioned previously, the ratings system will provide the basis for the
ACF membership system and the funding of Australian chess at state and
national level.
Players would no longer be charged an annual membership fee by
states/territories, instead a fee would be levied per game. The fees would
be $1 per adult player per ACF rated game (juniors 50cents per game); 50
cents per adult player per ACF rapid-rated game (juniors 25 cents); and 25
cents per player per ACF junior game. Collection of these monies would be
built into the entry fees.
Membership of the ACF would be defined simply by the payment of fees
through rated games and as such would automatically be registered through
the Swiss Perfect files being forwarded to the ratings officer after each
tournament. Membership would be current for 12 months after each rated game.
It is proposed that ratings lists would be updated every three months on
the ACF web-page and published as a hard copy in Australian Chess Forum. As
memberships are defined as people who play rated games, current membership
lists will be maintained on the web-page.
The listing of players under the rating list by state or territory will be
determined by the residential address of the player, not by tournament
locations.
ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRUST FACILITY
The ACF also proposes to establish a trust facility for state and territory
associations, junior chess leagues and other chess bodies, with the
intention of investing these funds to the maximum advantage for those
involved.
NATIONAL TEAMS' EVENTS
Schools competition - primary and secondary - now in second year and
becoming a fixture. It is hoped that this will lead to larger numbers of
participants in schools' teams' events nation-wide.
· The schools competitions are the only mass participation competitions in
Australian chess and as such are the most realistic vehicles available for
a serious corporate sponsor;
· It is difficult to envisage developing a culture of chess in the
Australian community through the adult population. The schools competitions
are the best opportunity to develop this culture through a new generation;
· Even though all capital cities except for Darwin have schools
competitions, a fairly low percentage of schools participate;
· The sheer volume of competitors in schools competitions is capable of
providing Australian chess with a big increase in numbers;
· Every school in Australia should have the opportunity of entering the
National Schools Chess Competitions.
Universities' competition - working towards an annual inter-universities'
competition at the Intervarsity week
Clubs - there is a clear need to increase activity in club chess. There is
also a need to increase activity in school leavers and specifically in
female participation. There will need to be plenty of consultation over the
format but the first draft envisages a National Finals Weekend for the
following divisions in late November each year:
· Vets over 60 at 1 January;
· Under 22/over 18 at 1 January;
· Open;
· Under 1500 (December rating list)
· Under 1000 (December rating list);
· Females.
There are two main reasons for holding National Finals in the different
categories:
1. To help create activity throughout the chess community;
2. To create a sense of occasion which would be of interest to media and
sponsors.
NATIONAL COACHING PROGRAMME
· All sports receiving government funding have a NCAS (National Coaching
Accreditation Scheme) programme in place. Australian chess should be no
different;
· Coaching programmes in the schools need to be coordinated;
· Chess coaches need a professional association in which to advance their
standards and share ideas.
MISCELLANEOUS
Special attention must be paid to other matters, such as: national women's
forum, disabled chess/minority groups, correspondence chess, internet
chess, etc.
GRASS ROOTS EFFORTS - State by State Targets
In order to keep everyone involved in chess up-to-date with the progress
being made, it is important to set a series of benchmarks as measures of
progress.
Benchmarks need to be set for 1 January 2000 and tracked on each
anniversary. Even small improvements will give Australian chess the
confidence to move forward. The following should be set:
· Grand Prix - the number of events/participants/prize money/by state and
territory;
· National schools' competitions - number of schools/competitors/by state
and territory;
· National Chess Academy - number of students/international placings;
· Olympiad - international placings;
· Number of Gms/IMs/FMs/WGMs/WIMs/WFMs;
· Number of players with ratings - total/over 2000/over 1800/over 1600;
· Australian Junior Championships/State Junior Championships/number of
competitors;
· National Titles/State Titles - number of competitors;
· National Coaching Programme - number of members of association/number of
accredited coaches;
· Number of affiliated clubs - state/territory/national;
· Number of members - state/territory/national;
· Number of schools where there is a coaching programme;
· Number of universities in National Universities' Competition.
Benefits gained by changing the organisation of Australian chess
A.. Individuals
· No annual membership fees;
· Ratings systems regularly posted on internet;
· Publication of official magazine - available to members, accessible via
internet and as hard copy at $20 per annum (those not already members
through the rating system will automatically become members by subscribing
to Australian Chess Forum);
· Swipe cards - ACF affinity card; credit card.
B. State/clubs
· Insurance policy to cover all players and administrators
nation-wide/workers' compensation (work cover);
· Swiss Perfect supplied to all chess administrators for tournaments and to
keep membership details; Swiss Perfect will interface with ratings systems;
· Administration problems connected with membership lists will be removed;
· Reduction of costs through national buying of equipment annually - call
for tenders for purchase of items such as digital clocks, chess sets.
Present Income ($)
Membership Paid to ACF Net
NSW 20,000 4,000 16,000
VIC 12,000 3,000 9,000
QLD 4,500 2,300 2,200
WA 8,200 1,200 7,000
SA 500 900 (400)
ACT 1,300 200 1,100
TAS 200 200 -
Total 46,700 11,800 34,900
Estimated Income (New Structure)
ACF States General population % Chess population %
NSW 11,782 11,782 34 34
VIC 7,727 7,727 25 20
QLD 5,783 5,784 19 19
WA 2,121 2,120 10 5
SA 1,149 1,150 8 6
ACT 5,582 5,582 2 14
TAS 604 604 2 2
Total 34,748 34,749 100 100
· These figures are based on the rated games from the last 12 months. There
is no account taken of estimated income from rating rapid and junior games;
· No membership fees will be collected by states;
· ACF and state income will be collected in one of three ways - rated
games, magazine subscriptions and $5 memberships for those who do not
qualify on either of the first two counts;
· Some very active players will theoretically be paying much more for their
chess through the new system. However, these fees will be charged to the
organiser of every rated tournament. Some organisers may choose not to
increase entry fees but merely to reduce prize money to balance the books;
· The service of rating games provided by the ACF involves a phenomenal
amount of volunteer person hours;
· The ACF and states need a more reliable and substantial funding base in
order to be able to optimise the development of chess in Australia.
-------------------------------------------
Graeme Gardiner
President, Australian Chess Federation
C/- Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba Q 4213
Phone 07 5530 3777 (w) 07 5530 5794 (h) Fax 07 5525 2676 (w)
Email: ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au
http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/chess/
Chess - the clever sport!
STOP PRESS!
The Geelong Open, which was scheduled for this weekend, 9/10 October, has
been postponed. Instead it is likely to be held in November.
Graeme Gardiner
-------------------------------------------
Graeme Gardiner
President, Australian Chess Federation
C/- Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba Q 4213
Phone 07 5530 3777 (w) 07 5530 5794 (h) Fax 07 5525 2676 (w)
Email: ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au
http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/chess/
Chess - the clever sport!