24-07-2015, 10:52 AM
Thanks Matt and everyone from not only our Scottish squad but all the other nations for making the event in Ireland such a success.
There is no doubt that Ireland and Wales have improved considerably. Ireland are a real force to be reckoned with at all age and gender groups. If their top boards had scored better in the Stokes they could have been closing in on a clean sweep (their board 5 scored 6/6) come the last day's play. Wales strength in girls chess is impressive and well done to them for a lot of good work going on there.
We have some leeway to make up but we have one advantage that suggests grounds for future optimism and that is that many of our squad are at an age which means they are available for selection at this level for years to come, particularly in the Glorney but also in the Gilbert and Stokes. There is no doubt we have some quality players but the depth of our squad is generally shallow and it's extremely difficult to ensure that all of our best players are available for any one named event. The pinnacle international events of the World Youth, Euroyouth and EU youth often follow in the short few months after the Glorney and can be a very expensive outlay for parents. If you have made a commitment financially, coupled with holidays off work to attend say the World Youth in Greece for a fortnight that can be a considerable chunk of the family annual budget.
Quality counts but so does quantity. If we can enlarge our playing squad I feel we can be more competitive. Not easy of course but it's been shown that if the selectors feel you are good enough, irrespective of age, you will get chances to play.
There is no doubt that Ireland and Wales have improved considerably. Ireland are a real force to be reckoned with at all age and gender groups. If their top boards had scored better in the Stokes they could have been closing in on a clean sweep (their board 5 scored 6/6) come the last day's play. Wales strength in girls chess is impressive and well done to them for a lot of good work going on there.
We have some leeway to make up but we have one advantage that suggests grounds for future optimism and that is that many of our squad are at an age which means they are available for selection at this level for years to come, particularly in the Glorney but also in the Gilbert and Stokes. There is no doubt we have some quality players but the depth of our squad is generally shallow and it's extremely difficult to ensure that all of our best players are available for any one named event. The pinnacle international events of the World Youth, Euroyouth and EU youth often follow in the short few months after the Glorney and can be a very expensive outlay for parents. If you have made a commitment financially, coupled with holidays off work to attend say the World Youth in Greece for a fortnight that can be a considerable chunk of the family annual budget.
Quality counts but so does quantity. If we can enlarge our playing squad I feel we can be more competitive. Not easy of course but it's been shown that if the selectors feel you are good enough, irrespective of age, you will get chances to play.