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Alan
Some good replies - agree with work ethic and the need transparency of information.
In terms of work ethic - you must have made significant sacrifices with the improvements you have made in recent times - it might be interesting to share some of the top Scottish players plan or a straw poll on work plan when you were improving the most ie how many hours a week on chess and what was order of priorities: preparation /online games /books/ tournaments etc - I would not be a good role model I really only focused on over the board games - although results were much better when I filtered out lower graded events/games.
Dougie Bryson highlighted just how many players give up chess soon after primary School - we could do with trying to tackle this - I don't think it helps that tournaments are not really targeting them like they do at primary
One suggestion Mark Sanger and I discussed a while ago was a team challenge tournament with old glorney/faber etc teams vs the more recent teams - (Walter B you would be in the oldies unless we have a seniors team as well !) I know time is difficult for some people but perhaps next year say a month before the glorney - it could only be good prep for the 2014 team - even a one day event?
Noticed that Jonathan Edwards has just posted an exceptional result abroad - following on from the excellent running of the Blitz - he'd be my choice for Scottish Marketing Director!
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Alex Gillies wrote
Quote:One suggestion Mark Sanger and I discussed a while ago was a team challenge tournament with old glorney/faber etc teams vs the more recent teams - (Walter B you would be in the oldies unless we have a seniors team as well !) I know time is difficult for some people but perhaps next year say a month before the glorney - it could only be good prep for the 2014 team - even a one day event?
I think this is a brammer of an idea! What about Stirling University (Glorney 2014) being considered as a venue for a challenge of this nature? A cracking prep for the full Glorney event.
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Going forward, I think there should be some thought about what we think the Glorney Cup is for. This is true for all the teams, not just Scotland.
Some things to ponder
Had Scotland got their top five players to play in the Glorney Cup they would in my opinion have won it quite easily. Was it better for Andrew McClements to play in Andorra or Cardiff?
Had Scotland opted to make the U14 team as strong as possible (from the players present in Cardiff) they would have been very competitive. Would that have been better and for whom?
I think we all have slightly different criteria for measuring Scotland's performance. I think it would be good if the new IJD set out his or her vision for what they hoped various events would achieve. I appreciate this is adding extra work to an individual who will already have too much to do, but I think it would help quite a bit in the long run.
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Matt,
Andrew M wasn't available for Glorney, Andorra etc but completely agree on your thoughts on the Glorney particularly regarding the U14 squad. If we have our full squad available for selection at U14 level next year it will take a very good team to stop us.
Where do we see the Glorney on the overall scheme of events?
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"Andrew M wasn't available for Glorney"
Why not?
Can anyone enlighten me with the reasons for all the top players not playing ? eg player x, reason y
I coached the Glorney team when it was in Scotland but it is demoralising when they refuse to play in future years. They should be playing for the team, not themselves.
I played for Scotland five years running 1973-1977 and I wouldn't have thought to play an International Open instead.
McClement Andrew, Murdochy Shivan, Scott Jonathan, Roy Ali, Espinosa Cancino Miguel
Abdulla Murad, McDonald Ian are the ratings favourites.
Was anyone bullied into playing in Andorra ?
Apologise for paucity of information but the IJD should answer some basic questions.
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None of the 19 Scots in Andorra were under 18, so why ask if anyone was bullied into it?
Very pleased to hear you say individuals should play for the team and not themselves.
Only one, repeat one, Scot taking part in the British Championship, and I think there is a similar number in the Major Open. In fact Torquay is nearly a Scot free zone. Why?
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Robin,
I think the Glorney Cup is due something of a revamp.
I think two things need to happen to the Glorney/Gilbert
1. The chess becomes better preparation for major championships, so nations announce their players and board order say two weeks in advance, so that the players can prepare for a specific opponent
2. We have a return of some non-chess activities e.g. Football tournament and disco for example.
Those two thing are not contradictory. I went to the U16 Girls European Maths Team Championships last year (don't ask) and it was very serious indeed, but the competitors still found time to unwind with a ceilidh.
I am less sure what needs to happen for the U12's and U14's, but I think there is a danger that it becomes Liverpool triangular mark 2, just at a worse time of year and more expensive. I imagine that many of us could thing of ideas that might liven it up a bit, but the work required and establishing an undstanding with all the parties is going to be a lot for someone to accomplish.
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Andy,
Calm doon a wee bit please.
Andrew McClement is studying hard at Trinity College Cambridge and competes in top class sailing over the summer.
Shivan is working at an orphanage in Peru.
Ali is at Aberdeen uni and played in the event.
Jonny is at a university at Oxford I believe and had a job placement in London to help him through uni.
Miguel, Murad and Ian I believe are with their families at Spain, Azerbaijan and Brazil respectively.
Give these juniors and their families a break. Many of them are saving up to play at the Euroyouth at Montengro in September. We have lost our grant and we need to support these players and families in anyway we can.
