The 2013 Dundee & Angus Congress will take place 11 – 13 October at David Lloyd Leisure near Monifieth. This year will be our 10th running of the modern Dundee Congress and the 9th at this venue.

Points of note for this year:

We have received additional funding so the prize fund has been significantly increased. The new money has been spread across most prize groups with additional grading prizes. This assumes similar to, or better than, entry numbers of last year. Junior prizes have not been increased - instead we have secured the services of one of Scotland's leading junior coaches, Andrew Green. Further details including times and format in due course.

Entry fees are unchanged from last year - £23, £21, £19 and £17.

Our policy of not offering free entry continues.

Rate of play – we are dispensing with the interim time control and quickplay finish. Each player will have 1¾ hours for all moves.

Accommodation – we have an interesting addition to accommodation options in the City Centre. Richmond Serviced Apartments has several two-bedroom apartments that I can obtain at a corporate rate of £75 per apartment per night, so equivalent to £37.50 per room per night on their website. Please contact me if you might be interested. For more info look at ‘Richmond Chambers’ http://richmondservicedapartments.com/. I can also get the more luxurious ‘Richmond House’ for £100 per night (also two bedrooms). These are large enough that you could bring your own lilos/camping beds if you wanted to get an extra person or two in. See our own website for a wider choice – <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dundee-congress.co.uk/accommodation">http://www.dundee-congress.co.uk/accommodation</a><!-- m -->

The website will be down for a short time while it is being updated.

Entry forms will be available at Ayr Congress

The Ayr Junior Saturday takes place this weekend at the Mecure Hotel in Ayr and will run alongside the Ayr Congress. The tournament control team will be Stephen Taylor of Greenwood Academy and myself.

More details can be found here - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ayrshirechesscongress.co.uk/AyrJuniorSaturday.html">http://www.ayrshirechesscongress.co.uk/ ... urday.html</a><!-- m --> or here <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://ayrshirejuniorchess.co.uk/events/junior-saturday/ayr-may-2013/ayr-saturday-entry-form.html">http://ayrshirejuniorchess.co.uk/events ... -form.html</a><!-- m -->

Entry is open to all players and not just players from Ayrshire. All games will count for grading and there will be prizes, cups, medals and prize money.

Alan Minnican is currently doing extremely well - hope he keeps it up.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://chess-results.com/tnr100896.aspx?art=9&lan=1&fed=SCO&wi=821&snr=3">http://chess-results.com/tnr100896.aspx ... =821&snr=3</a><!-- m -->

One of the World’s top players, Arkadij Naiditsch visited Scotland for the very successful first Scottish Blitz Championship and a recent simultaneous match at Edinburgh Chess Club. He is returning for the 2nd Scottish Blitz Championship this June.
Arkadij has really enjoyed his time in Scotland and wants to see chess in Scotland grow and prosper. One way in which the public image of Scottish Chess could be improved was if Arkadij was to represent the second oldest club in the world, Edinburgh at the prestigious European Club Cup. For this to become possible there would need to be a significant sponsorship deal in place. If such a deal was possible there are a few potential ways in which Arkadij could help improve chess in Scotland:
• Represent Edinburgh at the European Club Cup.
• Play in the Scottish Championships.
• Coach young and improving Scottish Juniors.
• Give Simultaneous matches with Scottish players or the sponsorship company.

For any potential company interested, Arkadij being attached to Scottish Chess would gain massive publicity. He is a very approachable and down-to-earth Super Grandmaster and would represent a great role model and ambassador for chess in Scotland.

If you are or know of a potential sponsor, please do not hesitate to contact me.

David Oswald

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:davidcoswald@hotmail.com">davidcoswald@hotmail.com</a><!-- e -->

Hi All
We are considering running the Lanark Open again at the tolbooth again for five mondays starting August 12th. If anyone is interested in playing I can be contacted either by email address <!-- e --><a href="mailto:ian.brownlee@systemsit.co.uk">ian.brownlee@systemsit.co.uk</a><!-- e --> or by telephoning me on 07899832770. Please leave any comments here including if you wish to play. Entries fee will be more or less the same

The following is intended as a series of comments rather than questions.

Maybe I’m becoming out of touch as I become older but, in the age of this celebrity culture thing, is it now considered to be acceptable for someone to be photographed whilst standing smiling at someone’s graveside?

I refer to the photograph of Andrew Muir which adorns the front cover of the recent edition of our Scottish Chess magazine. I know many people like to have pictures taken whilst visiting some tourist site or other (I’ve done this myself) but have we really reached the stage where someone’s grave is to be treated as if were just another such tourist site? Perhaps others may disagree but I find this to be both disrespectful and tasteless. Pictures of the graves of Alekhine, Capablanca and others have been published in numerous sources and indeed pictures Fischer’s headstone and grave have also been provided in various publications (New in Chess provided one not so long ago) but this?

These comments are in no way intended as criticisms of either Peter Woods who provides us with an excellent magazine or Andrew who is to be commended upon his achievements in Iceland (I’ve actually voted for him in the ballot for CS Player of the Year). As I say, these are just comments.

Not putting Player names on but running 6 boards here to test the firmware update as we have had some serious issues.

Delighted so far. Round 1 to upload other rounds will appear as live

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Any news on when the Council meetings are going to be held? Time is moving on and decisions need to made in respect of next season, particularly given the loss of the grant.

Inverness Chess Congress
Friday, 6th to Sunday, 8th September 2013
Chieftain Hotel, 2 Millburn Road, Inverness, IV2 3PS

I am delighted to announce that a new weekend congress will be held in Inverness in September.

The number of entrants will be limited and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Players whose entries are received after the maximum capacity has been reached will not be accepted but may be offered a place on a reserve list should anyone withdraw.

The best way to make sure you’re among the entrants is to enter early. Don't put off until tomorrow...

The venue will be the Chieftain Hotel which has been a long term supporter of Inverness Chess Club.

The Chieftain Hotel is the preferred congress accommodation partner and has kindly agreed to offer special room rates to those attending the congress. The special rates can only be obtained by telephoning the hotel direct and are not available to book online. The number of rooms is limited so it would be a good idea to contact the hotel early, before the tourists book all the rooms. When contacting the hotel, tell them you are playing in the September chess tournament to ensure you are quoted the preferential rates.

Information on the hotel can be found at

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chieftainhotelinverness.com/">http://www.chieftainhotelinverness.com/</a><!-- m -->

There is plenty of accommodation in Inverness but there is a music festival taking place in the city during the congress weekend so again early booking of accommodation is advisable.

The planning for the congress is at an early stage but more details will be available shortly. Although things could change to try to make the congress work successfully, early plans are –

• • Incremental time control
  • 7pm start on the Friday
  • 10am start on the Saturday
  • 9.30am start on the Sunday to allow a 6pm finish for those travelling by train. The last train from Inverness to Edinburgh/Glasgow leaves at 18:51
  • Three sections – Open, Major (Under 1850) and Minor (Under 1450)

Alan Tate is currently playing at the European Individual Championship in Poland. So far he has 1.5/4 and plays GM E Danilian next. How about you remove all the negative stuff about the grant being cut from the front page of the site and replace it with a link to this event so we can follow Alan's progress?