From all at Chess Scotland. May all your pawns be queens (unless of course you are playing me!)

Quite a few Scots in this, with meaty first round pairings for Calum MacQueen and Clement Sreeves.

Adam Bremner, Alan Grant, Andy Green, Hamish Olson, Jonathan Edwards and James Macrae also playing.

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Not sure how many live boards there are, may only be four. Clement's the highest Scot, on 11.

I have come to the conclusion that 2 heads are better than one. As many of you know, we have been looking at the issue of proxy votes and how to stop the AGM from becoming meaningless to the people who are there. There are no simple solutions there that don't seriously disadvantage people.

So I am throwing the question out to the notiveboard dwellers.

Simple question, difficult answer. What would you do about proxy votes at the AGM?

On behalf of Chess Scotland may I wish you all a MERRY Christmas


Andy

Any ideas out there on how to promote and market Scottish Chess?

How do we increase the numbers regularly playing at all levels and age groups?

How do we further encourage non-members to become Chess Scotland members?

Thoughts on how we increase CS funds through promotion and marketing?

Any ideas on what could be offered to potential investors in the game and how they could utilise a partnership with Chess Scotland for the investors benefit?

General and specific examples could be useful. For example, the Nintendo DS targeted those in the more mature bracket in some of their adverts for the brain training game. Could CS approach Nintendo or whoever manufactures the brain training series with an advertising package and co-operation by suitable CS members to promote their products in return for an investment in our senior teams?

Many ideas may have been aired before and undoubtedly many previous discussions will have taken place but all ideas would be useful to throw in the pot, even if they've been considered before. No harm in reassessing ideas to see if they can be made to work.

Out of interest...

Field of work/study?
Online games or sport?
Holidays in the sun or camping trips up north?
Beer or wine?

:U

It is planned that from February 2012, the authorities will be reprocessing all volunteers (Chess Coaches, Arbiters and Chaperons) who were previously disclosed through the former Child Protection process (Pre 2011). This will mean that a new form will need to be completed which will result in all volunteers being awarded a PVG Scheme Record which they retain and can show to any interested party. More recent CS volunteers (2011 onwards) have already been awarded a PVG Scheme Record.

Chess Scotland's Lead Signatory, Steve Mannion (Snr), has written to each of the CS volunteers who will be affected by the new arrangements. If you think that you should have received a letter but have not done so, please contact the Membership Secretary <!-- e --><a href="mailto:membership@chessscotland.com">membership@chessscotland.com</a><!-- e -->

See the front page!

Nice one Andy

Dundee & Angus Congress will be staging a one-day Spring Allegro on Saturday 26th May 2012 at the usual Congress venue – David Lloyd Leisure, Ethiebeaton by Dundee.

We will be collaborating with Chess For Kicks which will be organised and conducted by SJC officials but the events will share the venue. Hopefully entries for one will generate entries for the other. CFK officials will make their own announcement in due course.

Details of the D&A Allegro will be finalised over the next few weeks but I hope to have provisional details ready by Lothians Allegro and entry forms by Perth. The Dundee Congress website - http://www.dundee-congress.co.uk will carry news and updates although a dedicated website is being developed. For direct news and updates email me at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:director@dundee-congress.co.uk">director@dundee-congress.co.uk</a><!-- e -->

All

Currently GMs get appearance fees at the Olympiad.
However the team has played badly recently

Our Senior team currently get great results but no subsidy and now the possibility of appearance fees is now a topic here too.

I am open-minded here as to what should happen on a tight budget between allocating to
junior/adult/senior/IM chasers

and whether money in a team should be skewed towards the top players or not

If anyone cares to post here or email me than that will help me make decisions in allocating the budget for 2012