12-07-2015, 09:31 AM
On the way home last night, my wife was having a go at me about us paying titled players to play. As I explained to her, if you want a tournament that produces norms, you need GMs. GMs cost money. I want the Alan Tates, Clement Sreeves, Andy Burnetts and others of this world to have the chance to get their IM norms and move on to IM (and hopefully GM). We have the younger players coming through Kai, Murad to name a few. Look at Jonathan McKay who is going great guns at the moment. They need these opportunities and I hope we are able to support the Scottish for years to come.
Are we really saying that £60 for 9 days play is too high? It only increases if you didn't enter before the early cut offs! You'll pay that for 90 minutes of entertainment at an EPL game. Personally I think Alex should be congratulated for keeping the costs down while still bringing in GMs and IMs.
The reality is we get chess on the cheap in Scotland. John Dempsey and I were talking years ago at Sams shop about this and he was right. We are happy to put up with lower prizes because we complain at the cost of entry. It has taken a good 7 years from John's forward thinking of charging £25 for Glasgow to become the norm! (and we are hoping to get Glasgow going again next year, watch this space!!).
Are we really saying that £60 for 9 days play is too high? It only increases if you didn't enter before the early cut offs! You'll pay that for 90 minutes of entertainment at an EPL game. Personally I think Alex should be congratulated for keeping the costs down while still bringing in GMs and IMs.
The reality is we get chess on the cheap in Scotland. John Dempsey and I were talking years ago at Sams shop about this and he was right. We are happy to put up with lower prizes because we complain at the cost of entry. It has taken a good 7 years from John's forward thinking of charging £25 for Glasgow to become the norm! (and we are hoping to get Glasgow going again next year, watch this space!!).
"How sad to see, what used to be, a model of decorum and tranquility become like any other sport, a battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee"