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British junior Championships
#1
Good luck to Sarah (U15) and Rachel Lorna Smith (U13) in their events at the British starting today.

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#2
Thanks Smile
Not their best performance, though Rachel did have a particularly challenging draw - certainly in comparison to the Welsh #1 girl. On the bright side, though, it's better practice for her Smile
Sarah got an early (3rd round...first in tourney) bye which was a bit infuriating having travelled so far, but she did get (and win) a graded friendly at least.

Certainly it would be good to see more Scots flags on the scoreboards, I'm sure our juniors (and others) could give a very respectable showing and even pick up the odd title - both girls certainly have that goal in their sights for the not too distant.

Speaking of location, and given we have now gone to the far flung corners of Wales, middle-England and apparently (next year) will be about as south as one can go ....can anyone tell me if this "British" ever finds it's way to Scotland?! Seriously, are we on the schedule anywhere, anytime - or have we been "recently" ?!
As I've oft mentioned, I'm fairly new back to chess but still can't remember a Scottish venue for this - which seems a tad weird.

:ymdevil:
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#3
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Peter,

The ECF run the British Chess Championships under licence. I am not sure on the decision making process regarding venue (2016 is Bournemouth 23rd July-6th August). I guess Alex McFarlane would be best placed regarding venue questions.
Your girls had a tough draw but kept going to the end so all credit to them.
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#4
Hi
Its a sad fact that our English friends seem reluctant to travel. When Gillespies entered into the "British" schools championships we NEVER had a home time in three years. Sure we were drawn at home but had to travel to Belfast, York, Carlise etc and although the players enjoyed the experience it was a factor in our decision to stop entering.
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#5
I am no Nationalist but really these "British" chess events should be relabeled as "English" because that's what they are. Just take a look at the latest "British" Championships. It's a complete joke.
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#6
George Neave Wrote:I am no Nationalist but really these "British" chess events should be relabeled as "English" because that's what they are. Just take a look at the latest "British" Championships. It's a complete joke.

I dunno, quite a few Scottish wins in the noughties - don't know why no one plays them now?
Also, quite a few of Scotland's best juniors played this year too.
Lothian Junior Chess
http://www.ljc.org.uk
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#7
mclarke Wrote:
George Neave Wrote:I am no Nationalist but really these "British" chess events should be relabeled as "English" because that's what they are. Just take a look at the latest "British" Championships. It's a complete joke.

I dunno, quite a few Scottish wins in the noughties - don't know why no one plays them now?
Also, quite a few of Scotland's best juniors played this year too.

English GMs are paid to play, the Scots are not. This came about just after Rowson won 3 and Aagaard (who was registered Scottish at the time) 1.

Prior to this, commonwealth players were eligible but the English Federation stopped that after couple of Indian winners.

The message is clear.
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#8
What clear message would that be?

1. Scotland is part of Great Britain (still). India is not.

2. English players pay for English GM conditions through their membership fees and whatever sponsorship the ECF can find. It is absolutely within Chess Scotland's gift to do the same for Scottish GMs.
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#9
mclarke Wrote:don't know why no one plays them now?.

It is because it is stupidly expensive to play.

If you are a GM, you are not getting conditions you would get from almost every other event. If you are a regular punter, the entry fee is £200 and it is genuinely cheaper to play in a nicer, and stronger, event abroad. See Czech Open for example. Until this changes, it will essentially remain the English Championsips.
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#10
This article by Dave Hewitt from 2010 spells out some of the issues and problems - it would appear to me that nothing has changed since then?!

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