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Chess Scotland regrets to announce that Supratit Banerjee, one of the top players in the world for his age, has transferred from Scotland to England.
This will allow him to benefit from advanced training and subsidised travel through the generous funding provided to the English Chess Federation (ECF) by the British Government. Unfortunately, the Scottish Govt, has declined the invitation to provide similar funding to Chess Scotland.
Supratit is second in the world for his age with a rating of 2137, only one point behind the leader and almost 200 points above the player in third place.
We wish him well in the future.
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It seems to be about money and not national loyalty. At least we have Freddy.
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Andy, if it was simply about money the parents would have stopped him playing chess years ago!!!
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If it's not about money then what is the reason then? Jonathan Rowson, three times British chess champion has settled in England for many years and he has not changed federation.
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Andy, I never said money doesn't come into but that there are other things too.
The half million that the ECF got from the British Govt (and both Holyrood and Westminster have refused to give CS anything) could allow the ECF to provide training for its top players and employ full time coaches.
These coaches could also be sent with squads to European and World events or guarantee being available over the Internet when needed.
A squad manager could also be sent to deal with all of the problems that crop up at foreign events, instead of a parent who has travelled at their own expense having to deal with it unaided.
Even simple things like squad get togethers to boost moral all help.
Since you put your own interpretation on what I said last time let me put it as simply as I can. Having money helps but there is more to it than just having the money. There are the resources that are needed. Name one Scottish coach who could be available 24/7 to provide support to a player at every event. (That's not a criticism of anyone but we don't have full time professionals that can be used.)
Also note that the points I am making are not restricted to one player. Chess would benefit if we could supply all of those to our leading players in ALL categories, not just juniors. It would also benefit the membership if we had enough people to do all of the jobs we have or would like to have and that would include dedicated coaches.
Currently, if CS was given a half million it could not put everything it wanted into operation because we do not have the manpower (is that word still acceptable?) to carry out everything we would want.
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very little to do with Money , more to do with resources and opportunities. As I understand it, Supratit now has the opportunity to participate in ECF events now and will have access to IM training and a structured program. Supratit also resides in England ( I believe) so its a no brainer.
Those resources were already in place before the grant so no point in blaming the Scottish Government, its hardly their fault. TBH i'm a bit fed up of the blame culture creeping into Chess Scotland. If I was to comment on the Scottish Government's decision its speaks volumes on the subject on Independence. On a political personal level, it proves the point of how not to listen to politicians and should teach us on how much to trust them.
I would also say that in our current environment Harry and Sherry put in a fantastic effort and applaud them for that. To develop chess in Scotland, it will possibly benefit from our top tier players to progress. I will always be grateful for the training from IM Andrew Muir provided before the Glorney in 2018. Harry has also significantly progressed the juniors and I know clubs like Phones, Bearsden (and stepps now) have progressed through their training efforts.
There should be a nationalised training structure both for Adults and Juniors
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I know it's going to be hard to retain the Glorney Cup this year with Supratit playing for England but it is over five boards. We don't have any government funding but could Chess Scotland members not organise a whip-round ? I am willing to put in some of my own money for a good cause.
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nice sentiment Andy but the whole structure has to be overhauled. The Glorney cup is only one area of interest and the two junior directors as always are working hard. A few quid is not even going to plug a hole. Some members have interests in Juniors, others the scottish championship, another group is only interested in weekenders. There needs to be a general oversight in development , thats the problem.
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You've already heard some of them Alex.
Yes I would expect management board or executive board to look at multiple areas especially since they overlap with allocation, finance etc. I would not expect directors to be primarily tasked with raising money. Ruairidh's ideas about focus groups would be a great start. A development director with some semblance of freedom (not micro management or knowing better than that person) would also help. Professional marketing with a 10% cream for the company. All in all it can be done , but not with the current setup and who did it would require the authority of carrying out this task without having to look back all the time.
Accountability and transparency is also a must, at the moment we have neither, especially with council.
