Introducing the 2013/14 CC, PK, TT, DC and Open Tournaments

We may have dropped back to five teams in the MSCL but.....
we are running FIVE internal tournaments this year, not just the usual four.

All the tournaments will have an absolute upper limit of 12 players each so all entrants must be prepared to play a maximum of 11 games before the end of June.

The difference is that the usual four will be limited to graded players only. This is to ensure that all the tournaments are fair and we're not trying to guess the grades of new members to fit them in. Plus we have so many new members this season that four tournaments won't be enough.

The graded tournaments will be as follows:

The Club Championship - reserved for players graded 160 and above
The Plummer Knight - U160
The Tasker Tankard - U125
The Denman Cup - U100

The numbers have been carefully worked out so I'm afraid electing to play in a higher tournament than the one your grade suggests will not be permitted or others may not get to play at all. But, we are introducing the new.....

Open Tournament which will be open to all, high and low, graded or not. All new ungraded members are invited to enter this tournament if they wish to play graded games. This tournament also gives graded members a choice, and the most reliable and dedicated tournament players can enter two and play twice as many games over the year.

The tournaments will begin as soon as two players have entered the same tournament - I will put up ghost charts tomorrow. If you want to accept your offer of a place in the graded tournaments - and you are up to date with both BHCC and ECF memberships - you can ink your name in over the pencil and begin. Please let me know if you don't want your pencilled-in offer of a place and you will be left out of the printed version. Ungraded players - BHCC and ECF members - can just write their name into the Open tournament.

As another plus to this new system it's possible for new members who get off to an early start to get a grade at the end of January. They will then become eligible for any remaining spaces in the graded tournaments. Similarly, ambitious graded players on the cusp of a higher tournament may hold back in hopes of a grading increase come January (although they risk missing out if the tournament is full).

I trust you're all still with me because I'm hoping this will all run like clockwork and everyone will have the best chance to play more games, win their tournament and be generally very satisfied with life!