Main points from the MSCL AGM

Paul Batchelor, Rob Counsell and I attended the MSCL AGM in Lewes on Tuesday for BHCC.

On regularising the assortment of match timing options we have had this year it was decided to follow the Hastings proposal, see Response by Hastings Chess Club on the Forum page, i.e. making all moves in 65 minutes plus 30 seconds per move the only option. Other alternatives were dismissed as all clubs now have digital clocks. The home team at least should be ready to start at 7:30 for a playing time of 3 hours 10 minutes minimum. There was discussion about bringing the start time to 7:30 prompt for both teams but this was dismissed for those finding it too difficult in view of work and travel, however there should be a firmer intent by both teams to honour the start time rather than assuming the 15 minutes grace is the norm.

The other main change was the agreement to go over to the ECF League Management System (LMS) for recording results. This cuts out an administrative layer with team captains uploading match results direct to a website which automatically copes with grade changes and eligibility and means results will appear as soon as they are entered. Again, for more details see the Hastings entry on the Forum page as this was also their submission (below the timing proposals). I think this is quite a refreshing step forward which will also link into the planned overhaul of the ECF grading system when it appears.

These simplifications are timely as the MSCL committee continues to shrink with Chair and Treasurer already doubled up and now, without Matthew Britnell, no Secretary. Volunteer/s from Hastings offered to set up and run the LMS - I think Mark Bryant and Gary Willson. Hopefully minutes will magically appear, even without a volunteer....

Time controls in practice

I've updated the MSCL page of the website, see tab above under Juniors, with information on the new time controls in the League. Hopefully this will go some way to clarifying any confusion! (If you have any quibble or it's not clear let me know.) With the two 'home' matches played - 1st v 2nd and 3rd v 4th - we've managed to play the default time control on every board without a problem, in fact the games have tended to finish earlier than before. Every match has been conclusive and the captains haven't had the old mopping-up operation while we try and decide who - or if - anybody won!

The first team beat the second last night with Luke returning to play for the first team and Will and Michael Cain making their debuts in the expanded first division. A good match which was far from being a whitewash for the second team.

John Henshaw        1-0          Robin Jones
Luke Rutherford     1-0         Anna Charpidou
Geoff James           ½-½       Michael Hamilton
Paul Batchelor        0-1         Will Wright
Paul Selby               1-0          Michael Cain
                            3½ - 1½

Knickers in a twist at the Mid-Sussex League

With the season about to kick off I'd just like to expand on the options under the new time controls the MSCL voted in at the AGM in June, which Jan talks about below. The AGM was a shambles of proposals and counter-proposals with, it turned out, only a minority having given much thought to the very real problem of concluding the game in the time available. There was a kind of obsessive panic over detail which made a completed scoresheet a higher priority than playing the game. How could a three-fold repetition possibly be proved? .. etc.. etc.. And yet the league has had G/80 +10 in its rules since 2015 without problem. And so, finally, a very small majority voted in favour of the scoresheet over common sense.

The result is we have G/65 +30: game in 65 minutes plus 30 seconds a move, with notation to the end - the bitter end, however long the game. So, late one dark and stormy night in Hastings or East Grinstead, with all the team dependent on one car to get them home, one game continues...... never mind three hours.... the game could go on to four, and on..... The common sense at the AGM suggested that the venue might have a night-patrolling caretaker jangling his keys round the ears of the players and insisting they go home to bed. OK, said the AGM, still digging its heels in over G/80 +10, we'll make an exception for that - but only that. So the host club - not the players trying to get home - can rule that the circumstances of their venue can allow for the game to stop at 60 moves, a decision which has to be made at the off as presumably the conditions of the venue will be unlikely to change during the course of the game.

For further clarification see Matthew Britnell's notes on the MSCL website. Note that the league may require evidence of the need to vacate the premises. The common sense in the room - only short of a majority by a whisker - was exasperated that the league still wasn't going all out for a completed game, that adjudication was still on the cards and that captains will still have a non-result to consult their computers about when they get home. The only difference is - less often.

So, G/65 +30 is the default, will result in a completed game, and we should assume at this stage that it has merit. Most games will finish within reasonable time. However, and only if the venue time is limited, there is 60/65 +30 (60 moves in 65 minutes plus 30 seconds a move). This is the short session default time control. Beyond that there are two further options for players who both agree: one is 42/90 (the old 42-move game) and the other is the new G/80 +10. There is one more option for no digital clocks: 30/60 f35 (30 moves in an hour with 35 minutes to finish). Whatever the time control - and there are five possible ones - it will from now on go onto the match card so the league can monitor the situation for next year. We also need to get nifty with clocks and leave time to make adjustments if we want any options to be realistic. Then there's the problem of one match with multiple time controls....

Well, I hope that's cleared things up before we start!! Good luck everyone and enjoy the season. Next year we might all get G/80 +10 and go home with a result. And anyway, aren't nearly all repetitions either fully intentional or blatantly obvious? and we're only talking when there's less than 5 minutes on the clock.....

League changes this season

Hello all,

In an effort to provide more information, attract new members, share experiences, perhaps entertain and, who knows, even to learn more about the game, I will update the blog more regularly while Anthony Giles will be posting on Facebook. I like writing so if there's a game you'd like to share or anything else which may be of interest, I'd be happy to help putting it up here.

The MSCL (Mid-Sussex Chess League) kicks off in October, with the 3rd team taking on the 4th team on the 18th and the 1st team taking on the 2nd on 25th. This season there are 3 divisions instead of 4 because the number of teams has fallen from 34 to 33 (despite Brighton now adding a fifth team), meaning that each team will play 10 matches instead of 7 or 8.

A change in the time control is the other main change, with 65mins + 30secs increment now being the default, instead of the previous 80mins + 10secs. 14 of the 26 MSCL AGM delegates voted for this in order to increase the number of completed match games. It also means that players are obliged to keep score throughout, helping to avoid disputes and validate draw claims (repeated positions).

The disadvantage is that games can go on for longer and therefore clubs can impose a 60 move limit to avoid late finishes. Alternative time controls are possible if both players agree and note also that the time control now has to be added onto match scoresheets, which are downloadable from MSCL site download here

MSCL provides the following table to indicate game length times:

All the best for the new season!

Three out of four wins for Brighton and Hove

Rob Counsell, Paul Batchelor and Paul Selby at MSCL AGM

The MSCL AGM passed off on Tuesday without much controversy. Peter Farr of the Args volunteered to take on Julie Denning's job of Fixtures Secretary so the league drew a collective sigh of relief - it will continue! Brighton and Hove picked up three division cups which were collected by the first team captain Paul Batchelor and regular supporters of the second and fourth teams, Paul Selby and Rob Counsell.

BHCC Juniors

We hope to encourage some more juniors to join the club next season and hopefully run a team in the MSCL Junior/Rapidplay League, see ongoing interesting discussion on the MSCL Forum. To this end I have added a Juniors page to our website, see under Home tab above. If you are a relative or teacher or know of any promising or keen juniors please consider bringing them along and perhaps linking up with others to run a team in October. We need to continually encourage improvers and learners of any age to revitalise the club from below and I think juniors are crucial to this. The Rapidplay League seems to have had a very successful start this season and I think we should be doing our best to support it. So please let me know if you're interested even if you only have one junior so far!

Congratulations to Andrew for a very successful year running the fourth team and to all who played in it!

MSCL AGM: B&H win again and Junior League approved

Much excitement at the MSCL AGM last week when it was decided to run a separate Junior League next season, starting earlier and finishing on the night (!), sneaking in as an alternative proposal to Eastbourne's  fourth division idea. Plus Brighton and Hove won the league cup and the first division tankard - both of which were carried off by first team captain, Paul Batchelor. Congrats to him for winning 6/7, and the first team for a winning team performance of 8.5/9.

New and improved Events Calendar

I've changed the Events Calendar to a calendar format and included MSCL matches to the end of January, complete with links to MSCL website and venue maps. Will captains please let me know of any date changes for this to function reliably - and anyone else for anything else exciting you'd like added!

PS Now with added e2e4 Gatwick Congresses in February and May 2016!

Digital clocks and time controls

Just a reminder that instructions for setting the digital clocks for league and tournament games are provided under Setting Clocks on the website. In particular the newly introduced alternative for league games, if both players wish it, of the incremental time control (Fischer) - 80 minutes for all moves + 10 second increment per move - is covered. Do ask if you need a demo (e.g. Michael, myself, Rob).

Also, it’s been pointed out that the chess magazines in the library are a valuable resource for the club. Some are in poor condition. To try to preserve these magazines please could you find an alternative to resting on them when recording games. Thank you.

New season news

Jan has resigned as third team captain due to new work commitments which, together with a slight drop in numbers, means we are only entering four teams and a KO team in the MSCL this season. Paul and Robin will have a team each in the first division and Michael and Andrew, with help from Alaa, a team each in the third. All team matches will be back to Thursday evenings, unless rescheduled for a Saturday. Thanks to Jan for all his time and effort with the third team.

We are planning to follow a Callum-inspired idea with the tournaments this season which should result in a greater variety of opponents and an option to play in two tournaments over the year - think World Cup with two qualifying group tournaments for the championship. If you want to enter please put your name on the list at the club or let Andrew Caswill know before the end of the month. The precise plan will depend on numbers and entering later may not be an option. We will also have a casual Open for both the super-keen and the less committed.

Last year's members remember to renew your membership of the club before 8th October to qualify for the £5 discount (amounts and bank transfer details are on the FAQs page, question 4) and renew your ECF membership if you want to play in anything other than friendlies at the club.

There is a strong rapidplay congress at Crowborough tomorrow for anyone interested, see link on Events Calendar page. 

Vacancy for a team captain

It looks likely we will only have captains for four teams this season unless we have a volunteer. The snag is you either need transport or the support of someone else willing to drive. Please let me know if you're interested or thinking about it as we need to let Julie know fairly soon. Doesn't matter what your grade is, we'll fit you in accordingly.

MSCL results and final game of the season

The end of the season is nigh and results are in. Paul's first team came second to Worthing this year, due in part to a couple of Knoll Knights having trotted over to support Worthing when their team disbanded last year. Robin's second team won division two by three game points so will be facing tough opposition in division one next season. Jan's third team looks like slipping back into the third division, where they will be joined next season by Michael's fourth team coming up, having won the fourth division with ease winning every match bar one. Andrew's fifth team held a respectable centre position in the fourth division on four out of eight. So particular congratulations to the second and fourth teams who are this year's winners in the see-saw fortunes of the Mid-Sussex League.

Meanwhile the keenly-awaited final of the Knock Out Competition - the absolute last match of the season - will be held at Brighton and Hove this evening as we take on last year's winners and KO favourites, Haywards Heath. An exciting match is anticipated where our rising talent take on the heavyweights of Mid-Sussex - all games to be finished on the night by quickplay.

Tough match for first team against Worthing 1

Last Thursday we entertained a strong Worthing side in the Mid-Sussex League. The Worthing juggernaut had been mowing down all the opposition this season sometimes by a large margin and we knew that we would face a stern test. Worthing were without Donald Macfarlane for the match, but they had a good substitute in Peter Larwood.

Geoffrey James was our best player on the night and he won a positional game against Chris Jones. The other game to finish that evening saw Paul Batchelor lose against Peter Larwood.

That left three unfinished games which all ended in draws. David Graham missed a win against me and Mike Nicholas appeared to be much better at one time against Simon Wilks. John Henshaw's game against Keith Homeyard was the last to be declared drawn. The two players had previously only played each other once and that was as long as 39 years ago!

The match was therefore drawn, though we would have to admit that, if Worthing had taken their chances, we would have lost. We have now 6.5 points out of 8, while Worthing have the same number of points from 7 games. Our last match is against Eastbourne, but, even if we run out winners, we are unlikely to win the league.

First team win against Horsham 1

Last Tuesday we gained an excellent 3.5 to 1.5 win against Horsham first team. Horsham has a vibrant club, which can always be relied upon to provide stern opposition. Wins were obtained by Paul and me, while Simon, Geoffrey and John drew their games. This means that we have now won five and drawn two of our seven games. Although this is a good sequence of results, it has been eclipsed by the performances of the strong Worthing team, who have won every match so far. We play Worthing next week which match could decide the league. However, unfortunately it is likely that matters are not entirely within our hands and, even if we were to win our last two matches, we might still miss out on retaining our title.

1st team wins against Horsham 2

Yesterday we won our Mid-Sussex League fixture against Horsham 2 by the score of 3.5 to 1.5. 14 year old Callum Brewer made his debut for the first team and gained an impressive win. John and Paul also did well to win. I drew my game and Geoffrey lost. This means that we have now won four and drawn two of our six games. To stand a chance of retaining our league title we would probably have to win all three of our remaining matches and this involves playing against some very strong opposition.

Brighton reach the final of the McArthur Cup

Yesterday we travelled to Haywards Heath to play our game in the semi-final of the McArthur Cup. Last week we had drawn with our opponents in the Mid-Sussex League, but this time we recorded a 4-2 win in the six board competition. Wins were obtained by Simon, Geoffrey and Paul. John and I drew our games while Chris lost. We now play the winners of Horsham and Hastings in the final.

A draw for the first team against Haywards Heath 1

Just as in our match at Hastings last weekend we struggled to make an impression against Haywards Heath first team. Wins were obtained by John and Paul and losses by Simon and Geoffrey. My own game ended in a draw. This means that we have four points out of five in the league, but we need to improve rapidly to stand a chance of winning the competition. We do it all again against Haywards Heath in the McArthur Cup next week, when the match will be played over six boards.

A draw for first team against Hastings 1

Last Saturday we travelled down to Hastings for a Mid-Sussex League match against old rivals Hastings. Like last season the match ended in a draw. Hastings were without Bernard Cafferty who is ill. I myself played against Francis Rayner, a Welsh international, and declined an offer of a draw after about twenty moves, when I was pressing for an advantage. After the match I greatly regretted that I had not accepted the offer as a horrendous move of mine about ten moves later completely compromised my position after which my opponent won efficiently. Simon fell victim to the experienced Howard Tebbs, who played a fine game. Howard's London System has given him a lot of success against strong players in particular. On board three Geoffrey played what was probably his best game this season as he won against promising junior Ollie Willson after establishing a strong bind on the position from the opening. Paul came up against the experienced John Sugden and at the end of the game had a slightly worse position, though the blocked nature of the pieces resulted in a draw. John Henshaw won against Paul Kelly in a game in which one side of the board was completely blocked for a while. I was dreading that the other side of the board might also be blocked (!), but John did well to turn his extra space into a win. This means that we have so far recorded three wins and a draw in our four matches.

Change of result

I recently reported on Brighton 1's game against Hastings 2 and gave the result as 3-2 to the Brighton team. After the match it was discovered that Hastings had accidentally fielded an ineligible player in their team. As a result Brighton's win has now been changed to the score of 3.5 to 1.5.

Narrow win for Brighton 1 against Hastings 2

Last Thursday our first team was involved in a close match against a resolute Hastings second team. Four of the games ended up as draws and it was left to Simon Wilks to gain the all important win against a very experienced opponent. Like our last match against Lewes we scraped a 3-2 win. This means that we have won our first three matches, but it would appear that we must generally play better than this, if we are to stand a chance of retaining our title.