Canterbury Summer Swiss

[Publicist]

Due to this year’s Australian Championship schedule in Geelong. The Box Hill Chess Club has decided to switch it’s popular Canterbury Summer Swiss to the 2012 Australia Day weekend in accordance with the following schedule
Thursday January 26, 2 rounds
Friday January 27, 1 round [evening]
Saturday January 28, 2 rounds
Sunday January 29, 2 rounds

[ER]

Due to this year’s Australian Championship schedule in Geelong. The Box Hill Chess Club has decided to switch it’s popular Canterbury Summer Swiss to the 2012 Australia Day weekend in accordance with the following schedule
Thursday January 26, 2 rounds
Friday January 27, 1 round [evening]
Saturday January 28, 2 rounds
Sunday January 29, 2 rounds

Hi Captain, I am most certainly in it, unless it clashes with something else that I can't remember at present! Looking for my diary to check!

[Bereaved]

Hi Captain, I am most certainly in it, unless it clashes with something else that I can't remember at present! Looking for my diary to check!(Bolding by Macavity)

Something like the MCC Australia day Weekender which we have been running for a number of years? some event like that say?

I am repulsed that these dates were considered appropriate by the Box Hill/Canterbury conglomerate.

Take care and God Bless, Macavity

[ER]

Something like the MCC Australia day Weekender which we have been running for a number of years? some event like that say?
....
Take care and God Bless, Macavity

Oooops not really! Usually I am in Sydney during that period of the year and I go to the Norths' Tournament! I missed it last year because they changed the date with little notice! Apologies for the confusion Malcolm!

[Grant Szuveges]

I fully agree with Malcolm's sentiment here.

The MCC has run a weekender over that weekend for years.

Surely there is another appropriate timeslot for this event which doesnt clash with a weekender from another big club.

Many people are members of both MCC and Rochester Road, why not schedule it another time, then these people have the chance to play in two events rather than picking just one.

MCC does everything it can to avoid clashes with other clubs events - we actually moved a blitz marathon last year at short notice to avoid a clash with Croydens "Guy West Classic" weekender. Id like to think that other clubs would show the same common courtesy.

That said, Ive got no idea if this was deliberate or just an oversight, so lets wait for a reply from Rochester Road...

[Grant Szuveges]

JAK is a perfect example of the people I am referring to in my previous post. He is a member of MCC as well as Box Hill/Canterbury...

Which one are you playing in JAK?

Why should he even have to make a choice?

[Publicist]

Well as you folks are so fond of saying first in best dressed

[NRMASIFD&GKFKBBK]

The consequences of what should be a happy event for Victorian chess players (i.e. the return of the National Championships to the state) appear, so far, to be all very unfortunate. And could have been avoided if the national body was better at coordinating advance notice of its intended schedule, so that regional organisers could be better prepared.

Now, we have:
- The Gold Coast tournament cancelled; and
- the two largest Melbourne clubs in disagreement.

Personally, I dislike the idea that any one club should "own" a particular weekend on the calendar. Clubs should be free to organise their calendars as they see fit. On the other hand, they need to also appreciate the potential likely net-benefit that arises from cooperating with other clubs so that everyone gets a fair opportunity to organise viable competitions. It may hurt the clubs if there were to be two unviable tournaments at different venues on a weekend rather just one viable tournament at a particular venue.

I have an idea: perhaps BHCC and MCC should collaborate on this occasion and organise a superweekender. In the same way that just the recent past, Linares was split into two venues (i.e. Morelia and Linares), or some of the matches between Karpov-Kasparov were also split between two cities. Perhaps, BHCC can host the first two days and MCC the latter two days.

Then after 2012, the arrangement of tournaments can revert back to normal.

Thoughts on this proposal?

[Grant Szuveges]

Well as you folks are so fond of saying first in best dressed

What do you mean by that?

[ER]

JAK is a perfect example of the people I am referring to in my previous post. He is a member of MCC as well as Box Hill/Canterbury...

Which one are you playing in JAK?

Why should he even have to make a choice?

Oooops not really! Usually I am in Sydney during that period of the year and I go to the Norths' Tournament! I missed it last year because they changed the date with little notice! Apologies for the confusion Malcolm!

OK let me give you a very specific answer since your question is very specific too!

Usually I am in Sydney during 2nd half of Jan, so I go and play at North's when I have the time because I love the venue, I see old friends etc!

Now to business!

If I don't go to Sydney (or overseas) I will play in MCC's tournament!

Reasons:

1) The Club is much closer to my place
2) It's a stronger tournament
3) Fitzroy's eateries are much more enticing than Maling Rd's
4) As it has been noted, MCC's is a traditional tournament whereas BHCC's was just placed on that date due to unforeseen (Aus Champ) circumstances!

Clear enough?

[Grant Szuveges]

Well as you folks are so fond of saying first in best dressed

Melbourne Chess Club has NEVER had this attitude. Our attitude is as I said in a previous post:

"MCC does everything it can to avoid clashes with other clubs events - we actually moved a blitz marathon last year at short notice to avoid a clash with Croydens "Guy West Classic" weekender."

Please explain "Publicist"...

[Grant Szuveges]

OK let me give you a very specific answer since your question is very specific too!

Usually I am in Sydney during 2nd half of Jan, so I go and play at North's when I have the time because I love the venue, I see old friends etc!

Now to business!

If I don't go to Sydney (or overseas) I will play in MCC's tournament!

Reasons:

1) The Club is much closer to my place
2) It's a stronger tournament
3) Fitzroy's eateries are much more enticing than Maling Rd's
4) As it has been noted, MCC's is a traditional tournament whereas BHCC's was just placed on that date due to unforeseen (Aus Champ) circumstances?

Clear enough?

I love it! Thanks JAK. Sorry to put you on the spot there!

[Carl Gorka]

Disappointing. The interclub spirit that I and many others are trying to foster doesn't seem to be getting through to everyone

[Kevin Bonham]

And could have been avoided if the national body was better at coordinating advance notice of its intended schedule, so that regional organisers could be better prepared.

Which is fine in theory, but in fact the ACF doesn't have an "intended schedule" as having one would limit the freedom of Aus Champs/Open bidders in terms of arranging the tournament that best fits in with their desires, constraints and bottom lines. Unfortunately in this case we did not receive any bids until very recently.

There was a history of the Aus Champs/Open starting on the last four or so days in December, up until 2006-7. It is just the last four years in a row that the events held in NSW have started in the New Year, resulting in short events springing up or moving to grab the gap created. CV wanted to return to the traditional one-game-a-day format.

It's unfortunate there have been clashes and that people who tried to organise events well in advance have had to cancel. However, since the Aus Champs is a paramount title event, if you're planning on running an event around Aus Champs/Open time it is better to keep plans and public information as flexible as possible until you find out what the actual dates for the Aus Champs are.

[Grant Szuveges]

There was a history of the Aus Champs/Open starting on the last four or so days in December, up until 2006-7. It is just the last four years in a row that the events held in NSW have started in the New Year, resulting in short events springing up or moving to grab the gap created. CV wanted to return to the traditional one-game-a-day format.

It's unfortunate there have been clashes and that people who tried to organise events well in advance have had to cancel. However, since the Aus Champs is a paramount title event, if you're planning on running an event around Aus Champs/Open time it is better to keep plans and public information as flexible as possible until you find out what the actual dates for the Aus Champs are.

What Kevin is saying here is correct. The Canterbury Summer Swiss (as far as I am aware) is an event which traditionally caters for players who are not going to NSW for the Australian Championship. The only "problem" now is that the Australian Championship is in Victoria - which means that the clash is relevant to some degree.

Obviously Box Hill/Canterbury want this event to grow and prosper (and so they should), and thus dont want to let it go for a year. Although instead of putting it on to clash with an event at another club (an event which is much more similar to it than an Aus Champs is), in my opinion they shouldve run the tournament in its usual timeslot and simply had a smaller tournament than usual. This is exactly what MCC did this year with our ANZAC Day event. We want it to succeed and become a big big event and based on last year it is rapidly growing (45 entries up from 25 in 2009). This year unfortunately it clashed with Doeberl - but we ran it anyway in its "correct" time slot and simply accepted that it would be a very small event this year. If I was running Box Hill/Canterbury, this is exactly what I wouldve done here - it offends nobody and then the event goes back to its normal field size the next year. Even if it did clash with the Australian Championship in Victoria, Im not even convinced that it would lose that many players to it anyway.