Welsh Games Archive

Dyfed Chess Association

DYFED CHESS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

7.30 p.m. Thursday 28^th June 2007, Ffostrasol Inn, Ffostrasol[1]

AGENDA

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of 2006 AGM (enclosed)

3. Matters Arising

4. 2007 Dyfed Open Chess Congress Report

5. 2008 Dyfed Open Chess Congress

6. Dyfed Closed Tournament - 2006

7. Dyfed Closed Tournament - 2007

8. Proposals by the Association Committee (see background note enclosed)

8.1 Halfway venues

Insert into the League rules:

“ 5A. Subject to rules 5B-5D below teams shall play each other twice on a home and away basis.

“ 5B. If the normal travelling time between one team’s home venue and the home venue of its opponent is at least one hour, the away team may require that the match be played at an intermediate location approximately halfway between the two venues.

“5C If the teams cannot agree to a suitable intermediate venue, the matter shall be resolved by the League Controller, whose decision will be final.

“5D. The away team shall be responsible for hiring the venue and for supplying the necessary chess equipment.”

Proposal by Committee:

“ This meeting resolves that for the years 2007/08 and 2008/09 the Association will bear the hiring costs of intermediate venues arranged in accordance with League Rules 5B-5D, so long as those costs are approved as reasonable by the League Controller.”

8.2 Waiver of fees for new clubs

Alternative proposals by Committee: Add at the end of Paragraph 4 of the Association’s constitution (‘Subscriptions’) either

A: “ The Association shall waive the registration fee due it (excluding the part which is paid over to the Welsh Chess Union) in respect of players registered by a club newly elected into membership for the first two years of that club’s membership.”

B: “ The Association shall waive the whole of the registration fee due it in respect of players registered by a club newly elected into membership for the first year of that club’s membership. The fees due to the Welsh Chess Union in respect of such players shall be met from Association funds.”

8.3 Dyfed Amateur Team Championship

Insert into the League rules:

“14A The team with the highest number of game points, excluding all the results of its players with a grade in the current list of more than 1700, shall be declared Dyfed Amateur Team Champions, and shall hold the Dyfed Amateur Team Championship Trophy for one year. For this purpose, all the results of players initially ungraded but allocated a grade of over 1700 under League rules 11 or 12E during the season shall also be excluded from teams’ scores.”

9. Election of new clubs into membership of the Association

10. Officers' Reports

11. Honoraria and Expenses

12. Election of DCA Officers (President, Chairman, Treasurer, Press Officer, League Controller, Grading Officer, Secretary, Match Captain and Junior Organiser)

13. Election of delegates to WCU Committees (International, Home Chess, Planning and Development, Media, Juniors and the Management Board)

14. Awarding of prizes

15. AOB

Howard Williams (Secretary) - Tel 01239 682182

[1] The village is about four miles north east of Newcastle Emlyn where the B4571 meets the A486. The pub itself is at this junction.

Dyfed Chess Association: note by Committee for AGM 28/6/07

Background

At the end of the current season the Dyfed Chess League has been reduced to three clubs and four teams following the disbanding of Pembroke and Fishguard. Of the three clubs two only had just enough members to support a four board team (although Carmarthen’s four players convincingly won the league).

Like chess leagues generally in Wales and elsewhere, the decline in clubs and teams in the Dyfed League has taken place steadily since about 1990 but Dyfed, with its relatively small total population base (say 300,000), is particularly vulnerable. Without extra teams/clubs it seems likely that the league will become defunct in the next few years.

That said, the outlook is not without hope and on the most optimistic scenario perhaps as many as three new teams could enter the league next season namely, Haverfordwest, Aberystwyth and a team representing the internet chess club, gwyddbwyll.com.

There are a number of proposals on the agenda for this year’s AGM which are intended to make the league more attractive to new entrants (and indeed to existing teams).

One positive feature is that the Dyfed Chess Association (DCA) has substantial reserves of cash, well beyond what is needed to support its current activities. Some of those reserves should be used to try to save the league from extinction.

Proposals

Halfway venues

At present matches are played on a home and away basis on weekday evenings. Particularly if a team representing Aberystwyth joins the league then the distances involved make home and away matches a tall order. There is nothing in the current league rules to prevent matches being played at weekends but that too is likely to be unattractive to many. The proposals at item 8.1 of the agenda therefore:

· amend the league rules to give the away team the right to insist on a halfway venue if the away team’s travelling time would otherwise be more than one hour; and

· authorise the resulting costs of room hire to be paid from Association funds.

For example, an Aberystwyth team could play its matches against Carmarthen and Newcastle Emlyn in Lampeter, its matches against the two Cardigan teams in Aberaeron and matches against a Haverfordwest team in the venue already used for chess in Tan-y-groes, five miles north of Cardigan.

Waiver of fees for members of new clubs

Item 8.2 consists of alternative proposals from the committee to welcome new clubs to the league by letting them off part of the fees normally payable for an initial period.

The first proposal (a) would waive the Association’s part of the usual registration fee, that is £4 out of the total of £14 for adults (£2 out of £9 for juniors) for the first two years of membership.

The second proposal (b) goes further and waives the whole fee. The Association, as well as foregoing its £4, would then have to pay out of its funds the part of the fee normally due to the Welsh Chess Union, namely £10. That would ensure that the members of the new clubs get a copy of the WCU yearbook, a grade published in the yearbook and the right to compete in various WCU competitions. The waiver would apply initially for one year.

New competition

One problem which has beset the existing the league is its total domination by two teams of highly graded players. Other teams therefore have very little to aim for in terms of league position. Since Dyfed no longer has enough teams to run more than one league division, item 8.3 proposes the creation of a second competition (involving no extra matches) within the existing one-division league structure.

The winning team would be the one with the most game points excluding all games played by members of its team with a grade of over 1700. It would become the Dyfed Amateur Team Championship and hold a trophy, to be purchased by the Association, for one year. Had such a competition been in existence in 2004/05 and 2005/06 Fishguard A, Pembroke, Newcastle Emlyn and Cardigan B would all have finished neck and neck.

Other measures

While these proposals may improve our inter-club competiton, existing clubs still need to retain existing members and attract new ones and new clubs need to be established if organised chess in Dyfed is to survive.

The Association remains willing to support local enthusiasts seeking to set up a club by:

· lending the club money to get started. In the past that has been for equipment purchase but the initial cost of room hire and advertising would also be supported;

asking its more experienced members to give advice, talks, tuition and simultaneous displays to newly formed clubs.

Keith Downey (Carmarthen) accepting the 2006-7 League Trophy from Iolo Jones.