Greenpawn asked me to start a thread about the 4NCL (four nations chess league) in the UK.
I have never actually been to one of the 4NCL weekends, let alone played for a team, and I was wondering if anyone on this site who does play for a 4NCL team would like to share their experiences?
I know several Oxford players who play. My impression from talking to them is that lots of good chess gets played, but that it is very expensive as you have to travel to the venue, stay in a hotel overnight and eat in restaurants. As you only play one game a day this can work out at around £50 / game, which is quite pricey.
Has anyone got any tips on how to cut the costs of a 4NCL weekend?
streetfighter - I noticed that you were looking for a 4NCL team. Did you find one in the end?
Originally posted by Fat LadyI did Fat Lady, thanks- this coming season I'll be playing in the 2nd Division for Grantham Pandora's Box (mostly players from the Lincoln-area). The cost has been the main thing which put me off playing before - could work out quite pricey.
Greenpawn asked me to start a thread about the 4NCL (four nations chess league) in the UK.
I have never actually been to one of the 4NCL weekends, let alone played for a team, and I was wondering if anyone on this site who does play for a 4NCL team would like to share their experiences?
I know several Oxford players who play. My impression from talkin ...[text shortened]...
streetfighter - I noticed that you were looking for a 4NCL team. Did you find one in the end?
Should be a good level of chess for me though- mostly opponent's within 100 points either side of me. Can't make the 1st weekend though as I'm playing the Tatry Open in Slovakia-it's in the mountains and I'm really looking forward to it : )
I have played for the last three years, but occasionally.
Last season I was playing for Littlethorpe 2 on board 1 in div 4 - pretty hard games, so got three draws and three losses.
The two seasons prior to that, I played for Bristol 2 in division 3, but I tended to be on much lower boards there so the games were more manageable and I got a win, two draws and a loss.
My experiences with these teams were very positive, as the captains were quite social people who encouraged the team members to all go out together on the saturday nights. Alot of teams change their players more frequently so tend not to have the same sense of camaraderie as the more settled sides.
Originally posted by Fat LadyUser 415534 whom you know has played a few 4NCL games.
Greenpawn asked me to start a thread about the 4NCL (four nations chess league) in the UK.
I have never actually been to one of the 4NCL weekends, let alone played for a team, and I was wondering if anyone on this site who does play for a 4NCL team would like to share their experiences?
I know several Oxford players who play. My impression from talkin ...[text shortened]...
streetfighter - I noticed that you were looking for a 4NCL team. Did you find one in the end?
Cheers - I'll consider my invitation but the cost for two games is
a bit pricey - might go down and do a Corner on it.
I played in the Scottish National League - board 1 in Div 1 and score
about 50%. But it tends to be shunned by the really top Scottish players,
Aagaard, Rowson, McNab, Shaw, Motwani, Bryson, Pritchett,
Keti, Muir, Mannion, Dearing, Condie, and of course the Scottish Tal, Roddy McKay.
Originally posted by kbaumenThere are no "cheap cafes" in the West of the sort you're talking about. Latvia will be the same once the grim, grey fingers of capitalism get a firm grip.
Sleep on a bench in the park and don't eat?
Why is it that you have to eat in restaurants? These games take place where there are no cheap cafes?
Yes it can be quite expensive, but I suppose that depends if you can arrange lifts etc, or if someone who is commuting can put you up.. The hotels tend to be out of town conference centres so unless you eat at the hotel (or bring food - not encouraged by the hotel obviously!) then you'd need a lift to go somewhere else. That's usually not a problem as one of your team will be driving anyway.
It is more expensive than a normal weekender (certainly for the number of games you play) but remember the benefit is you get 1 game per day with a nice long time control...hopefully it's quality over quantity!
Also being part of a team is nice...
If you're worried about cash, maybe it's not ideal, but if you can commute to some of the venues then maybe just play at a few weekends?
Hope that helps.