It all depends on the venue, some years it's great for spectators and other years not so great.
Whilst it is fun to watch the Grandmasters up close for a while, the real action is usually in the commentary room, especially when a few of the stronger players finish their games and come and sit in the audience. It is very much an audience participation thing rather than just a crowd of silent woodpushers listening intently to the words of wisdom eminating from the official commentating team.
But why not take part yourself? There are various other tournaments taking place during the fortnight apart from the Championship proper. Last year, in Canterbury, I entered a rapidplay (20 minutes + 10 seconds per move IIRC) and got soundly thrashed by a Grandmaster.
They usually have boxes of books for £5.00 or under.
You can ask to buy a used set and board at cut price.
(buy a book written by one of the players for £5.00, get him to sign it
and drop it on E-Bay as a signed copy for £20.00) 🙂
If Andrew Martin is doing the commentary and the game is of a tactical
nature then it really is good fun. He asks the audience questions giving
prizes away. I have scored in the past but fail if the GIQ is an ending.
FL is correct though. Try and join one of the events, they often run things
like simuls and blitz stuff in the evenings. I am going to try and get down
for the day.
I'd recommend playing a morning event, 5-dayer if you can. Then watch the top boards on the monitors for a bit and then the commentary room. A few trips into the surrounding areas, pub lunches. Lovely.
You have to be an ECF member to play though.
Originally posted by Fat Lady That's only true for the Championship events (i.e. ones where a English title is at stake).
I am biased, but I think that joining the ECF is a worthwhile thing to do. In fact it will enable you to play in any FIDE rated event in ENG and give you discounts on many other tournaments including weekend events. In the future it may be obligatory to be a member to get a grade, but I think it's worth the price to support English chess.
Originally posted by elady Fat lady? Are you still here?
I pop in every couple of weeks to see if anything has been done about the blatent cheaters and have a quick look at the chess forum at the same time. I stick to blitz on playchess.com for my playing fix and the English Chess Forum for talking bollox about chess.
Are the spectators who attend these games allowed to Tweet or post on Facebook about the games as it goes on? Or will it be looked at as an opportunity to cheat?
British Chess Championship 2011
03 Jul '11 18:43
Back to Top