2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

[Aris Marghetis]

The Eastern Ontario Chess Association (EOCA) is proud to be hosting the 2009 Ontario Open, to be held on the traditional Victoria Day long weekend.

This event will be 6 rounds, with flexible bye and Amateur options. Our schedule also features starting and ending round times to encourage travelling to and from Ottawa. In addition, lodging options include nearby Carleton University residences, with much lower room rates, and breakfast buffet included!

We will have multiple sections, and class prizes for every 200 rating points from 2200 to 1400. Every player will be submitted for both CFC and FIDE rating.

For complete details for this event, and a great webpage for all of the events in the 2008-2009 EOCA Grand Prix & Active Series, bookmark this weblink:
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments%202008-09.html

For local players who normally register at the RA chess club on a Thursday evening, please note that I now often work evenings. Therefore, whenever I do expect that I will be dropping by the RA chess club, I will post my schedule at the ChessTalk site: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Thanks and regards,

Aris Marghetis, Organizer/TD
EOCA President, OCA/CFC Governor

Please find below the list of players who have already registered for this event:

rating name FIDE# CFC#

Top Class
2344 Barron, Michael 2605120 134840

U2200 Class

U2000 Class
1861 Erickson, John 103011

U1800 Class
1756 Mallon, Christopher 2607620 109034
1672 Xiong, Wei 2610213 136037
1627 Brown, John R. 102882

U1600 Class
1416 Jarmyn, Tom 2604698 145247

U1400 Class
1344 Liiban, Farah 2610019 148746
1116 McArthur, Ricky 144021

Note that Wei Xiong is a floater player for the event. Floater players will play between 0 and 6 rounds, whenever the number of players for their section is odd. They will play for free, and have all their games rated, but in exchange, they will receive relatively late notice on whether they are playing in the next round. Good candidates for floater players are people who normally hang around anyway to watch a relative or friend play. I am asking, for all of the 6 rounds, a floater player for every 200 rating points. If you would be interested, please ensure that your CFC membership is current, and apply by email.

Finally, we are looking for volunteers. Please contact me if you are interested:

- someone to transport to Ottawa, the OCA clocks and maybe the OCA pieces
- someone to manage the OCA clocks and pieces for the rest of the weekend
[in case no one volunteers, please plan to bring your own clock and pieces]

- conscientious tactful assistants to help the TD monitor the playing area(s)
- RA member to set up, check in on, and pack up, the postgame skittles area

[John Brown]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

You have the President of the OCA going to your event. Why can't he bring the OCA equipment?

I'm looking forward to the event.

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

You have the President of the OCA going to your event. Why can't he bring the OCA equipment?

I'm looking forward to the event.

Hi John, yeah, I had written that before I knew Chris was coming. I guess the bigger thing is someone to manage the clocks throughout the long weekend, pack them, etc.

I am really looking forward to this event too. It will be great to meet people in person whom I have been ChessTalk-ing with for years. I'll keep posting updates on this board.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

You have the President of the OCA going to your event. Why can't he bring the OCA equipment?

Because he doesn't actually have the equipment with him. It is currently strategically stashed in 2 (or is it 3?) locations... Having moved some large portion of it myself on occasion, I can tell you it would not be an easy task to carry it around in a briefcase. :)

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

Because he doesn't actually have the equipment with him. It is currently strategically stashed in 2 (or is it 3?) locations... Having moved some large portion of it myself on occasion, I can tell you it would not be an easy task to carry it around in a briefcase. :)

Thanks Kerry for the update. I remember when I was one of the arbiters at the Canadian Open a couple of years ago, that setting up the clocks and pieces was a major task for the many volunteers we had there. It's not overly difficult, just time-consuming, and especially the clocks have to be perfect every time. I doubt we will need as many for this event, but I believe it would be best to have a few dedicated people managing the clocks and pieces before/during/after. The fallback plan is that everyone bring their own clocks and pieces, which has its own charms, but can add to scrambling at round time.

[Aris Marghetis]

also looking for billeting volunteer

Hi again, I forgot to mention in my original post that I am also looking for someone from Ottawa who would be interested in coordinating the billeting of players travelling into Ottawa. This would be a fun way to reconnect with old chess friends or make new ones!

[Christopher Mallon]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

I will bring the equipment... there's no way I'm setting it all up though, that takes QUITE a while with so many sets :)

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

I will bring the equipment... there's no way I'm setting it all up though, that takes QUITE a while with so many sets :)

Chris, thank you for volunteering to transport "the equipment" :

1) Are you bringing just the clocks, or the pieces as well?
2) Will you be doing a battery check of the clocks before?
3) What time do you expect to arrive on Friday/Saturday?

To everyone else, we need volunteers to set up the clocks and the pieces, as (both Chris and I have already confirmed) it takes quite a while to set the equipment up. If there are no volunteers for that, then it kind of mitigates Chris' transportation efforts! ;)

[Christopher Mallon]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

We're getting set up to inventory all the OCA equipment the next time it's all in the same place. We'll have sets, clocks and boards, as many as I can fit in my car. Probably 60-70 ish.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

to inventory all the OCA equipment

I'll slightly hijack the thread :D
Are there any special regulations to get this inventory for tournament(s)?

[John Brown]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

You have 30 days in April, 15 days in May that's 45 days . If you get equipment soon like before April 1 and you preset 3 clocks a day, more would be better and save settings, which may already be on the clocks anyway. Then in 35 days max you'd have all (70) clocks ready. Just think if Chris invites the OCA executive over for Pizza he might even get the work done in one night.

If you need volunteers then grab the first guys that pop in after Chris arrives and put them to work, offer them a free coffee or pop!!!

If you want the tourney to start on time and you have enough boards at RA club then preset the boards first and just leave the pieces at the boards when chris brings them in.
I'm sure we can all set up the pieces ourselves.

If the clocks have already been preset then you just have to turn them on if I remember the clocks you are using.

Now any more complicated things to figure out?????
Please refer to: How to complicate things without really taking the time to think. Written by Use Your Heads not your Feet.

[Christopher Mallon]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

I'm not sure I understand why you're being sarcastic here.

It's not like the clocks will be idle between now and the Ontario Open. So setting three per day won't really help much. Sets don't take too long either but it all adds up.

So why is it bad that Aris is asking for a volunteer to help set it all up? If you think it's so easy why don't you volunteer to do it?

[John Brown]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

Sure I'd volunteer but you and Aris would not want me to be in
charge as I'd be too critical of your procedures.
First of all I would not cry for volunteers. I'd PAY yes Pay a person to look after the chess equipment at the tournament as they would be Responsible to do a JOB.
This person would get paid and that money would be deducted from the entry fees and reduce prize funds, so that no one would be able to see the playing site in a mess.

My experience with chess players is they are not concerned about how well the place looks they are more concerned about their chess.
No matter how professional a set up is, there are always those who leave the place in a mess. So pay people to keep it tidy, well run and then maybe chess players will say. Hey why are you paying some one to keep this place tidy?? We can do it Ourselves (Volunteering) and increase our prize fund.

As far as I know about your OCA clocks they are already preset for his tournament time controls and I think that all chess players are smart enough to set a pre setting on a chess clock.

Sounds like to me that you became the OCA President not to promote or foster chess but to get a position that does nothing.

The Ontario Open to me is the baby of the OCA. So why is the OCA shunning to help the Organizer by making excuses that they can't help?

You want us Ontario Players to support the OCA but yet what are the executive of the OCA doing to get this Ontario Open going.
Making excuses that the sets are not together, that they don't have time to prest clocks, that they don't have time to look after their sets.

Really Chris I hope that some one who wants to promote and foster chess in Ontario replaces you at the OCA General Meeting.
I feel very ashamed that I supported your views earlier as I'd thought you'd be a breath of fresh air to the OCA. Looks like my opinion of you has really dropped a knotch since you became President of the OCA.
Playing in the Ontario Open is supporting Aris it is not supporting the Chess players of Ontario.
John R. Brown

[Christopher Mallon]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

Again I ask... what is the problem?

The clocks and sets will be set up.

If you don't want to volunteer to do it someone else will.

So when you arrive to play, it will be all ready for you.

So what is your problem???

[John Brown]

Re: 2009 Ontario Open: Victoria Day long weekend

Hi Chris;
I did not say I would not volunteer. I just said I'd be critical of the procedures. But I think I'll pass as you have said all will be in order when I arrive. I'll wait to see that though.

I prefer Green or Blue boards over those red boards the OCA have.
Seeing Red makes me thirsty. I played on those boards in Cdn Open 2007 they are horrible... Pieces and Clocks were perfect though.

My problem is that Organizers and Executive always make excuses why they can't get a job done.
If an organizer is running something then they should have already set in place a plan which should have back up procedures should the plan have a flaw or two.

If an Executive member wants to be an executive member they knew that they got their job because they told people they had a plan to support chess.

How can you support chess when you make excuses that you don't want to help promote Chess whether it be not helping to set up chess pieces to setting up clocks to not picking up a piece of garbage left on a table.

I wish Aris all the success but my past experience is that Chess Players are lazy and pigs.
So maybe we can prove me wrong and make this the best Ontario Open ever.