Annex Chess Club Winter Is Coming Swiss - Blog
Rd. 1 - 18/11/5
Bob's Chess Blog # 1 (Part I of 3 Parts)
(See Knight Logo below)
Club Blog Stats
I have now completed the first tournament Blogs for the Annex CC and the Scarborough CC. It seems that this was a novelty at the start, and viewership was initially somewhat high - the 4 ACC Blogs, after being posted for three days, averaged 78 viewers per blog. Similarly, the 5 SCC Blogs averaged 77 views per blog. I am obviously pleased that the interest was high.
But now that the novelty has somewhat worn off, and given that generally there is less interest in club tournaments than non-club weekend tournaments, I expect to see the viewership per blog settle in somewhere between 30 - 50 views per blog.....we'll see. Again, this would be encouraging for me and I would happily continue the project.
Note:
1. This Blog on my personal Facebook page is re-posted a few other places - so references refer to this platform.
2. The first sections, down to the registration history for this current tournament, are a template. I repeat them in each Blog....I cannot simply refer new readers to my prior Blog. It is too much to expect new readers to scroll down my Facebook timeline to find my most recent Blog, which by now is far down the scroll.
At the same time, the template must be here for any new readers of my Blog.
So I ask my regular readers to be tolerant, and you can skip the template parts (I will alert you if there are any revisions of the template).
Template Begins
Club
Annex Chess Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(See logo below)
(ACC Website: http://annexchessclub.com/)
(ACC Fb Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/172335039452033/)
Bob's Blog
For a number of years now, I have been posting my chess blog:
i) on my personal Facebook Account for my almost 850 Fb friends from around the world (in English): https://www.facebook.com/bob.armstrong.9235;
ii) sometimes on the national Canadian English chess discussion board, Chess Talk [CT] (https://forum.chesstalk.com/…/chesst...-chess-disc…);
iii) occasionally on other chess websites, such as that of FQE (Province of Quebec's Chess Association). That time the blog was posted in both French and English.
More recently I also have been "re-posting" my Fb blog:
i) on my Fb chess discussion group, Chess Chat - A Project of Chess Companions of Caissa (https://www.facebook.com/groups/340524269771672/);
ii) my Scarborough CC tournaments Fb Blog to SCC's Fb Page (URL above)
iii) my Annex CC tournaments Fb blog to ACC's Fb Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/172335039452033/);
Henry Lam (Aka Dark Knight), the recently new owner of CT, and I have an agreement (From the summer of 2018) that I will re-post my Fb Blogs on CT for both my chess club official tournaments, and my non-club weekend (Sometimes longer; sometimes shorter) tournaments, in which I play between Summer 2018 and Summer 2019. After that, Henry and I can then renew our agreement for another year if we both so wish.
So, under this agreement, most recently I have been re-posting my current Scarborough CC and Annex CC tournaments. My future non-club weekend blogs to and including Summer 2019 will be (Given my current schedule - from time to time, though, my life schedule may change so that I fit in a tournament not on my schedule):
1. The 2018 Hart House Holidays Open (Prior to Christmas - Dec. 14-16);
2. The 2019 Hart House Reading Week Open (Usually on the Family Day Holiday Weekend in February).
3. The 2019 Quebec Open (July) - if in Montreal.
4. The 2019 Toronto Open (Sept.)
The National Canadian French Chess Discussion Board
Henri Hughes, a member of both Chess Talk's English and French chess discussion boards, volunteers, subject to demands of his school studies, to translate my blogs into French, and post them to Parlons Echecs, the Canadian French discussion board also owned by Henry Lam. Thanks from all to Henri for his volunteer effort.
The Blog Focus
I mainly focus on the section I am playing in (Has been U 2000, U 1900 or U 1800). I feel that these class sections are often not covered by chess media, and yet, the bulk of chess tournament players are in the classes under 1900. And many of my class viewers have actually played players about whom I am blogging (Ones I play and ones with whom I may socialize during the tournament, who then are mentioned in the Blog). So this adds a bit more interest for them.
I do also generally cover (Bare Bones) the top section standings; but I have to have been able to get the results before the Blog goes to press. I sometimes will cover also the lower sections, if I have the results. For both, of course, it can be a matter of the time available (I am often doing my Blog in the wee hours of the morning).
I do hope my blogs will continue to provide a window onto class tournament chess, and what THIS chess player does in the day of club tournaments, and before and between rounds for weekend tournaments (A bit of a reality show - bits of my personal life).
I know many other chess players approach tournaments quite differently than I do (E.g. - study!), and so one cannot generalize from what I do.
Blog Feedback
Over the years, and in these more recent blogs, I have had generally positive feedback on my blogging, on both of my own Fb Accounts, the SCC & ACC Fb sites, and on CT.
It has been said that my writing style is easy to read, factual, and often entertaining. It is a find for all us "nosy" chess players!
Thanks to all those who have supported my Blogging on various sites, and kept encouraging me to continue.
Joining Annex CC
Lots of room and so ACC WELCOMES all new members. You can inquire about joining at the general ACC e-mail address: info@annexchessclub.com. You can join a tournament in progress….you will get ½ pt. byes for the missed rounds (Only two).
The Tournament - ACC Winter Is Coming Swiss
This is the 7th regular swiss tournament at ACC in 2018.
It is a 5-round swiss that runs from Nov. 5 - Dec. 10 (ACC closed for Mon., Nov. 12). There are three sections: Crown; U 1800; U 1400. All sections are CFC-rated. Time control is G/90 + 30 sec. (From move 1). Players within 100 pts. of the floor of the section above have the option to play up, and most do.
Notes:
1. The summer format: Crown (1700 +); U 1700 - where there are usually fewer players; right to play up.
2. The Club Championship has only 2 sections (so lower two sections' players get to play some different opponents): Championship (1800+); Reserves (U 1800); 1700’s have option to play up and usually do.
3. For a short time in 2017, Swisses had 4 sections: Master (2200 +); U 2200; U 1800; U 1400. Players within 100 pts. had the option to play up, and most did. It was temporarily shelved because the top two sections each had too few players; it will be reconsidered if the membership grows, and gets stronger.
Tournaments Registration History
2015
2015 Average per tournament: 54 registrations (Based on the last three tournaments of 2015 – highest yearly average since we started keeping records).
2016
Back to the Grind Swiss – 48 registrations (Peak registration for 2016)
2016 Average per tournament: 43 registrations (Down significantly from the prior year - 54).
2017
Peak registrations for 2017:
Club Championship – 60! registrants: Championship (1800+): 20; Reserves (U 1800): 40.
Summer in the City Swiss – 60! registrants: Masters 8; U 2200 – 7; U 1800 – 10; U 1400 – 12.
2017 Average per Tournament – 53 registrants (2nd highest since keeping records here)
2018 (Current)
# 1 – Get the Skates On Swiss – 52 registrants: Crown: 13; U 1800: 19; U 1400: 20.
# 2 – ACC Club Championships – 51 registrants: Championship (1800+): 14; Reserve (Under 1800): 37.
# 3 – Spring Thaw Swiss – 45 registrants: Top: 25; U 1400: 20.
# 4 – Smash Crash Swiss – 42 registrants: Top: 27; U 1400: 15
# 5 – Strawberry Festival Swiss – 45 registrants: Crown: 9; U 1800: 21; U 1400: 15.
# 6 - Changing Leaves Swiss - 59 registrants: Crown: 14; U 1800: 24; U 1400: 21. This is well above the tournament average for the year so far.
End of Template
2018 Average per Tournament (6 tournaments): 49 registrants (Slightly below the 2017 Average of 53)
[See Parts II & III below]
Bob A
Rd. 1 - 18/11/5
Bob's Chess Blog # 1 (Part I of 3 Parts)
(See Knight Logo below)
Club Blog Stats
I have now completed the first tournament Blogs for the Annex CC and the Scarborough CC. It seems that this was a novelty at the start, and viewership was initially somewhat high - the 4 ACC Blogs, after being posted for three days, averaged 78 viewers per blog. Similarly, the 5 SCC Blogs averaged 77 views per blog. I am obviously pleased that the interest was high.
But now that the novelty has somewhat worn off, and given that generally there is less interest in club tournaments than non-club weekend tournaments, I expect to see the viewership per blog settle in somewhere between 30 - 50 views per blog.....we'll see. Again, this would be encouraging for me and I would happily continue the project.
Note:
1. This Blog on my personal Facebook page is re-posted a few other places - so references refer to this platform.
2. The first sections, down to the registration history for this current tournament, are a template. I repeat them in each Blog....I cannot simply refer new readers to my prior Blog. It is too much to expect new readers to scroll down my Facebook timeline to find my most recent Blog, which by now is far down the scroll.
At the same time, the template must be here for any new readers of my Blog.
So I ask my regular readers to be tolerant, and you can skip the template parts (I will alert you if there are any revisions of the template).
Template Begins
Club
Annex Chess Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(See logo below)
(ACC Website: http://annexchessclub.com/)
(ACC Fb Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/172335039452033/)
Bob's Blog
For a number of years now, I have been posting my chess blog:
i) on my personal Facebook Account for my almost 850 Fb friends from around the world (in English): https://www.facebook.com/bob.armstrong.9235;
ii) sometimes on the national Canadian English chess discussion board, Chess Talk [CT] (https://forum.chesstalk.com/…/chesst...-chess-disc…);
iii) occasionally on other chess websites, such as that of FQE (Province of Quebec's Chess Association). That time the blog was posted in both French and English.
More recently I also have been "re-posting" my Fb blog:
i) on my Fb chess discussion group, Chess Chat - A Project of Chess Companions of Caissa (https://www.facebook.com/groups/340524269771672/);
ii) my Scarborough CC tournaments Fb Blog to SCC's Fb Page (URL above)
iii) my Annex CC tournaments Fb blog to ACC's Fb Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/172335039452033/);
Henry Lam (Aka Dark Knight), the recently new owner of CT, and I have an agreement (From the summer of 2018) that I will re-post my Fb Blogs on CT for both my chess club official tournaments, and my non-club weekend (Sometimes longer; sometimes shorter) tournaments, in which I play between Summer 2018 and Summer 2019. After that, Henry and I can then renew our agreement for another year if we both so wish.
So, under this agreement, most recently I have been re-posting my current Scarborough CC and Annex CC tournaments. My future non-club weekend blogs to and including Summer 2019 will be (Given my current schedule - from time to time, though, my life schedule may change so that I fit in a tournament not on my schedule):
1. The 2018 Hart House Holidays Open (Prior to Christmas - Dec. 14-16);
2. The 2019 Hart House Reading Week Open (Usually on the Family Day Holiday Weekend in February).
3. The 2019 Quebec Open (July) - if in Montreal.
4. The 2019 Toronto Open (Sept.)
The National Canadian French Chess Discussion Board
Henri Hughes, a member of both Chess Talk's English and French chess discussion boards, volunteers, subject to demands of his school studies, to translate my blogs into French, and post them to Parlons Echecs, the Canadian French discussion board also owned by Henry Lam. Thanks from all to Henri for his volunteer effort.
The Blog Focus
I mainly focus on the section I am playing in (Has been U 2000, U 1900 or U 1800). I feel that these class sections are often not covered by chess media, and yet, the bulk of chess tournament players are in the classes under 1900. And many of my class viewers have actually played players about whom I am blogging (Ones I play and ones with whom I may socialize during the tournament, who then are mentioned in the Blog). So this adds a bit more interest for them.
I do also generally cover (Bare Bones) the top section standings; but I have to have been able to get the results before the Blog goes to press. I sometimes will cover also the lower sections, if I have the results. For both, of course, it can be a matter of the time available (I am often doing my Blog in the wee hours of the morning).
I do hope my blogs will continue to provide a window onto class tournament chess, and what THIS chess player does in the day of club tournaments, and before and between rounds for weekend tournaments (A bit of a reality show - bits of my personal life).
I know many other chess players approach tournaments quite differently than I do (E.g. - study!), and so one cannot generalize from what I do.
Blog Feedback
Over the years, and in these more recent blogs, I have had generally positive feedback on my blogging, on both of my own Fb Accounts, the SCC & ACC Fb sites, and on CT.
It has been said that my writing style is easy to read, factual, and often entertaining. It is a find for all us "nosy" chess players!
Thanks to all those who have supported my Blogging on various sites, and kept encouraging me to continue.
Joining Annex CC
Lots of room and so ACC WELCOMES all new members. You can inquire about joining at the general ACC e-mail address: info@annexchessclub.com. You can join a tournament in progress….you will get ½ pt. byes for the missed rounds (Only two).
The Tournament - ACC Winter Is Coming Swiss
This is the 7th regular swiss tournament at ACC in 2018.
It is a 5-round swiss that runs from Nov. 5 - Dec. 10 (ACC closed for Mon., Nov. 12). There are three sections: Crown; U 1800; U 1400. All sections are CFC-rated. Time control is G/90 + 30 sec. (From move 1). Players within 100 pts. of the floor of the section above have the option to play up, and most do.
Notes:
1. The summer format: Crown (1700 +); U 1700 - where there are usually fewer players; right to play up.
2. The Club Championship has only 2 sections (so lower two sections' players get to play some different opponents): Championship (1800+); Reserves (U 1800); 1700’s have option to play up and usually do.
3. For a short time in 2017, Swisses had 4 sections: Master (2200 +); U 2200; U 1800; U 1400. Players within 100 pts. had the option to play up, and most did. It was temporarily shelved because the top two sections each had too few players; it will be reconsidered if the membership grows, and gets stronger.
Tournaments Registration History
2015
2015 Average per tournament: 54 registrations (Based on the last three tournaments of 2015 – highest yearly average since we started keeping records).
2016
Back to the Grind Swiss – 48 registrations (Peak registration for 2016)
2016 Average per tournament: 43 registrations (Down significantly from the prior year - 54).
2017
Peak registrations for 2017:
Club Championship – 60! registrants: Championship (1800+): 20; Reserves (U 1800): 40.
Summer in the City Swiss – 60! registrants: Masters 8; U 2200 – 7; U 1800 – 10; U 1400 – 12.
2017 Average per Tournament – 53 registrants (2nd highest since keeping records here)
2018 (Current)
# 1 – Get the Skates On Swiss – 52 registrants: Crown: 13; U 1800: 19; U 1400: 20.
# 2 – ACC Club Championships – 51 registrants: Championship (1800+): 14; Reserve (Under 1800): 37.
# 3 – Spring Thaw Swiss – 45 registrants: Top: 25; U 1400: 20.
# 4 – Smash Crash Swiss – 42 registrants: Top: 27; U 1400: 15
# 5 – Strawberry Festival Swiss – 45 registrants: Crown: 9; U 1800: 21; U 1400: 15.
# 6 - Changing Leaves Swiss - 59 registrants: Crown: 14; U 1800: 24; U 1400: 21. This is well above the tournament average for the year so far.
End of Template
2018 Average per Tournament (6 tournaments): 49 registrants (Slightly below the 2017 Average of 53)
[See Parts II & III below]
Bob A
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