Kingston Chess Club operating at new site, on regular schedule

[Frank Dixon]

The Kingston Chess Club has been meeting for the past few weeks, on its regular Monday nights, 7:15 pm to 10 pm. New site: Cafe Church, on Queen St. in downtown. Vaccination and masking rules are posted at the club's website (just google 'Kingston Chess Club'). Numbers are down substantially from its regular group, but the main thing is that chess is on its way back. I'm not ready to play yet, and may wait until 2022.

[Frank Dixon]

In Kingston, a Public Health Authority restriction on meetings, to a maximum of ten people, has no come into force, as of Saturday, Nov. 27. It is a response to rising COVID-19 cases in the region. The KCC meeting last week had about 15 players when I dropped by briefly to visit.

[Frank Dixon]

The Kingston health region is currently dealing with its worst-ever COVID-19 situation, with the third straight day of over 100 new cases reported, and 618 active cases. This is occurring despite the region having one of the highest vaccination rates in the province. Kingston had been very fortunate until just recently with COVID. Most new cases are being found in people under age 40, whereas earlier it was the elderly population suffering the most.
I remain cautiously hopeful that the 2022 Canadian Championship can still be staged in Kingston over Easter weekend, but the caseload brings concerns for that event, and across the board, in the region. That event is now about 15 weeks ahead of us.
Kingston's hospital system is now exporting patients to other jurisdictions, after having been an importer since the crisis began.

[Frank Dixon]

It seems to me there is currently a lot of inconsistency in COVID-19 regulations for Ontario.
On one hand, large arenas which are homes of professional sports teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, and Ottawa Senators can operate at full capacity for events, with some 19,000+ fans for Raptors games, for example; with the requirement that all patrons and staff must be fully vaccinated. In Kingston, the Leon's Centre arena hosts home games of the Kingston Frontenacs junior hockey team, at full capacity, maximum about 6,000 fans. Again, all patrons and staff must be fully vaccinated.
On the other hand, facilities such as curling clubs in Ontario are closed by COVID. These are also enclosed sports facilities; in Kingston, the Royal Kingston Curling Club and the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club are both not operating their curling programs. Cataraqui operated its golf in 2021, and its clubhouse is open for food and beverage service with the usual regulations, no space reductions.
Restaurants are operating in Kingston with full capacity, indoors; all patrons and staff must be fully vaccinated.
The 2021 Grey Cup football championship game is set for later today in Hamilton, with a large crowd expected in an outdoor facility, with all patrons and staff to be fully vaccinated.
But what about a large chess tournament, with 100+ players? Apparently, Ottawa has been hosting these monthly at the RA Centre, directed by FA Dr. Halldor Palsson.
I am writing about this since it pertains to the upcoming Canadian Championship, set for Kingston over Easter Weekend, 2022.
Information from others would be appreciated.

Respectfully,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

[Aris Marghetis]

Hi Frank, not to double-post, but we're in a wait-and-see posture ...

[Halldor P. Palsson]

But what about a large chess tournament, with 100+ players? Apparently, Ottawa has been hosting these monthly at the RA Centre, directed by FA Dr. Halldor Palsson.
I am writing about this since it pertains to the upcoming Canadian Championship, set for Kingston over Easter Weekend, 2022.
Information from others would be appreciated.

Respectfully,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

My last tournament was covered at https://www.chesscanada.info/forum/s...ember-10-11-12

This was my third tournament at the RA after we opened up September 16^th. You need to have proof of vaccination to enter the RA Center. And there is a mask mandate in the building.

I was limited to 40 in September and had just one room. Next two tournaments we had two rooms with capacity of 80 and sold out. I am running the same EOCA tournaments I have run every year to an audience of 30-60 in the past.

I would like to play in Kingston in April 2022.

[Aris Marghetis]

My last tournament was covered at https://www.chesscanada.info/forum/s...ember-10-11-12

This was my third tournament at the RA after we opened up September 16^th. You need to have proof of vaccination to enter the RA Center. And there is a mask mandate in the building.

I was limited to 40 in September and had just one room. Next two tournaments we had two rooms with capacity of 80 and sold out. I am running the same EOCA tournaments I have run every year to an audience of 30-60 in the past.

I would like to play in Kingston in April 2022.

With Halldor's success via situational control at the RA, I'm hopeful we can pull off Kingston Easter Chess (KEC). I think that one of the challenges with such planning is that it's not easy to quantify some of the factors, location to location. For example, I drove about 9K km after the U.S. border fully opened, hitting multiple events across many states. Now, one can't easily find data on personal behaviours, but it was easy for me to notice way more masks being worn at gas stations in upstate New York, than in Ohio or North Carolina. All those things add up, and I suspect that Kingston is currently working through a unique "demographic situation" centred on Queens. Of course, I could be totally wrong, but we're compiling any condition we should to facilitate a reasonably safe KEC.

If it's not obvious from the beginning of my post, hats off to Halldor, who's doing an amazing job bringing back OTB chess in Eastern Ontario, and apparently very safely! Very well done Halldor!!

[Victor Plotkin]

My last tournament was covered at https://www.chesscanada.info/forum/s...ember-10-11-12

This was my third tournament at the RA after we opened up September 16^th. You need to have proof of vaccination to enter the RA Center. And there is a mask mandate in the building.

I was limited to 40 in September and had just one room. Next two tournaments we had two rooms with capacity of 80 and sold out. I am running the same EOCA tournaments I have run every year to an audience of 30-60 in the past.

I would like to play in Kingston in April 2022.

Thanks Halldor, a very good event in Ottawa. Highly recommended for every Canadian player who misses OTB chess nowadays.

[Frank Dixon]

Sadly, the Kingston Heath Unit region currently has the highest active COVID-19 caseload, and new cases, per capita, in Canada. This, after being among the lowest in Ontario, since the pandemic's start, some 21 months ago, and with health care facilities and personnel as good as anywhere in Canada.

The Omicron variant is showing very powerful 'breakthrough' ability -- that is, it is infecting people who have been vaccinated, some even with two doses AND a booster (for example, Toronto Raptors' President Masai Ujiri). I was among the millions who thought that once we got two doses, we could be safe. Not so.

I believe that a return to lockdown for Ontario is required, and inevitable. It's very frustrating. Ontario Premier Doug Ford doesn't want to do it; he has an election coming up in six months, and further viral crackdown measures would alienate his voting base. Quebec, also with a right-of-centre premier Legault, just announced significant rollbacks; its case load is significantly higher than Ontario's.

[Brad Thomson]

I believe that a return to lockdown for Ontario is required, and inevitable

Yes, and we never should have unlocked in the first place.We have got to wake up and face the seriousness of this calamity. Fully vaccinated people can contract and spread the disease. When we get a deadly mutation it is all over. Only an utter world-wide lockdown for as long as it takes will save mankind. This would also have the added side benefit or saving the planet from climate change. Nature is sending us a final warning, but I do not think we are smart enough to take heed.