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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
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A new strategic plan for the Chess Federation of Canada
Please initiate a rating floor before my rating dwindles down to nothing. (Fwiw I think your post is very wise Vlad)
Thank you Hans. Such a compliment means a lot coming from you.
So if there was a rating floor, who would be inclined to play more?
In the USCF if your peak rating is over 2200, you have a floor of 2000. I know for myself, I will occasionally play in a nearby tournament even when not in the mood to play because even if the wheels fall off my tournament performance, I can currently only lose a maximum of 58 points. I have never hit the floor though I have flirted with it on occasion. It has been more of a slow decline though occasionally I show flashes of being able to perform at a higher level.
In Canada, I have dropped below 2000 many times but at that altitude, it seems that it is easier to climb into the more comfortable hights of being a 2000 player again.
I haven't had a big problem with juniors as they have mostly nicked me for a draw here and there and in each case it was because I moved too fast and overlooked a continuation that won or at least gave me a significant advantage. I think that since I spend a lot of time teaching kids how to play, I can usually hold my own against them. Occasionally I get blown away but it only ever happens in a particular opening, once or twice before I do a deep dive on the reasons that I lost and those experiences tend to be a one-off. Usually, especially where a dubious opening was played I study the opening and the next ten times I punish my opponent until memory starts fading. If every loss is a learning experience you can soon minimize your losses.
Doing game reviews on chess.com helps put situations quickly into perspective. There are many openings where I feel uncomfortable but then chess.com says you have played this opening x times and you have a ridiculously high win rate which is 20 points above what you think it is. I also wonder about the single game rating calculations. I occasionally get numbers like 2800 or 2700 and often 2500 usually when my opponent made a mistake in an opening which I prepared with a student or studied for my own purposes. Their engine often criticizes moves that I played following the theory presented by a grandmaster in a camp or online course.
I agree with many of John's points. I don't play as much as most people, but when I do, the two things that are most important to me are: 1) a very competitive matchup (which requires that we both have semi-accurate ratings, and where rapidly improving Juniors [understandably] often have quite inaccurate ratings?!). I'm not sure of the solutions, but John's right, we should think about this.
And 2), I just LOVE having a good postgame with my opponent. This significantly adds to my tournament experience! This seems much more likely to happen with a more mature player like myself. For example, even though I was away for this year's Veterans/Seniors, that's ALWAYS a perfect environment for both entertaining competitive chess, and a thoughtful exchange-of-ideas postgame!
Maybe an Organizer reading this might consider trying some age sectioning?!
To have a good postgame analysis you need time between rounds. Piling rounds on top of each other with unrealistic timelines means no time for the analysis which I also enjoy. The online platforms mean that you can stay semi-sharp between tournaments but since you tend to play faster time controls, you collect bad habits that may hurt you in tournaments. Also online chess is different from over the board chess.
Many people don't like the idea of a rating floor but I think the USCF has had one for many years and it has kept certain people playing later in life as the tyranny of ratings becomes irrelevant. If you are at the floor you can't lose rating points, you can only gain them.
I think that where the juniors have an advantage are that they are actively working on and studying chess. Older players for the most part tend to coast. If as an older player, you are actively studying chess, I think the underrated juniors will be less of a problem. Experience and guile can overcome youth and energy though you need to be very sharp and execute properly. For the most part playing underrated juniors means you get a better game. You just can't take anyone for granted and assume you will have an easy game until it transpires that you do. Chess is really a lot like the movie "Groundhog Day" and its time loop variants. If you always learn from your setbacks, your trajectory will be more smooth because when you are faced with the same situation, you will be able to apply lessons learned in previous encounters.
I think the CFC needs to create an environment that takes care of it's established members and keeps them active. That would mean revamping the rating system and getting organizers to create tournaments for different age groups. Right now tournaments are over run with underrated juniors. I'm sure this is causing older established members from being more selective in joining tournaments or even not playing unless there are few of these juniors entering.I have had my own decimation of my rating and I'm also starting to be selective what tournaments I play in. I made it to Most Active tournament players in Canada once at #10. But I'm not even in the top 100 now. Take care of your home garden first before you start planting seeds that may not produce old roots and strong plants like you have now.
I agree with many of John's points. I don't play as much as most people, but when I do, the two things that are most important to me are: 1) a very competitive matchup (which requires that we both have semi-accurate ratings, and where rapidly improving Juniors [understandably] often have quite inaccurate ratings?!). I'm not sure of the solutions, but John's right, we should think about this.
And 2), I just LOVE having a good postgame with my opponent. This significantly adds to my tournament experience! This seems much more likely to happen with a more mature player like myself. For example, even though I was away for this year's Veterans/Seniors, that's ALWAYS a perfect environment for both entertaining competitive chess, and a thoughtful exchange-of-ideas postgame!
Maybe an Organizer reading this might consider trying some age sectioning?!
I think the CFC needs to create an environment that takes care of it's established members and keeps them active. That would mean revamping the rating system and getting organizers to create tournaments for different age groups. Right now tournaments are over run with underrated juniors. I'm sure this is causing older established members from being more selective in joining tournaments or even not playing unless there are few of these juniors entering.I have had my own decimation of my rating and I'm also starting to be selective what tournaments I play in. I made it to Most Active tournament players in Canada once at #10. But I'm not even in the top 100 now. Take care of your home garden first before you start planting seeds that may not produce old roots and strong plants like you have now.
Last edited by John Brown; Friday, 11 August, 2023, 02:42 PM.
Reason: addition
Wow, you kept a link to that old document! It's from 1997 and includes ads to buy chess sets (pieces & board) for $12 and an analog chess clock for $45. It has lots of out of date info (ex paper forms to report tournaments for ratings) so, ya, it didn't make it onto the new chess.ca.
Last edited by Don Parakin; Thursday, 10 August, 2023, 10:57 PM.
Proper market research is needed. I know many good players, who show absolutely no interest in what the CFC offers, which is official rated chess. They don't need that to get their chess fix. For most of them it is far too expensive. People can play all the chess they want for free. Without some proper market research, to find out what people want the CFC has no hope of growing the game.
Just because CFC membership numbers are dismal, doesn't mean chess is not popular. Maybe the CFC should focus on promoting itself. Chess doesn't need promoting
Proper market research is expensive. We are likely to stick to guerrilla market research.
Those individuals with no interest are not part of our target market. It is good that we get that out of the way right at the beginning so that we don't waste time and money chasing a mirage. Some of them may become part of our target market by graduating to real in-person chess. That has been happening a lot lately judging by the membership numbers.
We are aiming to serve the people that want to play tournament chess, that want to play FIDE rated tournaments and want to join the world community of chess players. That cranky old guy shouting at passersby and flinging poo at the CFC and FIDE is not our target market. Neil will only join the CFC if we make him president. Such an outcome would likely only occur after a zombie apocalypse which is a fairly low probability event despite all the popular television shows and books.
I believe the USCF has about 100,000 members. That would suggest that the CFC should have about 10,000 members if we can achieve the same level of adoption.
I don't think the USCF lets juniors play for free if they stick to junior only events so a certain number of those players might be added to the total of tournament players.
The CYCC in Calgary which concluded recently saw 450+ players with 32 of the players being local to Windsor, Ontario and surrounding regions. There could have been 500 or more players at CYCC if the organizers were not limited by the size of the convention space. There is still something interesting going on in Windsor despite chess moving into the background and the lack of any large group class aside from a few in libraries and an online class that I faithfully hold every Friday. We still have the Windsor Chess Challenge which has around 1400 to 1500 players each year over a couple of days in February or March.
CFC youth coordinator Christina Tao did a good job of publicizing the CYCC in the local community and in the Canadian chess community at large which was a contributor to the numbers but we were surprised at the numbers taking up the challenge.
Last edited by Vlad Drkulec; Thursday, 10 August, 2023, 02:10 PM.
The very moment the Chess Federation of Canada was founded back in the 1930's ... misogynistic FIDE (World Chess Federation) became your overlord.
That is clearly and painfully evident.
And as for their CFC bullshit about promoting chess in Canada ...
Care to guess where and how the CFC should find their soul?
Huh?
Neil
You used a link to the old CFC website, that has not been operational for 3 years. Our volunteer webmaster is transferring functions and text files to the new site in a prioritized order. The excellent CFC Training Manual by Tom O'Donnell is not on the new site, but I'll see if we can get it in the queue.
The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) aims to promote and develop the game of chess nationwide by facilitating the organizing of tournaments and events, supporting players and coaches, fostering junior chess development, maintaining a fair rating system, representing Canada in international competitions as a good citizen of FIDE (World Chess Federation), building partnerships, and promoting inclusivity to create a vibrant and thriving chess community that encourages participation at all levels and celebrates the strategic and intellectual aspects of the game.
Proper market research is needed. I know many good players, who show absolutely no interest in what the CFC offers, which is official rated chess. They don't need that to get their chess fix. For most of them it is far too expensive. People can play all the chess they want for free. Without some proper market research, to find out what people want the CFC has no hope of growing the game.
Just because CFC membership numbers are dismal, doesn't mean chess is not popular. Maybe the CFC should focus on promoting itself. Chess doesn't need promoting
Last edited by Fred Henderson; Thursday, 10 August, 2023, 03:50 AM.
Are the goals of the CFC clearly defined first. Also useful might be some proper (professionally designed) market research.I won't be joining the other discussion.
The very moment the Chess Federation of Canada was founded back in the 1930's ... misogynistic FIDE (World Chess Federation) became your overlord.
That is clearly and painfully evident.
And as for their CFC bullshit about promoting chess in Canada ...
Care to guess where and how the CFC should find their soul?
Are the goals of the CFC clearly defined first. Also useful might be some proper (professionally designed) market research.I won't be joining the other discussion.
The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) aims to promote and develop the game of chess nationwide by facilitating the organizing of tournaments and events, supporting players and coaches, fostering junior chess development, maintaining a fair rating system, representing Canada in international competitions as a good citizen of FIDE (World Chess Federation), building partnerships, and promoting inclusivity to create a vibrant and thriving chess community that encourages participation at all levels and celebrates the strategic and intellectual aspects of the game.
Last edited by Vlad Drkulec; Sunday, 6 August, 2023, 12:31 PM.
Are the goals of the CFC clearly defined first. Also useful might be some proper (professionally designed) market research.I won't be joining the other discussion.
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