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The Kitchener Chess Festival is back! This year we are at a new venue – the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Our format this year is both old and new. Our Rookie Section returns, along with our traditional section prizes, team and family prizes. This year we are moving to a faster time control and three games each day, with a time control of game in 60 plus 30 seconds from move one.
The early bird price expires on August 15. More information and registration details can be found on our website:
Should be interesting - the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium is quite the place! - with a lot of history! - Ive never been to a chess event there but used to go every year to see Don Grapes Cherry's team of juniors vs Bobby Orr's juniors (quite the friendly rivalry and lots of fun)
Why is ever other Seniors Tournament 90 mins +30 sec increments and the Kitchener tournament is reduced to 60 and 30 sec. I won't be playing this year for that very reason. There is obvious no respect for old players in this event. Shame On you.
The world is getting faster. There are more and more Blitz and Rapid events compared to a few years ago. Less and less people are willing to sacrifice entire weekends playing classical chess, which is a bit sad in many ways. We have waved goodbye to 9 rounders, 1-round-a-day events decades ago.
I don't think Kitchener or anyone is disrespecting seniors, John. As I recall, the KW region has always counted on a number of senior participants to fill in their ranks-and-files at the tournaments, and the few seniors-only events that ran prior to the pandemic were done in that area. Since we have returned from pandemic, more and more senior events are being held across the spectrum, which is great.
60 mins + 30 sec increment was "recently" tried, and is catching on very quickly. For good or bad. I, for one, am happy to see Kitchener running a chess tournament. Kitchener had a regular calendar of events and was an incredibly busy chess hub in Ontario not so long ago. Lately it's been quiet, it'd be great to see KW pick up again. Some of my best memories when "traveling for chess" - even though Kitchener is quite close to Toronto - were there. Rooming with chess friends at the Walper Hotel, dining at O'Brien's, playing chess at City Hall, occasionally on the top floor with an amazing view. At some tournaments there was even a sponsor "Schneiders" handing out BBQ'ed sausages!
Hi Alex;
I agree that the parents want faster time controls. But most seniors over 65 are retired. WE have all the time in the world. So if TD's are going to tell Seniors they have to become a Junior then forget it. I'll let you know right now if Hart House main events Holiday Open and Family Day go to 60 mins you'll lose me as a Participant. I started with 40 moves in 2 Hrs and 1 hr after that and the quality of games were much better than at a 60 min s. It might be time for TD's to run Senior only tournaments with slower time controls. You do what you do to accommodate the Parents and Juniors. That could be why older players stop playing in events. It's a cash grab to have Juniors. Seniors are now has bins.
It's not just the parents, or juniors unfortunately. Most adults. There are just too many competing activities, hobbies, responsibilities.
And one big aspect of it is, costs. Irrespective of "cash grab to have juniors" - that's a different discussion - organizers struggle to find affordable rent and venues.
A venue (or landlord) doesn't know or understand chess. Most venues can have 2, 3, 6 events that could each take a half-day, whereas a chess tournament with classical time control can take 3 full days. The same 3 full days that run one chess tournament, can run a half-dozen events in the same time-frame, when the events are not chess-related. Be it banquets, concerts, weddings, conferences, sports games, etc...
Most organizers in the past used to arrange to set up the hall the day before, so that the day of the tournament, everything is ready to go. A rare commodity these days, because venues won't allow it, because there was some other event taking place the night before.
At HH we don't expect to make such changes for the tournaments you mentioned, you might actually be surprised on something we're considering. But HH has added events to the calendar, at 60/30.
But one thing is certain, as a general theme: those who prefer the longer time controls must cling onto them. I don't think we will ever go back to 40/2 SD/1 or some time control where each round will take longer than 4 hours. The 90/30 for now is fairly safe, I believe, since FIDE has some restrictions where that time control is a minimum. But for how long, who knows.
On the "plus side", much like in politics, the "old guard" is often over-represented as far as organizers, arbiters, institutions, bank-rolling, etc...
There is probably more "old guard stalling the youth movement" than "youth movement running over the old guard", even if, for those of us over 30, it doesn't seem that way :-)
Hi Alex;
I think the venues are now greed driven.. It seems that had the cheap chess players of the past looked into the future and saw that a chess owned building in Toronto was the way to go then we would not have this problem of rent today. Rental venues are greedy and that will never change.
Last edited by John Brown; Tuesday, 27th August, 2024, 09:32 AM.
Reason: typo
Rental venues greedy? I don't think so. They just want fair value for space they own.. Why should they give a break to chess players? And it is not fair to say the old school players are cheap, any more than it is the parents who expect breaks and discounts for their child, and still fight for full prizes. and organizers and the CFC can take some of the blame propegating the short sighted knee jerk reaction that juniors are our future, It has never been a problem getting juniors into the game, much more of a problem getting older players to stay in the game.. And that is one of the many reasons why the average old school crowd turns their back on the CFC, they get a little tired of bearing the brunt of the cost. If chess is so beneficial to children, let the parents play for it.
Faster time controls is morel about FIDE preventing cheating by computer use, and also make the game more appealing to spectators, which means more money for the top players, many of whom get all the breaks on the way up, then don't give much back to the game, instead they just let it be known that they obly play for money when they reach IM or GM.
If anything is "old-school", it is the old school CFC executive, which seems, to a certain extent, to be stuck in the 20th century, when it was the only game in town
Last edited by Fred Henderson; Tuesday, 27th August, 2024, 10:28 AM.
We have over 40 players now and the registration list is posted on our site; chessfest.ca
We have also decided to extend the regular price of $125 until 12 noon on Friday September 6. Pairings will be posted after we finish setting up on Friday evening.
I have some sympathy for John Brown's comments about time controls. We did not take this decision lightly and it is not practical to run two different schedules. As Alex and Fred have inferred, time grows ever more precious for players and venue owners alike.
Back in the 80's when I started running events, the standard time control was 40/2, 20/1. Adjournments were common and somehow the weekend 5 rounders managed to get most if not all games finished. When Fischer's increment was introduced at his rematch with Spassky, G/90 +30 quickly became the norm. Squeezing in 3 games on a Saturday became common enough but it was exhausting and many players took a bye somewhere on the Saturday. Since covid, general prices, including the cost of time, have jumped.
The Kitchener Chess Festival has tried to strike a balance between lots of action and the time control. I hope John will reconsider. He was by first CFC chess pal and always welcome at our events.
I, for one, am happy to see Kitchener running a chess tournament. Kitchener had a regular calendar of events and was an incredibly busy chess hub in Ontario not so long ago. Lately it's been quiet, it'd be great to see KW pick up again. Some of my best memories when "traveling for chess" - even though Kitchener is quite close to Toronto - were there. Rooming with chess friends at the Walper Hotel, dining at O'Brien's, playing chess at City Hall, occasionally on the top floor with an amazing view. At some tournaments there was even a sponsor "Schneiders" handing out BBQ'ed sausages!
Alex F.
While I also agree with the rest of your post, playing at KW city hall was always a highlight. Watching Hal BBQ hotdogs and hand out watermelon slices in his 'arbiter' outfit - you all know the one I'm thinking of - was a particularly enjoyable moment every August. I'm quite excited to be back there on Saturday.
We have over 40 players now and the registration list is posted on our site; chessfest.ca
We have also decided to extend the regular price of $125 until 12 noon on Friday September 6. Pairings will be posted after we finish setting up on Friday evening.
I have some sympathy for John Brown's comments about time controls. We did not take this decision lightly and it is not practical to run two different schedules. As Alex and Fred have inferred, time grows ever more precious for players and venue owners alike.
Back in the 80's when I started running events, the standard time control was 40/2, 20/1. Adjournments were common and somehow the weekend 5 rounders managed to get most if not all games finished. When Fischer's increment was introduced at his rematch with Spassky, G/90 +30 quickly became the norm. Squeezing in 3 games on a Saturday became common enough but it was exhausting and many players took a bye somewhere on the Saturday. Since covid, general prices, including the cost of time, have jumped.
The Kitchener Chess Festival has tried to strike a balance between lots of action and the time control. I hope John will reconsider. He was by first CFC chess pal and always welcome at our events.
We look forward to seeing everyone Saturday!
Add roast-beef sandwiches, slathered in butter - John will be there!
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