Is there a market for..

[Larry Bevand]

I have been approached by a resort in the Lauentians, about 1 hour north of Montreal, to hold a chess tournament at their location during the summer of 2011. This place has everything a family would enjoy at a price you will never see north of Toronto :). However my staff tells me that I am crazy (they use kinder words than that :).

They say...chess and family are not compatible!

On this board the majority of posters rarely or no longer take part in rated competition (no I did not play in Bermuda...my girlfriend preferred to opt for a non chess thingie in Fort Lauderdale...and after I had lost every game to Fritz in training for Bermuda...it was easy for me to agree :).

But we all love the game.

So here is my idea. There would be a section that is not rated. Games would be 60 minutes per player. Two games a day. Lots of door prizes for this section. No place prizes. Since there is lots of off time...we are looking at a BBQ...etc...between and after rounds.

Lots of fun....and we would have a traditional event at the same time which would be FQE rated.

So posters like J.K., Gary, Kerry, Chris, etc, etc ...would you come?

I need 40 players in the non-competitive section @ $40 for 5 games...to make it do-able.

We are looking to break even on this project. If we see a great response then it would become annual and it could become a CMA Anniversary Festival....which would be my dream!...and CMA could add money to the pot.

Bridge is very successful with bridge cruises...chess has tried...and failed. The clientele is totally different...in France chess and ski works...well I have seen it advertised...I have no idea how they made out...so is my staff right...family and chess do not mix??

Larry

[Hugh Brodie]

Re: Is there a market for..

Hmmm....The Quebec Open of 1985 in Ste-Agathe (in the Laurentians). It attracted less than half the entries of either 1984 or 1986.

I think an event like this is more likely to attract players from the Laurentians and maybe Laval - rather than Montreal or elsewhere. Arrange to have the games outdoors (weather permitting) - who wants to go to a resort and stay inside?

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Is there a market for..

Hmmm....The Quebec Open of 1985 in Ste-Agathe (in the Laurentians). It attracted less than half the entries of either 1984 or 1986.

I think an event like this is more likely to attract players from the Laurentians and maybe Laval - rather than Montreal or elsewhere. Arrange to have the games outdoors (weather permitting) - who wants to go to a resort and stay inside?

I was the director at that event...so I remember it well :)

I am inspecting the location on Friday and the manager has indicated that playing outdoors is possible.

In order for it to be successful, we have to draw from all over Quebec (in the same fashion that Trois-Rivieres is successful) and Ottawa...Toronto would be a bonus :).

The advantage over the Quebec Open is that this is a 3-day event (July 1-3). Basically I am looking for 100 players in the FQE rated event and 50 players in the non-competitive event. If we get those numbers then it will generate enough dollars for this to be a party that we can build on for the future!

Larry

[Alan Baljeu]

Re: Is there a market for..

Nice location is a key reason I went to North Bay tourneys, even though it's an 8 hour drive. I don't know about the family side of things, but I'm all for tournaments in pleasant waterfront locations, etc.

[Felix Dumont]

Re : Is there a market for..

Such a tournament would be nice for sure, but difficult to organize...
First of all, it would need to be part of the Tour du Québec to get enough players. And even then, I don't think there would be 140 players on the first year. Maybe after a couple of years...
Would this tournament take place in 2011 or in 2012 (it would be really short on time for 2011!)
And no need to say that a lot of players wouldn't come if they had to pay extra fees to get CFC rated.

Anyway, I wish you good luck, I really like the idea!

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Is there a market for..

Nice location is a key reason I went to North Bay tourneys, even though it's an 8 hour drive. I don't know about the family side of things, but I'm all for tournaments in pleasant waterfront locations, etc.

Hi Alan,

Good point! Thanks for your feedback!

The guys in North Bay brought in Jeremy Silman, which was major...CMA has worked closely with Jeremy for close to a decade...if the initial buzz is good...I will see what we can do :)

My idea is simple: to turn this into the "CMA Annual Chess Festival"...with an accent on FUN!

But before getting my feet wet...I have to know if this project has legs...or it is simply a Larry dream :)

Thanks!

Larry

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Re : Is there a market for..

Such a tournament would be nice for sure, but difficult to organize...
First of all, it would need to be part of the Tour du Québec to get enough players. And even then, I don't think there would be 140 players on the first year. Maybe after a couple of years...
Would this tournament take place in 2011 or in 2012 (it would be really short on time for 2011!)
And no need to say that a lot of players wouldn't come if they had to pay extra fees to get CFC rated.

Anyway, I wish you good luck, I really like the idea!

Hi Felix,

Thank you for your feedback.

What would be important for you to play?

Yes I am talking 2011...I can not think too far ahead...hmmm...might be my problem in chess too :)

At this point, we are looking at entry fees comparable to Trois-Rivieres...prizes would be less...I want to guarantee prizes...if I do based on...then we can match Trois-Rivieres :)

Larry

[John Upper]

Re: Re : Is there a market for..

Yes I am talking 2011...

One possible problem with July 1-3 is that Aris has a tournament running in Ottawa then, so that will be fewer possbile players.

[Christopher Mallon]

Re: Is there a market for..

Well if Silman was going to be there then I'd have to show up..... :p

Actually it's fairly unlikely I would be able to go, but I will keep an eye on your plans.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Is there a market for..

But before getting my feet wet...I have to know if this project has legs...or it is simply a Larry dream :)

There is no real success without risk taking. Doing over and over again what has been done previously is not success. If CMA do not take risks who will ?

[Felix Dumont]

Re : Re: Re : Is there a market for..

Hi Felix,

Thank you for your feedback.

What would be important for you to play?

Yes I am talking 2011...I can not think too far ahead...hmmm...might be my problem in chess too :)

At this point, we are looking at entry fees comparable to Trois-Rivieres...prizes would be less...I want to guarantee prizes...if I do based on...then we can match Trois-Rivieres :)

Larry

I do not consider myself like a very difficult person; the only thing I want from a tournament is to have the chance to play against strong players for a reasonnable price, and of course having the pairings online before the rounds...
This is what most of the young players who want to improve are looking for. However, older players are usually more difficult to convince and are looking for cheap (and still comfortable) hotels, good money prizes....

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: Re : Is there a market for..

One possible problem with July 1-3 is that Aris has a tournament running in Ottawa then, so that will be fewer possbile players.

Hi Larry, John is correct. The 2011 Eastern Ontario Open is scheduled for June 30th to July 3rd, 6 rounds over 4 days, with a certain family element to enjoying Canada Day in the National Capital area. I just cannot imagine a better place to be on Canada Day! :)

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Is there a market for..

If you're comparing to North Bay--one of the attractions was that in the first week of August it could be very hot and muggy in the Navel of the Universe, but usually much milder in North Bay. So if you want to extend the analogy, you'd choose a time when it makes hot on Mount Royal.

Silman worked well for North Bay, but he wasn't the only factor that worked well. I like Jeremy, but you also have local talent, from the authoritative voice of Hébert Parle Echecs to chess figures from the past such as Camille Coudari or (more recently) GM Alexandre Le Siège. I bet that many could give compelling chess talks or analysis sessions. I've never heard Alexandre speak in public, but his energy could make him a real firecracker at the podium. Yeah, I know he doesn't play anymore.

I played in one of the Paul Masson tournaments in California. I very much enjoyed playing out of doors, nestled among the trees. Factors that might impinge on that pleasure: 1. direct sunlight; 2. flying creatures that bite; 3. rain; 4. nearby vehicular traffic; 5. noise; 6. the darkness of night.

A year later I co-organized a tournament, and put it forward as an event with family activities. I also said the weather would be great, which turned out to be a lie. It was a time of year when the weather was usually unsettled. I didn't think I was fibbing, it's just that my memory was hazy. And at such a young age. What a personal tragedy. Anyway, it turned out that there were ten days of beautiful weather. We had to cancel some of the (bus) tours because of too low signup, but others went ahead. In any case, the feedback from spouses was positive. And of course there were kazillions of things to do in Vancouver.

But if you do exploit the family idea, it might not work a second time with the same people because families tend to like to go to different places for annual vacation.

The turnout for the tournament was 320 players, with lots from the US and far away in Canada. The family experience factor was not the only one there, either.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: Is there a market for..

perhaps one game per day, starting at say 6pm, so that the bulk of the day can be devoted to family activities? and if you lose or win early you can go out for a bite to eat with the family

its just hard for some people to have to explain to their family that they lost :)

by the way, it's good that you have a built in employee to boss, what I'm really saying, internal interpretor system

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Re : Is there a market for..

Hi Larry, John is correct. The 2011 Eastern Ontario Open is scheduled for June 30th to July 3rd, 6 rounds over 4 days, with a certain family element to enjoying Canada Day in the National Capital area. I just cannot imagine a better place to be on Canada Day! :)

Hi Aris and John,

No problem.

I will choose other dates...now I am looking at August 19-21, 2011.

Larry