If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Policy / Politique
The fee for tournament organizers advertising on ChessTalk is $20/event or $100/yearly unlimited for the year.
Les frais d'inscription des organisateurs de tournoi sur ChessTalk sont de 20 $/événement ou de 100 $/année illimitée.
You can etransfer to Henry Lam at chesstalkforum at gmail dot com
Transfér à Henry Lam à chesstalkforum@gmail.com
Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
General Guidelines
---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
Some Basics
1. Under Board "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) there are 3 sections dealing with General Forum Usage, User Profile Features, and Reading and Posting Messages. These deal with everything from Avatars to Your Notifications. Most general technical questions are covered there. Here is a link to the FAQs. https://forum.chesstalk.com/help
2. Consider using the SEARCH button if you are looking for information. You may find your question has already been answered in a previous thread.
3. If you've looked for an answer to a question, and not found one, then you should consider asking your question in a new thread. For example, there have already been questions and discussion regarding: how to do chess diagrams (FENs); crosstables that line up properly; and the numerous little “glitches” that every new site will have.
4. Read pinned or sticky threads, like this one, if they look important. This applies especially to newcomers.
5. Read the thread you're posting in before you post. There are a variety of ways to look at a thread. These are covered under “Display Modes”.
6. Thread titles: please provide some details in your thread title. This is useful for a number of reasons. It helps ChessTalk members to quickly skim the threads. It prevents duplication of threads. And so on.
7. Unnecessary thread proliferation (e.g., deliberately creating a new thread that duplicates existing discussion) is discouraged. Look to see if a thread on your topic may have already been started and, if so, consider adding your contribution to the pre-existing thread. However, starting new threads to explore side-issues that are not relevant to the original subject is strongly encouraged. A single thread on the Canadian Open, with hundreds of posts on multiple sub-topics, is no better than a dozen threads on the Open covering only a few topics. Use your good judgment when starting a new thread.
8. If and/or when sub-forums are created, please make sure to create threads in the proper place.
Debate
9. Give an opinion and back it up with a reason. Throwaway comments such as "Game X pwnz because my friend and I think so!" could be considered pointless at best, and inflammatory at worst.
10. Try to give your own opinions, not simply those copied and pasted from reviews or opinions of your friends.
Unacceptable behavior and warnings
11. In registering here at ChessTalk please note that the same or similar rules apply here as applied at the previous Boardhost message board. In particular, the following content is not permitted to appear in any messages:
* Racism
* Hatred
* Harassment
* Adult content
* Obscene material
* Nudity or pornography
* Material that infringes intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any party
* Material the posting of which is tortious or violates a contractual or fiduciary obligation you or we owe to another party
* Piracy, hacking, viruses, worms, or warez
* Spam
* Any illegal content
* unapproved Commercial banner advertisements or revenue-generating links
* Any link to or any images from a site containing any material outlined in these restrictions
* Any material deemed offensive or inappropriate by the Board staff
12. Users are welcome to challenge other points of view and opinions, but should do so respectfully. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Posts and threads with unacceptable content can be closed or deleted altogether. Furthermore, a range of sanctions are possible - from a simple warning to a temporary or even a permanent banning from ChessTalk.
Helping to Moderate
13. 'Report' links (an exclamation mark inside a triangle) can be found in many places throughout the board. These links allow users to alert the board staff to anything which is offensive, objectionable or illegal. Please consider using this feature if the need arises.
Advice for free
14. You should exercise the same caution with Private Messages as you would with any public posting.
HI Kerry;
I gave up on Children a long time ago. Then I started respecting Adults.
Hugh Will grow from being an Organizer. Maybe with a little slack from us old fogies he will mature. He does have potential though. Wonder how Mark Dutton did at Annex Chess Club????
I am surprised that you still plan on playing in the Labour Day tournament after the childish rant(s) directed at you... Of course, it is understandable that you wish to play in an event you have attended so often.
Organizing is hard but there is no excuse for what I have seen here in this thread. Good luck in the Labour Day tourney.
An alternative to tournaments that are divided by rating is to divide them by entry fee.
Isn't this the Pro-Am idea... one section pays a low entry fee, and plays for trophies, another section pays a higher entry fee, plays for cash.
The only difference is that most split tournaments deter people from playing up (or down). Do we really want to see novices getting killed in the pro section? Personally, I don't mind playing beginners, but the strong players I know really dislike playing "down" too much.
I am surprised that you still plan on playing in the Labour Day tournament after the childish rant(s) directed at you... Of course, it is understandable that you wish to play in an event you have attended so often.
Organizing is hard but there is no excuse for what I have seen here in this thread. Good luck in the Labour Day tourney.
Childish rants?? You're joking right? What do you call Charlie Brown's endless unconstructive criticism then? From the top of my head:
"The tourney will be a pricey flop."
"I don't really like playing on plastic sets."
"Bathurst site was the worst site I've ever played at."
"Westin had poor lighting so is that an upgrade to a larger place?"
"Rounds are too early because TTC doesn't open early enough to get there." (which is absolute BS btw)
and on and on...
Get stuffed Kerry!! You dirty troll.
Last edited by Hugh Siddeley; Wednesday, 3rd August, 2011, 10:54 AM.
I have had two Master events in my apartment and I actually asked you Hugh to play in a Team event and I think you had to work.
Instead of sending your concerns (albeit illegitimate ones) privately to the organizers you had to air your dirty laundry here on ChessTalk. So unconstructive and proof that you're a total douchebag.
When you invited me to your tournament I politely declined. Did I ever take shots at it publicly and broadcast that I in fact had no desire to play in your poxy tournament at your stuffy little apartment? Brampton? Who the hell wants to go out to hell's high acre? Get closer man. Public transport? TTC then Sauga transit? Get real. Gotta do something about that how about limo service? Just not good enough John. We can all play this game. How does it feel?
Looks like a well organized tournament, and securing that hotel is good. It's the cheap mentality that many chess players have that helps contribute to why chess is so far behind other sports and also poker. Take a reasonable entry fee and then divide by maybe three and you'll get what a chess player is expecting.
Exactly man! These guys have no idea. Take a round of golf (which I doubt any of them have ever played). 150 bones for maybe 4 hours to complete a round. ZERO prizes. Chess tournament: $100 for 6 games (say you play six 4-hour games, that works out to just over $4/hr of playing time with chances to win a prize). Compare that to nearly $40/hr for playing golf with no chance of getting that back...
Here in Toronto we had an amazing site for many years, the Primrose Hotel. Why no more? The owner showed up one day and said it looked like a homeless convention, words from Mark Dutton! Primrose was history. We're trying to go up-market just fractionally and there's this huge outcry. It's the weeds, they might die. Can you blame us for trying?
Personally, I don't mind playing beginners, but the strong players I know really dislike playing "down" too much.
I am one of the players who does dislike playing "down". I am not going to pay $500 or more (entry fee, hotel, gas and increased food cost typical for a weekend event) and spend six or eight hours in a car there and back for the opportunity to play a number of 1600 players when I can stay in Windsor and do it for $10 or $40 or go to London and do it for about $50 ($20 entry fee and gas - though in London I usually get one low rated player and three high rated ones) or go to Detroit and do it basically for free since the prizes won cover the entry fees for the small tournaments with a mixed bag of players. Even better I can get Denton to set up a tournament with myself, Denton, Zoltan, Istvan and maybe Alan and pay $10 (in the latter case I get a similar level of competition to most of the better out of town tournaments that I play in without being tired from driving back and forth long distances).
I make exceptions for local events because I selfishly want the local kids to get better so that when I get too old to travel so much I will have someone to play with in Windsor beyond the usual suspects. Removal of participation points and bonus points really made it very unattractive to play in tournaments where there are large disparities in ratings. Playing too much means that you occasionally play tired and manage to beat yourself with very little help from your opponent. If you care about your rating as I do somewhat then you are not likely to put your rating on the line as much.
Re: 2011 Toronto Labour Day Tournament - Register Now
[QUOTE=Hugh Siddeley;41115]Instead of sending your concerns (albeit illegitimate ones) privately to the organizers you had to air your dirty laundry here on ChessTalk. So unconstructive and proof that you're a total douchebag.
When you invited me to your tournament I politely declined. Did I ever take shots at it publicly and broadcast that I in fact had no desire to play in your poxy tournament at your stuffy little apartment? Brampton? Who the hell wants to go out to hell's high acre? Get closer man. Public transport? TTC then Sauga transit? Get real. Gotta do something about that how about limo service? Just not good enough John. We can all play this game. How does it feel?[/QUO
Hi Hugh;
Sounds Like you are worried this tourney will not be a success.
I don't worry about what people think about coming out to my place. If I did I would not run tournaments out here I done 49 + others.
As for getting to Brampton, I don't drive and I travel mostly by GO and TTC to get to Toronto and I don't have any trouble getting to Toronto Tournaments so why would you think I cannot get home once I make it to Toronto?
It is quibbling in public that makes others take note of what they are getting into before they actually pay their money.
There are many greenhorn Organizers out there. I just don't want you to feel that your tournament is not without some snags.
First of all who would want to have a tournament at two different sites anyway? Out of towners who have never been to Toronto Westin or Bathurst would have a nightmare not to mention the expensive parking near Westin.
Sometimes People from Toronto don't understand that people from other places are not used to travelling TTC paying HIGH Parking costs and food costs and Hotel costs.
You should be concentrating on promoting your event and let us douchebags slug it out.
you take what people on chess talk say too seriously.
Last edited by John Brown; Wednesday, 3rd August, 2011, 11:46 AM.
Reason: spelling correction
Exactly man! These guys have no idea. Take a round of golf (which I doubt any of them have ever played). 150 bones for maybe 4 hours to complete a round. ZERO prizes. Chess tournament: $100 for 6 games (say you play six 4-hour games, that works out to just over $4/hr of playing time with chances to win a prize). Compare that to nearly $40/hr for playing golf with no chance of getting that back...
Here in Toronto we had an amazing site for many years, the Primrose Hotel. Why no more? The owner showed up one day and said it looked like a homeless convention, words from Mark Dutton! Primrose was history. We're trying to go up-market just fractionally and there's this huge outcry. It's the weeds, they might die. Can you blame us for trying?
Golf was a lot cheaper in Windsor when I last played (probably at least a decade ago).
One of the reasons that I gave up chess for over a decade was the frustration I was experiencing as a local organizer. Chess players can be an ungrateful bunch. The adage "No good deed goes unpunished" seemed appropriate as a descriptor of the situations that arose though it seems to me that things have gotten better since I came back. The local emphasis has shifted to children's chess and they are much more cheerful than the adults were.
Golf was a lot cheaper in Windsor when I last played (probably at least a decade ago).
One of the reasons that I gave up chess for over a decade was the frustration I was experiencing as a local organizer. Chess players can be an ungrateful bunch. The adage "No good deed goes unpunished" seemed appropriate as a descriptor of the situations that arose though it seems to me that things have gotten better since I came back. The local emphasis has shifted to children's chess and they are much more cheerful than the adults were.
If one were to play at a bridge club on a regular night, the fee would be $9-10 for a three hour session. At the Nationals in Toronto last week, I saw on-line the fees were $15-$20 for each event (some events higher for non-ACBL members, some required membership). This rate would be for a 3 hour session, AND NO CASH PRIZES. Everyone fights for the almighty MASTER POINT!
I'd just like to say that a very high percentage of Hugh Siddeley's posts have been making me laugh. :D
I've got to thank John Brown, too. Even if much of his criticism is not constructive, or even coherent, it's been making for some lively discussion. He's the one provoking Hugh to the irate comedy that Aman, for one, is enjoying. If nothing else, at least our post is constantly getting bumped. :) You know, I think John actually wants to attend this event that he constantly maligns... Maybe he's hoping we'll throw him a prodigal son's banquet?
If one were to play at a bridge club on a regular night, the fee would be $9-10 for a three hour session. At the Nationals in Toronto last week, I saw on-line the fees were $15-$20 for each event (some events higher for non-ACBL members, some required membership). This rate would be for a 3 hour session, AND NO CASH PRIZES. Everyone fights for the almighty MASTER POINT!
And well they should. This obsession with cash prizes is puzzling to me since taking a minimum wage job in a Tim Horton's would yield a much better return when you factor in the expenses for an out of town event. I can win the equivalent of first prize in most chess tournaments by just staying home and not spending the money that it costs me to enter these various tournaments. Obviously I value the experience of playing more than I value the money that it costs. However that enjoyment does have some limits.
When I win a cash prize I just spend it on chess books or equipment anyway. I think I used my winnings from a Kitchener tournament to buy my Monroi from Patrick McDonald who had some on consignment from Monroi.
One of these days I am going to stick to my new year's resolution of limiting myself to eighty games a year or so and then I am going to have to make some hard choices about which tournaments I will support. I can play forty or fifty games in Windsor for virtually no cost and no significant driving expense and hotel costs. I believe Kasparov suggested that 55 games a year was the optimal number of games to play in a year. If I cut back to that I would have more time to study chess.
London is only two hours away with one day events put on by Steve Demmery that don't require a hotel stay but with the drawback that they are a fast time control. They are switching to an active format which is even faster but doesn't involve risking my regular rating so I will probably give them a try once a tournament comes up that isn't conflicting with a longer time control event nearby.
Hal Bond's Guelph events which give a hard cutoff of 1900 or 2000 at the bottom end will probably always be on the menu. So will Patrick McDonald's Kitchener events which also have a hard cutoff on playing up. Hamilton, now that they are setting limits on playing up are also very much on the menu. All of those destinations are within a three hour drive of my location.
Toronto is an additional hour away and lately the extra driving due to the traffic has been very annoying. I settled down to a routine where I stayed in an inexpensive but very nice Mississauga motel 6 and commuted to one of the subway stops at Yorkdale mall and then rode the subway in to avoid those $20 per day or more parking charges. This model breaks down if it takes two or more hours to get to Yorkdale as it has at times recently. Toronto tends to have a lot of stronger tournaments and players but this does not do me much good if there are a lot of people who play up. I would much rather lose in the first round to an IM or 2400 player than win against a low rated player. The problem is that I am always near the middle at the cutoff and it is one or the other. A $10 fee to play up ruins my $500 cost tournament experience if I have to play two low rated players over the course of a tournament. It does not bother me as much if they are those 10 year old wunderkids who are actually 2100 strength because then at least it is a good game though I get annoyed at the rating hit.
Tweet
Maybe he's hoping we'll throw him a prodigal son's banquet?
Comment