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Where would be the ideal venue? Where would you be happy to play? It would need to be quiet over the weekend for players to concentrate on their games but with an atmosphere which is quite welcoming. Any ideas please post.

Hello all, I will be approaching some banks over the next couple of days to find out and hopefully setup a free bank account so that it will be able to receive moneys for the entry fee and pay for any associated costs (ECF Grading, Arbiters, Venue Fees, etc) within the near future. I am currently seeking two other people to join the UK Chess.com Tournament Committee to oversee and be responsible for particular runnings of the tournament. If you believe you can contribute to the Committee for this upcoming tournament in 2010 and have experience at organising chess events, I would encourage you to send me a personal message detailing any particulars you could assist with. The roles that I envisage for this Committee include: Committee Secretary - responsible for budgeting, banking, accounting, and overall management of the tournament Venue Liaison Officer - responsible for seeking suitable venues, and negotiating rental for venues Tournament Liaison Officer - responsible for the ticketing, entry forms, finding suitable chess equipment for the tournament and communicating about the event Each position is a voluntary post but I expect reasonable travel expenses, when Committee Meetings are held, are to be reinbursed. I wish to nominate myself this year as the Committee Secretary as I have personal experience of accounting and budgeting in a professional capacity. I would also wish to ensure this tournament is a success due to initially being the founder of this tournament. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. With my kind regards, Martin Sketchley

There has been some discussion about the venue of such a tournament and it has been suggested more than once that it be held at a local school or university. However, what hasn't been discussed much is the location of the tournament. My preference for the location would have to be London. It is the capital of the UK, easy to commute to, has ample accommodation, close to different airports, and central. What do other members think about the 1st (2010) Chess.com UK Tournament being held in London? For those in favour or not, please reply. Regards, Martin

Hello and thank you for joining this group. We are in the very early stages of organising and arranging everything that would be needed for a UK based "over-the-board" tournament. We currently need help with the organisation of such a tournament. Some things that require assistance and thinking include the following: Suitable location Chess boards, clocks and pieces Stationary - score cards, charts, sheets, pairing cards Sponsorship Ofcourse, this idea is still just an idea and this would not be possible without the contribution by other members. We are currently seeking help with some of the above, so if you can help please don't hesitate to contact us. If you have any questions or queries, I look forward to receiving these. Many thanks for your support. Martin

Please keep the posting of group notes to a minimum to avoid clutter. Unnecessary posts will be deleted. Please feel free to use the forums.

Please excuse me here I am just logging information here between the 2 towns in which to hold this tournament. I have a few leads and will be posting links as well as information which I get off the phone from each place.

While I was on the phone to this guy arranging the possible venue, he suggested to me about possible sponsorship ... I am sure there are chess companies that may be able to help out financially? What do we think?

I have twice now asked whistleblower for advice on how do I go about contacting a bank with regards to helping finance this venture and have had nothing in return. So now I am asking you lot. This venture is going nowhere and hasn't been for a while simply because I need help with this. So if you have ANY idea how I go about approaching a bank about this then either reply in here or send me a message so this dream doesn't just stay a dream.

Hello all Due to unforeseen and personal circumstances, it is with sad regret that I am unable to contribute with this group as much as I would like to. Thus, it is with great sadness that I will have to step down as Organiser. If anyone is able to continue supporting this group and organise a Chess.com UK Tournament, please feel free to volunteer. This post depends upon a lot of effort and determination but I will be happy if someone else is able to get this organised this year. If there are any volunteers for the post, please feel free to nominate or request nomination amongst the rest of the group. If you require any advice, I will be able to provide some occassional help. Meanwhile, I will keep an eye on the group and evolution of the event. You can rest assured, I will be coming to the Chess Tournament and will help as much as possible. With my kind regards, Martin Sketchley

I would like to write about this hopefully upcoming tournament. I think this is a great idea from whistleblower and i hope it is a great success but i think you should make this first tournament an open tournament so as many members of chess.com can attend not only from the UK but from anywhere. Most people who will attend this event if it is in Nottingham or Birmingham will come from the UK but if you can attract more members from around the globe it will make it a more of success and you should make it a more celebration of a first OTB tournament within chess.com in England. Remember its a game and there should be no borders like the internet. Good luck and well done to the admin of this group for the work already done and if you are in need of any help i would be glad to help.

CCF Mindagmes supply a chess stall and rent chess boards and clocks for congresses and rapidplays. I've made a forum post as I've e-mailed them asking them how many boards they rent, and how much the stall would be, and if they do rapidplays and/or congresses. Not sure which we're thinking of doing, congress would be more serious and brillian, rapidplay would be a lot of fun, or maybe a mega tournament, with blitz and rapidplay both at same venue.

As with all costs, what is a suitable cost for those that wish to participate with this event? Remember that the aim I had was that it would allow an opportunity for similar minded individuals meet and network at a chess event where all could relate. However, this idea has evolved to include: ECF Grading (a cost per game) Arbiter (is this a cost) IM/GM Guest Raffle Prices (shirts, hats, etc) A Trophy or Limited Edition Chess.com Shirt (both a cost) Although most are enthusiastic about this and each have their own plan, I would like to remind each other not to make this event too big. It would be our first year; the bigger the event, the more risk of failure. Nonetheless, back to my original question, how much would you be willing to pay to attend this event? I would be happy to pay £25~£30 for the weekend. Looking forward to feedback. Regards, Martin

I completely understand why we should not chat too much in the group notes as it may annoy some people if they keep getting alerts. So I am creating this forum thread just to chat between us about things to do with this tournament.