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Updated 4.8.01
BCF NEWS

BCF DIRECT MEMBERSHIP
4.8.01
The August edition of ChessMoves on paper contains the first clear statement we've seen of the benefits of Standard Membership (as compared with Full Members and Joe Public). We reproduce it here since it is clearly aimed at non-Members, who may not see the printed ChessMoves. The online version isn't on line yet, as we write. The ChessMoves list isn't complete, unfortunately, and we've added one item there omitted. See footnote.
     We have treated Junior Members as Standard because they get the same benefits, together with odd extra things like badges.



ChessMoves
Reduced entry, most congresses
Right to have games graded*
Annual grading printout
BCF Grading List
BCF Chess Diary
BCF Yearbook (add £1.50 p & p)
Discounts from leading suppliers
Low-cost chess travel insurance

Full Members
(Charge £35)
Free
Yes
Yes
Free
£9.00
Free
Free
Yes
Yes

Standard Members
(£12, Juniors £10)
Free
No
Yes
£5.00
£10.50
£2.50
£10.00
Yes
Yes

Public

£9 p.a.
No
No
£10.00
£12.00
£4.00
£12.00
No
No

* This benefit is not listed in ChessMoves. It was clearly stated at the April Council meeting, though it took some extracting, and it has been confirmed by the Grading Director. It means, as we have already reported, that Members can submit their games even from an event which did not pay Game Fee.


BCF MANAGEMENT BOARD
23rd June 2001
Roy Heppinstall reports.
When I agreed to represent SCCU at this meeting I had no real idea what it entailed, except that it would start at 11 am and finish at about 6 pm. The first surprise was the incredible quantity of paper and communications I received during the two weeks or so before the meeting and at the meeting itself. Minutes of previous meetings, various reports etc covered 95 sides of A4. Since most of these involved topics on which I had little background knowledge, the task of making reasonable preparations for the meeting was formidable.
     The meeting observed a few moments' silence at the start in memory of George Smith of Southend and of BCF Senior Arbiter David J Wallace from St Andrews. The main business:
(1) The meeting was pleased to note that Bob Wade had been made an honorary member of FIDE.
(2) A discussion took place on a number of legal and insurance matters, including cover for the officers against possible personal claims. In particular, the possibility of drug tests and their implications was raised.
(3) Money. Figures were presented showing the likely variance compared with forecast.
(4) Organisational Structure of the BCF. The WECU presented a far-reaching paper. A long discussion ensued, culminating in the acceptance of numerous motions for the Council meeting on 29th September. Amongst these were:
(a) That the role of the President become a practical hands-on job, including chairing meetings and a more direct responsibility for the promotion of chess nationally. It is proposed to nominate Gerry Walsh for this position. Steve Davis, the current President, is understood to have said himself that he was not entirely satisfied with his figurehead role and wished he had been able to become more involved.
(b) The abolition of the post of Chairman.
(c) The creation of a new post of Chief Executive. The Chief Executive's job would be, essentially, to ensure that everyone else is doing what they are supposed to be doing. It would be possible to combine this job with that of an existing Director. It is proposed to nominate Chris Majer for this post.
(c) The abolition of the Policy Unit. [The what? - rjh]
[Note 16.7.01. Later accounts suggest that the Chief Executive will chair meetings. What he'll be called we don't know.]
(5) Grading. Chris Majer reported, but you have already seen this in the Grading page. It appears that, among 11087 players with A-E Standardplay grades, the mean grade is 113 (and the median 115). 9% of these are over 170. [Your Webmaster's computer says the mean is 114.62, but it's got a mind of its own. A few years back the mean was around 118. It was already on the decline, having been over 120 some years earlier.]
(6) Womens Chess. The Director reported on activities in a variety of areas, including events and coaching. Heather Richards had achieved her second WIM norm at the England v Germany match, which England had won. The BWCA will continue to provide coaching at its tournaments and is planning to hold at least one coaching day. Concern was expressed at the low numbers of women and girls playing chess. This is being actively investigated. In particular, one area worth exploring is the drop-out rate from the age of about 12.
(7) The Marketing Director reported on progress with the new Standard Membership scheme (see Council Meeting below). It is hoped to have an application form ready soon, with the British Championship Congress in mind.
     The Director also reported on various activities in the media, including an interview by Sue Hayward on her lunchtime chat programme.
(8) Home Chess. The Director reported on an impressive range of activities amongst which were Chess in prisons and Chess for the disabled. Anyone with an interest in these activities should contact him. On County matches, he had received and rejected a complaint about the make-up of the Cambridgeshire team. He intends to propose rule changes in September, as already reported in the SCCU page. His proposals on the National Club are as already published (see his article elsewhere on the site) except that he now intends a maximum grade of 190 in the new U160 competition, and 160 in the U110.
(9) Internet Chess. Detailed discussion took place. This is an area of potential high growth and requires an officer dedicated to its development.
(10) International Chess. The Director's report included target dates reaching out to the end of 2003. He reported the success of Stuart Conquest in qualifying for the world championship. He also covered topics such as the Commonwealth championship, Chess as a Sport and the British Isles Co-ordinating Committee. [Don't know. - rjh]

This report is by its nature only a summary of the items discussed. However, what of my overall impression of the meeting? The BCF is obviously going through a period of change - witness the proposed changes to the organisational structure. As might be expected, these changes were discussed at length but to my mind this left insufficient time to do full justice to other items later on the agenda. Overall an interesting and educational experience!!!
RA Heppinstall 30.6.01, amended 8.7.01



BCF MANAGEMENT BOARD
28th April 2001
The Management Board met on the morning of Saturday 28th April prior to the annual Finance Council meeting scheduled for 1.30pm. In the event much of the discussion centered on matters of a confidential nature which cannot be reported at this time and which caused the meeting to run on until 1.10pm when the looming Council meeting caused a swift adjournment.
     The progress of the meeting was not helped by the inordinate amount of time spent in correcting and approving the minutes of the previous meeting and in matters arising.
     Most of the reportable items stemmed from the Finance Director who confirmed again that overall the 2000/2001 Forecast is still in line with budget and with previous forecasts. He was able to report successes in collecting or obtaining promises of payment of outstanding Game Fees from a number of Counties and other bodies currently in arrears with their payments. Total Game Fees collected now stand at about £41.5K, and this is regarded as encouraging, particularly in the light of last year's problems with grading which might have had an adverse effect on the collection of Game Fees this year. A "hit-list" of non-paying Leagues and Congresses is being drawn up, and members of the Management Board may need to exercise influence with organisers in their own areas. A long discussion ensued regarding the basis of charging Game Fees, and when the liability for this arose. It was pointed out that Game Fees were NOT payments for grading, but more a measurement of membership and a way of funding the BCF from the chess playing fraternity.1
     The Finance Director also revealed that a second payment had been received from Games Parlo(u)r in connection with the establishment of Internet Chess with them. It was stated that the service was now expected to be available to us "within a few days" but considerable doubts were expressed regarding the likelihood of this and it was agreed to establish a Task Force consisting of Robert McFarland, Neil Graham and Matthew Turner to check out the system and report back.
     There was just time before the closure to approve the appointments of Francis Bowers, Priscilla Morris and Alan Parsons as Arbiters.
David Smith
SCCU representative to MB
30.4.01

1 rjh: Watch out, Editorial opinion coming up. I understand, having talked to David, that this was something to do with events that have wished to withhold, or reclaim, Game Fee because their grading was not done last season. The Management Board thinks they have not that right. I think they have. Of course Game Fee is not intended to fund grading only. But grading is why people pay it. A congress may be very happy to subsidise junior international teams or whatever. Equally it may not be, but it pays anyway in order to get the grading. In such a case, if the grading falls over through BCF error, the BCF will scarcely generate good will by offering a small refund in respect of the "grading portion". That's been done, and it was immoral.
     I said "through BCF error". I don't know how many of the grading omissions last season were the BCF's fault. Some were. I should think not all that many, and this season I am optimistic that it will be fewer. I will be very disappointed if they aren't big enough to do the right thing when it happens.
     As a postscript, I'm surprised the Management Board spent time discussing when the liability for payment arises. Their discussion seems not to have embraced the Constitution. It's in the Constitution.



BCF COUNCIL MEETING
Saturday 28th April 2001 in Bristol
rjh 29.4.01, amended 30.4.01
Tunbridge Wells to Bristol (160 miles): 2½ hours. Bristol-end-of-motorway to venue (½ mile): 1 hour. This included driving past it twice and not finding a way in. We weren't late, having allowed oceans of time for M25 holdups which didn't happen.
     Council met as provided. The attendance was small (35-ish) and there was, to a close approximation, no unpleasantness at all. This is rare. We have done our terse best with the financial bits. You know what your Webmaster is about money. SCCU people were there who understand money, and if we've got anything wrong or omitted things we shouldn't have, we hope they'll say.
(1) Money. We never even knew you could grow revenue, or a membership base, or internet traffic. These expressions were used repeatedly by more than one Director, so must be more than the horticultural metaphors we at first took them for. We looked for cataclysm when we heard about the topic which was absolutely epicentral to something. Given the gradient of our learning curve jargonwise, you will understand if the experts of the previous paragraph feel called into play. But BCF finances looked to be under proper control now, and the accounts 2000-1 were on course to meet budget provisions. One question mark was Game Fee income. It remains to be seen whether all of the expected fees will materialise. However, the British at Millfield is now expected to be £3000 in the black. The break-even Budget 2001-2 was approved, and the climate seems to be one of cautious satisfaction.
     Someone expressed disquiet about legacy money going into admin. We could have sworn someone else complained about the target for legacy income not being met, but it turned out to be a technical point of some kind. We omit much.
(2) Game Fee 2001-2. The Management Board proposed an increase from 29p per-player-per-game (Standard play) to 30p. There was little dissent, and the increase was approved without even the traditional card vote. The new rate is effective from 1st September 2001. Rapidplay is half the price of Standard, and club internal is one-third (so one-sixth if Rapidplay).
(3) New Membership Categories. Council, in response to a paper from the Marketing Director, approved two new categories of Direct Membership: Standard @ £12, and Junior (U18) @ £10 (amended from £8). Full Membership is £35. The other categories of Membership (Family, Corporate and whatever) are unchanged, and Game Fee is unaffected.
     The benefits of Standard and Junior Membership are to be the same, except that Juniors may get badges and things in addition. That was clear. What wasn't, at first, was exactly what the benefits would be. They emerged, after extended probing, as: (1) ChessMoves. (2) a discount on the Yearbook. This was specifically confirmed at the meeting, although we're now starting to have doubts after looking at the paper again. (3) Free access to Games Parlor services, when they get under way. We're a bit vague about this. Access will be free to everyone to begin with. (4) a guarantee to "receive their BCF grading each year". The paper had quoted this as a benefit, but without saying what it meant. It turned out to mean that Members can send in their results from the such-and-such Congress and have them graded by the BCF, if the such-and-such Congress didn't send its results for grading in the first place. Existing Direct Members already can. Only one person at the top table, and it wasn't the Marketing Director, appeared to know this. The Grading Director confirmed that it was acceptable. He has since told us privately, though it wasn't said at the meeting, that the benefit applies whether or not the such-and-such Congress paid Game Fee.
     Full Members get the same. In addition they get: (1) Exemption from Game Fee in congresses. (2) A free Yearbook (but they pay the postage). (3) A discount on the Grading List. (4) We are fairly sure, but it wasn't stated, that they get a free BCF Diary.
     It seemed that little thought had been given to Council representation. The Constitution provides representation for each category of Direct Member, of whatever complexion, in proportion to its numbers. Standard Members would thus get the same rights as Full ones for a third of the cost. Predictably, Council was doubtful about this. The upshot was that Council amended the Constitution to include two new categories of Direct Membership, with voting rights to be determined by Constitutional change in September. The nomenclature also is provisional. (People were unhappy about the possibility of Standard Members claiming GF exemption by accident.)
     Your Webmaster's puzzled. You can't have Direct Members with indeterminate voting rights. Their voting rights are in the Constitution. So are the new categories now, whatever you call them, and if the September meeting doesn't get a two-thirds in favour of change they will have voting rights on the same basis as Full Members.
(4) Standing Orders. Council approved new standing orders on Finance and the conduct of meetings. The financial ones went through with little or no debate. The other set was mostly uncontroversial, though one delegate was concerned about various things including start and finish times. (Despite his efforts the meeting finished early.) Council accepted his amendment that the Annual and Finance meetings should be held in different unions and that "neither shall be held in the same union consecutively". Not sure that this makes sense, but we know what he meant.
(5) Protocol on Elections. It was agreed by 33 votes to 25 that elections to Directorships should be on a first-past-the-post basis. It was also agreed that postal votes on elections should not be allowed. (Candidates may be invited to address the meeting, and a postal voter is not in a position to hear them.)
(6) Constitution. Various small changes were made. One was an insertion in the Objects of the Federation along Equal Opportunities lines. The one that (just) failed to make the two-thirds was a proposal that Directors should be permitted to wear two hats on the Management Board and represent a Constituent Unit as well.
(7) Times Schools Championship. The Director, in response to a question about entry forms, said changes in the Competition were possible next year.
(8) Congresses, and the BCF Semi-finals. It appeared that one or two congresses in the Midlands habitually clashed with the final date for BCF semi-finals. They found it practically impossible to avoid this because the semi-finals seemed to be a movable feast. In fact the semi-final dates are laid down in the rules, though the Director may change them by giving notice not later than the previous October. Whether that gives a congress enough time to avoid clashing, we don't know.
The meeting closed at 5.40 pm. That's five minutes earlier than last year, and we wondered if last year was a record. We hear the Management Board had a harder time of it in the morning.



NATIONAL CLUB: CHANGES PROPOSED
24.4.01
We hear that Cyril Johnson, Director of Home Chess, has proposals for radical change to the National Club Championships. There would be three sections only: Open and U125 as at present, and a new section for teams with mean grade under 160. All would be over 5 boards.
     Cyril's brief paper to this effect was before the Management Board on the 10th March, we understand, but was shelved in his absence. While he would undertake consultations, he does not intend putting it to Council (because the clubs are not represented at Council). He plans to seek formal approval from the Management Board at its meeting on the 23rd June.
     The need for change is obvious. This year's National Club entry was 72 teams in the six divisions put together, and four of those pulled out without playing. We don't know what consultations the Director has in mind, but we're not aware that there have been any so far. Opinions, anyone?



BCF MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING
Saturday 10th March 2001 in Birmingham
In the absence of BCF Chairman Gerry Walsh the Chair was taken by International Director David Anderton who, faced with a massive Agenda, kept things moving along at a good pace. It is it to his credit, aided by a 15 minute extension to the scheduled finish, that the meeting ended precisely at 6.15 amidst general rejoicing.
     The following report is only a summary of the more important and interesting items.
(1) Finance Director Robert McFarland detailed a number of changes to the 2000/01 Forecast, including the good news that the BCF Championships at Millfield showed a surplus of £2.5K, although other variants would leave the I & E a/c approximately in balance. He stated that the pattern of Game Fees collected appeared to be changing from Leagues to other events such as 4NCL. Chasing of Game Fee was still proving difficult. He was considering asking the Unions to make appointments to assist.
     His 2001/02 Budget included a recommendation to Council that Game Fee would be increased to 30p pppg. A proposal to extend Game Fee to juniors was shelved. It was agreed to balance the Budget by the transfer of £3K from the Legacies Fund. It was agreed that a new lower cost tier of Direct Membership Scheme (with less benefits) would be brought before Council in April. It is hoped that the new scheme will prove an incentive to the many players who, under a new FIDE rule, must be a member of a National Federation in order to have a FIDE rating. Existing Direct Members will be given details of the new scheme in advance of general publication.
(2) Marketing Director Nick Hawkins referred to current publicity, in particular the forthcoming Kasparov v Chapman match. Other efforts to obtain sponsorship had been unsuccessful, any ideas would be welcomed.
(3) Internet Chess. Mathew Turner presented a paper detailing the current state of play with Games Parlor, recognising that we would be in competition with 40K (paying) members of the Internet Chess Club. There is a need to get people on site quickly and a launch at a National event (eg BCF at Scarborough) is vital. This will be followed by an Open "big money" event. A detailed budget would be prepared, aiming to keep expenses in line with the known income already coming in.
(4) Grading. Chris Majer advised that a CD Rom was being sent to all local Graders which contained, amongst other things, the updated Master List. He suggested that charges might be introduced where the BCF had to grade events centrally (doing the work of local graders). He was invited to prepare proposals for the future. The SCCU proposal that the new grades for 2000 be published on the BCF Website was agreed.
(5) International Director David Anderton gave a comprehensive survey of current International issues, including the proposed new FIDE time-limits for International Events (40 in 75min + 15min qpf + 30 secs per move). Many countries are against this and representations to FIDE have been made. Also a new World Championship format via Continental Championships and via the Internet! The BCF will need to decide how and when to introduce anti-doping measures.
David Smith 12.3.2001.



BCF YEARBOOK 2001
Review: rjh 9.12.00
My copy came this morning, really not very far off target for publication date. It's a pity to have to criticise the most obvious feature of the new Yearbook, because as far as I've seen it is on the whole a workmanlike job. But the front cover (and spine) are indistinguishable from those of the YB 2000, apart from a changed digit on the end of the date. Are they trying to confuse people? The YB has always at least changed colour, in recent years.
     Anyway.
Content. 124 pages (same as last year) including, roughly, 5 pages of photos and seven of advertisements (last year, 1 and 6). Sections included are much the same as last year. You'd expect the content to be reduced, given the reduced number of editorial pages, and it also turns out that some things are more spaced out and in bigger print. The main sufferer seems to have been Congress Results: only the international ones this year, and far less detail than last.
     No rules, no Constitution. It's a while since they printed the Constitution.
Accuracy. Hard to say, until the complaints start coming in. I've found no errors in the SCCU entry. (I have not checked every last digit of every last phone number.) Two or three errors in Kent, including an ancient email address for me which shouldn't even have been in last year. But those won't have been the BCF's fault.
     Where the YB really scores is on BCF names! It is far more up to date with Directors and Officers than the BCF website is. The YB Editor has gone to some trouble to squeeze late changes in. Some have escaped, of course. Incidentally I'd never realised, till today, that the BCF has a Director who isn't one. I mean, who isn't on the Management Board.
Is your Yearbook Really Necessary? Yes. Not quite in its current form, though. For my money (only I get it free) you can throw away the congress results and the Problem & Study Section. These might be worth doing if you could do them properly, but the congress section is never going to be halfway complete, and you can't do justice to problems and studies in 5½ pages. One goes elsewhere for these things.
     What you put in their place is rules, rules, rules. All of them, every time. The YB should be for reference. I don't care if it's glossy and professional, so long as it's complete. It is true that a YB can't be as up to date as a properly maintained website. But then some people don't have access to websites, you can't carry them around with you, and they tend to be inhibited about publishing contact details. In most respects I think I'll find this Yearbook more useful for reference than the BCF site is.
Found in the Constituent Units section. The Manchester & District CA now has a Disputes Organizer. It's Harry Lamb.



MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING
Birmingham, 18th November 2000
Report 20.11.00 by CE Majer
After a slow start when we stalled on the minutes of the last meeting, the MB stormed through the agenda only failing to deal with AOB. Perhaps a new era in MB meetings is with us! The following are the things that I consider of most interest:
(1) Firstly the Good News. Money. The BCF finances continue to improve. Two keys items:
     (a) It is now expected that the 2000 BCF Congress will break even. This represents a big improvement on expectations earlier in the year, when a large loss was feared.
     (b) The DCMS have advised that the grant for the next three years will be 2001/2002: £50k, 2002/2003: £55k, 2003/2004: £60k. Obtaining this increase represents a significant achievement. The use of this money will have to be linked to the DCMS Aim:
     "To improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, and to champion the creative and leisure industries".
     The MB is now faced by the challenge of coming up with a set of activities to match the DCMS expectations.
(2) Restructuring of BCF Management Board.. A paper on the Governance of the BCF (produced by John Dunleavy and me) was accepted by the MB and will form the basis of ideas for reform of the BCF Management Process. This paper supersedes the controversial paper (see Item 1 of June MB report) put before Council in September which proposed largely replacing the MB with another body on which Unions and Leagues would not be fully represented.
(3) Grading.1 Roger Edwards has resigned as a Director of the BCF, but has agreed to continue serving the BCF on grading as an Officer of the BCF. Consequently, the BCF Management Board has decided that:
     (a) Robert McFarland (Finance Director) will take over responsibility for Game Fee and is the person to whom all questions on Game Fee should be addressed.
     (b) I was appointed to the post of Acting Grading Director with David Thomas (Birmingham & District League Representative) as Deputy. These arrangements will be presented to the April Council Meeting for approval. There is an issue for the SCCU as to whether we wish to be represented on the MB by someone other than me in order to avoid conflicts of interest.2
     The Grading system to be used for the 2001 list will be a hybrid system, utilizing elements of the Chris Howell and pre-Chris Howell systems. This will have the benefit that additional checking of submitted grading results will be possible without any essential change in the format in which local graders are asked to submit results.
     Nearly all the Grading Lists have been sold this time, showing the wisdom of dispensing with the CD-ROM.
     The Unions are asked to assist the BCF with the collection of Game Fee during this season.3
(4) British Championships 2002. It was agreed to hold these in Torquay. It was also agreed that additional trophies would be purchased for the junior tournaments. This is because some of the trophies are girls', some boys' and some open. There will now be three trophies for each section: boys', girls' and open. Those of you that attended recent SCCU Executive Meetings will remember similar debates.
(5) Internet Chess Service. There has been a delay with getting this new service going. This was the fault of Games Parlor rather than the BCF. Hopefully, the service should be available by Friday 24th November, but watch the BCF Website for the latest information.
(6) Chess as a Sport. Following on from the FIDE demonstration match at the Sydney Olympics, the BCF, in conjunction with the EBU, are in discussion with Sport England. Securing recognition of chess as a sport in the UK is still some way off, but the issue may be forced if chess becomes a full Olympic event.
(7) FIDE Rating. FIDE has decided to go ahead with the extension of their rating list down to 1001 ELO. However, the date for this to come into force has not been determined.
     rjh notes:
1 I have put some more details in the Grading page.
2 The BCF Constitution does not allow a Director to be also a Union rep. There is technically no such thing as an (acting) Director appointed by the Management Board. Directors are appointed by Council, and there is no provision for changing horses midstream. In the spirit of things you'd think the normal rule ought to apply to acting Directors. As I understand it, the Management Board took a relaxed view in this case. Chris would only get one vote, and would propose to use it with an SCCU hat on. My opinion is that the brand new grading setup must not be disenfranchised.
3 I expect we'll be hearing details of this. The SCCU already collects Game Fee for the BCF in respect of county matches, Chiltern included.



COUNCIL MEETING
London, 23rd September 2000
Report 24.9.00, version 6.10.00
Council met as constitutionally provided. What follows is your Webmaster's personal account. A more formal account will no doubt appear on the BCF site. Main points:
(1) 40 attended in person, if we counted right. We have no idea how many proxies and postals there were. The count was 151 on the only card vote, but that's something else. Council was not, by and large, ill tempered. There was unpleasantness, but it was mostly confined to the papers of the meeting.
(2) Online games site. The Chairman confirmed that an agreement had been concluded which would bring in $25,000 a year, half of it committed. We understand that the organisation concerned is called Gamesparlour.inc, spelling not guaranteed, and we apologise for vagueness. Details at Council were vaguer. We hope that fuller details will appear on the BCF Website.
(3) FIDE rating. Questions were asked, and doubts expressed, about the projected extension of ratings down to 1000. Some were unhappy about rates of play. There was even a proposal - heavily defeated - to oppose the scheme. The meeting was assured that, whatever happened, the BCF system would continue to run, in parallel with FIDE, for at least two years.
(4) Home Chess. The Director reported that George Thirlaway, National Club Conductor, had resigned due to pressure of work. This year's entry forms were only just out, following delays at the printers. Deadline 15th October!
     The Berkshire delegate remarked that his County had had to play nine qualifying matches last year in the Counties Championship, in contrast with the eventual winners who had played One. He also (at the wrong meeting you might think, and perhaps unfairly) attacked the SCCU for not regionalising its competitions. Chris Majer replied briefly.
(5) Junior Chess. Questions were asked about this year's Times National Championship. The Director, who was absent, had said in his circulated Report that planning for 2000-2001 was in hand following the death of Mitchell Taylor, the longstanding Conductor. However, it was not clear that anything was happening. It was confirmed that the newspaper had decided not to send out entry forms as in the past, relying instead on an advertisement in the paper. How many schools had responded to this was not known. But a couple of zone conductors present said they had heard nothing, and, as far as the meeting knew, no successor to Mitchell Taylor had been appointed. The matter would be taken up with the Director.
     [Note 29.9.00, updated 6.10.00. A successor has been found, and the competition will run. New entries are being accepted. Some details, together with an entry form, have been placed on this site. The advertisement had already generated a surprising (to us) 169 entries. The normal entry is anything up to 300 these days, though we suspect last year's was low. We're told it used to be pushing 1000.]
(6) BCF Grading. The Director was absent, but had circulated a Report (which you may have read on the BCF site). To get the positive thing out of the way first, the MB had just concluded a contract with Richard Furness to do most of the donkey work that had taken up so much of the Director's time. This is estimated to be a half-time job. We couldn't say what they're paying Mr Furness, but it isn't enough.
     Also positive is the fact that the new printed list, while it did not appear last week as originally expected, is due from the printer in the next few days. It will, of course, be sent automatically to everyone who bought the first version from the Office by post. If you bought it at Millfield you should send the Office the front and back covers, as proof of purchase. If you purchased from a commercial supplier [this is new 26.9.00], apply to the supplier. The cost to the BCF of re-printing, plus postage, will be around £5000.
     Someone asked whether the new list, unlike the first, would include a list of events graded. No one was sure, but it was thought that the answer was yes. It has been decided that no CD will be sold.
     Otherwise things were left rather in the air. The Director's Report was scathing about the "new" software, which he had found buggy and next to impossible to use. He wished to go back to the old system, and would not be available for election if the new one remained in place.
     It had not previously been clear exactly what he meant by "going back to the old system". His proxyholder clarified things a bit. Local graders would still be able to use the present software, and its input would be fed into the BCF computer as at present. From there on, or at a later stage, the old system would take over. Maybe some adjustments would be needed.
     The Management Board, at its morning meeting, had already set up a sub-committee to look at the way forward for grading. It comprises Chris Majer (Chairman), Cyril Johnson, Robert McFarland, John Paines and David Thomas. It will reach its conclusions by the end of October. If the Director does not then like what it says, he will resign. (This is not an MB instruction. It's what the Director said when contacted by phone in the coffee break.) The sub-committee will have power to act at this point, rather than waiting for the next MB meeting. They will keep an eye open for possible successors in case the need arises.
     Completeness requires this paragraph. Some thought that the new software, while it had obviously caused many problems, did not quite deserve the reputation it was acquiring as the cause of all ills. The disaster with the August printed list, earlier attributed by the Director to "a bug in the program", was in fact due not so much to a bug as to a lack of clarity in the user-interface. In short, the Director typed a wrong date in because he was not completely familiar with the system. His proxyholder acknowledged this. From what we hear, the date the Director typed was the date anyone would have typed if innocent of the system's vagaries. You will recall that he was doing a job which he had not expected to do. It would, but for a cycling accident, have been done by Howard Grist, who is more familiar with that bit of the system and would have known what date to put in. The unfortunate thing, of course, is that the list got to the printer and beyond before anyone saw what had happened.
     [Note. Your new September/October ChessMoves has a prominent headline on the front page saying "Millennium Bug Attacks Grading System". Clearly the Director didn't write that, a sub-editor did, and it's nonsense.]
(7) Publicity. Among other things (popular science books came up somehow or other), mention was made of the K v K World Championship. There will be no TV coverage (with the possible exception of a one-off on BBC2).
(8) Council minutes. It was felt that minutes ought to be circulated within a month or so, rather than waiting maybe eleven months till another meeting's due. Someone suggested putting them on the BCF Website, but it was not thought right to do this before people had had a chance to correct them. So Website's out. Your Webmaster has not noted, and cannot remember, whether any other decision was made.
(9) BCF Directorates. Management Services is now merged into the Finance Director's job. The meeting made no appointment of Publicity Director, feeling that this should perhaps be combined with Marketing.
(10) Elections. No great surprises. Council amused itself by keeping a tally of Votes Against the various Directors, and Finance won with four. Seven or eight were equal bottom with nought. Susan Richards is the new Womens Director. John Philpott was elected Chairman of the Finance Committee replacing Bryan Fewell; the other members are as before plus Alan Martin. They were voted on individually, and one of them easily beat the Finance Director. The Policy Unit was not abolished, but no one was elected to it. The Constitution Committee is as before, plus Richard Haddrell (no, sorry, they were elected en bloc).
(11) BCF Constitution. The meeting spent some time on a proposed addition (on Equal Opportunities) to Article 2 of the Constitution. It tied itself in knots over this, and reference to the corresponding section of the Sport England rules was inconclusive. The proposal was withdrawn for further consideration.
(12) Restructuring of Management Board. Council declined to go for an EGM in early 2001, and just referred the matter back to the MB. Little discussion took place.
(13) Council venues 2001. The meeting agreed: April 28th, Bristol. September 29th: London. Someone not from the south became very heated at this point. By show of hands London had it by 29 votes to 28. The ensuing card vote was somewhat more decisive (83-68). Dates for 2002 were left for consideration next year.
(14) BCF U18 Jamboree. Your Webmaster was taken aback when someone saw the SCCU's proposals as self-serving. Maybe the previous item had something to do with it. Our object, it seemed, was to avoid the bother of running an SCCU event. Briefly, our proposal was that anyone who wished should be allowed to play in the BCF event: no need to qualify through a Union. As you will know, and as Chris Majer said, we intend to hold an SCCU event anyway. The meeting as a whole agreed that the BCF event needed changes. Some were unhappy about Rapidplay, and at least one would have liked a formal definition of Major and Minor (rather than leaving it to negotiation as we proposed). But the SCCU proposals were carried easily enough.
(15) BCF Membership. No decisions were made. (The 6 pm closure was looming.) The MB is competent to call an EGM if it wishes.
(16) BCF Constitution again. The meeting, in great haste, agreed a string of non-controversial amendments. Not all of the circulated proposals were considered. Some, which the MB had had reservations about in the morning, were withdrawn.


Earlier material is in the Archive.

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