Leinster Chess Championships 2023 - Malahide Millennium Tournament

spidersweb · 04-04-2023 12:50PM #1

What ever happened? Malahide Millennium Tournament which now absorbed the Leinster Ch also used to be a fine tournament.

Just days away and so few entrants? According to the ICU website just one player in the over 1800 section (below 1800 as might be noted by Sodcat? LOL) Is it still going ahead I wonder? What are people's impressions? What happened?

So few details and it seems like there have been little or no efforts made to push/promote the event? In all the recent events I have played in 2023 I don't think I seen any info or mention at any of these events? Or maybe I am mistaken?

Curious, but sad to see this state of affairs.

zeitnot · 05-04-2023 06:20PM

The calendar seems very full. Has there ever been this much activity before? It's unfortunate that the Leinster Championship has fallen on hard times, but maybe the demand just isn't there any more.

RooksPawn · 05-04-2023 08:15PM

The use of the terms SENIOR and JUNIOR (which nowadays normally denote age categories) could be partly responsible for the low entry.

Of course the other factor is that Easter Sunday (a popular family day) falls in the middle.

spidersweb · 08-04-2023 01:28PM

Well, the question of the tournament going ahead or not seems to have been answered by this post: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058291556/malahide-millennium-leinster-champs-2023-draws-results#latest I guess? Though nothing has actually been posted yet by way of any further info on the event.

As for the suggestion that Easter was a bad time? Nah, that makes zero sense as the opposite is the case really. Used to be that we had a big event at Easter for the very reason that alot of people had more free time and it is among the most busy times of year when people return to Ireland. So many previously successful Easter tournaments over the years point to this.

The demand for chess tournaments is not only there but greater than it has been for ages albeit at the lower levels with huge percent of people being first time participants. The huge uptake in numbers for every event post the Covid Panicdemic show this clearly.

Galway numbers and even the first time event DCU tournament getting over 120 entrants with short notice of the tournament happening at all. Drogheda which does not take place till JUNE already has 17 entries and I dare say that if the same efforts was put into Malahide as has been done for Drogheda, for the Malahide event in the months and weeks before, they could (considering the easy to get to location - few minutes from the bus stop) they easily could have got something approaching a couple of hundred entries

Sadly the most logical conclusion as to why this event was/is such an abject (relative) failure and embarrassment is simply because, for whatever reasons, people simply could not be bothered and had other things on their mind or plate so to speak. Basics like promoting the event, spreading the word, contacting former participants, and even such things as a prize fund not even mentioned (however provisional) or given (compare Drogheda: https://icu.ie/events/1671) indicate a total lack of interest and or time, resources on the part of the Malahide folks?

Seems like a case of a crap tournament is better than no tournament is the overarching attitude and approach and apathy rules almost supreme? For those who know and have experienced first hand any number of times when the event was a fine tournament, well run, organized and generally just a great addition to the tournament circuit, no surprise they will have also not bothered with the event this year.

First time since the panicdemic and for which even big events like Bunratty have still not recovered and returned from.

Just a pity to see what was such a good thing decline into such a sad state of affairs. They might have been better off not to do it this year, skip it as they had done once since (2017 I think - not sure), just seem to recall one year it did not happen- before the Covid panicdemic that is.

The very first time they done the event being back in 2000.

PS, The missing year was not 2017 (forgot that I won it jointly that year), I just recall there was a year it simply didn't happen (2008 maybe)

spidersweb · 08-04-2023 01:36PM

As of when I made my previous post. Even the curiosity can't as of yet be satisfied and much about the event remains a mystery, including the pairings.

cdeb · 08-04-2023 07:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120445041#Comment_120445041

I think it was added relatively late to the calendar, which mayn't have helped with players' planning. I don't think it's a demand issue per se - the Leinster Championships is just a weekender after all, albeit with the added gloss of deciding the provincial champion. I'd say it'll be back towards old levels next year.

spidersweb · 11-04-2023 05:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120455861#Comment_120455861

Was booked and known well in advance, much more than DCU which was done for the first time ever. I venture to suggest that if things are done the way they were this year again, then there will be even less playing next year.

When people give of their time , energy etc and do a good job they deserve all the thanks and credit due, @when they do a really crap job like this, then they don't! Pity yeah sure, even derision or scorn are also fair enough but optional.

Embarrassing effort that reflects badly on all concerned really. Then again, it is people doing volunteer work so we have to allow for that too. On balance, just feels like it would be better not to bother at all. Maybe chess in Ireland is now about to go into a very steep and fast decline? So few tournaments over the next few months. Cyclical I guess.

cdeb · 12-04-2023 10:38AM

I think the DCU Open was on the calender longer than Malahide. Possibly there's been too many Dublin tournaments lately - DCU, then Irish Juniors, then Malahide in successive weeks. It was noticeable that players didn't start entering Malahide until after the DCU event.

Also as a mod note - you've been called up on this before, but a bit of respect from you towards volunteers running events for everyone else's enjoyment would go a long way. So knock the attitude off.

spidersweb · 12-04-2023 10:52AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120468530#Comment_120468530

Banned

Abusive behaviour

userfriendly2 · 24-04-2023 05:36PM

Late to the thread. As a parent who travels to nearly every tournament available with the kids I can tell you that I was initially put off by the cost of entry - 50 euro standard, 40 quid early bird. Having paid for the kids to enter over 20 tournaments in 22/23 I can tell you that these are costs usually associated with FIDE rated tournies of which Malahide was not. We ended up going to malahide but I was only swayed by the early bird discount last minute - had that not been available we wouldn't have attended. DCU was 15 quid entry and FIDE rated - the cheapest I have seen to date and guaranteed to bring the numbers. There is a lot more time and effort involved to submit results to FIDE and I think the charge is 1 or 2 quid per player also. I understand that the venue for Malahide was most likely costly so the entry was justified but very expensive all the same. As for the tournament itself - fantastic and the coffee and cookies in between rounds was a great touch. The organisers really did a great job.

MalahideCC · 09-05-2023 06:58PM

Thanks for the feedback, it is good to hear something positive by a poster on boards! We welcome any feedback given in a constructive and courteous manner and endeavour to improve the final product based on what has been said. We do accept that the entry is high compared to DCU and other tournaments but you have to remember that they probably have no overheads when it comes to a venue. Our venue is always a very significant cost, even more so this year with the cost of living increases affecting everything. We believe we are providing a great venue and chess tournament experience for the price. We are on the calendar next year back in our usual slot of May bank holiday weekend and hopefully we’ll have a bigger turnout then. Thanks for coming along this year userfriendly2 and look forward to next year.

Leinster Chess Championships 2023 - Malahide Millennium Tournament

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