Armstrong 2019/20 season

There is still little that can be done. Games can't resume this month while the 20km distance is in place. And who knows what changes will have taken place by the end of the month (in terms of phases being brought forward, or hygiene requirements for playing chess, etc)

It is still possible to finish the leagues in one weekend in one venue as late as September and have a new season start on time, so there's no immediate rush to make a decision on the leagues. Probably seeing how (if) the Irish Championships go in August is the first step, as that'll indicate what appetite there is for resumption right now.

Clubs have been contacted and the general view is not to abandon the season if possible.

Hmm. The LCU secretary contacted a lot of clubs in May about it - just to get the general feeling around the clubs (not just Div 1)

It may be the mailing list is incomplete - worth dropping a line to see if you/your club are on it maybe?

There was a circular sent out by the LCU to all 33 clubs earlier this month on the issues faced with regards resuming the leagues, with a suggestion clubs bring it to the attention of their members. I've copied it below.

Clubs were also asked if their venues were currently open; 9 clubs replied, and only 1 of those have access to their venue at present.

So it appears that the only way to continue the leagues at the moment is by arranging games at a central venue - but there's currently a 50-person limit on indoor gatherings, and the Armstrong (for example) is 96 players (plus arbiter). The full leagues require 530 players. To complete the leagues in central venues with a 50-person limit would require a lot of venues, and the logistics would probably be awkward too (players from the same family going to different venues, volunteers bringing equipment to each venue (assuming some clubs can't access their sets if they're in their venues which are closed), arbiters potentially required for each venue, etc), not to mention the current lockdown issue which is affecting Curragh and Celbridge.

The limit on indoor gatherings is due to increase to 100 people on 31st August, but that's already been postponed twice, and with 200 cases yesterday alone, it looks like it will probably be postponed again.

The circular is below -

Leinster Leagues
The Leinster Leagues remain on hold. It is our intention to finish the current season, in line with the views of the majority of the LCU clubs polled in May. However, the health and safety of all players has to be our main concern.

We do see that the leagues, on their return, would have a similar setup to the Irish Championships (see ICU site here). We are liaising with the ICU as regards logistics and feedback from the event.

Our view at present is that, even if clubs have full access to their venues, the requirements would likely be too onerous for individual clubs to host matches, and that games would take place at a central location. At present a maximum of 50 people are permitted to gather at an indoor event. This was due to rise to 100 if Phase 4 of the Government roadmap came into effect as planned on 10th August; however, the Government have decided to push this decision back to 31st August. Even then, this will only allow one division to take place at a time (there are 96 players in the Armstrong/Heidenfeld).

So at present, the best way of concluding the leagues appears to be a double-header (rounds 10 and 11) for each individual division on individual days. We could host games in a smaller venue by prioritising only the games which can impact the top/bottom of the table and leave dead matches unplayed, though we would prefer for all clubs to finish out their seasons. We are aware there are some players who are unable to play weekend league games, that some players may not feel comfortable playing chess in the current times, and indeed that some round 8 matches remain outstanding. So while we appreciate that this solution will inconvenience some players and clubs, unfortunately there does not appear to be a workable alternative at present.

In order to begin planning for this option, the LCU require progression to Phase 4 of the Government’s roadmap, and positive feedback from the upcoming Irish Championships. Given ongoing doubts over the former, it is quite likely the league season will not be able to resume even in September.


2020/21 season
In a best case – and unlikely – scenario, the 2019/20 season could in theory conclude by the end of October, assuming sufficient venues could be found. In reality, it will probably start later than that. It is quite possible the new season will not start until the new year.

We envisage that the ICU’s covid setup noted above will have to continue for the foreseeable future. As such, it may be that the format of the 2020/21 season will again be a series of centrally-played double-headers by division (i.e. rounds 1 and 2 of the Armstrong one weekend, rounds 1 and 2 of the Heidenfeld the next weekend, etc). If it is not possible to play two rounds on the same day (which would require two venues, two arbiters, two sets of volunteers to set up, potentially two members of the same family playing in different venues, etc), then this would require 36 different days.

This season format would probably last longer than usual, and it appears quite probable that the LCU will only be able to arrange two league seasons between 2019 and 2022.

We would note of course that all of the above is subject to change based on future developments.


LCU AGM
We are looking at a date for the 2020 LCU AGM – however, we would like more clarity on league options before convening it. We envisage the AGM may well be held remotely via Zoom or a similar platform.


Online chess
In the meantime, we would strongly encourage clubs to engage in some of the many online chess events which are on at present. While they aren’t a true substitute for the real over-the-board game, they are a way of keeping club members engaged during this difficult period. In particular, we note –

• The ICU are running a team 3+2 blitz tournament on lichess.org each Friday from 7:00 to 8:30pm; links are available on the ICU website early each week. This week’s tournament is here.
• The 4NCL are taking entries for the second season of the 4NCL Online, with teams of 4 and a time control of 45 + 15. Matches are every second Tuesday at 7:30pm on lichess.org. You can enter a team here (deadline is next week).
• Clubs can arrange their own regular blitz events on sites such as lichess as well, and can restrict these to club members by means of a password
• Online sites also permit an online club championships with a longer time control, including standard time controls of 90+15. Clubs would need to be able to arrange the draw, and after that players can challenge each other on a designated online club night
• For a longer time control still, a site like gameknot.com is an excellent platform for a correspondence club championship, with time controls of many days per move
• Video conferencing software such as Zoom would also allow clubs to arrange online lectures by more experienced club members if they wished

Note as well the City of Dublin tournament will be held in Coláiste Éanna on the last week in September. Details are here. In particular, note that restrictions (on entry, and on the attendance of non-players such as parents, who would count towards any capacity limit) may change in line with national developments.

I guess technically there'd be no spectators as such, and there's nothing mentioned about changing the limit of 50 people indoors I think? Could be wrong though.

Certainly means the leagues can't resume alright. I think worst case is the leagues will remain in stasis until normality resumes; there seems no point writing them off when there's just two rounds to go because that could be finished over a weekend in theory.

Probably not the best question to be posing when there's an orange weather warning in place.

I think the weather is probably too changeable here - especially now that it's autumn - for a chess game, let alone a full weekender. I think some games have been played outdoors at the Drogheda weekender, but only when it was really splitting the rocks. You need to be a bit lucky to pull it off; I don't think you could arrange it at less than a week's notice.

It's not true that it's just as easy to cheat in an over-the-board match unfortunately.

4NCL did some stats into their recent 4NCL online tournament and found suspicious performances were much higher than usual (compared to the regular 4NCL) for example.

Plus - is there really a need to finish the leagues that urgently? They can't start up again anyway. If people want to play online leagues, they can - the 4NCL online, the recent Hibernian Online league (which may return), club events, etc.