Policy discussion on affiliation with a chess server will take place here.
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Policy discussion on affiliation with a chess server will take place here.
I think this is a good idea conceptually - the devil is of course in the details.
Scott Richardson contacted each of the major chess server companies. Several expressed interest in working with us. Chess.com offered a one year free trial period. Playchess.com offered discount packages if we buy blocks of memberships which we could then resell though some of their ideas would run afoul of our book and equipment contract.
We already allow rated remote play if there is a TD at both ends to ensure fair play.
A one year free trial period offered by chess.com looks like a good start.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vladimir Drkulec
I am not so sure how I feel about aligning to any individual chess server ... especially as we already allow rated remote play if there is a TD at both ends, (I assume no matter which chess server they use?)
I don't feel that the CFC should be in the business of supporting any individual business ...
If we could start our own server....Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick McDonald
I think this is a great idea and I encourage Scott to continue with this project. Perhaps at the next meeting he can narrow the options for us to consider.
I can table copies of our correspondence with Scott's permission. I believe that he has approached all of the large companies (chess.com, Playchess.com, ICC, etc.) given the replies that have been forwarded to me. The idea of discussing this is to see how the voting members feel about this and if we get a consensus supporting this then we go ahead and get this done.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Leblanc
Talking to these server people has certainly been interesting as the possibilities that they offered have certainly opened my eyes to some things which could be profitably pursued down the road which are independent of the chess server.
The CFC had a deal with ICC over ten years ago.
I do not recall the exact details but the ICC offered about $4,000 in cash prizes for the monthly active tournament. The CFC rated the tournament and matched with memberships/gift certificates. The program was run by a CFC member who was an ICC admin for a modest stipend.
We got a trickle of CFC members out of the deal and it was something new for the CFC at the time. ICC was happy with the program but the CFC discontinued the program after I was voted off the Executive in 2005.
I think this is something we should be doing - but you have to come to the table with resources. I do not know if the CFC can offer a tournament series or heaven forbid a Canadian League that would play on the server and be CFC rated.
An example of how I see this being useful: 5 or 6 of us here in Victoria would like to play in the Canadian Open in Eastern Canada but don't want the difficulties and expenses of travelling. We would hire a local TD and show up with our laptops at the Victoria Chess Club and play in the event online. Easy for us but there would be some extra work for the people running the Canadian Open to accommodate this.