5A1. Chess in a COVID-19 Environment

[Fred McKim]

It seems we will have time to see what happens in Europe as they return to OTB Chess.

I am resuming OTB Chess at Thanksgiving with the 2020 Maritime Chess Festival. I even have a page of COVID-19 alterations listed.
http://mcc.devastation.ca/mcf20.html

[Vadim Tsypin]

So amid all this activity does anyone know of COVID cases which have been linked to chess tournaments?

Hello Stephen,

There was a case of an Irish player diagnosed with COVID-19 which forced the authorities to subject French participants to quarantine.

[Stephen Wright]

Thanks Vadim. I guess I should have phrased my thoughts better - I meant have the recent attempts to restart chess resulted in any infections, as have happened with restaurants, bars, etc. reopening? I haven't heard of any, which means they are presumably being careful enough (plus most of the recent OTB events have been small).

[Michael Lo]

Thanks Vadim. I guess I should have phrased my thoughts better - I meant have the recent attempts to restart chess resulted in any infections, as have happened with restaurants, bars, etc. reopening? I haven't heard of any, which means they are presumably being careful enough (plus most of the recent OTB events have been small).

I think everyone would agree that reopening of OTB chess resulting in infections will eventually happen (if it has not happened yet). No matter how careful the organizer and players are, it just lowers the probability of infection but cannot totally eliminate it (just like restaurants, bars and other gatherings). So what are we getting at here?

[Vadim Tsypin]

Thanks Vadim. I guess I should have phrased my thoughts better - I meant have the recent attempts to restart chess resulted in any infections, as have happened with restaurants, bars, etc. reopening? I haven't heard of any, which means they are presumably being careful enough (plus most of the recent OTB events have been small).

Good morning Stephen,

I was not personally aware of such cases after the restart so I asked the European Chess Union overnight.

An official has answered with the following information:

• There were at least two cases, one in Austria and another in Switzerland.
• Both were reported by players themselves after they went home after tournaments.
• The organizers are not so keen to report.
• Of course, it cannot be proven where people got infected and since their fellow players didn't volunteer any information about post-tournament status, it is unknown whether they infected someone else at the events.

In the same message exchange, it was emphasized that the ECU has medical protocols in place and considers an infection risk "very low" if organizers adhere to them. The ECU discourages tournaments where organizers don't guarantee that such safety protocols are observed.

[Stephen Wright]

I think everyone would agree that reopening of OTB chess resulting in infections will eventually happen (if it has not happened yet). No matter how careful the organizer and players are, it just lowers the probability of infection but cannot totally eliminate it (just like restaurants, bars and other gatherings). So what are we getting at here?

Yes, there will always be some element of risk, but it's important to find out if the measures employed are generally effective or whether OTB chess is simply too risky an activity under current conditions.

[Stephen Wright]

Good morning Stephen,

I was not personally aware of such cases after the restart so I asked the European Chess Union overnight.

An official has answered with the following information:

• There were at least two cases, one in Austria and another in Switzerland.
• Both were reported by players themselves after they went home after tournaments.
• The organizers are not so keen to report.
• Of course, it cannot be proven where people got infected and since their fellow players didn't volunteer any information about post-tournament status, it is unknown whether they infected someone else at the events.

In the same message exchange, it was emphasized that the ECU has medical protocols in place and considers an infection risk "very low" if organizers adhere to them. The ECU discourages tournaments where organizers don't guarantee that such safety protocols are observed.

Thank you again. From photographs I've seen it would appear that some players/organizers are not following recommendations/regulations, but such actions are not restricted to chess players as we in BC have found out recently ...

[Michael Lo]

Yes, there will always be some element of risk, but it's important to find out if the measures employed are generally effective or whether OTB chess is simply too risky an activity under current conditions.

I look at it this way. In the current situation, we cannot eliminate the risk of someone gets infected no matter how small that risk is, and in reality the risk is not that small. The worst result of that risk could be:
- someone (may be more than one) lost his/her life, be it a player, an arbiter, a volunteer, an organizer, a parent, etc.
- the organizer gets sue and goes bankrupt.

I personally would not do it.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

I think children's chess will be the first to reopen with young organizers and TD's. I think we will watch what happens when school starts (hopefully very little problems). Seniors chess will likely be the last to open. Hopefully an effective vaccine is in our near future.

[Aris Marghetis]

I agree with Michael.

Here's an interesting modelling article. One thing chess has going for it is less speaking. However. it's also, relatively speaking, few square feet per person, and not the best ventilated locales. According to the modeliing in the article, from what I understand, after 20 times at 90 minutes each, it's practically 100% infection rate:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/s...8E033DDAED6540