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Recent News

Last updated 23 June 2010

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23 Jun 10 | SM Norms for Anderson & Dawson
At the Executive Committee meeting in Perth on 20 June, Gordon Anderson was awarded 2 grading-based SM norms resulting from 2300+ ratings in the 2009 and 2010 ICCF lists. Professor Alastair Dawson secured his first SM norm as a result of winning the 08-09 Championship outright. Congratulations to both players!
23 Jun 10 | 2010 AGM Highlights
At the AGM in Perth on 20 June, the following items were noted:
  1. Full audited accounts showing a deficit of £169 were produced by Gordon Anderson. Alan Hind was reappointed as auditor.
  2. All existing committee members were re-elected. Colin Macgregor will gradually take over secretary duties.
  3. SCCA membership subscriptions and entry fees remain unchanged.
  4. ICCF entry fees are likely to be changed after the October ICCF Congress.
  5. Faster time controls will be introduced for most 2011 domestic events (refer minutes).
  6. Scottish Master (SM) qualifying rules were updated (refer minutes).
  7. Scottish Championship entrants must play a minimum of 8 games from 2011.
Members can download AGM and Executive Committee minutes from the members download page.
09 Jun 10 | 2nd IM Norm for Matheis
Tom Matheis has scored an undefeated 6/10 on board 1 in the NATT VI event, achieving an SIM norm in the process. Tom already holds an IM norm, but his games total is only 20 and so he needs a 3rd norm to qualify for the IM title. Congratulations to Tom, and here's hoping the final leg isn't long delayed!
26 May 10 | Upcoming Friendly Matches
George Pyrich has two new friendlies in the pipeline but both not starting until September. Sweden are looking to play a match with 20 server and 4 or 5 postal boards, while Hong Kong are interested in a 10-board server challenge. If you're interested in playing, please drop a note with your preferences to: George Pyrich.
25 May 10 | ICCF 4th Webchess Open
Valer Eugen Demian writes to announce the 4th Webchess Open, with unrestricted entry. Players may submit multiple entries, and players new to ICCF will receive one free entry. The tournament is webserver-based and will be played in three stages: preliminaries, semifinal and final. Preliminaries will consist of groups of 7 players. Registration is via national federations or direct entry and closes on June 30th. Preliminaries will start in mid-July 2010, with an approximate end date in July 2012. Entry fee for SCCA members is £8. For further information, and to enter, please contact George Pyrich.
14 May 10 | 2nd SCCA Webserver Open Starts
Colin Macgregor reports that we have three preliminary sections off and running. The official start date is 24 May, but the administrative efficiencies of setting up tables on the webserver has allowed players to start 1 day after entries closed! We welcome a number of new players to this event, and hope that they, and our regular members, enjoy their games.
22 Apr 10 | Magazine 109 Published
The first e-mag of 2010 is being distributed by email and post today. As usual, members will be asked to download their e-mags from the secure Members' page on the website, while complimentary e-mags will be attached to the email. Download times will be slightly shorter than last quarter. If you have any problems with this edition, please drop me an email at: webmaster@scottishcca.co.uk and I'll do what I can to help. Enjoy the read!
14 Apr 10 | ICCF Grading List 2010/2 Published
The second quarterly list of 2010 is published on the website today. Look under publications/grading list to see the web page, or go to members/downloads for the pdf version. For further information, please contact George Pyrich.
08 Apr 10 | 2nd SCCA Webserver Open
Colin Macgregor announces that the 2nd SCCA Webserver Open will commence on 24 May 2010. The event will be run on the same lines as the 1st Open, i.e. a 'Scots Home and Away' open to all Scottish players worldwide, without the requirement to be an SCCA member, and with no entry fee needed. A prize fund of £200 is available. The format will be preliminary sections followed by a final. Entries close on 10 May. To play, or for further information, please contact Colin Macgregor before 10 May.
02 Apr 10 | ICCF Master Norm Scottish Qualifiers
Marco Caressa, ICCF Title Tournaments Commissioner, writes to list the Scottish players who are eligible to play in Master Norm events. Messrs Gordon Anderson, Raymond Baxter, Alan Bell, Alan Brown, Tom Craig, Alastair Dawson, Simon Gillam, Philip Giulian, David Kilgour, George Livie, Iain Mackintosh, Tom Matheis, Ian Reeman and Iain Swan all satisfy the eligibility criteria. To play, or for further information, please contact George Pyrich.
26 Mar 10 | 3rd ICCF Veterans' World Cup
Michael Millstone, ICCF General Secretary, writes to announce that the 3rd ICCF Veterans' World Cup will start on 1 September 2010. You can read the full notice on VWC3. The closing date for entries is 17 July. This event is open to players who are 60+ and is organised by Alan Borwell, with prizes sponsored by the SCCA. The format is three rounds: prelims, semi-final and final, and the rate of play is 10 moves in 40 days. Entry via SCCA is £12/section (cheques payable to SCCA). To play, or for further information, please contact George Pyrich before 1 July.
22 Mar 10 | Friendly Match v Lithuania
George Pyrich has organised a further friendly international against Lithuania, due to commence on April 1st. It will be contested over 10 webserver boards, with the time control 10 moves in 40 days. The well-matched pairings are complete, and players may start their games immediately. Best wishes to all involved!
18 Mar 10 | ICCF Direct Entry Commissioner
George Pyrich, with his ICCF hat on, is looking for a Direct Entry Commissioner. This post is a member of the ICCF Management Committee, reports directly to the Finance Director, and serves as an arm on behalf of those Member Federations that choose to participate in the Direct Entry Scheme. Typical duties include:
  • Signing up new players to ICCF. Collect personal data; issue ICCF IDs; web-server passwords; and introducing those new players to their Federations.
  • Determine player eligibility for entering tournaments with qualifications or restrictions.
  • Screening players for entries on the ICCF suspension list.
  • Processing player entries, crediting Federation accounts, and communicating registration activity to the General Secretary, respective Tournament Organizer, and Federation Delegates.
  • As often the first point of contact of ICCF, acting as ambassador to ICCF, educating and directing new players to particular functionality or referral to appropriate ICCF officials.
Candidates must have:
  1. Hardware – a reliable computer with a standard e-mail interface. If candidate does any travel, candidate must also have a reliable laptop with the ability to conduct DE Commissioner duties while away from home.
  2. Connectivity – a dedicated and reliable Internet connection. Candidate must also have a backup contingency plan in the event of extended Internet outages.
The DE Commissioner is often the first person to be in contact with new players. The goal of Direct Entry is to receive, acknowledge, and process payment and applications within 24-hours; 48-hours maximum. There should be few instances throughout the year where times should extend beyond this service goal. The DE Commissioner will be required to provide a monthly DE report outlining all DE activities, plus payments, and reimbursements. The jobholder will also be required to provide a report to each year’s Congress. For further information, please contact George Pyrich.
03 Mar 10 | Friendly Match v Scheming Mind
George Pyrich has organised a friendly international against the cosmopolitan Scheming Mind, due to commence on March 15th. It will be contested over 20 webserver boards, with the time control 10 moves in 50 days. The pairings are complete, and players may start their games from today. Best wishes to all involved!
25 Feb 10 | James Cairncross Information
Alan McGowan, the Chess Scotland historian, writes to ask if anyone can supply details of James Cairncross, the Scottish CC player who was 1st= with RW Bonham in the 1946/7 British Correspondence Championship.
Cairncross, who was born in Hawick 1910, was at one point mistaken for John Cairncross of the Cambridge Spy Ring. Tim Harding's Chess Mail No. 1/2004 had material confirming that an error had been made in this regard.
Caircross was deeply involved in postal chess, nationally and internationally, in the years immediately after WWII. He played in several international matches, and correspondence 'Olympiads', representing the BCCA.
Cairncross's work took him to different parts of Britain. At the time he won the British as shown above, he was in Hertfordshire. He later went to work and live in Lesmahagow, and Alan has obtained a lot of personal detail on Cairncross with the assistance of a local historian there.
If you have access to any Cairncross games or personal history, please contact Alan McGowan by email.
07 Feb 10 | Friendly Match v Ecuador
George Pyrich has organised a friendly international against Ecuador, due to commence on February 21st. It will be contested over 20 webserver boards, with the time control 10 moves in 50 days. The pairings are complete, and players may start their games from today. Best wishes to all involved!
07 Feb 10 | World Championship 2010 Semi-Finals
Marco Caressa, ICCF Title Tournaments Commissioner, writes to remind us that all semi-finals of the 34th World Championship will start on 10 June 2010. The closing date for entries is end-April. Member federations may nominate players for this stage, but there will be no further nominations available for the remainder of 2010. Scotland can nominate up to three players. To play, or for further information, please contact George Pyrich before 10 April.
22 Jan 10 | Magazine 108 Postage Rate Problem
A number of subscribers to the printed magazine have drawn my attention to a surcharge being levied by the Royal Mail this week. It looks as though a combination of thicker paper used for the magazine cover plus new envelopes bought from our printers has pushed the weight over 100 grammes. My apologies to all of you who have had to pay additional postage and admin charges, and I promise to weigh the next edition before licking any stamps! If you'd like to be reimbursed for your expenses, please drop me an email at: webmaster@scottishcca.co.uk.
18 Jan 10 | Magazine 108 Published
The fourth and final e-mag of 2009 is being distributed by email and post today. As usual, members will be asked to download their e-mags from the secure Members' page on the website, while complimentary e-mags will be attached to the email. Download times will be slightly longer than last quarter. If you have any problems with this edition, please drop me an email at: webmaster@scottishcca.co.uk and I'll do what I can to help. Enjoy the read!
18 Jan 10 | ICCF Grading List 2010/1 Published
The first quarterly list of 2010 is published on the website and in the magazine today. For further information, please contact George Pyrich.
12 Jan 10 | World Championship 2010 Prelims SCCA Qualifiers
Marco Caressa, ICCF Title Tournaments Commissioner, writes to remind us of the SCCA players eligible to play in the preliminary round. Tom Craig, Phil Giulian, David Kilgour, George Livie and Iain Mackintosh all qualify on the basis of titles and grade. For further information, please contact George Pyrich.
07 Jan 10 | 2010 Domestic Events
Jim Anderson, Colin Macgregor and Kevin Paine have been doing a great job loading up cross tables and pairings on to the webserver for this season's events. Links to these tables will be added to our domestic event pages over the next few days, so check the Sitemap page for updates.