General Meeting

This page contains minutes of General meetings, rules revision, appointments, amendments to constitution.

Minutes – 2016–17

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held at Bramcote Memorial Hall on 17 July 2017

Attendees: A Walker, S Burke, R Richmond, D Padvis, T Walker, C Budd, M Hill, R Abrahart, N Graham, M Taylor, D Levens, P Sherlock, P Morgan, G Ladds, S Bak, C Holt, J Cast, D Griffiths, J Swain, J Litherland, M Naylor, N London, S Luland, A Thompson.

AGENDA

  1. Apologies - B Hayward, A Robins, S Scott, D Sudar, M Barnes.

  2. Minutes of Rules Revision Meeting, May 15th 2017 were agreed.

  3. Matters Arising

    1. No action to be taken at present re disrepute issue.
    2. CPP Training and Compliance to be discussed at next EC meeting.
    3. Michael Burke of Nottingham Rugby Club had been invited, but was not in attendance.

  4. Best Game Prize (Written report submitted – games to be put on website.)

    1. U140 winner is M Milford
    2. Open winner is P Cumbers

  5. Proposed affiliation of Beeston Chess Club was agreed.

    Note: the club, which meets at the White Lion in Beeston, has gradually coalesced over 3 years of social chess and now they are ready to take the next step and play competitively.

  6. Officers Reports ( * indicates that a written report was submitted.)

    1. President * A Walker emphasised that he was pleased to see the introduction of Associate Membership and also the progress in Junior matters. He mentioned that Associate Membership might be agreed by EC (to be confirmed at next GM) and this was given general assent.
    2. Secretary *
    3. Executive Committee * A Walker appealed for a volunteer to take on the role of Association Secretary.
    4. Treasurer (including accounts 2016/17 and Fees 2017/18) *
      1. The meeting requested that Junior County match costs be shown separately from Senior matches in future.
      2. Officers Expenses to be renamed Association Expenses.
      3. The accounts were passed.
      4. The proposed increase in Affiliation and League Entry Fees to £20 was passed.
    5. Auditor - added to the accounts.
    6. League Secretary *
    7. Records Secretary *
    8. League Management Committee - M Hill referred to the League Secretary’s report and commented on abuse of LMC. A Walker appealed for no repetition.
    9. County Teams * N Graham reported that the U140 team had since narrowly lost the final 9-7. He asked NCA to consider what will happen when he finishes doing this role in two years’ time. He also requested that NCA ask ECF to press for Yorkshire to contribute more to ECF. ECF rep to note.
    10. Grader * P Sherlock asked that if he is not required to set the temporary grades next season, he be advised what they are. S Burke advised that LMC has yet to set the rules for this.
    11. Congress Director / Rapidplay Director / County Championship Controller *
    12. ECF Delegate *
    13. MCCU Delegates *
    14. Publicity - No Report.
    15. Schools Liaison - To be covered by Junior Committee in future.
    16. Junior Committee * J Swain added that there was no development re Fernwood. It was also noted that Notts had 8 players in the Tera-finals. The committee will continue and develop its activities.
    17. Correspondence - P Morgan reported that we will have one team in the coming season’s competition.
    18. Bulletin Editor - P Morgan reported that he had started publishing articles on the NCA website. Ideas or content from others would be welcome.
    19. Webmaster – S Burke reported that the website would be revamped, including the new Logo, over the summer. A Walker raised the question of a Facebook page. There was some discussion and some clubs have found it useful in attracting prospective new members. EC to consider if NCA would get any benefit and, if so, if someone can be found to run one.

  7. Election of Officers

    1. President - A Walker
    2. Secretary - S Burke
    3. Treasurer - S Burke
    4. Executive Committee – President, Secretary/Treasurer + R Abrahart, M Hill, R Richmond, N London (as SB is Sec. & Treas. Left to EC if they want to consider adding another member.)
    5. League Secretary – S Burke for 2 months, then M Naylor
    6. Records Secretary – M Naylor
    7. League Management Committee – League Secretary, Records Secretary + C Budd, C Holt, J Litherland, N London, D Griffiths, D Padvis, P Morgan
    8. County Teams – N Graham
    9. Grader - P Sherlock
    10. Congress Director – R Richmond
    11. Rapidplay Director – R Richmond
    12. County Championship Controller – R Richmond
    13. Correspondence – P Morgan
    14. Bulletin Editor – P Morgan
    15. Webmaster – D Coates
    16. ECF Delegate – R Richmond
    17. MCCU Delegates – C Budd, R Richmond, D Sudar, T Walker
    18. Auditor – D Griffiths
    19. Junior Committee – D Padvis, S Scott, J Swain, D Levens
    20. Lead Safeguarding Officer – P Beckett
    21. Deputy Safeguarding Officer – S Burke
    22. Honorary Life Vice President – D Levens was proposed and agreed in view of all the work he has done over many years.

  8. Child Protection Policy – The addition to the policy of the following phrase was agreed: (All references in this document apply equally to vulnerable adults.)

  9. “Food for thought on how we run the League” – S Burke (Paper attached.) There was some discussion and a straw poll was split 50/50 as to whether it should be taken further. In view of this it was referred to the LMC for consideration.

  10. Any Other Business

    1. G Ladds asked about how clubs could use the NCA CPP. J Swain confirmed that P Beckett was willing to be nominated as any club’s Safeguarding Officer if they wished to adopt the same policy as the NCA.
    2. D Levens reported that the local paper was less willing than before to publish anything on chess. C Budd suggested he might be able to have some influence on that. EC to consider if the post should be retained, meanwhile D Levens will continue to try to get things published.
    3. M Taylor asked we would still cover the course fees for arbiters as he was interested in doing that. Confirmed we would cover the £30 fee. D Levens mentioned this might also be done through the EPSCA.
    4. C Budd mentioned that clubs should be reminded to ensure the fire safety procedure at their venues are publicised. This was referred to the LMC for action.

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9:15pm.

S Burke, Association Secretary

18th July 2017

Minutes of General Meeting held at West Nottingham on 15 May 2017

(Including League Rules Revisions)

Present: A.N.Walker (Chair) [ANW] , R.Abrahart, S.Bak, M.Barnes, A.Brown, C.Budd, S.Burke, C.Cumbers, R.Dyce, A.George, N.Graham, D.Griffiths, B.Hayward, C.Holt, G.Jennings, D.Levens, J.Litherland, N.London, S.Luland, P.Morgan, K.Morrison, M.Naylor, D.Padvis, M.Radford, R.Richmond, S.Scott, P.Sherlock, D.Sudar, J Swain, J.Tait, M.Taylor, J.Wagenbach (Total Attendance 32)

  1. Apologies for Absence - M.Hill, T.Walker and M.Burke (Nottingham Rugby)

    ANW paid tribute to Keith Richardson and David Tomms.
    A minutes silence was observed in memory of Keith Brameld, Steve Foster, Keith Richardson, Alan Taylor & David Tomms

  2. Minutes of 2016 AGM – Approved
  3. Matters arising (not dealt with below)

    Item 4.8 M.Naylor and S.Scott had passed the basic arbiters course. A response to the ECF Consultation on arbiters had been submitted. New Arbiter Regulations have been approved by ECF There as yet has been no response from ECF on contentious ideas such as arbiter representation on LMC, but these may more appropriately go in the Grading Regulations

    Item 6 A new logo had been approved.

    Item 7b Donation from M.Taylor to the congress received, and there was a substantial increase in the entry to the OPEN Section this year

    Item 7e A National Chess day event was held September 10th, with a donation to MIND

  4. Nottingham Rugby Club

    Michael Burke (Nottingham Rugby) was unable to attend due to a family illness. He would be invited to the AGM. A.N.Walker outlined the meeting he and R.Richmond had had with Michael Burke.

  5. Presentation of League Prizes:
    Division 1 Grantham 1 Division 4 Nomads 2
    Division 2 Newark 1 Division 5 Newark 3
    Division 3 Nomads 1    
  6. Associate Membership

    A new class of membership for clubs and other organizations with an interest in chess but which are unlikely to want to affiliate. This would be a “lightweight” membership, with no voting rights and no fee. Amendments to the constitution:

    New 3c: associated organisations with an interest in chess. [and re-punctuate 3a and 3b]

    Amend 4: Application for affiliation or association shall be open to:

    1. any club or organisation having its regular meeting place in Nottinghamshire; and
    2. any club in an adjoining county.

    Add to 5: [new sentence] An associated organisation shall have the right to send one delegate to general meetings.

    Amend 6: A club or organisation shall cease to be affiliated or associated ...
    b. by a resolution terminating such affiliation or association passed ...

    Simplify 10: This notice shall include ... a proposed resolution to terminate [a club] membership, otherwise ...

    Clarify 13: a. Each individual member or affiliated club delegate shall have one vote. ...

    Proposed: A.N.Walker
    Seconded: R.Richmond

    The need for a “disrepute” clause was discussed. Proposals to add such a clause are to be put to the coming AGM.

    The Amendments were then approved

  7. Child Protection Policy (CPP)

    The scope of the CPP is to be extended to include vulnerable adults.

    Executive Committee to consider training requirements for Association officers and clubs

    The NCA CPP and short form instructions were then adopted

  8. Proposed League Rule Changes

    8.1. Child Protection Policy (Addition to Rule B2)

    B2. Clubs must, by 30th June, return the completed entry form to the League Secretary. After this date, any proposals to enter new teams may only be made by that club's Secretary. Submission of an entry form to the League Secretary commits the club to comply with the NCA Child Protection Policy procedures during League Matches.

    Proposed: S Burke Seconded: M Hill

    The Proposal was lost on a straw poll. The Proposal was then referred to Executive Committee and AGM for further consideration

    8.2. Time Control (Amendment to Rule B9)

    B9 All games must be played with chess clocks

    1. The time limit shall be 30 moves in 60 minutes in the bottom division, or 35 moves in 75 minutes in all other divisions, after which the clocks will be set back 15 minutes and the game played to a finish.
    2. Where electronic clocks are used, the required time periods must be set at the beginning of the match, so that no further adjustment of the clocks is required.

    Proposed: J Swain
    Seconded: D Levens

    “Turning the clock back is a backwards step” C.Cumbers

    The Proposal was defeated

    3. Time Control (Amendment to Rule B9)

    This proposal is to introduce an additional option to the standard one:

    9. All games must be played with chess clocks

    1. The standard time limit shall be 90 minutes (75 minutes in the bottom division) to finish the game.
    2. The home side may set an alternative time limit of 75 minutes (60 minutes in the bottom division) plus an increment of 10 seconds per move to finish the game.

    Proposed: S Scott
    Seconded: S Burke

    Amendment to change “The home side may set...” to “If both team captains agree then the match may be played with...” Approved

    The amended motion was then approved

    8.4 Quickplay Finishes (Amendment to Rule B12)

    Add the following:

    e) FIDE Quickplay rules apply, except that a switch to increment cannot be claimed.

    Proposed: S Burke Seconded: M Naylor

    Proposal withdrawn. Appendix G of the FIDE Laws of Chess, the current Quickplay rules, will be removed from the revised Laws commencing 1st July 2017

    8.5. & 6.6 Board Order (Amendment to rules C7 and D3)

    Replace the existing text with:

    C7. A player may not be graded more than 10 points above anyone on a higher board except where a lower graded eligible substitute is used after the agreed start of the match

    Amend the existing text to:

    D3. The penalty for infringing rule B9, B12b, C2, C3, C4, C6 or C7 is the loss of the game by each offending player”

    Proposed: D.Sudar
    Seconded: S.Scott

    The meeting characterised the suggestion immediately below (Proposed D.Sudar, seconded S.Scott) as the “permissive” approach, and gives LMC the power to set guidelines. This is in contrast to the “strict” approach further below (Proposed by S.Burke, seconded N.London)

    C7. This proposal focuses entirely on the 10 point tolerance, and allows clubs to assign temporary grades themselves.

    The procedural guidelines can be published in the league handbook and on the ‘Procedure for submitting results’ page on the website, possibly something like this:

    Captains must state a player's 'grade' on the match result of a player’s 1st match of the season.

    1. Use the player’s grade on the August version of the ECF grading list, otherwise
    2. Use any other current grade or rating (incl the ECF January one), converting where necessary, or the last known ECF grade (+/-10 points), whichever is preferable, otherwise
    3. Assign an appropriate temporary grade.

    The grade will remain in place all season, except where the records secretary agrees to a club replacing a temporary grade with an ECF January grade.

    D3. To tidy up what was missed at last year’s RRM, so that the penalties for infringement of rules in section C are consistent.

    Proposed: D Sudar Seconded: S Scott

    Delete Rule C7

    Replace B11 with

    1. Before the start, the captains must exchange fully completed team lists.
    2. Players must be arranged in order of playing strength according to the August revision of the latest July ECF grading list. A player must not be graded more than 20 points above anyone on a higher board in the team, otherwise they will be considered an ineligible player. Before any ungraded players are included in a team, the club/captain must have already obtained a temporary grade by consulting the Grading Officer, who shall assign this on the basis of the best evidence available.

    The away team shall have white on the odd-numbered boards.

    Replace B12d with “If a player fails to arrive at the board within 30 minutes of the agreed time of starting, that board shall be defaulted unless an eligible substitute is found in the meantime.”

    To be eligible, a substitute must be

    1. on the ECF Grading list, have an assigned temporary grade or have played for the club during the current season and
    2. lower graded than the player his is replacing.

    If a substitute is played out of grade order (see rule B11) a full explanation of the circumstances must be submitted with the result.

    Replace C6 New players with

    1. A club wishing to field a player new to that club must inform the Records Secretary of the player’s grading code and grade, date of birth (juniors only) and details of clubs or counties previously played for.

      If the player is ungraded, before he plays a game the club/captain must have obtained a temporary grade from the Grading Officer (see B11b).

      For players introduced after the January ECF list is published, the player’s grade in that list will automatically be used if they weren’t graded in the August revision of the list.

    2. The information must be provided with, or before, the results of the player’s first match for the club.
    3. From 1st March each season, only players who live, work or study in Nottinghamshire, or have previously played in the league, may be introduced by a club.

    Replace D3 with “The penalty for infringing rule B9, B11b, B12b, B12d, C2, C3, C4 or C6 is the loss of the game by each offending player.”

    Replace D4 with “The penalty for infringing rule B11a is the default of each board where no name is entered.”

    Proposed: S Burke Seconded: N London

    Amendment to change “10 points” back to the current “20 points” in the D.Sudar/S.Scott proposal was approved 19-10

    A straw poll on the “permissive” vs “strict” approach was 12-10 in favour of “permissive”. The meeting then proceeded to vote individually on the two sets of proposals

    The D.Sudar / S.Scott proposal and “permissive” approach were approved 13-9

    The S.Burke / N.London proposals were defeated 14-14, on Chairman’s casting vote

    8.7 Teams withdrawing from the League (Addition to rule B5)

    B5. A team not completing at least half of its fixtures shall have its record deleted and be regarded as having withdrawn. The games played will be graded, but will not count for eligibility purposes in the future games of their opponents.

    If a team withdraws from the league after completing half its fixtures, the results stand and games will still count for eligibility. Their remaining matches will be recorded as losses by 4-1 (3-1 in the bottom division).

    Proposed: S Burke
    Seconded: N London

    The following amendment was put forward:

    B5. A team not completing at least half of its fixtures shall have its record deleted and be regarded as having withdrawn. The games played will be graded, and will count for eligibility purposes for the team that withdraws, but will not count for eligibility purposes for the other clubs.

    If a team withdraws from the league after completing at least half of its fixtures, the results will stand and all games will count for eligibility for every club. The teams remaining matches will be recorded as being defaulted.

    Proposed: D.Sudar
    Seconded: M.Barnes

    The amendment was approved 13-9

    The amended proposal was then approved

    8.8. Extending Bottom Division Rules (Amendment to rules B9 and B10)

    9. All games must be played with chess clocks. The time limit shall be 90 minutes (75 minutes in the bottom two divisions) to finish the game.

    10. Each match must be played over 4 boards in the bottom two divisions and over 5 boards in all other divisions.

    Proposed: S Burke Seconded: M Naylor

    Proposal defeated nem pro

    8.9a. Restricting Eligibility (Amendments to Rule C4)

    Add to C4 Once a player has played on board 1 or 2 of a team in division 1, he/she may not play for any other team.

    Proposed: D Sudar Seconded: K Morrison

    Amendment to change “other” for “lower” Proposed by J.Swain Approved

    Amendment to add “in Division 1” proposed by S.Scott , seconded by A.George. Approved 16-2

    Amended proposal now: Once a player has played on board 1 or 2 of a team in division 1, he/she may not play for any lower team in division 1. Approved 15-10

    8.9(b) Restricting Eligibility (Amendments to Rule C4)

    Add to C4 Before the season starts, a club must list 3 current members who will be tied to the 1st team.

    Proposed: D Sudar Seconded: R Richmond

    Amendment to extend the principle to “other than the bottom team” (precise wording not formulated) proposed by N.London Defeated

    The proposal was then approved 13-11

    8.10. Change for Consistency of Terminology (Amendment to Rule D4)

    Replace the existing text with:

    D4. The penalty for infringing rule B11 is the default of each board where no name is entered.

    Proposer: Drag Sudar Seconder: Steve Burke

    The Proposal was Approved

    8.11 Reduce the Penalty for Ineligible Players (Amendment to Rule D7)

    Replace the existing text with:

    D7. The penalty for playing an ineligible player in a match is the transfer of 0.5 game points from the offending team to their opponents, in addition to any other penalty, provided that the total game score of a team shall not become negative”

    Proposed: D Sudar Seconded: S Burke

    The Proposal was Approved

    8. 12. Defaulted Boards (Amendment to Rule D8)

    Replace the existing text with:

    D8: Defaults that occur above the bottom board played will incur not only the loss of that game, but also the transfer of 0.5 points from the offending team to their opponents (provided that the total game score of a team shall not become negative) but ONLY if it can be shown without any doubt that the offending team captain knew beforehand that they were aware that such a player would be unavailable.

    Proposed: D Levens Seconded: J Swain

    The crossing out of “played” in the first sentence was a typo and corrected by the meeting

    The Proposal was Defeated

    8.13 LMC Powers (Amendment to Rule D11)

    D11. The LMC may take such action on penalties as it deems equitable in dealing with the application of the rules.

    Proposed: S Burke
    Seconded: D Padvis

    Amendment by D.Sudar

    All LMC decisions about disputes and penalties must be made within the framework of the league rules

    The Amendment was Rejected

    The Proposal was then Approved

    8.14. LMC Membership and Procedure (Amendments to Rules A2 and A3)

    A2. Membership

    1. The Committee shall have nine members, consisting of the League Secretary, Records Secretary and seven members elected by the NCA. Where the posts of League Secretary and Record Secretary are both held by one individual there shall be eight elected members.
    2. The elected members must be from different clubs.
    3. Where the League Secretary and Records Secretary are both from the same club then no elected member can be from that club.

    A3. Procedure

    1. The quorum shall be five.
    2. The Committee shall elect a chairman, who shall have a vote and a casting vote.
    3. There must be at least five members voting on any issue for a valid decision.
    4. No member may vote on any issue directly concerning their club, except by joint decision of the other members where there are not five eligible to vote.
    5. Minutes will be taken of all meetings and published on the NCA website.

    Proposed: S Burke Seconded: J Litherland

    The Proposal was Approved

    8.15. Grading of Games (New Rules A6 and B16)

    A6. The Grading Officer (who is not a member of the LMC) shall:

    1. Grade all games played in the League.
    2. Assign temporary grades to ungraded players.

    B16. All games played in the league will be submitted for grading. Where penalties are applied under league rules, the actual game result will be used for grading.

    Proposed: R Abrahart Seconded: S Burke

    The phrase (who is not a member of the LMC) was withdrawn

    The proposal A6(b) was withdrawn (following the revised C7) and with consequential renumbering becomes:

    A6 The Grading Results Officer shall submit all games played in the league for grading

    8.16. LMC Standing Orders (New LMCSOs and Amendments to Section A of Rules)

    The proposal is that the League Rules Schedule A should constitute a new set of LMC Standing Orders.

    Correspondingly, the existing Schedule A content should be removed and replaced by:

    1. The League shall be controlled by a League Management Committee, with the day-to-day running of the League in the hands of the League Secretary and the Records Secretary.
    2. Administration of the League shall be governed by the League Management Committee Standing Orders, as determined by the Nottinghamshire Chess Association.

    Proposed: A N Walker
    Seconded: R Richmond

    The Proposal was Approved

    8.17 “Food for thought” (S.Burke)

    Ideas not discussed (due to lack of time)

  9. County Championship Changes – Paper from RR was noted
  10. Vacant Posts – D.Levens and M.Hill to be nominated as HLVP
  11. Best Game Prize (Open & U140) – S.Burke reported that 6 or 7 entries had been received so far. The deadline for entries was the end of May.
  12. Any Other Business

    12.1 AGM – Monday July 17th at West Nottingham was agreed. ANW reminded Officers of the need to prepare reports, and asked for notification of officers of intending to retire or for volunteers willing to take on jobs.

    12.2 Mobile phone Chess App – An App was now available that could be used as a chess clock. Chris Cumbers asked whether these could be used in the league? Answer No. Not allowed under the Laws of Chess. LMC to take under consideration for the future.

    [ Note: fuller comments provided by Chris and clarification of the Laws of Chess from Neil Graham added below, for interest]

    “They seem better than a standard digital clock in a number of ways. They are much more straightforward to set up. They show Hours : Minutes : Seconds from the beginning, have an illuminated display (good if the ambient light is weak which is certainly the case in some venues), and show the move count.”

    Law 6.1 “Chessclock means a clock with two time displays, connected to each other in such a way that only one of them can run at one time.”

    Law 11.3.b “During play a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone and/or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue. If it is evident that a player brought such a device into the playing venue , he shall lose the game. The opponent shall win”

The meeting closed at 10.35 pm

RRM Decision Summary – May 15th 2017

6. Associate Membership (A.N.Walker / R.Richmond) Approved

7. Child Protection Policy Approved

8.1 B2 Child Protection Policy (S.Burke / M.Hill) Referred to EC for further consideration

8.2 B9 Time Limits - Reversion to old time limits (J.Swain/D.Levens) Defeated

8.3 B9 Time Limits - Home side set 75mins + 10 Sec increment (S.Scott/S.Burke)
Amended to “By mutual agreement of team captains” and then Approved

8.4 B12 FIDE QP rules (S.Burke/M.Naylor) Withdrawn

8.5 & 8.6 C7 / D3 Board Order (D.Sudar/S.Scott) “The Permissive Approach” and C7 / B11 etc (S.Burke / N.London) “The strict approach”
Amendment restoring 20 point difference in (D.Sudar/S.Scott) Approved
“The permissive approach” (D.Sudar/S.Scott) Approved

8.7 B5 Teams withdrawing (S.Burke / N.London)
Amendment (D.Sudar / M.Barnes) essentially deleting notional 4-1 result for defaulted
matches in second half of the season Approved

8.8 B9 / B10 Extending bottom division rules (S.Burke / M.Naylor) Defeated

8.9a C4 Restricting eligibility – appearance on Boards 1 & 2 (D.Sudar / K.Morrison)
Amended to only apply in Div 1 and then Approved

8.9b C4 Restricting eligibility – 3 nominated players (D.Sudar / R.Richmond) Approved

8.10 D4 Terminology change (D.Sudar / S.Burke) Approved

8.11 D7 Reduced penalty ineligible player (D.Sudar / S.Burke) Approved

8.12 D8 Defaulted Boards (D.Levens / J.Swain) Defeated

8.13 D11 LMC Powers (S.Burke / D.Padvis) Approved

8.14 A2/A3 LMC Membership & Procedure (S.Burke / D.Padvis) Approved

8.15 New A6 / B16 Grading of Games (R.Abrahart / S.Burke)
A6(b) removed as a consequence of the revised C7 and then Approved

8.16 LMC SO (A.N.Walker / R.Richmond) Approved

8.17 Food for thought ? (S.Burke) Not discussed