news

News Archive 2007

Last updated 21 December 2007

| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 |

21 Dec 07 | 1st ICCF Veterans World Cup
Josef Mrkvicka writes to inform us that the Czech CCA are organising this tournament in memory of Stanislav Foglar. The event will start on 11 April 08 (Foglar's birthday), and is open to players aged 60+. It will be played on webserver, and will have a preliminary round with sections of 11 or 13 players, then semi-finals and/or final depending on entries. Application must be made via your national federation - there is no direct entry available. The entry fee is likely to be 20CHF per section and all games are eligible for ICCF rating. If you are interested in playing, please contact George Pyrich before 28 February 08 at: international@scottishcca.co.uk
07 Dec 07 | New SCCA Treasurer
Gordon Anderson becomes our new treasurer from today, having concluded a smooth handover with Stuart Mackenzie. We thank Stuart for his contribution over the past few years, and we welcome Gordon on to our executive committee!
06 Dec 07 | Leagues 2007
Social Dragons have emerged triumphant in Division 2 with an impressive 8½/10, so hearty congratulations to Geoff Rosser and his team! In Division 1, the crucial board 2 match between MacKellar (Social Stars) and Ashby (Civil Service B) has finished 1-1 - this gives Social Stars 7½/10, equalling the score of defending champions Perth Correspondents. Congratulations to the joint winners!
20 Nov 07 | Open 2007
Two draws against Pat Moir of Scone have seen Dr Kevin Paine of Carnoustie take top spot in section B with 5½/8. Well done to our new Membership Secretary!
20 Nov 07 | ICCF Promotional Tournaments
Gian-Maria Tani, ICCF's Zonal Director for Europe, writes to inform us that promotional events played by email will now be played by webserver instead. This follows the meeting of the European group at Benalmádena in Spain, during the recent ICCF Congress.
20 Nov 07 | Premier 2007
Most results have now been submitted, and it's double congratulations to David Cumming of Inverness who finished outright first in section A with 5½/6 and in joint first place in section B along with Hugh Calder of Aberdeen, both players finishing with 6/7.
18 Nov 07 | Open 2007
Results are coming in thick and fast now, and it's congratulations to Derek Hughson of Lerwick, who has won section A with a perfect 10! He's now installed in the 100% Club. Well done also to Robert Rough of Inverness who just edged out Kenneth Brooksbank of Ayr to win section C with 5/6.
05 Nov 07 | David Crichton
Alan Crichton writes to inform us of the sad news that David Crichton passed away on 4th November. David was a long-serving SCCA life member and was playing in this year's Premier event. Alan kindly thanks all SCCA members for the pleasure David got over his many years of play. I'm sure all his opponents will feel the same way. This hasn't been a good spell for us. We'll miss David greatly and we extend our sympathy to his family and friends.
30 Oct 07 | SCCA Championship 1999-2000
The games file for the 99-00 Championship has now been reinstated thanks to Alistair Maxwell. Previously it contained the games from the 98-99 event - not a bad collection, but unlikely to pass a Trades Description investigation!
23 Oct 07 | Rev Albert Norris
Alan Brown writes to inform us of the sad passing of Bert Norris in Rothesay on 16th October. Bert was a long-standing SCCA member and regular contestant in the Championship. He'd suffered some heart problems in recent times, but was still playing competitive chess. Alan, himself a Bute native, remembers Bert as a tough opponent and a gentleman. When they met in the Championship they always had keenly contested games which were invariably long and complicated. Often a position would look somewhat simple initially, but Bert usually found ways to complicate it and make his opponents think again! Bert leaves us with a lot of happy memories. We’ll certainly miss him and we extend our sympathy to his family and friends.
10 Oct 07 | Magazine 99 Published
The third e-mag of 2007 is being distributed by email and post today, and we trust all subscribers will safely receive their copy. At the time of writing this, the UK postal system isn't yet back to normal, so I trust there will be no big delays in delivery. 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!
05 Oct 07 | Webserver Match with Spain Starts
Spain have now agreed a webserver friendly international to run more or less in parallel with our postal match which started in June. This fixture is a 20-board affair, and kicks off on 15 October.
18 Sep 07 | Autumn 2007 Grading Update Published
Raymond Baxter has provided us with the 6-monthly ICCF ratings update. You can see how you got on by visiting the Grading page or downloading the pdf file from the Members' page.
17 Sep 07 | ICCF Ladies' World Championship Semi-Final Nomination
Marco Caressa, ICCF Title Tournament Commissioner, writes to remind us that we have one unused Member Federation Nomination for the Ladies' World Championship Semi-Final. The event will be played on the webserver, starting 15 December 2007, in groups of 11 or 13 players. If you are interested in playing, please contact George Pyrich before 15 November at: international@scottishcca.co.uk
14 Sep 07 | Tom Matheis Joins 100% Club
Congratulations to Tom who is now listed in the roll of honour, having scored 5/5 in the 2006-07 Candidates event!
27 Aug 07 | SCCA 30th Anniversary Dinner
Please let us know soon if you are interested in attending this event. The outline arrangements are to go to Stirling or another central belt location, which has reasonably priced overnight accommodation nearby. The best dates seem to be 2nd or 9th November. Members are invited to bring their partners, and the evening will include a buffet meal, slide show, quiz and/or raffle. We'll need to attract 20+ attendees before booking, so please contact the webmaster@scottishcca.co.uk soon if you can make it along.
27 Aug 07 | SCCA Treasurer
Applications are invited for this post which becomes vacant in June 2008. If you are qualified and/or experienced in keeping accounts, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact the president in the first instance.
21 Aug 07 | ICCF World Championship Nomination
Marco Caressa, ICCF Title Tournament Commissioner, writes to remind us that we still have one unused Member Federation Nomination for the World Championship. Member Federation Nominations are allocated to either Preliminaries or Semi-Finals according to player ratings – those with ratings (fixed or unfixed) less than 2400 are allocated to Preliminaries whilst those with ratings of 2400 and above are allocated to Semi-Finals. If you are interested in playing, please contact George Pyrich at: international@scottishcca.co.uk
21 Aug 07 | Second IM Norm for IM
Iain Mackintosh has reached the 4½ point mark playing board 2 in the XVI Olympiad, and so gains his second IM norm. Congratulations to El Presidente - one final norm to go!
30 Jul 07 | AEAC Invitation Tournaments
Carlos Flores Gutierrez writes to advise of the celebration of the first 5 years of AEAC, the Spanish CC organisation. Two invitation tournaments are planned, the first category XII-XIII (2500+), and the second category VII-VIII (2400+). Both will be 15-player events on the ICCF webserver. Scotland has one free place in each event, and play commences on 10 September. If you are interested in playing, please contact George Pyrich at: international@scottishcca.co.uk
20 Jul 07 | Magazine 98 Published
The second e-mag of 2007 is being distributed by email and post today, and we trust all subscribers will safely receive their copy. 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!
20 Jul 07 | Championship 06-07 Games Available for Download
Alistair Maxwell has kindly supplied all the game scores from the 06-07 SCCA Championship. You'll find them on the Scottish Games page, in pgn and cbv formats for downloading.
03 Jul 07 | ICCF Champions League 2007-09 Proves Popular
We have had an encouraging response from players interested in the Champions League, and will be fielding 4 teams:
  1. Lewis Chessmen (Iain Mackintosh, George Livie, Alan Borwell, George Pyrich)
  2. Scottish Claymores (Gordon Anderson, Alan Bell, Stuart Graham, Kevin Paine)
  3. Caledonian Kings (Arthur Knox, Jim Anderson, Andrew Macmillen, Stephen Hilton)
  4. Caledonian Knights (David Edney, Derek Price, Colin Macgregor, Robert Rough)
06 Jun 07 | Friendly Match with Spain Starts
By happy chance, Spain were looking to play a postal friendly international at the same time as ourselves, so George Pyrich has fixed up a 14-board match which starts on 25 June, with Scotland playing the first moves. Some old friends in the Spanish team, so good chess and conversation are equally likely!
05 Jun 07 | ICCF Champions League 2007-09
Valer Eugen Demian writes to advise of the 3rd season of Champions League (CL) team matches, scheduled to begin on 1st September, 2007. Registration runs from 1st May to 1st August, and entry fees are 60 Swiss Francs/team. There are 4 main divisions, with a 'fast-track' division which allows accelerated promotion for new teams. Teams consist of 4 players, and can be any mix of nationalities and gender. New players to ICCF will be allocated an ICCF-id and a temporary grade based on the strength of the division they are playing in. The SCCA has organised entries in previous seasons, and it is likely that the Lewis Chessmen team, captained by Alan Borwell, will enter once more. If you are interested in playing, please contact Jim Anderson before mid-July at: secretary@scottishcca.co.uk
05 Jun 07 | First SM Norms for Matheis and Swan
At the Executive Committee preceding the 2007 AGM, Raymond Baxter proposed first SCCA Master norms for Tom Matheis (ICCF grade of 2354 in April 2007) and Iain Swan (ICCF grade of 2415 in October 2006). These were duly awarded, and congratulations go to both players!
05 Jun 07 | 2007 AGM Highlights
At the AGM in Stirling on 3 June, the following items were noted:
  1. After some teething problems, the new domestic events structure is now in place, with the Championship events being administered via the ICCF webserver. Non-Championship events should also be administered on the webserver from 2008.
  2. Draft accounts showing a surplus had been produced but were as yet unaudited. Alan Hind has kindly agreed to perform the audit in the near future.
  3. The committee is as before, though Raymond Baxter and Stuart Mackenzie have intimated they will be stepping down next term.
  4. Subscriptions are unchanged.
08 May 07 | SCCA AGM 2007
This will be held at Stirling Chess Club, BB Headquarters, Dalgleish Court, off Baker Street, Stirling FK8 1BJ at 4:00pm on Sunday, 3rd June. The Stirling Club website has directions to the venue, and can be found by following the link: Stirling CC The agenda is:
  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of Previous AGM and Matters Arising
  3. President's Remarks
  4. Secretary's Report
  5. Treasurer's Report
  6. International Secretary's Report
  7. Election of Office Bearers
  8. Appointment of Auditor
  9. Subscriptions
  10. AOCB
18 Apr 07 | Scotland Team for Harro Otte Memorial Team Tournament Announced
George Pyrich writes to confirm the team for this event where average team ratings cannot exceed 2000. Play officially starts in June, but the likelihood is that pairings will available much earlier. Scotland will field:
  1. Stuart Graham
  2. Hugh Calder
  3. Jim Anderson
  4. Alan Armstrong
  5. Andrew Macmillen
  6. Alex Scott
Good luck to all the players!
18 Apr 07 | Magazine 97 Published
The first e-mag of 2007 is being distributed by email and post today, and we trust all subscribers will safely receive their copy. 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 roughly the same as 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!
04 Apr 07 | Spring Grading List Published
Our latest Grading list is available on the website today - you can browse it on the Grading List page, and download it in pdf format from the Members' page. SCCA grades are effective from February, and the March ICCF update is also included. Thanks to Raymond Baxter, who provided all the data in timely fashion as usual, and an apology from me for taking so long to put it into web page format.
22 Mar 07 | Friendly Match with Slovenia Starts
Hard on the heels of our friendly international against Poland comes another match versus Slovenia, also to be contested over 20 boards. All matches are webserver-based, and play officially starts on 1 April, though players can start sending moves now. You can follow the games if you go to the ICCF Webserver site and look under Tables and results/Friendly matches/Scotland v Slovenia. Apologies to postal players meantime - it is proving difficult to find countries who wish to play other than webserver games just now.
16 Mar 07 | Friendly Match with Poland Starts
Our latest friendly international is against Poland (some family connections for George Pyrich here), and will be contested over 20 boards. All matches are webserver-based, and play officially starts on 2 April, though players can start sending moves now. You can follow the games if you go to the ICCF Webserver site and look under Tables and results/Friendly matches/Scotland v Poland.
13 Mar 07 | ICCF World Championship Nominations
Marco Caressa, the ICCF Title Tournament Commissioner, writes to remind us of our member federation nomination (MFN) entitlements. This year, the SCCA has two MFNs for the individual world championship preliminaries or semi-finals. Players graded below 2400 will be placed in the preliminiaries, while those rated 2400+ qualify for the semi-finals. If you'd like to put your name forward, please contact George Pyrich.
11 Mar 07 | Foglar Veterans Tournament 2007
Petr Buchnicek, the Czech ICCF delegate, writes to invite players to enter this year's Foglar event. You need to be 50+ and rated 2300+. This is an email event, with four sections of 15 players, and you may enter one or two sections. The entry fee is 15 euros per player per section, and play starts on 11 April, Foglar's birthday. If you'd like to enter, please contact George Pyrich before the end of March.
08 Mar 07 | Contributions for Magazine 100 Invited
Although we've got until year-end to think about it, it won't hurt to start early. We'd like to mark the 100th edition of the magazine by including as many articles from members as possible. Richard Beecham has suggested that all 100% Club members should annotate a game, so I hope they will respond accordingly. I'm open to any other ideas or submissions that you have, so please drop me a line if there's anything you'd like to see included: webmaster
02 Feb 07 | ICCF Announces Harro Otte Memorial Team Tournament for <2000 Players
Gian-Maria Tani, European Zonal Director writes to announce this event, in memory of Haro Otte (GER), the long-serving European TD who died in June, 2005. The event will be run on the same lines as the European Team Championships (6-player teams), but with average team ratings not to exceed 2000, no players higher than 2051, and a maximum of two players between 2000-2051. The preliminary round and final will consist of sections of 7-9 teams. There is no entry fee for this event and, if you are interested in playing for Scotland, please contact: George Pyrich by March 1st.
02 Feb 07 | 2007 - SCCA 30 Years Old and 100 Magazines in Sight!
Later this month, the SCCA celebrates its 30th birthday! Jack McConnell has turned down our request for street parties and a prime time television broadcast, so we will have to make do with a quiet drink by the fireside, but there you go! Now that I come to think of it, we are due to publish our 100th magazine later this year, so there must be scope for an anniversary tournament in there somewhere...
02 Feb 07 | Website Moves Location
Yesterday we completed the switch of the website to a Linux server operated by our existing ISP, Webfusion. This service is cheaper and the software is a bit more up to date than previously. Apart from a slight hiccup on our hit counter overnight, the transfer took place very smoothly.
02 Feb 07 | 2007 Publications on Members' Page
The set of documents dealing with domestic events in 2007 is now available for download in pdf format from the Members' page. The set consists of How to Play CC, CC Rules and 2007 Tournaments. Download times should be very quick.
02 Feb 07 | ICCF Announces World Championship Cycle for 2007
Marco Caressa, Title Tournaments Commissioner, writes to announce this year's arrangements. The championship will be played using all modes - postal, email and webserver. No sections will be started during the grading periods of 15 March-15 April or 15 September-15 October. Entries may be submitted troughout the year via national delegates according to the rules revisions published in 2006. National federations may also nominate players who would not otherwise be eligible through qualification or grading. If you wish to enter the cycle, or check your eligibility, please contact: George Pyrich.
11 Jan 07 | Magazine 96 Published
The last e-mag of 2006 is being distributed by email and post today, and we trust all subscribers will safely receive their copy. 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 a bit 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!