Darlington and District Chess League
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Darlington RA Club at 7.30pm on 2 nd October 2009.
Chairman’s Opening Address – in the absence of B McKie, Pete M took this role and informed the meeting that B McKie was “having a rest” from the game and relinquishing his post with the committee. The meeting was also informed that Hartlepool had decided not to enter a team in the Darlington League this season; this was due to the pressure of games from other leagues.
2. Attendees: P.McKay (Secretary, Treasurer), B Bainbridge (Fixture Secretary), R Anderson (Grader) A Brown, D. Foster, I Crammond, C Hardy (Darl. RA), R Mellish, G Pearson (Richmond), P Middleton , R Mortimer (Northallerton), G Parking (B.Auckland), R Gilpin (Darlington)
Apologies received from D Smith, B Wilson, Sue Fraser, B McKie, A Fell, R Wortley, B Metcalfe and D Dixon.
3. Minutes of AGM 2008- t hese had been previously circulated and were accepted as a true record. There were no matters arising.
4. Presentation of Cups- c ups were presented by B Bainbridge to the following winners:
Division Winners - Richmond.
Runners Up – Bishop Auckland.
Knockout - Noerthallerton.
Individual Winner – R Wortley
Runner Up – D Dixon
Player of the Year – A Fell.
5. Election of Officers- t he following were elected for the forthcoming season:
Chairman - P McKay
Secretary - P McKay
Treasurer - P McKay
Fixture Secretary - B Bainbridge
Grader - R Anderson
Individual Tournament Organiser - P Middleton
KO Cup Organiser - P McKay
B McKie stepped down as President and after a discussion it was agreed that due to the informal nature of the league there was no need at this stage to nominate a President and the post would remain vacant.
6. Website Update - D Smith had agreed to continue to update the DDCL website even though Hartlepool was no longer represented in the league. This was gratefully acknowledged by delegates.
7. Rule Changes- Pete M had previously circulated a detailed discussion document outlining suggested rule changes and after a healthy and vibrant debate the following were agreed by majority vote:
Knockout Cup Rules.
Entry in the cup is only open to clubs in the DDCL.
Teams shall consist of 4 players.
Any team not fielding 4 players shall forfeit the respective boards, commencing with board 4. There is no provision for agreeing a board draw prior to the match.
For the final only, all players in the competing teams must have played at least one league game for that club in the DDCL during that season.
For all rounds each player shall have 1 hour on the clock and must finish in that time (i.e. 2 hour game max.)
The captain of the home team shall nominate 2 dates for the match within the published time frame.
These dates shall be notified to the captain of the opposing team as soon as possible and no later than 14 days prior to the first nominated date.
Should any team not be able to play the match in the agreed timeframe or arrangements are not made within the agreed time frame then the offending team shall forfeit the match.
The competition shall be handicapped. The handicap for each match will be dependant upon the total grading points of the competing players and will be as follows:
Difference is 30 or less – no handicap
Between 31 and 40 points – ½ point.
41 and 60 – 1 point
61 and above - 1½ points
Should a team forfeit any board then the grade of that board, for handicap purposed, shall be deemed to be the average of the other players in that team.
Players must play in DDCL grade order.
Matches shall be decided on simple board count. Should the match be a tie then each team member shall play the same opponent, with different colours, with 5 minutes on each clock. Should this result in a tie then each team captain shall nominate one player to play in a single 5 minute game, tossing for colours. Should a tie still follow then 1 other player from each team shall be nominated for a single 5 minute game, this shall continue until a winner emerges.
Prior to each match the captain of the team must contact the League Grader and agree an estimated grade for any un-graded player. If due to wholly exceptional circumstances this did not occur any un-graded player shall be deemed to have a grade equal to the average of the grades of the 3 other players.
Alternate colours will be on consecutive boards but with the colours being decided on the toss of a coin just prior to the commencement of the match but after team sheets have been exchanged.
Results shall be forwarded in the normal manner via the website.
Should player be played “out of order” or any other infringement occurs, the matter should be referred to the competition organiser who shall decide on the matter. That decision shall be final. Should the competition organiser be a member of one of the teams subject to the referral then he shall consult with at least one other league committee member prior to deciding on the issues raised.
The winner of the competition and runner up shall be presented with the trophies at the next AGM.
Player of the Year
“There shall be a Player of the Year Competition. The winner shall be decided by the highest ratio of games points over games played in the League only. KO games and conceded games do not count. To be eligible for the competition the player must have played at least 75% of the matches available. In the event of a tie the player who has the highest % increase in grading points within the DDCL over the season shall be deemed the winner”
Action: Pete M to alter rules and send to Dave S re website.
8. Grading Issues
Roger A spoke re this issue and recommended that due to the nature of the league that the gradings used within the DDCL should be the grades as published by the league. Presently the highest published grade is used. This change would only effect the players form B Auckland and Darlington as others did not have ecf gradings. Rod G had no concerns over this matter and the rule change was agreed.
Action: Pete M to alter rules and send to Dave S re website.
Note: The DDCL gradings have been amended since the agenda was circulated with gradings attached, the definitive list is the one attached to these minutes and as appears on the website. All others should be disregarded.
9. Treasurer’s Report.
Pete M gave a verbal resume of the accounts, the balance at the start of the season was £60.80, this had been supplemented by £30 subscriptions and £7.50 individual tournament fees, making a total of £98.30. The trophy engravings of £28 left a balance of £70.30. It was requested that the annual subscription to the league and for the forthcoming season remain at £5.
Note: all teams have now paid there subs for 09/10.
10. League Format 09/10.
B Bainbridge circulated a copy of this season’s fixture list and stated that as all league details were on the DDCL website there had been no need to publish the usual booklet. Brain did ask captains to place gradings on score sheets and also to place the telephone numbers of their players on the website. Brian was once again thanked for his valued contribution in preparing the fixture lists.
Action: Captains to include grades on score sheets and to consider sending players tel. no’s to the secretary for inclusion on website.
11. Individual Tournament.
Paul M spoke re this matter and gave a report for the 08/09 season. He asked if there would be entries for the tournament this season and there was limited support. As last season the players from Richmond would consider including this cup in their internal competition.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.40pm.