The Rotherham online chess tournaments are a wonderful way to continue to play chess during the pandemic. I was late to the party, joining in season 4 which was recently completed. Geoff Frost encouraged me to join and i am thankful to him for his encouragement. Oli Brennan is to be applauded for what he has created here. Internet chess is rather anonymous and fraught with accusations of cheating. Oli has created a community of local chess players who not only compete but also support each other through banter on Slack and spectating and commenting on each others games. People agree a fair pledge not to use engines, books or consult with others during play. The time control is 30 mins plus 30 seconds a move which i can attest can be nerve shredding. I was visibly shaking after my last round game where we were both living on our increment. The social side of the tournaments has been important too. Hey, our default setting as chess players is often to be socially distanced, but during this pandemic it is so important to find creative ways we can be more connected to others. It has been nice to correspond with players from local clubs.
The next round of tournaments start Wednesday 7 October. I really encourage you all to give it a go and support this wonderful venture.
I played in the first two and enjoyed them immensely. Thanks for the reminder, Ray. They’re really well run and playing people you know or at least know of makes this kind of online chess a lot more engaging.