What is the norm for the equipment for any chess club. As the goal will be ‘12 state wide tournaments’ during the calander year of 2005 (twenty o five), with the margin of profit around $500 to $1,500. The goal will be having an active chess club with 30 to 40 members within a year, with the goal within two years of having 40 members show up every club meeting.
Unless we’re hosting scholastic tournaments, or state title events our local club doesn’t provide chess equipment. It’s up to the players to provide their own. That way we don’t run into the problem of some players wishing to use their own equipment and taking ours off the table and perhaps losing pieces in the process.
In scholastic tournaments, it seems much easier to have the equipment setup for them. They are then responsible for providing there own clocks.
Of course it’s up to each individual organizer/club to determine what they want to do.
True, most chess clubs are like that. If the state wide tournaments do have the profits of the ‘plus-score system’, with the goal of 12 tournaments next year. If after a year, the club does have around $1,000 to $1,500 in the club treasury: this treasury needs to be spent. If the club membership never sees the capital spend on the club, they will start to question any leadership that informs the members of this huge treasury.
At this time have 40 club specials, only needing boards and clocks. The personal cost of the sets, is my personal gift onto the club. At a personal level, never did like the ‘club special’, only being so cheap with nobody in great demand to steal the sets. Would like having the ‘collector series’ (#1388 ivory and black $59.95) with a 2 3/8 floppy board, with the ‘chronos II’ digital clock. Finding the personal income to have 40 sets and boards like this is out of my personal budget.
Doug, did you copy in html to make your font size smaller? If so, how'd you do it? Mine is HTML off
I’d personally outfit any club with the cheap stuff, because over time pieces get lost or broken, and it’s more expensive to replace the expensive pieces. My scholastic club started with ten sets two years ago, and now we’re down to six whole sets and a lot of extra pieces. Makes a strong case for buying the cheap stuff in my case.
Also, buying clocks for a club may work if you can find them cheaper than $40, which is even then still too expensive. You can get analogs cheaper, and although they may not be considered regulation any more, I have yet to hear of a TD who won’t let them be used.
Radishes
This was the reason for going with the ‘club special’, even that it is not the type of chess set most regular chess players take too the tournaments. Want to have around 80 or 120 club specials, and 40 or 60 roll up boards, as players will steal and breaking will happen. Sure 40 set up boards would have 80 players, never know when a scholastic event or a simul will happen.
Or just use the ‘club specials and roll up board’ as the prize fund for a scholastic tournament, other then the norm of a ‘scholastic trophy’. As how many ‘scholastic players’ use the non-standard chess set ( 2" King or 2 3/8" King, ect.) as the only chess board and set they have.
The major problem will be the ‘chess clocks’, as people are more willing to steal any chess clock. As the clock will be the ‘club chess clock’, players would be harder on the clock. Looking for a digital clock, would like the ‘Chronos or Chronos II’, as they will last much longer then the cheaper clocks like a BHB. All the clocks need to be the same from day one, if the club has more then one kind of digital clock: would make the players need to know how to set two or more kinds of chess clocks. Any ideas on the chess clocks?
Terry:
[size=9]text[/ size], just bring " /s " without space.
Just enter the profile and place it between the text. Does make the signature smaller, the font size still informs about the information in you’re signature. Having the signature standard, makes the signature blend in with the text – making the signature getting lost in the text. Making the signature smaller, does make the signature stand out because its’ smaller: peoples eyes will drive too something that is smaller. One of the little tricks you learn going to college for photography and graphic design.
Thanks, Douglas. Yes, I like the look better 
Gosh, you must have a lot of problems with theft, huh?
I’d think more people would be willing to steal a fancy looking clock like the Chronos than a BHB clock. I know I would! 
Now of course the best way to avoid stealing is to mark them. I’ve seen very crude markings, like someone took a sharp knife and just carved a name on the plastic case. Using a Dremel would be better for engraving names on them. Otherwise, you could take a piece of paper, write something on it, and superglue it somewhere on the body of the clock, most likely the bottom of it where few would think to look for it. I’m sure you can think of other ways to mark them. I take address labels with my name on them and use that for my own clocks. It works.
Radishes
During the club meetings, there should not be any stealing of the ‘club equipment’. Even with the ‘club specials’, only plan someone or some people will steal around five sets per year: it will not be a major issue as they will retired out of active use within a few years. With the ‘chess clock’ and the cost of each one, they will be the ‘bigger target for the five finger discount’.
True there will be labels on the clocks, like my personal ‘chronos II’ having a huge gold plate with my name, USCF ID number and my title of tournament director. The reason for the gold plate, as the ‘chronos or chronos II’ has become the standard digital clock: going to a tournament there can be number of them all over the place. How many times after my game is over at the board, someone just use my clock to play a blitz game. How many times finding someone use my clock, after picking it up just to play a blitz game at the other side of the tournament room. Sure, after the game is over just pack up my equipment would take care of the problem. Then the games around my board would be hearing my bag being opened and stocking all the equipment. When that happens with myself, just never make a move till the equipment are removed and the players have left.
Only having problem of stealing is during the ‘scholastic tournaments’ as parents and the club will have the use of the ‘chess clocks’. Parents and the club will have the same kind of clock, even with the parents knowing that it is the ‘clubs clock’ – some kid could just pick it up and place it into some bag. Labels can be taken off or put on at will, burning in a name on the clock just tells everyone that the officers of the club does not trust the membership.
Want the ‘chess club’ too have around 10 to 15 clocks, looking to be the “DGT DigiBlitz” (#1089 $34.95) but like the “DGT XL” (#1611 $79.95) or the best the “Chronos II”. If having 15 clocks, the final cost of having 15 “Chronos II” or having the final cost of having 15 “DGT DigiBlitz” does make a difference.
I’ve been researching inexpensive chess clocks for a local club. The DigiBlitz clock is available for exactly the same price as some of the mechanical clocks. After downloading the DigiBlitz manual it appears that there is no time delay capability, which is really the biggest advantage of a digital clock. Since the DigiBlitz requires batteries and the mechanical clocks don’t I’m now leaning toward the mechanical clocks.
There is nothing wrong with a mechical clock. They are more simple to use then the digital clocks, as one mechanical clock will be set the same way as all other mechanical clocks.
The problem with the digital clock, if the club only and only has one kind of clock, the players would learn how to use the same commands to change the time. Having a number of clocks with different models, then it would give greater problems for the players to understand one set of commands for the next. As any digital clocks are only on the market for a few years, if the club needs a replacement for a broken clock – it could find itself with a mix of different clocks.
As anyone with a digital clock understands, the manual could have ten or more pages – making scholastic players have a harder time to learn how to deal with any digital clock. The mechanical clock, even a ten year old can learn without much effert to change the time; even some tournament directors have little problems with a mechanical clock, even the directors that are members of this forum would have little problem.
Haha
I think we’re in agreement. I love my Chronos, but for the purposes of the club a few simple mechanical clocks might be a good choice.
The Chronos (myself with the Chronos II) is the only and only chess clock that should be in a tournament. All others can do the work, it would be like asking a new born baby to make its own bed!
Would like to have my own club have all Chronos IIs’, if only able to use “Thunderchickens” credit card would get twenty clocks. At this time will only get the mechanical clocks, have not made up my personal mind on the mechanical clock for the club.
I don’t think clubs should own clocks at all. For one thing, they tend to develop feet.
Let the players who want to use clocks bring their own. Same goes for tournaments – once somebody is forced to play part of a tournament game without a clock, only to have a clock added later with elapsed time divided between the players, he will soon decide to buy his own clock.
As for blitz tournaments, if necessary you could have a rule requiring players to bring their own, or you don’t let them enter.
Bill Smythe
Bill, ordinarily I also think that the tournament players should bring their own clocks. However, I’m trying to get a chess club off the ground at San Quentin Prison and they don’t have clocks to bring.
Tony
That does happen, even the sets and boards will develop feet. At this time have 40 club specials and 3 BHB clocks. Should make it as a plan, the BHB’s are used only if there is no clock around.
Tony:
The USCF does have a prison program grant fund, not sure how the grant money is spent. As the cost of the sets, boards and the clocks would not be brought in from tournaments and the club membership – the grant money is the only way to fund this campaign. Not sure the prison would let a chess clock into the prison – as the clock could be used as a weapon.
As my father did work for the Michigan Department of Corrections from 1972 till his retirement in 1987. They could or would let a chess clock into the prison population, then flip flop on the idea after each election.
Douglas,
I was already aware of the reduced price on prison memberships and I saw something about prison club affiliation, but this is the first I've heard about USCF grants. Do you know where I can get more information on this?
There is a question as to whether or not they will allow the clocks. Everything about the program is currently being negotiated. I'm just trying to think a few moves ahead.
Tony
You could call Barb Vandermark (845) 562-8350 ext. 138.
At one time, a person could pick were the money would go with their donations in the U.S. Chess Trust – one was the prison program. Not sure if there is any money in the trust, as it could be just like the USCF life membership fund, zero funds with a IOU from the USCF executive board.