CSC Training Day Tour 2019-20: Isle of Man

Having started 2020 is fine style with a very successful training day in Hull, there was only a short time back on Teesside before my tour resumed.

Regular readers may recall our particularly ambitious expedition to deliver a training day on the Isle of Arran back in 2018 and this new venture to Isle of Man brought back many memories of that fine day.

Five schools on the Isle of Man already enjoy regular chess sessions. This training day was to help start phase two of the project, in order to help the setting up of regular chess lessons in five more schools. There are 32 state-run primary schools on the island and CSC will now be impacting on almost one third of them.

It had already been a busy week (tough, late chess match on Monday night; late gig on Tuesday night) and then I had a full day at school before immediately starting the journey from Teesside. Trains, a plane and a taxi were all utilised. 

 'What's in the tube, sir?'

'A chess board.'

'A chess board...!?!'

'Yes.'

It was at that moment the man with gloves arrived and asked me step to one side...

This week's near-collapse of Flybe was averted just in time to keep the expedition going

Arrival

'A room with a view...'

I met up with the island's new CSC tutor, Natasha, and we took time on the evening to discuss the day ahead over chips and rhubarb crème brûlée. 

Time flew by and it was already Thursday when we checked the time...

Howard Dobson, the key man behind the whole plan of introducing chess into more primary schools on the Isle of Man, took us to the venue The Professional Development Centre (Santon Old School).

It was a very pleasant journey, giving us the first glimpse of the island in (almost) daylight.

Santon Old School (we are 'old school' too)

Wherever we go, we will find tea

'We are here!'

Memories of a bygone age still echo from the walls

Howard making the opening remarks

It was soon time to put the eight brave delegates to work. If they had been expecting a dry day of slides and note-taking they soon had to change their expectations, as before they knew it they were testing their thinking skills over a range of mini-games and other activities.

The course of a game can often be determined by a glance at the demeanour of the players...

...part two...

Natasha addressing her future chess colleagues

Intense fun

Howard, a no-nonsense person who knows how to get things done,
was happy to present some of his favourite chess problems too.

It was an excellent day from my point of view and - unless I am very much mistaken - everyone else enjoyed it too.

All too soon it was time to leave the Isle of Man and start the journey back to Teesside. This turned out to be more complicated than it should have been, as a whole load of trains going North from Manchester were cancelled, leaving me to patch together an unlikely-looking last-chance four-train patchwork of a plan which only just worked and finally got me home a shade before 1.00 a.m. (almost time to get up for school the next day).

I want to return to the Isle of Man for more training days.

Thank you to Howard, Natasha, the excellent delegates and everyone else who helped to make the day such an enjoyable success. The new school sessions are starting very soon and I am sure Natasha will make them inspirational. 

Meanwhile, the CSC Training Day Tour continues to expand and the forthcoming dates can be found here.

'The Magic Of Chess Is...That It Leaves No Time For Prejudice'

The London Chess Conference, which was a very important part of the 11th London Chess Classic festival, brought forward many ideas, initiatives and sparkling personalities from all around the world.

I was heavily involved in the conference in my roles as Deputy Director and as Chairperson for numerous sessions. I can therefore say with confidence that one of the most remarkable presentations came from Kineke Mulder, who is achieving marvellous results with her outdoor chess activities in Vienna.

Kineke's endeavour, enthusiasm and presentation has certainly been one of the aspects of the weekend that has attracted the most attention, post-conference. We will return to the project later with further coverage but for now here is a self-explanatory video created by the remarkable Kineke.

The first one contains a line which really sums up the ethos of the project: 'The Magic Of Chess Is...That It Leaves No Time For Prejudice.'

There is no reason why this excellent and altruistic initiative cannot be replicated everywhere.




All of the inspirational videos on Kineke's Chess Unlimited YouTube channel can be found here.

CSC Training Day Tour 2019-20: Hull

The inaugural Hull training day of 2019 was one one of the most enjoyable and productive on last year's tour and I had been looking forward to returning to the famous and underrated city in 2020.

Regular readers may recall my further expeditions to Hull in order to work at both the Summer School of Chess and the English Women's Championship.

For once, the stars aligned on the previous evening and my three trains from Teesside connected in seamless fashion, meaning I had just enough time to buy a last-minute ticket to see an extraordinary performance of Swan Lake at the Hull New Theatre.

Just as last year, the James Reckitt Reading Room (upstairs at the Hull Central Library) was our home for the day. The staff were very friendly and highly efficient; we were made to feel very welcome.

It was wonderful to meet the new delegates, who came not only from Hull, but from far and wide. The youngest was 15; he already wants to help the younger generation with their chess development.

Dan Staples (CSC's Head of Safeguarding & National Library Coordinator and Yorkshire Coordinator) was there to meet the delegates and I was delighted to be reunited with Jo Hutchinson, who was there as the official training assistant. Jo's journey with CSC is ongoing but it all started with the 2019 Hull Training Day. A lot has happened in a year.

All of the delegates fully entered into the spirit of the day and we will now work together to see what future chess adventures we can share.

Thank you, everyone!

Here are a few captured moments from the very enjoyable day.

Mini-games in action

There is always something interesting going on the library. This exhibition was downstairs .

The doorway to another world

Written work!

The reference library was full of books about Napoleon

Group discussion

Staircase to another world

We enjoy balconies and would like more venues to have them

Crusher Chess. Only one king will survive the final crush!

More tour dates are already open for business and new dates will be added soon. Head here for further details.