Altrincham & Hale Chess Club
Minutes of the 2021 AGM held at 7:00 p.m. on Mon day 29th November 2021
1. Attendance
The meeting was held online, via Zoom.
Attendees - Mark Hann, Tony Lane, Nick Lowe, Tom Tomkins (Chair), Steve Ward, Reg Clucas,
Bill McCartney
Apologies for absence - Thomas Hague, Mike Pye, Dave Newell
2. Minutes of the 2020 AGM were agreed as correct and accepted.
3. Matters arising
None
Secretary's Report 2021
As you are all aware, there have been no club meetings in the 12 months since our last AGM. Some
clubs have started meetings again post-Covid, and some are taking part in a reduced version of the
Manchester League. This is not currently an option for us as we no longer have the Woodheys Club as a
venue, so we will need a new venue before we can start again.
The Woodheys Club no longer have a suitable night of the week on which we can make use of the front
room. The small room which we used for matches during the 2019-20 season no longer exists, and in
any case would have been too cramped in the post-Covid environment. The majority of our equipment
(boards, sets, clocks, stationery etc.) is now stored in the roof space above my garage. This step was
taken to avoid having to pay a large insurance premium renewal. Our cupboard is still at the Woodheys
Club, so we will need someone with a large vehicle to retrieve it when we eventually have a new venue.
Personally I do not feel any great enthusiasm to start the ball rolling in terms of finding a new venue
and starting our club meetings again. So anyone who is keen for the club to start up again is welcome to
take the lead in this, with my full support.
It is difficult to assess how big our membership will be when we do resume. There may be people who
have a long term reluctance to return to OTB chess. Balanced against this are over 20 enquiries from
prospective new members that I have received in the last 18 months.
Reg Clucas
28th November 2021
Team captains' reports - Online Rapidplay League
Normally at this point we would have reports from each of the team captains in the various leagues in
which we play. But with no over the board chess having taken place in the last 12 months, the only
team competition we have been involved in was from January to May 2021 when we took part in an on-
line Rapidplay League organised by the MCF. We were placed in the top division, and lost all our
matches, though some of us managed draws and wins against higher graded opponents, most notably
Danilo's victory over IM Joe McPhillips of Bolton.
This league is scheduled to run again in January 2022. Currently we only have five players indicating
an interest (Danilo, Thomas, Tony, Tom, Reg) which makes our participation dubious as we need a
squad big enough to ensure we can put out a team of four for each match, so if anyone else wants to
join the squad please let me know.
Reg Clucas
28th November 2021
5. League Entries for 2021-22
Being without a venue, we have not entered the MCF over the board league this season. The Stockport
League is not running, though may hold an over the board Rapidplay League in the New Year. If this
takes place, and if there is enough interest from our members, then we will enter a team, but would have
to play all our matches at our opponents' venues.
As stated in the Team captain's report above, we will enter the MCF online Rapidplay league in January
2022 if we can get at least one or two more players to take part.
6. Membership fees
As last year, we have no outgoings at the moment, so we will not be charging any membership sub-
scriptions for 2021-22. Some subscriptions for 2019-20 have still not been collected.
7. Election of Officers
All officers indicated their willingness to continue and were elected nem con.
Secretary - Reg Clucas to continue
Treasurer - Nick Lowe to continue
Competition Organiser - Mark Hann to continue
New member representative - Steve Ward to continue
*Manchester League Captain - Tony Lane to continue
*Stockport League A team - Reg Clucas to continue
*Stockport League B team- Steve Ward to continue
*Summer League team - Tony Lane to continue
*Summer Rapidplay League team - Mark Hann to continue
President - Tony Lane to continue
Chairman - Tom Tomkins to continue
(*The various team captains' roles are dependent on whether we enter the relevant competitions in
2022).
8. Club venue
As stated in the Secretary's report, the club currently has no venue, and resumption of over the board
club meetings is dependent on finding a venue. This will be the first priority for anyone keen for the
club to start up again. We have a list of potential venues as a starting point, though none have been ap-
proached. The Secretary reiterated that he does not wish to lead this process.
9. Any other business
Club Competitions
No competitions took place during 2021. It was agreed to hold an online club championship again in
2022. Mark Hann will organise. Reg will supply Mark with a list of members' email addresses.
