Natcor on Chess.com
We are inviting members of Natcor to join a club on Chess.com that we have set up in their name ‘Natcor Members’. We value Natcor, its history and well-earned reputation; and not least you our fellow members. However, we are looking to complement the established opportunities that the club offers for tournament play, with other resources for supporting members in improving their game.
The Covid pandemic has given online chess a massive lift, and the phenomenon of ‘adult improver’ has been a major factor in this growth. There is now a huge market aimed specifically at helping millions of people across the world to improve at chess. Ben Johnson’s highly successful Perpetual Chess Podcast has been built on this phenomenon. Adult improvers like ourselves are real, of all ages and we are out there!
Of course you can say that Natcor aims to provide its members with every opportunity to improve their game via tournament play. It sure does, and that’s why we joined!. But this is the rub. We see Natcor as equivalent to a tournament circuit, as opposed to a chess club. You may disagree, but we see this as fundamental in limiting any future membership growth. The adult improvers out there want what a traditional chess club offers – training games, coaching/mentoring, support with game reviews and analyses, education, team games, and encouragement generally. That is what your club on chess.com could offer. Clearly EP offers some very helpful, informative material, but is limited by being bi-monthly.
We consider that this initiative on a platform such as chess.com may provide a welcome and exciting new dynamic for the club. It is solely for Natcor members, and if it is successful then there is the possibility that some of the myriads of adult improvers on chess.com might be tempted to join Natcor. This would give them access to both the club on chess.com and to tournaments on the ICCF server.
There is so, so much more to chess and chess improvement than tournament play. If you are not already members then we invite you to check out chess.com (its free) and join us in the Natcor Members club.
The concrete hasn’t set yet and so we are open to your suggestions on what the club should offer and what we should prioritise. The following are but a few of the facilities that chess.com offers and which we could incorporate into a unique club experience:
Basic:
- training games, game reviews and analyses
- shared forums and news, and
- competition with other clubs.
games could be across the full range of time controls
With growth:
- Swiss systems, arenas, and chess tournaments open exclusively to club members
- competitions in arenas with other clubs, as clubmates try to rack up more points than the opposing club members in a fixed time
- vote with clubmates on moves and strategize against an opposing club that concurrently votes on moves for its side; a version of this could be where a higher-rated Natcor member competes in a training game against a group of less highly rated players; with subsequent game review and analysis
If you would like to join the club and participate in its growth, please contact Rob in the first instance to confirm that you are a member pf Natcor. Any comments/ideas please contact