English Chess Federation

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The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England and is one of the federations of the FIDE.

The ECF was founded in 1904 as the British Chess Federation and, although Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands had their own federations for many years, it was not until 2005 that the BCF was renamed to reflect this.

1 Activities
2 British Chess Federation
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Activities

The British Chess Championship is run under the auspices of the ECF, and has been held annually since 1904, apart from during world wars. The ECF also selects and finances the English team for the biannual Chess Olympiad.

The ECF publish grades for those players that compete in affiliated competitions in England (see ECF grading system). There are currently two ways to qualify for an ECF grade. For a yearly flat fee players may become a member of the ECF either directly or, since 2005, through a local Membership Organisation. In areas of England where MO's do not exist or are not mandatory (much of the South) non-members must pay a Game Fee for each competitive game they play and are not considered ECF members. This three-pronged system of affiliation has been the subject of much debate in recent years.

All officials of the ECF are elected annually and may serve unlimited terms. The current CEO is Martin Regan, elected in 2006. In contrast to several unopposed appointments in previous years, the 2006 elections were fiercely contested by two rival tickets over issues including membership, finance and regional inequalities.

The ECF publishes the magazine ChessMoves, free to members.

[edit] British Chess Federation

The British Chess Federation (BCF) was the governing body of chess in England from 1904 until 2005.

It had long been argued in some quarters that the BCF should change its name to reflect the fact that only England came under its jurisdiction. The main counter-argument was that the BCF did in fact have a British dimension, since it administered the British Chess Championship. From the 1990s there had also been a campaign for the BCF to acquire the status of a company limited by guarantee, as part of a drive towards generating more sponsorship money, increasing membership and limiting the liability of its members.

It was decided to 'kill two birds with one stone', and at the start of the 2005/6 season the English Chess Federation was created, inheriting the BCF's assets and personnel. The former BCF still exists for legacy purposes, and their website remained at www.bcf.org.uk when it was inherited by the ECF.