4NCL - The Four Nations League - www.4ncl.co.uk/pre2010

4NCL Newsletter

August 2004

There are several items I wanted to bring to your attention so please find the details below.

1/ A big welcome to all the new teams...we now have 64 teams in total and it is marvellous to see how the League continues to grow.

2/ The Management Board has taken the decision to split Division 4 into two sections of 14 Teams.

This will be run based on an all-play-all format with publication of the first eight rounds of pairings before the season starts and then the last three rounds well before the final weekend.

We have read and taken account of the various messages on the discussion board but, given the strength of views from a large number of people who had expressed unhappiness about not knowing the pairings in good time, we have decided on the all-play-all model. However in the future we may well revert to a Swiss tourney if this proves to be the most appropriate format.

Clearly it is important that each section is of equal strength and great care will be taken in selecting the teams for each section. Every effort will be made to have teams from the same club in different sections.

It was also thought that providing an opportunity for 4 teams to be promoted (two from each section) made good sense because strong new teams then have a greater chance to progress quickly through the divisions.

3/ Some revision of the rules has occurred and I particularly draw your attention to rule 8.3

(a) The recommended BCF conversion formulae will now be used for converting BCF grades to FIDE.

These are:
FIDE ratings > 2327 (BCF X 8) + 600 = FIDE
FIDE ratings < 2327 (BCF X 5) + 1250 = FIDE

See page iv of the "Grading List 2004" for further details.

(b) The female/U16 junior board rule has been amended.

This will allow more flexibility when choosing a team but will still require strict attention to fulfilling the female/U16 junior board requirement.

4/ It is good to see the discussion board developing on the web-site and many interesting points of view are expressed. All of these are taken into account by the Management Board when formulating their decisions.

5/ A new trophy has been commissioned for the winners of the Second Division. This will be called the "Richard Furness Trophy" in memory of the long-standing Chief Arbiter of the league who died so tragically last year.

6/ Finally I would like to wish you the best of luck for the coming season and I look forward to seeing you as the season develops.

Paul Littlewood (4NCL Chairman)