Coronavirus is affecting all areas of life right now – here is a round-up of what’s happening in the local chess leagues.
Firstly, the London Chess League Committee is discussing the issue on Monday.
Several matches that were due to take place at the Citadines were postponed and the venue saw its fewest number of chess players since the league moved there.
Battersea has been asked to host a Kings Head 1 v Hackney 1 fixture, likely to take place on March 24.
The London Public Service Chess League is presently consulting clubs on whether to suspend the season from Monday.
The Central London Chess League is considering how to respond and could go down the same route.
The Kent Chess League is carrying on for now, but has said that matches between teams that do not affect divisional championships or qualifiers may be declared void if both captains agree.
The last of the Southern Counties Chess Union county matches will go ahead this weekend. We don’t know yet what will happen to the National stages.
Meanwhile, the Surrey County Chess Association has updated its coronavirus advice issued to County match captains from Peter Lawrence, the County Match Secretary.
It is as follows:
The latest coronavirus advice for chess players
Please note that the UK government has updated its advice today, the relevant aspects of which for SCCA are shown in red and underlined below within the previous advice, which all still remains valid.
In view of the Coronavirus issue the SCCA Board is monitoring the advice of Public Health England (PHE) and it has also consulted with the SCCU President.
At this stage PHE has not advised against general travel (except to specific foreign destinations) or attending public gatherings in the UK. We are, therefore, currently proceeding on the basis that the remaining county matches for this season will be played.
PHE does provide detailed advice on personal hygiene including protocols for washing hands with soap and water and covering the mouth when coughing. See details below.
“Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:
· Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
· Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
· Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.”
Full details of this guidelines are on the relevant government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
Please advise your team regarding the above and also announce at the start of any match about the importance of personal hygiene to minimize the risk of transmission.
Although not mandated by PHE at this time SCCA Board believe that it would be sensible that the usual chess protocol can be suspended – so that players who do not wish to shake hands before and after a match should feel under no compulsion to do so, at this time. We are not opposing handshaking until Public Health England provide that advice but players should be asked to take no offence if their opponent does not want to.
Please ensure that the players in your team have considered whether they might be at a high risk of carrying Coronavirus. This could be the case if they had travelled back recently from high risk locations or have been in contact with an individual who has been told they have Coronavirus. In addition, if an individual has a high temperature or fever or has a new, continuous cough they should self-isolate. Players who are in doubt as to whether they are a high risk should use the government screening tool https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19. Any person who is advised through that tool or by a medical practitioner to isolate themselves should not play in a Surrey county chess match and should be withdrawn from the team
SCCA Board will continue to monitor what is likely to be a fluid situation and further guidance will be provided when there is a need to do so as driven by PHE advice.
