Home Office and Justice Chess Club AGM
26 April 2008
Agenda
Minutes
Annual Blitz Tournament
••Agenda
1. Minutes of 2007 AGM and matters arising
2. Secretary’s report
3. Match captains’ reports
4. Treasurer’s report
5. Report on Grand Prix
6. League AGMs
7. Election of Officers
8. Club activities in the summer of 2008
9. League entries for 2008/09
10. Offer of chess library
11. Any other business
••Minutes
Present: Tony Ashby, Brendan Christie, Peter Biggs, Keith Dunmore, Michael Keane, Tim Pelling, Maria Sant, James Toon.
1. Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising
1.1 The minutes of the 2007 AGM were approved.
1.2 (Paragraph 1.2) Despite further efforts, it had not proved possible to arrange a friendly match against Hastings Chess Club in the summer of 2007.
1.3 (Paragraph 3.1) It was not known whether the 2007 accounts had been audited. [Secretary's note: they were audited.]
1.4 (Paragraph 7.2) This had been done.
1.5 (Paragraph 10.3) This had also been done. The meeting thanked James Toon for his efforts.
2. Secretary’s report
2.1 Three social events had taken place, in July, September and December 2007. The meal out at the Jugged Hare in July was the best-attended.
2.2 Three club nights had been held, in June, July and August 2007. The first of these had coincided with an Extraordinary General Meeting at which the club had changed its name to the Home Office and Justice Chess Club.
3. Treasurer’s report
3.1 The club’s accounts for 2007/08 had not yet been audited but this would take place shortly after the AGM. The Treasurer's report showed a surplus for the season of £76.35, based on an income of £280 and expenditure of £203.65. However, much of the income had come from book sales. It was clear that the regular income from subscriptions was insufficient to meet expenditure and the club was therefore running at a loss.
3.2 Consideration of the budget for 2008/09 was deferred until after item 9 (League entries for 2008/09).
4. Match captains’ reports
4.1 James Toon and Peter Biggs reported on the performance of the 1st and 2nd teams in the Civil Service League and the London Commercial League. For the 1st team, the highlight of an otherwise unremarkable season was winning the Bonar Law Trophy. The captain was pleased to report that no boards had been defaulted during the season. The 2nd team had had a much better season than the previous one, culminating in winning the Post Annual Cup. The London Commercial League team had reached the final of the John Lewis Partnership cup competition, losing on tie-break to Railways following a 3–3 draw in the final.
5. Grand Prix report
5.1 The Grand Prix had been won this year by Peter Biggs, who had finished well ahead of a chasing pack of half a dozen players. This fairly reflected Peter's excellent performances for the club during the season.
6. League AGMs
6.1 The Civil Service League AGM would take place on Thursday 15 May. James Toon, Peter Biggs and Tony Ashby (for the Peter Bond Memorial Trophy) would all attend to receive trophies. It was noted that there were no proposals from either clubs or the executive committee.
6.2 As far as the meeting was aware, no date had yet been fixed for the London Commercial League AGM. Rumours of a merger between the two leagues had come to nothing.
7. Election of officers
7.1 The following were elected to serve as officers of the Home Office and Justice Chess Club until the next AGM:
| Chairman: | Harry Carter |
| Vice-Chairman | Tim Pelling |
| Secretary: | James Toon |
| Treasurer: | Richard Fries |
| Webmaster: | James Toon |
| CSCL 1st team captain: | James Toon |
| CSCL 2nd team captain: | Peter Biggs |
| LCCL captain: | Peter Biggs |
| Committee members: | Keith Dunmore, Michael Keane |
7.2 James Toon would send details to Ian Pheby and John McAllister for inclusion in the Civil Service League and London Commercial League handbooks.
Action: James Toon
8. Club activities over the summer
8.1 As in 2007, there would be a club night on a Thursday evening in June, July, and August, for blitz chess, training sessions or whatever members wanted. There would also be a chess variants evening in September. The Secretary would organise a meal out and would also try once more to organise a match against Hastings Chess Club.
Action: James Toon
9. League entries for 2007/08
9.1 The meeting agreed to enter two teams in the Civil Service League and one team in the London Commercial League. The teams would play in league and cup competitions in both leagues.
9.2 Following this decision, the meeting agreed to increase the club subscription from £10 to £12 a year. Other options (leaving the subscription at £10 or increasing it to £11) were discussed but attracted no support.
10. Offer of chess library
10.1 The meeting discussed the generous offer of a library of about 250 chess books by Eric Davies. Tim Pelling was willing to act as librarian and produce a catalogue. Storage space could be found in 2MS at present. However, no guarantees could be given for the future as accommodation requirements were liable to change, and it might one day be necessary to dispose of the library through a book sale or other means. It was agreed that Tim Peling should approach Eric Davies to see if he was willing to part with the library on these lines. James Toon undertook to provide contact details.
Action: Tim Pelling, James Toon
11. Any other business
11.1 The meeting noted that two members of the club (Tony Ashby and Tim Pelling) had represented England at the European Senior Chess Team Championships in Dresden in February 2008.
••Annual Blitz Tournament
The Annual Blitz Tournament took place after the AGM. A total of 8 club members took part. Tony Ashby won the event, finishing just ahead of Keith Dunmore, Michael Keane and Tim Pelling. The scores are given below (out of 7).
| Tony Ashby | 6 |
| Keith Dunmore | 5 |
| Michael Keane | 5 |
| Tim Pelling | 5 |
| James Toon | 4 |
| Peter Biggs | 2 |
| Brendan Christie | 1 |
| Maria Sant | 0 |