Annual Conference of International Correspondence Chess Federation

Annual Conference of International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) to Take Place in England
Press Releases

The BFCC is pleased to announce that the Annual Congress (Conference) of the ICCF will take place in England for the first time since 1989. The venue will be the Village Hotel and Conference Centre, Headingley, Leeds and will take place from September 12-19, 2009. The Opening Ceremony will take place on September 13 and will be attended by the Lord Mayor of Leeds. The Congress will be attended by between 50-70 delegates from all over the world including Africa, North & South America and, of course, many from Europe. The Annual Congress is the decision-making body of the ICCF so the past year is reviewed and policy is formulated for the future. A special website has been created and can be viewed at http://www.leeds09.com.

For those unfamiliar with the phrase “correspondence chess”, this refers to any game of chess not played face-to-face with your opponent. Time is measured in days and weeks rather than the conventional minutes and seconds of a standard “over-the-board” game. As a result, most correspondence chess players play multiple opponents simultaneously with an average player having perhaps 20-30 “ongoing” games. In former times this meant playing chess by post but nowadays it is mostly done electronically over the internet or by e-mail. The sport attracts thousands of players worldwide: Here in the UK, we have found it is very attractive to the retired, the elderly and the disabled who wish to play chess against international opponents from the comfort of their own home.

Here is the full article.