St.

John's Chess Club

Minutes of Annual General Meeting of St. John's Chess Club held at The Coachmakers Arms P.H.,
Norwich on Thursday 21 July 2022 commencing at 7.45 p.m.

1. Members present (22): Gerry Clayton, Brian Cunningham, Phil Sneesby, David Payne,
Richard Downing, Guy Bronze, Cristina Casti, David May, Senthil Murugan, Ben Yelverton,
Geoff Moore, Rod Mills, James Woodburn, David Elsey, Alan Holmes, Dennis Driscoll, Ed
King, Nathan Abbott, Oliver Nelson, Crumpton Clarke, Simon Nichols, David (Harry)
McLean. Apologies received from: Anders Movilla, Mark Lim, Joe Grant and Colin Payne.

2. Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 16 September 2021 had been
distributed along with the agenda. The minutes were accepted as an accurate record and
there were no matters arising.

3. Treasurer's Report: Phil Sneesby gave the following report:

2020/21 was a highly unusual season due to Covid and this was reflected in the accounts for
that period. Although we did not have any expenses for league chess, we did not collect any
income from subscriptions either. In fact, we used some of our reserves to fund the prizes for
the ‘Spring Bash’. 2021/22 returned to the more familiar pattern, albeit with a reduced
number of league teams. Membership numbers remain at a high level overall and the excess
of income over expenditure generated replenished the reserve and provides us with a buffer
for activities in 2022/23. I think the Club should always maintain a reserve of about £350.00
(to cover purchases of replacement equipment and other unforeseen expenses). I do not
propose any increase in the members’ subscription for 2022/23 – it remains at £20.00,
although of course it is subject to review every year. Last year many members paid early or
promptly for which I thank them.

Phil also provided an Income v Expenditure sheet (included with file copy of these minutes)
showing a bank balance of £587.45 at 30 June 2022. A question was asked from the floor as
to how we intend to spend any surplus above our target of £350. Nothing yet determined
(though see point 4 in AOB). Brian Cunningham mentioned that we must be prepared for the
eventuality of having to pay rental on a new venue at some point in the future.

ECF membership costs remain unaltered, though membership moves from a fixed year to a
rolling year for each individual member. Members were reminded that it is their personal
responsibility to ensure they have fully paid up ECF membership in order to play in rated
games.

4. Special Item: Move from C4 results site to LMS. David Payne gave an overview of the new
LMS results site, which we will be using from this coming season, Dave Wild having
decided to retire his C4 site.

5. Captains Reports: The captains of the Crusaders and Templars (both David Payne), Bishops
(Crumpton Clarke), Knights (David Elsey) and Cup Teams (David Payne) reported in detail
on team and individual performances throughout the season. Highlights were the Templars
winning Division 2 East, and the Bishops being runners-up in Division 3.

6. Team Entries for 2022/23: Discussion was around whether or not the club could sustain a 6th
team next season. This would be six teams, each with a squad of five players. It was noted
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 that there are not enough car drivers to make this viable, also uncertainty about whether or
not current high membership levels would be sustained. There was discussion (as in
previous years) about the possibility of a second club night but no proposal or decision on
this was made – Gerry stated that it had been discussed before with the landlord and that he
would not be keen. Decision (unopposed vote) being to enter five teams in league
competitions (squads of six players). Also, to enter teams in all three cup competitions.

7. Internal Competitions: Richard Downing reported on a successful season of both

Normalplay and Rapidplay internal leagues. He listed the winners of each league and said
that, as always, players not completing their fixtures tended to mar the competition. He
asked for ideas and suggestions as to how this can be avoided, but also said that we had
struggled in vain for many years to find a format that avoided this problem. Another
problem was how to involve new members who join after the internal competitions have
started each year. Several suggestions were made from the floor and Richard will advise a
new format for next season’s internal tournaments in due course.

8. Presentation of trophies: These were awarded to Mark Lim (Club Champion and Rapidplay
Champion), Ollie Nelson (Player of the Season) and Dominic Harvey (Rabbit of the
Season).

9. Election of Officers for 2022/23: the following members were elected or re-elected:

a) Chairman: Gerry Clayton

b) Secretary: Guy Bronze (Brian Cunningham stepping down due to work commitments)

c) Treasurer: Phil Sneesby

d) Team Captains

i. Crusaders and Templars: David Payne (also Cup captain)

ii. Bishops: Joe Grant

iii. Knights: David May

iv. Knaves: David Elsey

e) Website Manager: David ‘Harry’ McLean (Richard Downing supporting)

f) Internal Club Competition Organiser: Richard Downing (Nathan Abbott supporting)

The above members comprise the Committee of the Club.

10. Any other business:

1. Harry McLean proposed an honorary lifetime membership for Alan Holmes with
free annual subscription. This was approved by unanimous vote.

2. David Payne showed the trophies won by the county teams and by St. John’s based
teams in other external competitions and congresses.

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 3. David May explained that he was planning to run a rated Blitz competition – more
detail to follow.

4. Gerry Clayton spoke about the club’s 30th anniversary next year and advised that we
would run a special event of some kind to celebrate. The Sainsbury Centre at the
UEA and The John Innes Centre were discussed as possible venues. It might be
possible to arrange a simultaneous against a grandmaster, and/or possibly incorporate
David May’s Blitz event. Ideas requested and more details to follow.

5. David Elsey proposed a club gratuity to the bar staff every Christmas to help with
goodwill (as we pay nothing for use of the venue). Gerry stated that they would be
unable to accept such a gift. Nevertheless, it was agreed that we need to find some
way of expressing our thanks for their ongoing support.

6. Nathan Abbott asked if we had tried to get permission from the new owners of the
business opposite to use their car park. Committee to investigate.

7. A request came from the floor for the Committee to look into running the ‘Chess on
a Train’ trip again.

8. A vote of thanks was made to Brian Cunningham for his service as secretary in the
previous year.

11. There being no further business, the meeting closed at approximately 9.40 p.m.

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