Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Irish Chess Union will be held on Sunday 4th September, 2005. An Extraordinary General Meeting will be held beforehand to seek approval for amendments to be made to the constitution. The meetings will be held in The Teachers Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 starting at 2pm. Full details can be downloaded.

The following nominations have been received for positions on the Executive Committee:

Chairperson (Johanna Lowry-O’Reilly and Eamonn Pitts); Vice-Chairperson (Shirley Flynn); Secretary (John Alfred); Treasurer (Gerry O’Connell), Ratings Officer (John Shearan), Junior Officer (Rory Delaney), Public Relations Officer (Pat McCarrick), Arbitration Officer (Herbert Scarry), and Irish Chess Journal Editors (joint – Kevin Burke and John Healy). There were no nominations for Membership Officer, Development Officer and Tournament Controller, and these will be accepted at the AGM. In the case of Chairperson two valid nominations were received and an election will therefore be held for this position at the AGM.

The following motions have been received:

1. “That the ICU shall aim to maintain one official web page with a chronological list of tournaments for the coming year, including the dates of those tournaments and basic details (e.g. venue, start time, time control, rating bands) and a contact name/link for further details.” (Justin Daly)

2. “That the ICU shall insist that tournament details be forwarded from organisers as soon as possible for inclusion on the web site, especially dates or provisional dates, with the aim that the full tournament calendar including leagues be available in September for the coming season.” (Justin Daly)

3. “An ICU registered player who does not play a rated game for 5 or more years and then returns to active play, should be given a rating 25% lower than his/her original rating.” (Michael Germaine)

4. “That 2 places on the men’s Olympiad team are reserved for the top 2 places in future Irish Senior Championships.” (Martin Crichton)

5. “That a new Irish Junior Chess Association should be formed, affiliated to the ICU but with autonomy necessary to drive forward Junior Chess in Ireland; the fees from junior members going to the Association.” (Michael Hanly)

6. "That ratings be the sole criteria for selection for the World and European Youth Championships." (Niall Murphy)

7. "That each selection be individually approved by the Executive Committee." (Niall Murphy)

8. "That the Executive puts an appeals mechanism in place for selections." (Niall Murphy)

All relevant documentation will be posted on the Irish Chess Union website (www.icu.ie) prior to the AGM. This will include the officer’s reports, accounts for the last year, and minutes of the previous AGM. The proposed amendments to the Constitution will also be included.

All ICU members registered for the current year are entitled to attend and vote at this meeting.

Please note that the prizes for Senior Player of the Year and the first ICU Grand Prix will be presented during the AGM.

The Irish Blitz Championships will take place at the same venue, from 10:30 am to 1pm. Players may enter on the day. Please bring chess equipment.