It is completely possible that I am imagining things but...
I wouldn't be too comfortable in an environment where coaches only paid attention to their competition material kids and basically ignored everyone else.
My kids aren't into chess competition (although my dd11 likes chess and participates in a club that doesn't compete outside of the club). So I have no background in chess specifically, but fwiw, I wondered the same thing Mana mentions. My kids have been involved in a lot of other sports over the years, and our best experiences have been with the groups where the talents of each of the children were nurtured, not just the naturally athletically talented kids.
OTOH, I also wondered if the not-paying-attention to your dd comment might be a factor of personality - my youngest dd gets attention due to her athletic talents, but also gets attention because her personality sort of demands it lol. My older dd, otoh, while she is quite good at some of the sports she participates in, also derives her joy from her friends and doesn't really stand out in any given group because she's having fun and that's her entire motivation (which is ok with me too, btw
).
Best wishes,
polarbear
