News – 2008–09

Items on this page are in reverse chronological order (i.e. the most recent items are at the top). For the very latest news, visit the home page.

News items posted after 2 July 2008 will appear on this page when they leave the home page.

News archive

News from previous seasons:

Important Congress Reminder (30 Jun)

The Manchester Summer Congress is coming up this weekend from 3-5th July. Your support is much appreciated and there are good prizes in all sections. All standards are welcome from beginner to expert. An entry form is available to download. If you require more info then please email gmccacongress@yahoo.co.uk.

Reports available for season 08/09 (21 Jun)

A selection of reports from various NCA officials can be viewed for the season that has just ended. The reports cover the league, competitions, finances, publicity etc.

Annual General Meeting (11 Jun)

The Annual General Meeting of the Nottinghamshire Chess Association will be held on Thursday 9th July at 7:30pm [venue still to be negotiated]. Officers' reports received by me by 16th June will be circulated with final papers for the meeting. All officers are asked, please, to indicate to the President whether or not they are willing to continue in post for next season; anyone, current officer or otherwise, who would like to take on a role within the NCA is likewise asked to contact the President. It would be particularly helpful if reports, confirmations and expressions of interest could be received in time for discussion at the final EC meeting of the season, which will be held on Monday 15th June. Message from Andy Walker.

Amersham Congress (2 Jun)

This was a 7 round FIDE rated event at the end of May. Only 1 Notts player took part which was David Coates (Grantham), scoring 4/7 in the Open section.

Oxford Congress (2 Jun)

David Coates (Grantham) played in the Open section and scored 2½/5.

Nottingham Congress (5 May)

This year's Nottingham Congress was closely contested in both the open and major sections. In the open GM Mark Hebden, Peter Hempson and William Jones shared equal first place. In the major Brandon Clarke, Edward Keogh and Raymond Wynarczyk shared equal first place. Full list of prize winners

Bolton Congress (27 Apr)

Daniel Broughton (West Bridgford) came equal first in the Knights section with a score of 4½/5 and won £120 prize money. David Coates (Grantham) scored 2½/5 in the Open.

Southend Congress (27 Apr)

Two Notts players competed in the Open section. Richard Webster (Ashfield) scored 4/7 and Alex Combie (Newark) scored 3/7.

Coulsdon Easter International (27 Apr)

David Coates (Grantham) played in the Challengers event and came equal second place with a score of 6½/8 and should gain a few FIDE rating points.

ECF Council - County Championship (27 Apr)

Robert Richmond gives a report from the meeting on the considerations of the grading limits for next years County Championship. Further discussion on this will take place at the MCCU AGM.

2009 Staffordshire Chess Congress Cancelled (19 Mar)

Regrettably it has been necessary to cancel the Staffordshire Chess Congress which was due to take place on 19th-20th April 2009. This is due to unforeseen problems with the venue which would create poor playing conditions. All entry forms and cheques will be returned as soon as possible. Staffordshire Chess Association apologises for any inconvenience that this cancellation may cause. Traci Whitfield - Congress Director

Blackpool Congress (19 Mar)

Several Notts players made the trip to the Blackpool Congress, held from 13 - 15 Mar. Results (all out of five points unless stated):

Doncaster Congress (2 Mar)

Several Notts players made the trip up to the Doncaster Congress, held from 27 Feb - 1 Mar. Results (all out of five points unless stated):

Uxbridge Congress (24 Feb)

A few notts players played in this congress but unfortunately no one made it in to the prize money. Daniel Wells put in a good performance in the Open scoring 3/5. Here are the results for all the notts players that took part (scores out of 5):

Handicap KO (24 Feb)

Round 1 of the Handicap KO has been completed with Gambit 2, Newark 2, Newark 1 and Mansfield progressing through to the Semi final. See the link above for the semi final draw.

Warwickshire Congress (19 Feb)

There were 2 notts players in the open section. David Coates (Grantham) scored 2½/5 and just missed out on a grading prize. Daniel Wells (Newark) scored 2/5.

Nottingham Congress (6 Feb)

Entry forms have now been sent to club secretaries. I will post directly to players on my mailing list towards the end of the month. Space may well be limited, and you are advised to enter early. The entry form can be downloaded. See also the additional notes, which includes the definition of Notts Junior (Free Entry) and nearby accommodation. Any queries ring me on 0115-9455908 or e-mail Robrchmnd@aol.com.

Important Notice: EGM/SGM Cancellation (3 Feb)

The EGM scheduled for Wednesday 4th February is cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. A new date will be communicated to everyone as soon as possible.

Notts Rapidplay (29 Jan)

GM Mark Hebden repeated his success from last year's event to win the 2009 Nottingham Rapidplay with a perfect score of 6/6. Full results.

York Congress (12 Jan)

Alex Combie (Newark) did very well in the early stages of the open with a score of 2½/3 but lost in the last 2 rounds against the top seeds. Here are the scores of some of the notts players that took part (scores out of 5):

If any notts players have been missed off this list then please email the web master with the details.

4NCL: Second Weekend (14 Dec)

A typically mixed bag of results for the Nottinghamshire teams in Rounds 3 and 4 of the 4NCL. Notts 1 won one and lost one, while the second team got hammered on Saturday but achieved an excellent draw on Sunday. Ian Kingston reports.

Rapidplay and Congress (8 Dec)

The Rapidplay will be on January 25th 2009, and the Congress April 25/26, both at Nottingham High School, Waverley Mount, Nottingham, NG2 4ED. The entry forms can now be downloaded. Rapidplay entry forms will be sent to club secretaries shortly, and will be posted to individuals between christmas and new year. Free entry for Notts juniors. For the definition of a Notts junior and accommodation list for the congress see additional information. Entry form for Rapidplay. Entry form for Congress.

Nottinghamshire County Championship (8 Dec)

A full report of the event is now available to view which includes final scores and positions for each section.

Milton Keynes Congress (19 Nov)

There was only a small group of Nottinghamshire players that took part in this event. Daniel Wells narrowly missed out on some prize money in the Open. Results for all the Nottinghamshire players who took part are summarised below:

Hull Congress (19 Nov)

Dave Dunne (West Notts) played very well, winning the Minor section with a perfect score of 5/5 and received £250 prize money. Daniel Broughton (West Bridgford) scored 4/5 in the U126 section and won £50 prize money. Here is a summary of all the Nottinghamshire players who took part:

Nottinghamshire County Championship (4 Nov)

The 2008 County Champion is David Coates of Grantham, who won the title from Mike Barnes (Gambit) on count back (both scored 4). Full details to follow soon.

Scarborough Congress (4 Nov)

Alex Combie (Newark) came equal 3rd in the Major section and won £83.33. Janos Wagenbach (Mansfield) came equal 1st in the Intermediate section with a score of 4½/5 and won £375. Dave Dunne won the Foundation section with a score of 5/5 and won £500 prize money. Here is a summary of all the Nottinghamshire players who took part:

Some of these results are incomplete. If you can fill in the gaps then please email the webmaster.

4NCL: First weekend (23 Oct)

New season, new captain, new players: the 4NCL season got under way on 18-19 October with a win and a loss for Notts 1 and a draw and a loss for Notts 2. Ian Kingston reports.

Leicester Congress (23 Oct)

Marcel Taylor (Radcliffe & Bingham) won the Intermediate section with a score of 4/5. Tracey Clegg (West Nottingham) shared first place in the Minor section with a score of 3½/5. Arun Maini (West Nottingham) won the Amateur section with a score of 4½/5. Results for all the Nottinghamshire players who took part are summarised below:

Site news (27 September)

No one has yet stepped forward to be the new webmaster, but the site will not go cold. Will Place, the Records Secretary, will be posting results in a similar format to recent years, while the ex-webmaster, Ian Kingston, will be keeping the essential news up to date. Other pages (county teams, 4NCL etc.) are up for grabs, so if you feel like contributing (without having to take on the whole package), contact Ian and he'll show you the ropes.

League Handbook (27 September)

Printed copies aren't yet available, but a PDF version has been sent to all club secretaries for distribution to captains. Alternatively, you can download a copy.

County Championship (27 September)

The Nottinghamshire County Championship will be held at the Nottingham Boys High School on 1–2 November. Entry is free to all juniors. Entry form.

Leicester FIDE-Rated Event (27 September)

Sean Hewitt's second pair of FIDE-rated tournaments were held at the Plough Inn, Littlethorpe, on 23–25 August and 6–7 September. Former Nottinghamshire Under 11 top board Brandon Clarke dominated the A group, scoring 7/9 and proving just how seriously undergraded (and underrated) fast-improving juniors can be. West Nottingham’s Ian Kingston finished fourth with 5½ points and David Coates (Newark) was seventh with 5 points. Everyone who played, whether FIDE-rated or not, will appear in the 1 October 2008 FIDE rating list. Full details.

ECF National Schools finals (8 July)

Neil Graham

Both Kishan Lakhani and Oliver Exton were unavailable for the ECF National Schools Finals held at Upppingham School on 4–5 July. The result was that Nottingham High School lost their title to Millfield School in the Final. As the High School had two teams in the competition and in the finals, they were unable, according to the rules, to bring in players from the B team to replace those in the A team. Although Joel Lamy substituted he lost both games.

In the Plate competition, the High School’s B team was beaten in the semi-final by Wilson’s School, but bounced back to take third place by beating Leeds Grammar School.

National Club Championship – Minor Final (8 July)

Neil Graham

After beating Lancaster in the semi-finals by 2–2 – the win came on board count – Ashfield played Hackney in the final after the London side had also progressed on board count. The ECF Controller chose Syston as the venue, so both teams duly turned up there on 6 July.

In the semi-final the only Ashfield winner was Alan Robinson as captain Bob Taylor was unavailable. However, Bob was back for the final and unfortunately played a combination with the moves in the wrong order. He lost a piece and also the game, so Ashfield were one down.

The remaining games were destined to go the whole distance. Phil had an equal game, but his opponent misplayed what should have been a drawn ending and the match was tied at 1–1. Neil scrambled to the first time control with half a minute to spare. The ending was a complex N + 7 vs. B + 6, and after a frantic half hour when the local player played a further 43 moves in ever-increasing time trouble, the bishop found itself trying to prevent pawns on f2 and a2 queening. So with about 45 seconds remaining the second Ashfield win was scored. Unfortunately, Stan had lost a piece on Board 1, and in an ending of N + Ps v Ps, the London player was able to give the knight back for a pawn and create an unstoppable brace of pawns. So the result was 2–2 and Hackney won on board count. All the games were won with black; so much for winning the toss!

S. Cranmer (132) 0–1 E. Lee (147)
N. Graham (129) 1–0 R. Oakley (124)
R. P. Taylor (129) 0–1 D. Shaw (119)
D. P. Morgan (109) 1–0 M. Rivlin (104)

Inter-County U100 final (6 July)

The U100 team finished as runner-up in the national U100 championship, losing 7–5 to Hertfordshire on 5 July. Neil Graham reports.

Earlier years

2007–08 issues

2006–07 issues