News – 2009–10

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 2009 will appear on this page when they leave the home page.

News archive

News from previous seasons:

Best Game Prizes (5th May)

Entries are solicited for the Best Game prizes. As last year's competition slipped through the cracks, any game played by a Notts player in either season 2008-09 or 2009-10 is eligible, and two prizes will be awarded. Entries should be submitted to me no later than the Rules Revision Meeting, 8th June. Light analysis may be included, but is not necessary. Entries will be anonymised before submission to the judges. Ideally, they should be e-mailed to me at secretary@nottschess.org in PGN format [which can be produced by any modern chess program]; but any readable format, whether by e-mail or otherwise, is acceptable. Message from Andy Walker.

Nottingham Congress (20th Apr)

The Open had strength and depth with any number of players capable of coming first place. There was a four way tie for first place between Ankush Khandelwal, Brandon Clarke, Anthony Hynes and Don Mason. In the major Vincent Naan (Gambit), Steve Deall and Daniel Lin (West Notts) shared first place with a score of 4/5. A summary of the results is available with a short report to follow.

Southend Congress (8th Apr)

Richard Webster (Ashfield) scored 4/7 and Alex Combie (Newark) scored 3/7 in the Open. Both gained a few points on their FIDE ratings.

Bolton Congress (8th Apr)

David Coates (Grantham) scored 2½/5 in the Open and Daniel Broughton (West Bridgford) scored 3/5 in the Major.

Annual General Meeting (8th Apr)

The AGM is very likely to be either 6th or 13th July. The earlier date *may* clash with an important England game in the World Cup [and we won't know in time]; the latter date is getting well into the holiday period. Any strong preferences should be expressed to any member of EC within the next week or so. Message from Andy Walker.

Rules Revision Meeting (8th Apr)

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 8th June, at 7:30pm [provisionally] at Gambit Chess Club. Any proposals for changes to the League Rules should be made in accordance with Rule A5, and should reach me no later than Tuesday, 4th May. Any other items for the meeting should reach me no later than Monday 17th May. Message from Andy Walker.

Uxbridge Congress (22nd Mar)

David Coates (Grantham) came equal 2nd place in the Open section with a score of 4/5 and won £100 prize money plus the British Championship qualifying place on offer. His rating performance for the competition was 2487, over 400 points higher than his actual rating of 2043.

Nottinghamshire Junior Chess (22nd Mar)

9 year old Mark Kenyon, a member of WNCC, has just been chosen to represent England in the Under 10 World Championships in Greece next October.

This season we have six U11s, including two year 5s, who have qualified for the England U11 trials. Message from David Levens. Full report.

Nottingham Congress - change to venue (22nd Mar)

The High School have kindly agreed to let us use the brand new Senior School Refectory for the Congress. The capacity is at least 250, so it is much more spacious than the Junior School Refectory used previously. Just enter the main building from the car park. Approaching from the tram stop entrance proceed past the Junior Refectory to the gates, turn left, go down the steps and follow your way round to the car park. Message from Robert Richmond. The additional information page has been updated.

Blackpool Congress (15th Mar)

The leading Notts player in the Open section was David Coates (Grantham) with a score of 3½/5 and finished equal 6th place. A summary of all the Notts players who took part are as follows:

Inter-County U140 Championship: Nottinghamshire 9 - Worcestershire 7 (15th Mar)

This was the deciding match to see who would win the U140 title. Nottinghamshire truimphed to beat Worcestershire 9-7 to go top of the table and claim the title. The results are up on the web site with a report to follow shortly.

Inter-County U140 Championship: Staffordshire 6 - Nottinghamshire 10 (3rd Mar)

The U140 team had a comfortable win over Staffordshire beating them 10-6. This puts them in second place and a win against Worcestershire this month will put the U140 team top of the table. A summary of the match is available.

Doncaster Congress (3rd Mar)

Several Notts players made the trip to the Doncaster Congress, held from 26-28 February. Results (all out of five points unless stated):

Warwickshire Congress (15th Feb)

David Coates (Grantham) came equal first in the Open with a score of 4/5 and won £225 prize money. Andrew Sutton (Nottingham Central) came 2nd place in the U125 section and won £100 prize money.

Kidlington Congress (15th Feb)

Paul Cumbers (Grantham) came in first place in the Open section with a score of 4½/5. He won £250 prize money and qualifies for the British Championship this year.

Ashfield change of Venue (1st Feb)

Steve Burke wishes to inform that Ashfield have had to move ALL their forthcoming matches this season back to there old venue:

East Kirkby Miners Welfare
Lowmoor Road
Kirkby in Ashfield
Notts
NG17 7JF

In fact, despite the address, the entrance is on Alexandra Street (it’s just off Lowmoor Road; turn on the right immediately before the mini-roundabout as you go out of Kirkby on Lowmoor Road).

The move is due to availability problems at the summit centre. If anyone is unsure about directions you can contact Steve on:  01773 580372. Note that Start times and dates of matches remain the same.

Inter-County U160 Championship: Shropshire 7 - Nottinghamshire 9 (30th Jan)

Nottinghamshire completed the double over Shropshire (the U140's winning as well), with a 9-7 victory. The result puts Nottinghamshire top of the table. A summary of the results is available.

Inter-County U140 Championship: Nottinghamshire 14 - 2 Shropshire (30th Jan)

A very comfortable win for Nottinghamshire against Shropshire, the weakest county in the zone. Apart from the top four boards it was a very one sided match. A summary of the results and a report is available.

Nottingham Rapidplay (30th Jan)

Paul Kemp (Linton) and Alan Smith (Stockport) shared 1st place in the open section, scoring 5/6. Notable sucesses for Notts players included Michael Harper (Gambit) sharing 1st place in the Intermediate with a score of 5½/6. Also Tim Poole (University), Robert Taylor (Ashfield) and Richard Edwards (Gambit) shared 1st place in the Major with a score of 4½/6. Full results.

York Congress (30th Jan)

Alex Combie (Newark) came equal 3rd place in the open with a score of 3½/5.

Hastings Weekend Congress (12th Jan)

Pablo Padilla (Ashfield) came equal 2nd place in the open section of the weekend congress and won £150 prize money. Also playing in the open section was David Coates (Grantham) who finished mid table on 2½/5. David Dunne (Nottingham Central) scored 1½/5 in the minor section.

Notts County Championship - Game Prizes (17th Dec)

The game prizes have been awarded for each section in this year's County Championship. Pablo Padilla (Ashfield) won the prize in the open section. A full report is available. You can also play through the games that won the prize for each section.

British Rapidplay (8th Dec)

A number of Notts players took part in the Open section. Alex Combie was the highest placed Notts player with a score of 7/11. He caused an upset by beating IM Craig Pritchett in the last round. A summary of the results are as follows:

Inter-County U160 Championship: Nottinghamshire 11 – 5 Warwickshire (8th Dec)

A great win which takes Nottinghamshire to the top of the group. A summary of the match is available.

Notts County Championship (1st Dec)

Pablo Padilla Cabero (Ashfield) is the new County Champion after beating Mike Barnes (Gambit) in a close match in the final round. Andrew Garside (West Nottingham) was the winner in the U135 section and also becomes Junior Champion. A full report is available with the final scores of each section.

County & District Correspondence Chess Championships 2008/09 (30th Nov)

The results for Nottinghamshire in the 2008/09 competition are now available. If you are interested in playing this season you can contact the correspondence captain for more details.

Inter-County U160 Championship: Leicestershire 8 – 8 Nottinghamshire (30th Nov)

A tight match which ended in an 8-8 draw. Nottinghamshire had a good lead to start with but Leicestershire pulled back on the higher boards to level the score. A summary of the individual board scores is available with a short report.

Hull Congress (18th Nov)

David Coates (Grantham) came equal 3rd place in the open with a score of 3/5 and shared the prize money of £90 (split 6 ways). Ross MacKay (West Nottingham) played well in the major section scoring 2½/5.

Inter-County U140 Championship: Nottinghamshire 11½ - 4½ Derbyshire (31st Oct)

Nottinghamshire emerged worthy victors against a Derbyshire team who were of similar strength on paper. A summary of the individual board scores is available with a report to follow shortly.

Scarborough Congress (31st Oct)

Michael Barnes (Gambit) played very well to come =1st place in the open section. He won £166 prize money and gained the British qualifying place on offer. Alex Combie (Newark) won a grading prize in the open. Ray Sayer (Ashfield) also won a grading prize in the intermediate section. Results for all the Nottinghamshire players who took part are summarised below:

Leicester Congress (10th Oct)

Stephen Foster (Navigation) came =3rd place with 3½/5 in the major section and won £12.50. David Coates (Grantham) scored 3/5 in the open and shared the U180 grading prize of £40. Results for all the Nottinghamshire players who took part are summarised below:

Isle of Man Congress (7th Oct)

Ian Kingston (West Nottingham) came equal 3rd place in the major tournament with a score of 3½/5.

Uxbridge Congress (7th Oct)

Only 1 Notts player took part in this event which was David Coates (Grantham), scoring 2/5 in the Open section.

Uxbridge International (7th Oct)

This was a 5 day event back in August. Players were divided in to 6 groups and 9 rounds were played in each group. Ankush Khandelwal (Ashfield) scored 5/9 in Group B and put in a 2300+ rating performance, much higher than his actual rating of 2160. In group D Ian Kingston (West Nottingham) came mid table with 4½/9.

Forthcoming NCA Events (30th Sep)

As usual there are 3 NCA events organised for the forthcoming season. The County Championship will take place on 28-29th Nov. At the start of next year in January is the Nottingham Rapidplay and in April is the Nottingham Congress. Entry forms are now available. The venue for every event is the Nottingham High School.

Important notice - Gambit have entered a team in div 5 (27th Sep)

Gambit have entered a 5th team into division 5. The results pages have been updated to reflect this. Also, West Nottingham 4 have now been removed from the results pages after withdrawing from division 4. If you notice any mistakes on the results pages following these changes please report this to the webmaster.

Important notice - Navigation CC change name to Nottingham Central CC (26th Sep)

Navigation CC has changed its name to Nottingham Central CC. They will move to a new venue from October 6th. The new venue is The King William IV, 6 Eyre St, Sneinton, NG2 4PB.

Important notice - West Nottingham 4 withdraw from div 4 (26th Sep)

West Nottingham 4 have withdrawn from division 4. Penny Mackay, who was WN4's captain, has taken over from Predeep Nehra as captain of West Nottingham 2. The league table and results for division 4 will be updated as soon as possible.

Chris Rossiter passed away (26th Sep)

I regret to inform you that Chris Rossiter, Alex's younger brother, died on Friday 11th Sep. He was a one time member of the Nomads Club and was captain of our junior team in 2002 and 2003 until ill health forced him to give up the captaincy and chess. Message from Maurice Hill.

Amendments to League Rules 2009/10 (14th Sep)

There were only a few minor changes to the rules. Entry forms for the following season will be sent to all clubs by 31st May (changed from 15th June). The date for clubs to return the completed entry form is 30th June (changed from 15th July). Defaulted boards above the bottom board will incur the transfer of half a point from an offending team to their opponents except when this gives a negative score. The full amended rules are available for you to view.

Important notice on Ashfield Chess Club (14th Sep)

Due to the current economic climate Ashfield's venue will close earlier in the evening meaning Ashfield will have no choice but to start their home matches at 7:30pm prompt, without exception, to ensure the matches end by 10:30pm at the latest.

National Chess Club Rapidplay Championship (6th Sep)

A 5 round swiss rapidplay event is taking place on Saturday 26th Sep at Syston & District Social Club. It is a handicap event for teams of 4 players. An entry form is available for downloading. The closing date is 23rd Sep.

National Chess Club Championship (6th Sep)

Clubs have the opportunity to enter teams in the National Chess Club Championship for the 2009/10 season. There are 4 sections - Open, Major, Intermediate and Minor. Please download an entry form if you are interested. The closing date is October 30th 2009.

New venue for Grantham Chess Club (6th Sep)

As from this season (2009/10) and onwards Grantham have moved venue to The Grantham Electric Club, 11 Commercial Road, Grantham, NG31 6BD. Their club nights are still on Wednesdays at 7:30pm.

Navigation Rapidplay results (26th Aug)

The event attracted plenty of players which allowed for 2 sections. The U110 section was won by Mike Hunter (West Bridgford) with a score of 4½/5. The Open was won by Drag Sudar (Gambit), scoring 4/5 and winning the trophy. Full report

British Championships (9 Aug)

The British Championships was held at Torquay this year and began on Sunday 26th July. 24 competitions were played over 2 weeks. A summary of the 7 local players' results appears below.

Peter Mercs won the U175 title with a score of 4½/5. He received £225 in prize money.

David Dunne did equally as well to win the U100 title with a score of 4½/5. He also won £225 for his efforts.

In the week 2 rapidplay event Ankush Khandelwal finished in equal 2nd place and won £17.50 prize money.

In the Championship event there were good performances from a number of Notts players. Paul Cumbers and Ankush Khandelwal both finished on 5½/11. Nigel Birtwistle was only half a point behind on 5/11. Paul notched up a couple of impressive wins against James Cobb, a 2400 IM and Peter Sowray, a 2300 FM. Ankush also had a good win over Dietmar Kolbus, a 2300 IM.

The leading NCA player in the Major Open was Richard Webster with a score of 5/11.

A selection of games is now available for replay.

Some photos (taken from the BritishChess09 Web site):

Nigel Birtwistle (left) against GM Stuart Conquest
Nigel Birtwistle (left) against GM Stuart Conquest

Paul Cumbers (right) against FM Peter Sowray
Paul Cumbers (right) against FM Peter Sowray

Peter Mercs (nearest) winner of the British U175 Championship
Peter Mercs (left) winner of the British U175 Championship

Summary

Navigation Rapidplay event (6 Aug)

The Navigation are proud to host this years rapidplay event on Tuesday 18th August 7:30pm. There are 2 sections - U120 and Open. A buffet is provided for £5 per head. Rapidplay times to be decided nearer the time. The Navigation club address is The Navigation Public House, 6 Wilford Street, Nottingham NG2 1AA. Please contact Will Place for further details.