News – 2012–13

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.

Nottingham Rapidplay (29th Jun)

The winner of the Open section was Stojan Ivanov with a score of 4½/6. The Major section was won by Janos Wagenbach (Mansfield). The intermediate section was won by Jonah Willow (West Notts) and the Minor section was won by Peter Housden (Bedford). The full results are now up on the website with a list of prize winners.

East Midlands Junior Training Tournament (26th Jun)

East Midlands Chess are running a junior training tournamment on Sunday 7th July at Bramcote, Nottingham. This tournament is open to all children aged 5-18. There are plenty of prizes on offer and training is given inbetween matches. An entry form is available to download.

Inter-County U160 Championship: Nottinghamshire 7½-8½ Essex (22nd Jun)

Nottinghamshire lost 8½-7½ to Essex at the ECF semi final stage of the U160 Championship. Full Results

Leek Rapidplay (22nd Jun)

Two players from Ashfield made the trek to Staffordshire for the rapidplay (6 rounds of 20 min+10 s/m). A great 5/6 performance by Glen Halfpenny netted him a 1/3 share in first place, while Steve Burke picked up 3/6 against a strong field.

NCA Annual General Meeting (18th Jun)

The NCA Annual General Meeting will be held at Nomads Chess Club on Monday 8th July at 7.30pm. An agenda for the meeting is available to download. Please could any papers be emailed to the secretary by Friday 28th June, so that he can circulate these well in advance of the meeting. The minutes of the last meeting will be presented for approval.

Inter-County U180 Championship: Cambridgeshire 8½-7½ Nottinghamshire (9th Jun)

The U180 team narrowly lost to Cambridgeshire in the ECF quarter final stage by 8½-7½. Full Results

East Midlands Chess Festival (30th May)

The East Midlands Chess Festival will be taking place on Sunday 16th June at Risley Village Hall, a couple of minutes drive from Junction 25 of the M1. The festival is comprised of three events - team and individual, junior and adult, competition and training. A flyer is available to download.

Inter-County U160 Championship: Nottinghamshire 8-8 Suffolk (26th May)

Nottinghamshire had a very fortunate win on board count against Suffolk and go through to the semi final stage where they will play Essex. Full Results

e2e4 Nottingham Congress (17th May)

Michael Barnes (Gambit) came 2nd in the Open section with a score of 4/5 and won £150 prize money. His rating performance for the competition was 2366. Here are the results for all the Nottinghamshire players who took part (all scores out of 5 unless stated otherwise):

Best Game Prize (15th May)

The "Best Game" prize is being offered for the 2012-13 season. Any game played in the Notts League, Nottingham Congress, Notts County Championship or the Notts County side are eligible.

Please email the games to Steve Burke by 15 June. The preferred formats are pgn or Fritz/Chessbase but typed entries will also be accepted.

General Meeting of the NCA Rules Revision Meeting (12th May)

The General Meeting of the NCA Rules Revision meeting will be held on Monday 20th May at Nomads CC, starting at 7:30pm. An agenda for the meeting, minutes from the previous meeting and a document proposing digital clocks to be used in the league can be downloaded.

Inter-County U180 Championship: Nottinghamshire 8½–6½ Essex (9th May)

Nottinghamshire beat Essex 8½–6½ in the preliminary round of the ECF stages for the U180 Championship and go through to the quarter final stage where they will play Cambridgeshire. Full Results

MCCU Grand Prix Final Results (8th May)

The MCCU Grand Prix is for open sections in long play congresses and runs until the end of May. The last congress to be played was Nottingham. Several Nottinghamshire players took part in the grand prix. Here are the top 5 scorers:

Name Club Events played Score
Michael Barnes Gambit 2 7
Peter Mercs Gambit 2 7
Claudio Mangione Grantham 1 4
Richard Webster Ashfield 2 4
Daniel Broughton West Bridgford 2 4

Nottingham Congress (28th Apr)

Jim Burnett won the Open with a score of 4½/5. The Major was won by Drag Sudar with a score of 4½/5 and the Intermediate was won by John McKeon with the same score. In the minor section Andrew Sutton and Tony Welch shared first place with a score of 4½/5. Full Results

Inter-County Matches - ECF National Stages (7th Apr)

The draw for the national stages of the county championship are now available. Here are a summary of the Nottinghamshire teams that have qualified:

U180 Preliminary Round - Nottinghamshire v Essex
U160 Quarter final - Nottinghamshire v Suffolk
U100 Semi final - Nottinghamshire have a bye in the quarter final and automatically go through to the Semi final stage.

Southend Congress (2nd Apr)

There were 2 Notts players in the open section. Alex Combie scored 3½/7 and Jim Burnett (Mansfield) scored 3/7.

Buxton Congress (2nd Apr)

The leading Notts player was David Williams (Long Eaton) with a score of 3/5 in the major section. Here are the results for all the Notts players who took part (all scores out of 5):

NCA General Meeting (22nd Mar)

There will be a General Meeting of the NCA, provisionally set for Monday 20th May, to be held at Nomads CC, starting at 7:30pm. This will be the annual "Rules Revision" meeting. Any proposals for changes to the League Rules should be submitted to Alan Kenyon no later than Monday 15th April, and should be made in accordance with Rule A5. Draft minutes of the last AGM are available, so that a final version can be agreed at the RRM.

Any other business for the meeting should, if possible, be notified to Alan Kenyon by Monday 29th April, so that papers can be circulated in good time for the meeting.

Blackpool Congress (17th Mar)

The best result for Notts players came from Daniel Broughton, scoring 3/5 in the major section. Here are the results for all the Notts players who took part (all scores out of 5):

Doncaster Congress (17th Mar)

Robert Taylor (Ashfield) came 2nd place in the intermediate section with a score of 4½/5 and won £150 prize money. Here are the results for all the Notts players taking part (all scores out of 5):

Nottingham Congress and Nottingham Rapidplay (10th Mar)

The dates have been confirmed for the Nottingham Congress and Nottingham Rapidplay, and entry forms are available to download for both competitions. For a list of nearby accommodation please look at the Additional Information web page.

Inter-County Matches round up (24th Feb)

The U160 team beat Greater Manchester 9-7 and win the U160 championship. They go through to the ECF quarter final stage and will play either Cambridgeshire or Suffolk. Full results

The U140 team drew 8-8 against Derbyshire despite being 2 players short. They are currently bottom of the group and have yet to win a match. Full results

The U100 team beat Leicestershire 6½-4½. At least a draw in their final match will see them win the U100 championship. Full results

Nottinghamshire County Championship (10th Feb)

The 2012/13 County Champion is Mike Barnes (Gambit) with a score of 4½/5. Full results

ECF Grading List Jan 2013 (27th Jan)

The new grading list is now online. This is the mid season list for both standard and rapid grades. The new grades are based on games played up to 31st December 2012. Here are some of the most improved Notts players over the last 6 months:

Standard Grades
Name Club Current Grade Previous Grade Difference Age (if junior)
Peter Mercs Gambit 205 182 +23
Taylor Pearson West Notts 146 129 +17 11
Harry Croasdale West Bridgford 151 135 +16 13
Keith Aiton Newark 161 150 +11  
Terry Lavelle West Bridgford 132 122 +10  

Rapid Grades
Name Club Current Grade Previous Grade Difference Age (if junior)
Karam Sangha West Notts 136 108 +28 11
Taylor Pearson West Notts 131 113 +18 11
Isaac Stables West Notts 133 121 +12 13
Jonah Willow West Notts 125 114 +11 9
Ron Eliyahoo West Notts 119 108 +11 14

Manchester Rapidplay Chess Tournament (27th Jan)

The Manchester Rapidplay Tournament will be held on 17th March at The City of Manchester Stadium. It is a FIDE rated event with a time control of 20 mins plus 10 second per move increment. You need to be an ECF Silver member (not Gold) to take part. An entry form is available to download. For further information please contact Mick Norris.

U140 match rearranged (17th Jan)

The U140 away match against Shropshire that was scheduled for this coming Saturday (19th Jan) has now been rearranged for the following Saturday (26th Jan). This was due to difficulties in raising a team. For further details please contact the team captain Graham Neil.

Shropshire Congress (13th Jan)

The best result for a Notts player came in the Major section where Christopher Lewis (Notts University) scored 3/5. In the Open section Tim Lane (Notts CA) scored 2/5 and in the Minor section Allan Brown (Gambit) scored 2½/5.

York Congress (13th Jan)

Alex Combie (Newark) was the leading Notts player in the Open section with a score of 3½/5. Also playing in the Open was Richard Webster (Ashfield) who scored a respectable 3/5. In the Minor section Chris Fraser (West Bridgford) scored 2/5 and Charlotte Attwood (Radcliffe Á Bingham) scored 1½/5.

London Christmas Congress (31st Dec)

David Coates (Newark) came equal 2nd in the Open section with a score of 4½/6. Also playing in the Open section was Stephen Prior (Grantham) who scored 3½/6. In the Minor section Christopher Fraser (West Bridgford) scored 2/6.

London Junior Chess Championships (31st Dec)

The London Junior Chess Championships were held in December at the University of Westminster with sections for U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18. There were a small number of Nottinghamshire players taking part in 3 sections and everyone scored at least 50%. The best result was from Taylor Pearson (Notts CA), scoring 6½/9 in the U12 Major section and finishing equal 5th out of 84. Here are the results for all the Notts junior players taking part:

Northwick Park Congress (31st Dec)

Jim Burnett (Mansfield) finished equal 2nd in the Open section with a score of 3½/5.

Inter-County Matches round up (16th Dec)

U160 Warwickshire 6-10 Nottinghamshire - The U160 team got off to a good start this season with a 10-6 win against Warwickshire. Full results

U140 Worcestershire 9-7 Nottinghamshire - This was a close tense match that was decided on the last couple of boards in favour of Worcestershire. If the Nottinghamshire team hadn't turned up two players short it might have been a different result. Full Results

U120 Nottinghamshire 4-8 Worcestershire - The U120 team lost 8-4 to Worcestershire and were outgraded on most boards so the result was not unexpected. Full Results

Notts County Championship (6th Dec)

The County Championship will be taking place on 19-20th Jan at Bramcote Memorial Hall. An entry form is now available to download.

MCCU Correspondence Championship (6th Dec)

This year's tournament will be by electronic transmission of moves. Entries should be sent by email to Cyril Johnson by 15 December. For further information please visit the MCCU web site.

British Rapidplay (2nd Dec)

Jim Burnett (Mansfield) played well in the Open section and finished equal 6th on a score of 7/11. He beat IM Burns-Mannion in round 9. A number of juniors took part in various events at the British Rapidplay. The best junior result was from Karam Sangha (Nottingham High School) who came =2nd in the Minor section with a score of 8½/11. Here are the results of all the Notts players that took part (scores for main events are out of 11 and scores for junior events are out of 5):

Inter-County Matches round up (20th Nov)

It hasn't been a good start to the season for any of the Nottinghamshire county teams. Nottinghamshire lost 10-6 to Warwickshire in the U180 Championship. In the U140 section Nottinghamshire lost 10-6 to Warwickshire. In the U120 section Nottinghamshire lost 9-3 to Staffordshire.

Brighton Congress (18th Nov)

Graham Neil (Nomads) came equal first in the minor section with a score of 4½/5 and won £225. In the open section Stephen Prior (Grantham) scored 3/5 and David Coates (Newark) scored 2/5.

Scarborough Congress (31st Oct)

Jim Burnett (Mansfield) came equal 2nd in the open section with a score of 4/5 and won £125 in prize money. Michael Harper came equal 1st in the minor section with a score of 4/5 and won £112. Here are the results for all the Notts players who took part (all scores out of 5):

Hull Congress (31st Oct)

Robert Taylor (Ashfield) came equal 2nd in the intermediate section with a sore of 4/5 and won £75 prize money. In the open section Jim Burnett (Mansfield) scored 3½/5, coming equal 2nd and won £37.50. Here are the results for all the Notts players taking part (all scores out of 5):

New chess club in Oxton, Nottingham (21st Oct)

A new chess club has started in Oxton, Nottingham. Membership is FREE and everybody is welcome, including players that already have a club but would like to play other evenings too. ECF members can enter the club championship and have their games graded. The club meets on Monday evenings from 7pm at the Green Dragon pub. The pub has disabled access and a free car-park. For further details contact Pete or visit the club web site.

Inter-County U140 Championship: Nottinghamshire 8-8 Leicestershire (21st Oct)

In the opening match of the season Nottinghamshire drew 8-8 with Leciestershire. Full results

Leicester Congress (2nd Oct)

Peter Mercs (Gambit) came equal 2nd in the Open with a score of 4/5 and won £87.50 in prize money. Drag Sudar (Gambit) achieved the same in the Major section, equal 2nd with 4/5 and won £58.33. Here are the results for all the Notts players taking part (all scores out of 5):

Paignton Congress (2nd Oct)

Richard Webster (Ashfield) won a slow starter prize in the Open with a score of 3/7. Robert Taylor also won a grading prize in the Intermediate section with a score of 4½/7. Here are the results for all the Notts players (all scores out of 7):

Your chance to play correspondence chess for Nottinghamshire (17th Sep)

Notts have been invited to submit three teams in this year's ECF correspondence competitions. Two teams will be played on the internet through a dedicated correspondence chess website and one team will play the traditional way using the post. A number of players have already committed to play this year but there are still a few boards vacant. There are three or four boards needed for internet chess and four of five boards needed for postal chess. You will play two games - one with white and one with black. You can play in both of the internet and postal competitions if you want to. If anyone is interested please contact Stephen Foster either by phone (01159 500 834) or email. Team lists have to be submitted by 30th September.

New venue for Newark Chess Club (4th Sep)

During the summer Newark Chess Club had to move venues due to the previous venue closing down. The new venue is Chesters, Main Street, Balderton, Newark, Notts NG24 3LL. It is only 50 yards down the road from the previous venue and is on the opposite side. Club nights are now on a Tuesday at 7:30pm. If you have any questions please contact Graham Ladds (see info web page for details).

Hinckley Congress (2nd Sep)

Richard Truman (West Bridgford) was the leading Notts player in the Open with a score of 4/7. George Murfet (Radcliffe & Bingham) scored 4½/7 in the Minor section and was just outside the prize money. Here is a list of all the Notts players taking part (all scores out of 7):

CWANG Challenge 2012 (19th Aug)

The annual CWANG challenge took place on 12th July at the Horse 'n' Groom. Ashfield won for the second year running with a score of 29 points. Full Report

Best Game Prize 2011/12 (7th Jul)

The best game prize for 2011-12 has been awarded to Glenn Halfpenny for his game against Darren Lee. Thanks to David Levens for acting as adjudicator.

Nottinghamshire County Championship (28th Jun)

The 2011/12 County Champion is Mike Barnes (Gambit) with a score of 4/5. Full results

South Lakes Congress (24th Jun)

Last weekend a number of Notts players travelled to Grange-Over-Sands to compete in the South Lakes Congress. Jim Burnett of Mansfield finished second on 4/5 in the Open, behind Jonathan Hawkins (ECF 254). In the Under 120 Tracey Clegg, of West Nottingham CC, won her section with an unbeaten 4½/5, only drawing the last round while in far the better position. Here is a summary of the results for all the Notts players who took part:

Report from David Levens.

NCA - Annual General Meeting (5th Jun)

The NCA AGM will be held, as announced at the RRM, on Tuesday 10th July, at West Bridgford CC at 7:30pm. The expected agenda is:

  1. Apologies, minutes of previous meeting. matters arising
  2. Reports of officers and committees
  3. Prizes
  4. Election of officers and committees
  5. Any other business

Reports should, if at all possible, be submitted to Andy Walker no later than Tuesday 19th June [three weeks before the AGM], for circulation with other papers for the meeting. Any other items for the agenda should likewise reach Andy Walker by the same date.

It would be very helpful if any officers intending not to stand for re-election would make themselves known to EC in good time; likewise, any non-officer who would like to help!

A list of current officers and committees may be found on the information page of the web site.