Chess in Summer

Article by Phil Morgan

With the Notts. League done, most of our clubs became less active. Gambit and Nomads remain open and active. Other clubs hold their AGMs and may enter varying stages of dormancy. If you’re wanting to visit a new club over the summer, it may be best to check if members will be present.

County chess play will continue hopefully until the Finals on 1 July.

Although the Notts League has ceased , there are opportunities to continue to play over the board a little further afield. Sheffield has a Summer Chess League. The forgotten Notts. club of Worksop will probably be playing in this.* Other players like myself from the North of the County will turn out for Chesterfield or Clay Cross in this League.

Players from the City or the South of the County can compete in the Spondon Summer League, a competition for individuals, run on Tuesday evenings, starting 30th May and running through June and July. For details see the link to the Derbyshire Association web-site.

There are opportunities to play Congress chess e.g. Sheffield, 23-25 June and Leeds, 21-23 July. Up to a dozen Notts. players, including some of our promising juniors, could compete in the British Championship, this year to be held at Llandudno, 28 July - 6 August.

New playing grades will come out on the eve of the British Championship. In August a popular Rapidplay evening chess event at the Horse n Groom, Basford, is usually organised by Drag Sudar.

The Midland Open will be held at West Bromwich on August 11-13, and there will be the Darnall and Handsworth ECF Rapidplay on September 2.

Many players still look forward to and enjoy the summer break from chess, and it‘s possible now to keep our hands in on the internet, but for some players e.g. the tireless Jim Burnett there will be no close season. The opportunities of playing all forms of chess are there year-round. We can set our own schedules to fit with our other interests and commitments.

* We can forget about Worksop being a Notts. club, because they play in the Sheffield League. They withdrew from the Notts. League in 1974 after being relegated from Division 1.