With the season now well under way, it’s time for a new issue of The Passed Pawn to let everyone know what’s been happening. Since we re-opened, all five teams in the Nottinghamshire League have been in action, and our request to enter a team in the Derby & District League was accepted. Details of results so far are given below.
The club itself has been very well attended, with over 25 members present each week (apart from the very first week). This has resulted in a lively atmosphere that has noticeably impressed new members and visiting teams. If you haven’t had a chance to drop in yet, make a point of coming along as soon as you can.
Members are reminded that fees are due by 10 October – if you don’t renew by then you won’t be able to claim the £5.00 discount and you won’t be able to take part in the club championship. Robert Willoughby reports that that there has been an excellent response so far, and that last year’s financial problems are unlikely to be repeated.
Entries are now invited for the 2004–05 Club Championship. The tournament will be a 5 round Swiss played according to the following schedule:
| Round | To be completed by |
|---|---|
| 1 | 29 November |
| 2 | 31 January |
| 3 | 28 February |
| 4 | 28 March |
| 5 | 25 April |
There will therefore be roughly one month in which to play each game. Scheduling conflicts with team matches will be resolved by the club.
The time limit will be the same as that in the league: 35 moves in 75 minutes, followed by a 15 minute blitz finish. To enter, write your name on the sign-up form kept in the blue folder with the club’s equipment. The closing date for entries is 18 October 2004. Late entries will only be permitted if they result in an even number of players in the tournament. Only fully paid-up members of the club may compete.
There will be three categories: Club Champion; under 16; and under 11. For the latter two categories you must be under the required age on 1 September 2004. Players can only win one title. There will also be a best game prize in each section. There is a £2.00 per player fee to take part, which must be paid before the end of the first round. Results from the tournament will be submitted for grading.
This is a summary of results so far. Full details are on the web site, along with unofficial league tables. The league itself has not yet published any results for other teams.
The first team has played two matches so far:
West Nottingham 1 2½–2½ Gambit 1
Mansfield 1 2½–2½ West Nottingham 1
Two encouraging results which suggest that the team should be able to hold its own in Division 1. The draw with reigning champions Mansfield bodes well.
The second team has begun the season with three consecutive wins:
West Nottingham 2 3–2 Fiveways 2
Gambit 3 1½–3½ West Nottingham 2
West Nottingham 2 3½–1½ West Bridgford 2
This should be the start of a serious challenge for promotion.
So far, the third team is the only one to lose a match – but as it was to our own fourth team we shouldn’t really be too upset.
West Nottingham 3 1–4 West Nottingham 4
Radcliffe & Bingham 2 1½–3½ West Nottingham 3
Two wins out of two for the fourth team:
West Nottingham 3 1–4 West Nottingham 4
Newark 2 2–3 West Nottingham 4
A fine start.
Just the one match so far:
West Nottingham 5 2–2 Long Eaton 3
And again, just one match to report:
West Nottingham 2½–1½ Lichfield
An excellent win in our debut in this league.
The Nottinghamshire County Championship was played on 25–26 September at Sherwood Community Centre. Mike Barnes of Gambit won the Open title; Darren Ince of Ashfield won the Major (under 130); and Ankush Khandelwal of Nomads won the Under 18 Championship. West Nottingham scores: Open – Amarjit Mehton 3½ (equal 3rd place); Balvinder Grewal 3; David Levens 3; Ian Kingston 2; Major – Lateefah Messam-Sparks 3½ (equal 2nd place); Toby Thurgood 3; James Thomson 2.
The draw for the team handicap knockout competition has been made. We have two teams in the competition: West Nottingham Daydream (captained by David Levens) and West Nottingham Nightmare (captained by Ian Kingston). The Nightmare will play away against Newark B on 14 October; the Daydream will play at home against Radcliffe Rabbits (date to be confirmed). Teams of three play with a time handicap determined by grades. Each player starts with 60 minutes on the clock, but the lower graded player adds the difference in grades as that number of minutes to his or her time, while the higher graded player subtracts the difference. Thus a player graded 120 versus another graded 140 would see initial clock times of 80 minutes versus 40 minutes respectively.
The Nottingham and Long Eaton Recorder, a free newspaper with a circulation of around 200,000, has kindly agreed to publish news and results from our club throughout the season. I’m pleased to say that this has already (after just two issues) led to three separate enquiries about joining the club, so we should be seeing some new members as a result of this.
In addition, Breeze magazine, a free magazine for the Beeston area, should be running an article on the club in a forthcoming issue.
I’ve been adding some games played by members to the web site, but I want more! If you’ve played an interesting game, please send it to me (a copy of the score sheet will do), and I’ll do all the rest of the work.
Ian Kingston
Secretary, West Nottingham Chess Club
secretary@westnottinghamchess.org
0115 967 8367
48 Bramcote Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 4DT