Kings Draw First Blood In Division 1

Holmes Chapel Kings opened the Division 1 campaign on Thursday evening with a comprehensive 4-1 home win over Alsager 'A'.  Kings names first :

John Turner  0.5  Kamil Zak  0.5
Pat Bennett  0.5  Julian Kirk-O'Grady  0.5
Mike Hancock  1  Klaudia Zak  0
Andrew Raeburn  1  Frank Clarke  0
Ian Bates  1  Oliver Horrocks  0

South Cheshire Shield Ends In A Tie

The South Cheshire Shield ended in a tie when the final match between Kidsgrove and Holmes Chapel ended in a 2-2 draw, leaving both clubs level on 8 points.
Kidsgrove names first :

Derek Northage  0  Ben Scattergood  1
Julian Cook  1  George Scattergood  0
Steve Nixon  0  David Price  1
Dave Johnson  1  Paul Clifford  0

Newcastle 'C' 'D'feated

Wednesday evening's Newcastle Division 3 derby ended in a 2.5 - 1.5  defeat for the 'C' team at the hands of the 'D' team. Newcastle 'C' names first :

Alan Paling  1  John Day  0
Paul Clapham  0  Pete Shaw  1
Steven Cooper  0.5  Nic Wright  0.5
Derrick Jones  0  Carl Mustafa  1

More First Week Matches

Holmes Chapel Pawns started their Division 3 campaign with a 3-1 home win against Meir 'A' on Monday evening.

Ben Scattergood  1  Steve Hill  0
George Scattergood  0  Clive Ferry  1
David Price  1  Mike Judd  0
Joe Morris  1  Ray Rhodes

The Alsager Division 4 derby match on Tuesday evening ended in a 3.5 - 0.5 win for the 'D' team against the 'C' team.  Alsager 'C' actually fielded an overgraded team so Board 2 was scored to the 'D' team for match result purposes, although the result will stand for grading purposes.  Alsager 'D' names first :

John Smith  0.5  Doug Barnett  0.5
Neville Jones  0  Brian Birchall  1
Michael Matar  1  Andrew Barker  0
Richard Martin  1  Les Hall  0

Staffordshire Junior Championship 2012

The Staffordshire Junior Chess Championship takes place on Sunday 21st Ocober 2012 at the Hassell Community Primary School in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Click here for a downloadable entry form or contact the Tournament Director, Mrs Traci Whitfield, by email at whitfielduk@aol.com or by telephone on 01782 623361 (up to 9:30 pm).

All County Fixtures Added To Calendar Of Events

Please note that all County fixtures - U120, U140 and Open - have now been added to the NSDCA Calendar Of Events.

Stafford 'B' Kick-Off With A Win

In the second of the new season's matches Stafford 'B' came away from Kidsgrove with a 2.5 - 1.5 win in Division 3.  Ian Jamieson made a winning debut on Board 1 for Kidsgrove following his big money transfer from Newcastle in the close season.

Ian Jamieson  1  Pavel Nefyodov  0
Derek Northage  0  Ken McNulty  1
Rob Brock  0.5  Andrew Leadbetter  0.5
Dave Johnson  0  Peter Evans  1

Newcastle 'E' Off The Mark

Newcastle 'E' got off the mark in the opening match of the season last night, courtesy of a 3-1 win at Holmes Chapel Tiny Pawns in Division 4.

George Scattergood  1  Nic Wright  0
Carmel Barwick  0  Paul Clapham  1
Ellen Scattergood  0  Carl Mustafa  1
Isaac Barwick  0  Scott McGowan  1

National Club Championships 2012/2013

Entries are now being taken for the 2012/2013 National Club Championships. There are 4 sections - Open, Major, Intermediate and Minor. Fenton reached the final of the Minor last season and it would be nice to see other clubs flying the flag for North Staffs in this year's competition. Click here to go to the relevant page on the ECF website or click here for a downloadable entry form.

Kidsgrove Website Revamped

Kidsgrove are the latest club to revamp their website and it looks like a vast improvement on the old one. You can click here to view the website or follow the link in the usual place lower down the right hand side of the page.

Fenton Retain South Potteries Chess Challenge Cup

Fenton won the South Potteries Chess Challenge Cup for the 4th year in succession with a 5-3 win against Meir last night at the Tramways Community Club.

Tony Holdford  0.5  Steve Hill  0.5
Rob Taylor  1  Clive Ferry  0
Steve Emmerton  0.5  Tom Healey  0.5
Neal Davies  1  Mike Judd  0
Geoff Yates  1  Ray Rhodes  0
Derek Whitehurst  0  Stuart Green  1
Jason Plant  0  Bob Perry  1
Mike Smith  1  Gwyn Price  0

New Website For Macclesfield

Macclesfield now have a new website. The link further down on the right hand side of the page has been updated or you can click here to view the new site.

New Season Kicks Off Next Week

The 2012/2013 season kicks off next week. On Monday evening Fenton play Meir for the South Potteries Chess Challenge Cup and on Wednesday our first two league matches take place, with Kidsgrove at home to Stafford 'B' in Division 3 and the Holmes Chapel Tiny Pawns at home to Newcastle 'E' in Division 4.

First Defeat For Kidsgrove In South Cheshire Shield

Kidsgrove suffered their first defeat in the South Cheshire Shield last night, going down by 2.5 - 1.5 at Holmes Chapel. 

Ben Scattergood  1  Derek Northage  0
George Scattergood  1  Julian Cook  0
David Price  0  Steve Nixon  1
Paul Clifford  0.5  Dave Johnson  0.5

The Alsager website doesn't seem to be up to date with recent results but if my calculations are correct then Kidsgrove and Holmes Chapel are level on 7 points with 3 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw each. Alsager are the wooden spoonists with 2 points from a win and 5 losses. The destination of the trophy will be decided by the final match between Kidsgrove and Holmes Chapel. No doubt somebody from Alsager will correct me if I've got this wrong !!

County Cup Finals

The provisional date for this season's County Cup Finals is Wednesday 15th May 2013 @ Stafford Chess Club.

County Teams 2012/2013

The Open Team will automatically qualify for the next stages of the MCCU County Championship as Warwickshire are the only other MCCU County to enter a team. The match between Staffs and Warwickshire to decide who will be Champions and who will be Runners-Up will be played on 2nd February 2013.

Due to lack of a Captain, and support generally, there will be no U160 team this year.

The U140 team will be Captained by last year's Terriers Captain, Denis Nesbitt.

There will be no separate Staffs Terriers and Staffs Bulldogs in this year's U120 County Championship. The lack of a Captain coming forward in the north of the County means that there will be just one Staffs U120 team. This will be Captained by Peter Evans from Stafford Chess Club.

It has also been decided that, due to the lack of games for the Open team, the County will investigate the possibility of running an U180 team next season.

Olympiad Comes To A Close

There was no place for Sandra Blackburn in the Welsh team in the 11th and final round of the Olympiad yesterday. The final match against Syria, ended in a 2-2 draw, with Suzy Blackburn drawing on Board 2. Suzy had the best results in the tournament of all the Welsh team with an overall  total of 6/11. Sandra also aquitted herself very well with an overall score of 2/5.

Pointless

No - not the BBC quiz program but yesterday's Welsh ladies team. There were no points for Sandra and Suzy Blackburn in yesterday's 4-0 whitewash by a very strong Moldovan team. Next up for Wales is Syria today but, at the time of writing, I don't know if Sandra is in the team, although Suzy certainly will be.

She's In, She's Out, She's In Again !!

Sandra Blackburn didn't figure in the Welsh team that beat the United Arab Emirates by 3-1 yesterday. However, she's back today, playing on Board 4 against a strong Moldovan team. Sandra's opponent on Board 4 is actually graded 80 points higher than Olivia Smith, the Welsh No 1, so it will be a very tough game for her.

Blackburns Can't Save Wales

Draws for Sandra and Suzy Blackburn were the only points that Wales could muster in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico in Round 8 of the Women's Olympiad today.

More Gloom For Alsager In SC Shield

Alsager remain bottom of this year's South Cheshire Shield following a 3-1 home defeat by Holmes Chapel last night.

First Win For Sandra Blackburn In Olympiad

Sandra Blackburn scored her first win for Wales today, playing on Board 4 in a 4-0 defeat of Nicaragua. Well done Sandra !! She has also retained her place in the team for Wednesday's match against Puerto Rico.

Fenton Venue Renamed

The Fenton Sports & Social Club starts it's new life this week under the name of the Tramways Community Club - same venue just a different name. The chess club will still be known as Fenton Chess Club.

Black Is Back

Following her loss in the match against Italy, Sandra Blackburn failed to make the team for yesterday's match against Uruguay. However, she's back in the team for today's match against Nicaragua and we're all keeping our fingers crossed for her.

Selector's Ear

No - it's not a disease but I must have got it because they were obviously reading this website as Sandra Blackburn has been reinstated into the Welsh team for today's match against Italy. Unfortunately she's up against an opponent graded 2087 so we shouldn't expect too much.