NSDCA Calendar

The NSDCA Calendar has now been updated with all of the fixtures for 2015. Please note that in the original fixture lists Cup Final week was shown as w/c 1st May 2015. This was a mistake and should have read 27th April 2015. The Calendar and Fixture Lists have both been updated with the correct dates.

Quiet Night At Cheddleton

Cheddleton 'K'  0.5  Meir 'D'  3.5

It was a quiet night at Cheddleton last night with only one match taking place in which Cheddleton 'K' lost their unbeaten Division 5 record to Meir 'D'.

Rearranged Division 3 Fixture

The Division 3 match between Newcastle 'C' and Crewe Bishops, postponed from earlier in the season, has now been rearranged for this Monday 1st December.

Honours Even At Holmes Chapel

Holmes Chapel 'B'  2.5  Newcastle 'B'  2.5

The respective 'B' teams of Holmes Chapel and Newcastle drew 2.5 - 2.5 in Division 2 last night.

Wednesday Results From Newcastle

There were 2 matches at Newcastle last night.

Division 2

Newcastle 'B'  1.5  Cheddleton 'C'  3.5

Cheddleton 'C' joined Cheddleton 'D' at the top of Division 2 with their win last night.

Division 3

Newcastle 'C'  3.5  Kidsgrove  0.5

Newcastle 'C' won their 2nd match in succession last night and jumped up to 4th in the Division 3 table.

Wednesday Evening Results From Crewe

There were 2 matches at Crewe last night - both of them against Cheddleton teams.

Division 2

Crewe Rooks  1.5  Cheddleton 'D'  3.5

Cheddleton 'D' jumped to the top of Division with a win against Crewe Rooks.

Division 4

Crewe Pawns  3.5  Cheddleton 'I'  0.5

Crewe Pawns went top of Division 4 with a win against Cheddleton 'I'. However, this is largely due to the fact that Cheddleton defaulted on 2 boards.

Division 3 Result

Alsager 'B'  3  Crewe Bishops  1

Alsager joined 3 other teams in mid-table on 5 points with a 3 - 1 win against Crewe Bishops last night.

Monday Night Double For Fenton

There were 2 matches at Fenton last night, with the hosts winning both of them.

Division 3

Fenton 'A'  3  Cheddleton 'F'  1

Fenton continue to hold on to Meir's coat tails in Division 3. They remain 3 points adrift, but with 2 matches in hand, following last night's win against previously unbeaten Cheddleton 'F'.

Division 4

Fenton 'B'  2.5  Alsager 'C'  1.5

Fenton moved to within a point of Cheddleton 'H' following last night's win against Alsager 'C'.

Meir Juggernaut Rolls On

Meir 'A'  3.5  Cheddleton 'G'  0.5

Meir continue to set the pace in Division 3. Last night's win against Cheddleton was their 5th from their opening 8 matches.

Historic Chess News Bulletins

My name is Andrew McCumiskey and I am the Wolverhampton League Webmaster.  We have just added 133 old bulletins into the  WDCL Wiki.  As you might know, in the early days the bulletin was shared with the Stoke League. Apart from giving the Wolverhampton League website an advert I am also asking if there are any older Stoke League players who might have some of the missing bulletins for the Wiki?  We can scan them into PDF format and return them to the owner in original condition. Can you help spread this request in any way?  Many thanks in advance for your help with this long term project. 

You can contact me by email at webmasters@wdclchess.org.uk.

Division 3 Results From Cheddleton

There were two Division 3 matches at Cheddleton last night.

Cheddleton 'F'  2.5  Stafford 'B'  1.5

Cheddleton 'G'  0.5  Kidsgrove  3.5

Dates For Your Diary

Martyn Harris has just announced provisional dates of 27th/28th March 2015 for the 11th Newcastle Mini Congress. Further details to follow when they become available.

NSDCA Grading Limits

Following a meeting of the League Executive Committee last night it was agreed that the current grading limits, applicable to all NSDCA League and Cup matches, should be published on the website for the benefit of Team Captains. Please click here to view the current limits or use the permanent link on the right hand side of the page.

Division 3 Results

Newcastle 'C'  2.5  Fenton 'A'  1.5

It was a first win of the season for Newcastle 'C' and the first loss of the season for Fenton 'A' last night.

Crewe Bishops  2.5  Meir 'A'  1.5

In the other Division 3 match played last night bottom of the table Crewe Bishops beat top of the table Meir 'A'.

Match Postponement

Next Monday's Division 2 match between Macclesfield and Holmes Chapel 'B' has been postponed.

Division 3 Result

Alsager 'B'  2  Newcastle 'D'  2

Very little change in the Division 3 table following a 2 - 2 draw between Alsager 'B' and Newcastle 'D' last night.

Martyn Goes To The Seaside

Martyn Harris took his bucket and spade to Torquay at the weekend to play in the 48th Torbay Chess Congress. He played in the Major Section and finished a very creditable joint 6th out of 37 entrants with a score of 3 points from 5 matches - 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. His only loss was against the joint winner of the tournament.

If anybody from your club plays on the Congress circuit please let me know and I'll be more than happy to publicise their efforts.

Monday Evening Results From Meir

Division 4

Meir 'B'  2  Newcastle 'E'  2

Division 5

Meir 'C'  1  Cheddleton 'K'  3

Problem Resolved

The problem with accessing Google documents via a smartphone or tablet seems to have resolved itself without any action on my part. I can only assume that it was a temporary glitch at the Google end. Everything now appears to be functioning normally.

Problem With Accessing Links To Documents On Website When Using Smartphone Or Tablet

There appears to be a problem in accessing documents such as match scorecards on the website, whether using the mobile app or an ordinary browser on your smartphone or tablet. It keeps returning a message saying 'Preview Not Available'. Links to external websites are functioning normally. This problem is restricted to smartphones and tablets and is under investigation. However, everything is still working perfectly well from your PC or laptop.

Holmes Chapel Withdraw From Intermediate Cup

Holmes Chapel have forfeited their match against Stafford in the Intermediate Cup. Stafford will now play Cheddleton in the Semi-Final on the 6th February.

Friday Cup Results

Open Cup

Cheddleton  3.5  Stafford  4.5

Stafford will now meet either Newcastle or Alsager in the Semi-Final.

Intermediate Cup

Newcastle  1  Cheddleton  4

Cheddleton will now play either Stafford or Holmes Chapel in the Semi-Final on the 6th February.

More Cup Results

My apologies for the delay in publishing these results but I have been away for the past couple of days.

Intermediate Cup

Crewe  3  Alsager  2

Kidsgrove  2  Meir  3

Crewe will now host Meir in the Semi-Final on the 4th February.

As you may have read on Martyn's website, Holmes Chapel have withdrawn from the Major Cup so Newcastle will go straight through to meet Crewe in the Semi-Final on the 4th February.

Alsager Through To Perry Trophy Semi-Final

Alsager  3  Newcastle  1

Alsager are through to the Semi-Final of the Perry Trophy after beating Newcastle by 3-1 earlier this evening. They will now meet Cheddleton in the Semi-Final on the 3rd February.

Cup Postponements

The Open Cup match between Newcastle and Alsager tomorrow evening has been postponed as Alsager cannot raise a team. The Major Cup match between Newcastle and Holmes Chapel, also due to take place tomorrow, has also been postponed because Holmes Chapel apparently weren't aware that they had entered a team. Whether either match will actually now get played remains to be seen.

Fenton Kick Off Cup Week With A Win

Fenton  2.5  Crewe  1.5

Fenton opened Cup week with a 2.5 - 1.5 win against Crewe in the Perry (U110) Trophy. They will now meet Meir in the Semi-Final on the 2nd February.

2014 World Championship

The 2014 World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand is now in progress. Carlsen currently leads by 1.5 - 0.5 after 2 rounds. You can click here to follow the match or use the link on the left hand side of the page.

NSDCA Executive Committee Meeting

There will be a meeting of the League Executive Committee on Thursday 20th November at Fenton Chess Club, starting at 7:30, to begin a review of the current NSDCA Constitution and Playing Rules. 

British Chess Educational Trust Award For St Edward's Academy

St Edward’s CE Academy in Leek has been presented with an award by the British Chess Educational Trust, in respect of the school’s outstanding enthusiasm and achievement in chess over a considerable number of years.  The school was nominated for the award by Staffordshire County Chess Association via the Midland Counties Chess Union.

The award consists of an inscribed wooden chess board with felted and weighted wooden pieces as well as an electronic chess clock.  It was presented, in a full school assembly this morning, Monday 10^th November, by the ECF Director of Junior Chess and Education, Mrs Traci Whitfield. 

Also in attendance at the presentation were:

Mr Ray Dolan - Chief Executive of Midland Counties Chess Union

Mrs Eunice Dolan - Secretary of Midland Counties Chess Union

Mr Andrew Davies - General Secretary of Staffordshire County Chess Association

Mr Roger Edwards - President of both Cheddleton & Leek Chess Club and North Staffs & District Chess Association (and a former President of the ECF)
Mr William Armstrong - Director Of Junior Chess for Cheddleton & Leek Chess Club

St Edward's Academy Win North Midlands U11 Championship

St Edward’s Academy in Leek hosted the North Midlands’ Regional Final of the ECF Under-11 Open Championship on Saturday 8th November..  

It proved to be a good day for the home teams with St Edward’s claiming 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th places.  Third place went to The Elms Primary School from Long Eaton.  

St Edward’s 'A' team are now Under-11 North Midlands Champions and go on to the National Final in the summer.

Staffs Open Team Beat Warwickshire

The Staffs Open team beat Warwickshire by 9.5 - 6.5 in their Minor Counties Championship match in Birmingham yesterday afternoon. Please click here to view the full match scorecard.

Performance Grades

Martyn Harris has just produced the first set of Performance Grades for the season. Please click here to view or use the tab at the top of the page.

Rearranged Fixture

The Division 2 fixture between Holmes Chapel 'B' and Newcastle 'B' has now been rearranged for the 27th November.

Clean Sweep For Cheddleton

For the first time since the 1980's there were 5 matches at Cheddleton last night, with the hosts coming out on top in all of them.

Division 2

Cheddleton 'C'  3.5  Crewe Rooks  1.5

Cheddleton 'D'  4  Macclesfield  1

Division 3

Cheddleton 'G'  2.5  Stafford 'B'  1.5

Division 4

Cheddleton 'H'  2.5  Crewe Pawns  1.5

Cheddleton 'I'  3  Fenton 'B'  1

MCCU Congress 2015

The entry form for the MCCU Congress 2015 is now available. Click here to view/print/download.

Wednesday Evening Results

Division 1

Stafford 'A'  4  Alsager 'A'  1

Division 3

Crewe Bishops  2  Fenton 'A'  2

Newcastle 'C'  1  Cheddleton 'F'  3

Division 3 Results

Meir 'A'  2.5  Newcastle 'D'  1.5

Meir's excellent start to the season continued as they extended their lead at the top of Division 3 after beating Newcastle 'D' on Monday evening.

Alsager 'B'  3.5  Kidsgrove  0.5

Alsager recorded their first win in Division 3 this season with a victory against Kidsgrove last night.

County U100's Beaten In Opening Match

The County U100 team were beaten 6.5 - 5.5 by Warwickshire on Saturday afternoon. We more than held our own on the top 7 boards but then suffered a collapse on the bottom 5 boards, gaining only one point, to give Warwickshire a narrow victory. Please click here to view the full match scorecard.

First Win For Meir 'D'

Fenton 'D'  1.5  Meir 'D'  2.5

Last season's Division 5 Champions recorded their first win of the season at Fenton last night.

Team Captain & League Player Details

Please follow the links on the right hand side of this page for a list of the Team Captain contact details for all clubs and a list of each club's players and their ECF details.

County U120 Match Postponed

This coming weekend's U120 County match against Warwickshire has been postponed. There is no firm date for the re-arranged fixture but it will probably be in March.

Shropshire Congress

Entries are now being taken for the 2015 Shropshire Congress being held in Telford over the weekend of 3rd/4th January. Please click here for further details and an entry form.

Division 1 Result

Cheddleton 'A'  1  Newcastle 'A'  4

A weaker than usual Cheddleton 'A' team were comprehensively beaten by Newcastle last night in Division 1.