Newcastle Mini Congress

Congratulations to the prize winners in this weekend's Newcastle Mini Congress. I'm sure there'll be a full report up on the Newcastle website shortly but, in the meantime, the winners of the various sections were :

Open - Alex Richardson (Newcastle)

U160 - Karl Lockett (Crewe)

U130 - Thivyaa Rahulan (Newcastle) and Andy Barker (Alsager) Joint Winners

U100 - Robert West (Fenton)

Kangaroo Prize For Slow Starter - Greg Willett (Crewe)

Thanks to Martyn Harris for another excellent Congress with the usual high standard of organisation.

Friday Evening Results From Cheddleton

Division 3

Cheddleton 'F'  1.5  Fenton 'A'  2.5

Cheddleton 'H'  3  Meir 'A'  1

It was an exciting evening in Division 3 with 3 of the teams challenging for the title all in action. Top of the table Meir 'A' were surprisingly beaten by bottom of the table Cheddleton 'H'. Fenton 'A' took full advantage of the situation by beating fellow challengers Cheddleton 'F', a result that knocks Meir off the top of the table for the first time this season. Cheddleton 'F' still have 2 matches in hand of Fenton but are now 5 points adrift. Fenton now have a 2 point lead over Meir with only 2 matches left to play and one of these is against Meir so it's all leading up to a tense finale to the season.

Division 5

Cheddleton 'K'  4  Meir 'C'  0

Cheddleton 'K' have leapfrogged above Meir 'D' to the top of Division 5 with their whitewashing of a 3 man Meir 'C' team last night and still have a match in hand.

ECF Newsletter

The latest ECF Newsletter is now available. Please click here to view it.

Stafford Win Wolverhampton League

Congratulations to Stafford on winning Division 1 of the Wolverhampton League for the first time since 1981. A 3.5 - 2.5 win against Lichfield last night ensured that they cannot now be caught at the top of the table.

Cheddleton 'B' Still Winless In Division 1

Holmes Chapel 'A'  4  Cheddleton 'B'  1

A heavily outgraded Cheddleton 'B' team were well beaten at Holmes Chapel last night, leaving them still looking for their first win of the season. Holmes Chapel have now moved to within a point of Newcastle 'A' at the top of the Division.

Wednesday Evening Results

Division 3

Crewe Bishops 1.5  Newcastle 'D' 2.5

The Bishops recent run of good form came to an end last night when they were beaten by Newcastle 'D', their first loss since the start of December. The loss also cost them the chance to go joint top of the Division.

Division 4

Newcastle 'E' 1  Meir 'B'  3

With only 2 matches left to play, bottom of the table Newcastle 'E' continue to challenge for the Division 4 Wooden Spoon following last night's loss against Meir 'B'.

Stafford Into Jackson Cup Final

Stafford are through to the Jackson Cup Final following a 2.5 - 2.5 draw against Lichfield, the current holders, earlier this evening. Stafford have gone through on board count. Click here to view the full match score card. Stafford will now meet either Alsager or Cheddleton in the Final.

Newcastle Mini Congress

Only 3 days to go until the Newcastle Mini Congress so it's still not too late to enter. Get your entry in to Martyn Harris as soon as possible.

Mobile App

Mike Smith has just published the following release notes for the updated version of the mobile app :

NSDCA app version 2.3.0 Release Notes:

The app is now viewable in landscape and portrait mode.  Everything seems to re-size correctly (a small bug with the fixture and results is discussed below).

The Calendar has been fixed by simply embedding the NSDCA Google Calendar into the app.  A consequence of this is that the calendar is un-viewable when offline.  This issue may be addressed when the new beta off-line viewing of the Google Calendar is supported by the iOS and Android web views. At the moment the beta version is just supported by Chrome 10.

A new section: ‘Fixtures and Results’ has been introduced.  You can view fixture dates and scores for all NSDCA competitions, as well as viewing the scorecard for every match.  There is a very small bug: when switching between landscape and portrait there is a small re-sizing glitch. This will be addressed over the summer, but for now simply changing view between landscape/portrait at the menu rather than in the ‘Fixtures & Results’ section will avoid problems.

There have been some aesthetic changes to the menu graphics

The updated app is available now on Android and Amazon devices. The Apple version may take another week - this is just because of the way that Apple work.

Existing users of the app will need to update it. Failing that, uninstall the app and then download and install the latest version. It may also be worth going into the Settings on your device and clearing down the cache for the app.

If anybody has any problems with the app, or any questions or suggestions, can you please contact Mike directly by email at mikenmaz@btinternet.com.

Another Alsager Default

Alsager have conceded their Division 1 match against Cheddleton 'A' tonight, the 3rd time they have defaulted this season.

Division 3 Still Up For Grabs

There were 2 matches played in Division 3 last night, both involving the top 2 clubs in the Division.

Meir 'A'  0.5  Newcastle 'C'  3.5

Fenton 'A'  2  Stafford 2

With both Meir and Fenton dropping points Division 3 is wide open once again, with only 2 points separating the top 4 teams. Fenton's point enabled them to draw level with Meir at the top of the table, whilst Newcastle's win has put them back into contention. Crewe are lurking just 2 points behind the leaders with a match in hand and a win on Wednesday against Newcastle 'D' would see them move level with Meir and Fenton.

There was also a Division 5 match played last night, with Newcastle 'F' winning at Meir 'C'.

Meir 'C'  1  Newcastle 'F'  3

15 Point Grade Rule

I have been asked for clarification of the 15 point grade rule as used by the NSDCA. The wording of the rule is as follows:

Rule 2a  A player may not play on a higher board than a player with a published ECF grade fifteen points higher than his/her own except as covered by Article 3, Rules 3 and 4.The 'shadow' grading list as circulated by the League General Secretary should be consulted for ungraded players. Until the current season's grading list is available, the previous season's list should be used. Players with no grade on the circulated list should play in order of strength according to the team captain's own estimation of their grade.

For example a player graded 140 can play above a player graded 154 but not above a player graded 155. Therefore, the maximum grade difference allowable is 14.

Friday Evening Results From Cheddleton

There were 3 matches played at Cheddleton last night.

Division 2

Cheddleton 'D'  3  Crewe Rooks  2

Cheddleton 'D' are now 4 points clear at the top of Division 2 following last night's win against a Rooks team playing a man short.

Division 4

Newcastle 'E'  3.5Cheddleton 'H'  0.5  

Cheddleton 'I'  3.5  Crewe Pawns  0.5

Table topping Crewe Pawns were unexpectedly beaten by Cheddleton 'I', a result that throws the Division wide open again.

ECF National Club Championships 2015

The ECF National Club Championships 2015 are being held over the weekend of 11th/12th April at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport. There are 4 sections : Open, Intermediate, Major and Minor. The format is a 4 round Swiss competition. If your club would like to enter then you can click here for full details.

Thursday Evening Result

Division 2

Holmes Chapel 'B'  1  Macclesfield  4

Tuesday/Wednesday Results

Division 1

Newcastle 'A'  1  Cheddleton 'A'  4

Division 1 leaders Newcastle 'A' suffered their first defeat of the season last night. However, they still lead the table by 3 points.

The match between Stafford 'A' and Holmes Chapel 'A' was postponed.

Division 3

Kidsgrove  1  Newcastle 'D'  3

Crewe Bishops  2.5  Alsager 'B'  1.5

The Bishops juggernaut keeps on rolling and they are now up to 3rd in the table, and in contention for the title, following last night's win.

Division 5

Newcastle 'F'  2  Meir 'D'  2

Defending Champions Meir 'D' have jumped to the top of Division 5, although it may be short lived as Cheddleton 'K' are only a point behind but with 2 matches in hand.

Fenton Slip Up In Division 4

Alsager 'C'  3  Fenton 'B'  1

Fenton's Division 4 aspirations were dented last night when they were beaten 3 - 1 by Alsager 'C'. Alsager have now joined Fenton in joint 2nd place in the table.

Grandmaster Simultaneous Display

As part of Fenton Chess Club's 20th birthday celebrations, Grandmaster Keith Arkell will be giving a simultaneous display at the Florence Tennis & Bowling Club on Monday 15th June. Keith is the current European Senior Champion and runner-up in the World Senior Championship. Fenton are also opening this to members of other clubs but there will be limited availability. There will be a small board fee - amount still to be decided - for those of you who wish to play him. Can anybody who is interested in playing please contact Steve Emmerton.

Website Update

Please note that the Fixture Lists now also include the result of each match and a link to the match score cards for the specific Division/Cup that you select.

Staffs U100's Draw With Notts

The Staffs U100 team drew 6 - 6 with Nottinghamshire in their final match of the MCCU Championship yesterday. With both Staffs and Notts both level on points in joint 2nd place in the table I believe that the board count in the match between the two teams determines who will go through to the National Quarter Finals, although I stand to be corrected on this. Well the board count was equal so I assume that board elimination will come into play, which would make Notts the team going through. I await a definitive answer !! Click here to view the scorecard from yesterday's match.

Holmes Chapel Up To 2nd In Division 1

Holmes Chapel 'A'  3  Alsager 'A'  2

The result from Thursday's match at Holmes Chapel is now in and a 3 - 2 win sent the hosts up into 2nd place in the table, 3 points behind Newcastle 'A'. Alsager remain winless this season, with only a draw to show from their 5 matches.

Double Division 1 Defeat For Cheddleton

There were 2 Division 1 matches at Cheddleton earlier this evening, with the hosts coming out second best in both of them.

Cheddleton 'A'  1.5  Stafford 'A'  3.5

Cheddleton 'B'  1.5  Newcastle 'A'  3.5

2nd placed Cheddleton 'A' lost ground in the Division 1 title race with their loss at the hands of Stafford. Newcastle extended their lead at the top of the table with their win against Cheddleton 'B', who are still without a win this season. However, Newcastle's 5 point lead may be artificially high as Holmes Chapel played Alsager last night and I do not have the result of that match yet. A win for Holmes Chapel would put them just 3 points behind Newcastle.

Wednesday Division 3 Results

Newcastle 'C'  2.5  Stafford 'B'  1.5

Newcastle 'D'  0.5  Crewe Bishops  3.5

Tuesday Evening Results From Alsager

There were 2 matches played at Alsager last night.

Division 3

Alsager 'B'  2  Cheddleton 'F'  2

Cheddleton 'F' slipped up again last night. Another dropped point at Alsager means that they have only taken one point from their last three matches and now only have one match in hand of the leaders and are still a couple of points behind them.

Division 4

Alsager 'C'  2.5  Meir 'B'  1.5

Alsager jumped above Meir in the Division 4 table with their win last night.

Mobile App Enhancements

We are in the process of making some enhancements to the mobile app and hope that these will all be in place by the end of this month.

• The ongoing problem with the Calendar not displaying properly has, hopefully, now been resolved.
• The app will now work in both landscape and portrait mode instead of just portrait mode.
• The Club Contacts page has been updated to include Team Captain contact details as well as the Club Secretary.
• The Results and Fixture Lists have been re-written as part of the app, rather than just going to external NSDCA web pages, and will be more readable and visually appealing. It will also now be possible to click on any match in the Fixture Lists to view the scorecard from within the app, rather than going to an external NSDCA web page.

These will all be bundled up as one update by the end of this month, rather than implement them one at a time. I will announce on the website when all of these changes have gone live. Please feel free to contact me with any other additions or changes that you would like to see. This is your website and we want to give you what you want, rather than what we want or what we think you want.

Division 5 Result

Fenton 'C'  3  Newcastle 'F'  1

It was a quiet Monday evening this week with only one match taking place. Any hope that Newcastle 'F' might have had of making a late bid to win Division 5 were probably extinguished by their second defeat in the space of four days.

Staffs U120's Into National Quarter-Finals

The Staffs U120 team drew 6 - 6 with Warwickshire yesterday afternoon, a result that was sufficient to see them make it through to the National Quarter-Finals of the County Championship, where they will play the winners of the Southern Counties Championship. Click here to view the full match score card.

Division 5 Result

Cheddleton 'J'  2.5  Newcastle 'F'  1.5

It was a quiet night at Cheddleton with only one match taking place. Cheddleton 'J' consolidated their 3rd place in the Division 5 table with a win against Newcastle 'F'.

Wednesday Evening Results

Division 2

Newcastle 'B'  1.5  Holmes Chapel 'B'  3.5

Division 3

Newcastle 'D'  1.5  Alsager 'B'  2.5

Stafford 'B'  3.5  Cheddleton 'F'  0.5

3rd placed Cheddleton 'F' failed to make use of one of their games in hand of the top two teams, losing their 2nd successive match in the space of 5 days.

Division 3 Result

Kidsgrove  0.5  Cheddleton 'G'  3.5

A good win for Cheddleton 'G' at Kidsgrove in Division 3 last night was not enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.

Division 3 Wide Open Again

Meir 'A'  2  Crewe Bishops  2

Fenton 'A'  1  Newcastle 'C'  3

With joint leaders Meir and Fenton both dropping points last night the battle for the Division 3 title is wide open again. Meir continue to head the table by a point but Cheddleton's loss on Friday evening now assumes less importance as they now have 3 matches in hand of the top two and a couple of wins could take them to the top of the table.

Leek Rapidplay Congress

This year's Leek Rapidplay Congress will be held on Sunday 14th June at St Edwards Academy in Leek. Further details will appear nearer the date.