More Misery For The County U140's

The County U140's suffered their 4th successive MCCU Championship defeat at the hands of Nottinghamshire yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately they had to default on 2 boards so faced an uphill battle from the start. Staffs were strong on the top 5 boards, scoring 2 wins and 3 draws, but fell away badly after that and finished up on the wrong end of an 11 - 5 result. Click here for the match score card.

County U120's Beat Derbyshire

A great result for the U120 team yesterday, beating previously unbeaten Derbyshire by 7.5 - 4.5. Click here for the match score card.

County U140's Beaten Again

The Staffs U140 team were only able to raise 13 players for this afternoon's match against Worcestershire. Despite putting up a great fight they were eventually beaten 9.5 - 6.5  -  the 3 point difference being exactly the number of defaulted boards !! Please click here to view the match score card. 

Shropshire Congress

The Shropshire Congress, which always attracts a lot of support from Staffordshire players, is being held over the weekend of 4th/6th January. Full details can be found here.

County Cups Draw

The draw for the various County Cups has now been made and can be viewed here.

Second Defeat For The County U140's.

The County U140 team suffered their second successive defeat yesterday, narrowly losing by 8.5 - 7.5 against Leicestershire. Click here for the match score card.

2018 County Congress Cancelled

Please note that the 2018 County Congress, originally scheduled for the end of November, has been cancelled. Matt Carr's current workload as an arbiter means that he is now unable to organise it.

WDCL Reps To The County

I have been advised that the Wolverhampton League are no longer appointing representatives to the County. However, David Fone of Lichfield Chess Club can be used as a point of contact for the WDCL when necessary.

County U140's Beaten In Opening Match

The County U140 team were beaten 9.5 - 6.5 by a significantly higher graded Warwickshire team earlier this afternoon. 5 of the Staffs team were actually eligible to play for the U100 team, and a further 3 were eligible to play for the U120 team, so the result was no surprise but, in the circumstances, the team put up a great fight. This was Matti Rehman's first match as County Captain and we wish him and the team well for their future matches.

Click here for yesterday's match score card.

If anybody is interested in playing for either the U100, U120 or U140 teams then please contact the relevant Team Captain. Contact details can be found here. The County Fixture Lists can be found here.

All Square In County U120 Match

The County U120 team opened their 2018/2019 account on Saturday with a 6 - 6 draw against Nottinghamshire. Click here for the match score card.

County Cups

Please note that the closing date for entries to the County Cups is 28th October. Entries to Peter Evans - peterfkevans@live.co.uk - Tel: 07486 988180.

County Fixtures

The fixtures for the County U100, U120 and U140 teams have now all been published and can be viewed on the County Calendar.

Stafford On The Move Again

No sooner have Stafford moved to a new venue than they are having to move again. Their new venue, from 3rd October, will be the County Staff Club, 77 Eastgate Street, Stafford, ST16 2NG.

Leek Congress

The Leek Congress, originally scheduled for 7th/9th September, has been postponed.

New Venue For Stafford

Stafford Chess Club have moved to a new venue :

Stafford Constitutional Club
5 Lloyd Street
Stafford
ST16 3AS

Sutton Coldfield Win Final County Cup Of Season

Sutton Coldfield retained the Gothard Cup on board count last night, following  a 2-2 draw against Cheddleton. Click here for the match score card.

Leek Rapidplay Congress

The Leek Rapidplay Congress was held on Sunday 24th June, Click here for the results.

County AGM

The 2018 County AGM was unusually well attended last night, with 13 people in attendance.

The full Minutes and Accounts will be published on the website in the near future.

The main things to come out of the Meeting were as follows :

• A volunteer has been found to run a County U140 team this season. I will let you know more as soon as I have all of his details.
• Robert West and Peter Evans will continue to run the U100 and U120 teams.
• There was nobody forthcoming to run either an Open, U180 or U160 team.
  
• Peter Evans to take over as County Tournament Secretary, replacing Steve Emmerton, who is standing down after 3 years in the role.
• All other Officers were re-elected unopposed.
• The 2018 County Congress to be held over the weekend of 30th November/2nd December. Venue to be announced later. Work will be done to enable online entries.
• The Club Of The Year Award was not made this year.
• Steve Emmerton received the Personality Of The Year Award in recognition of his work as Tournament Secretary and on the County website.
• A Privacy Policy will be put in place following recent changes to Data Protection Laws. Ray Dolan to produce this, based on an ECF template, and it will be published on the County website.

County Cups Go South

The Hickman and Jackson Cups both went to the South of the County in Wednesday evening's Finals.

Walsall Kipping won the Hickman Cup, beating Cheddleton by 3.5 - 2.5. Click here for the match score card.

Lichfield won the Jackson Cup, beating Meir by 3 - 1. Click here for the match score card.

The remaining Final between Sutton Coldfield and Cheddleton will be played on Monday 25th June.

Withnall Trophy Final

Cheddleton have won the first County Cup Final of the season, beating Newcastle by 2.5 - 1.5 in the Withnall Trophy. Click here for the match details.

Gothard Cup Final

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Gothard Cup Final will now be played on Monday 25th June @ Fenton Chess Club. Unfortunately, this is the week following the County AGM so the presentation of the Cup will have to be at a later date.

Withnall Trophy Final

The Withnall Trophy Final, between Cheddleton and Newcastle, will now be played at Fenton on Monday 4th June, rather than at Stafford on 13th June.

Cheddleton Reach Their 3rd County Cup Final

Cheddleton reached their 3rd County Cup Final of the season last night, beating Walsall Kipping by 2.5 - 1.5 in the Withnall Trophy. Click here for the match score card. Cheddleton will now meet Newcastle in the Final.

Cheddleton Reach Hickman Cup Final

Cheddleton will play Walsall Kipping in the Hickman Cup Final following a 4.5 - 1.5 win against a heavily outgraded Stafford team. Click here to view the match score card.

Lichfield Into Jackson Cup Final

Lichfield beat Cheddleton 3-1 last night to reach the Final of the Jackson Cup, where they will play Meir. Click here for last night's match score card.

ECF Finance Meeting

An ECF Finance Meeting is being held on the 28th April. Please take the time to read the various proposals as they affect all of us. Please click here to view them and give any feedback to Andrew Leadbetter, our ECF rep.

Local Congresses

The dates for this year's Leek Rapidplay Congress and Leek Congress have now been announced. Please click on the links for further details and a downloadable entry form.

Newcastle Mini Congress

The Newcastle Mini Congress was held this weekend. Please click on the following links to view the final tables :

U160 Section

U130 Section

U100 Section

Mair Reach Jackson Cup Final

Meir are through to the Final of the Jackson Cup after beating Stafford on board count, following a 2-2 draw. They will now meet either Lichfield or Cheddleton on the 13th June. Click here for the match score card.

Dates For Your Diary

Thursday 17th May - County Committee Meeting @ Stafford Chess Club - 7:30pm.

Officers of the Association are requested to bring their reports to this Meeting or, if unable to attend, forward them to Ray Dolan, the General Secretary.

Thursday 21st June - County AGM @Stafford Chess Club - 7:30pm.

Newcastle Through To Withnall Trophy Final

Newcastle are through to the Withnall Trophy Final following a 2.5 - 1.5 win at Fenton last night. They will now meet either Cheddleton or Walsall Kipping, who play later this month, on the 13th June. Click here for last night's match score card.

ECF National Club Championships

Newcastle failed to retain the ECF Intermediate Club Championship this weekend, with Telford taking the title this year.

Rugeley 50th Anniversary Rapidplay Congress

The Rugeley 50th Anniversary Chess Congress was held yesterday, 7th April. Please click on the following links for the final tables :

Open Section

Major Section

Minor Section

ECF National Club Championships

Newcastle-Under-Lyme Chess Club are flying the flag for Staffordshire at this weekend's National Club Championship. They are defending the Intermediate Section title they won last year so the very best of luck to them.

Newcastle Mini Congress

There is still time to enter the Newcastle Mini Congress being held over the weekend of 14th/15th April. That's Newcastle-Under-Lyme NOT Newcastle-Upon-Tyne !! Click here for full details.

Under 120 Team Fail To Qualify For Final Stages

With all the results now in for the MCCU U120 County Championship, the Staffs U120 team have, unfortunately, failed to qualify for the National Stages of the competition. Despite finishing joint 2nd on match points with 4 other Counties, an inferior aggregate score meant that they finished outside the top 3 qualifying places. Nonetheless, well done to Peter Evans and his players on a great effort. Click here for the final table.

County Cup Finals

This season's County Cup Finals will be held at Stafford Chess Club on Wednesday 13th June.

Another Win For The U120's

Congratulations to the Staffs U120 team on their 3rd win in their last 4 matches on Saturday afternoon. A comprehensive 9-3 victory against an 11 man Worcestershire team saw them finish joint 3rd in the table, along with Derbyshire and Warwickshire, with 3 wins and 3 losses from their 6 matches. Click here for the match score card.

RIP Graham Humphreys

I am sad to have to report that Graham Humphreys, a long time stalwart of Staffordshire Chess, passed away on Wednesday 21st  March at the age of 89. An obituary has been posted on the ECF website, which you can read here.

Graham's funeral will take place at 3:30pm on Friday 13th April at Gornal Bank Crematorium, Coopers Bank Road, Dudley, DY3 2PT.