Old Club News From 2017

Its been my pleasure for the last few years to organise this event. Many years ago I was asked to try and spice up the event at Christmas. My answer was a handicap event. The stronger the player the less time they have to find the win. Times are as follows.

Grading difference 0 – 10: 10 minutes each Grading difference 11-20: Weak player 13 – 7 Strong player Grading difference 21-30: Weak player 14 – 6 Strong player Grading difference 31-40: Weak player 15 – 5 Strong player Grading difference 41-50: Weak player 16 – 4 Strong player Grading difference 50+: Weak player 17 – 3 Strong player

The 2017 version was a strong one. We had more of our players in this event than we ever have previously. It was 13 players, now that might be unlucky for some but not for our tournament which I am pleased to say went without a problem. It was run using Swiss Manager to handle the pairings quickly and to calculate the results quickly. If we have a tie for first place we use the result between the two players as the tie-breaker. If we need more then I go get the committee. Having never needed them before I went into this was the confidence that I could be both arbiter and player. Round 1 was good fun, I was paired against Luke Sullivan. 16 vs 4 minutes. I went in there with good intentions then lost my queen on move 7. In the end it was the clock that got me aswell. These games for the strong players are fraught with danger. Not only from the opponents but on the clock. At least three games were decided with the clock showing less than 10 seconds. One game was even decided with two seconds left on the clock. In the end when the computer was asked to tally up the points. We had four players tied for first! It was at this point I got the committee in to decide what other method we could use. It was decided that since this was a handicap tournament the weakest player gets first and so on.

Therefore my congratulations to James Perks who took down me, Bob, Cath and Kieran to earn the victory. Followed by Luke Sullivan winning the bottle of Red wine and finally Rob Fell.

I look forward to next years competition and not to mention the AGM blitz tournament in the summer.

For the results table http://www.chess-results.com

IA Matthew Carr, (Tournament Organiser)

Wolverhampton came to Rugeley for our hardest home match this season in respect to grading.

Board 1 - Bob Edgar v Philip Porter. This top board battle was played by two equally graded players and was surely going to be an interesting match. As always, the away team was given white. They fought for a good amount of time and with the position equal it was looking like the outcome may be a draw for its majority. Unfortunately after a quick exchange of pieces in the end game it was Bob who had miscalculated the position and unknowingly became a bishop down to his disbelief. A few more moves were exchanged and black felt that his chances of a draw were slipping further into the abyss. Bob graciously resigned.

Board 2 - Mike Page v Aaron Ujjal. This was a battle of the ages as a young Wolverhampton player faced Rugeley's most experienced player. Mike had white and opened with e4, the reply was a Sicilian Nijdorf which Mike is certainly familiar with and has beaten many times. After the game went into the early middle game white was down a piece thanks to a sneaky queen check forking a piece. The Rugeley player resigned soon after this unfortunate blunder.

Board 3 - Luke Sullivan v Geoff Rosser. This wasn't going to be an easy match for the Rugeley player as he was outgraded and faced his toughest opponent to date. Nevertheless this was going to be a very creative and unique game. The experienced Wolverhampton player opened with E4. Luke opted for a different reply to his norm and chose E5. With an interesting idea for a queen exchange by black in the opening which was turned down by white this looked to be in black's favour with easy development and positional opportunities but having castled on opposite sides it was clear to see that white's pawn storm on black's kingside was just too strong which eventually left black cramped. This resulted in a forced rook sacrifice which lost black any chance of a draw. Resignation soon followed.

Board 4 - Dave Hadley v Default. Dave didn't play a bad move (courtesy of the Chairman).

Another tug on the heart strings for the Rugeley team with a 3-1 defeat, thanks to all who played.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

Rugeley nearly at full strength welcomed Lichfield C for their home match. We expected a tricky exercise as Lichfield had gained some impressive results of late so we would need to be on our guard!

Board 1 Catherine Hiley v David Fone. This game looked like it was heading for a draw with our Rugeley lady playing the “gentleman of chess”. Although Cath had the slight edge in position it looked like it was going to be a drawn out contest until our friend, the clock, ticked for the last time before move 30 for David, resulting in a win for Cath. Time waits for no man and this was certainly the case.

Board 2 Rob Fell v Gary Monks. My normal aggressive style was muted by the extremely defence play of my opponent. If it wasn’t for winning a piece in the middle game this would have stagnated to a draw but fortunately I was able to make the material level count in the endgame and Gary duly resigned.

Board 3 Matt Carr v Pete Willett. This game proved to be extremely interesting as the overall match result depended on the outcome. Basically Rugeley required a draw to win the match and Matt although short of time initially seemed to be in the driving seat for the win. After precision play by Matt it was time for his opponent to struggle with the time controls and a honourable draw was agreed..

Board 4 Patrick Waller v Mike Hoare. After last times total destruction of his opponent Patrick entered this game in a confident mood. His opponent however restricted any opportunities of open line play and the more the game went on the realisation that black was playing for a draw and nullifying any threats that Patrick could muster soon became apparent. A draw was indeed a fair result.

Board 5 Bob Edgar v Kevin Gallagher. Another player on form, Bob also entered this game hoping for yet another fine result. Again dogged play by the Lichfield opponent ensured honours were even.

Board 6 Tony Meakin v Leon Graff. Tony was looking to emulate Patricks quick finish from the previous match. Unfortunately that’s exactly what happened as Tony fell foul to a smart combination which resulted in him losing a piece and position very quickly and soon he has heading for an early bath. Lichfield’s only win of the night will make Tony determined to put things right in the next match. Meak by name but certainly not by nature!.

So Rugeley won the match 3.5 – 2.5 and we head off into the winter break in fine spirits. I am pleased with the teams form and believe that we will easily stay up in Division 2 this season – a few more players and we would seriously be challenging. Well done guys, enjoy the festive cheer!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

After a fairly intense start to the season we were hoping for a hiatus in the losing streak, however without our strongest board 1, it wasn't going to be easy.

Board 1 Catherine Hiley v Mike Groombridge. Cath once more stepped into the breach of Board 1 and we anticipated this was always going to be a well matched “battle” and so the game proved. Both players got to a point where the position was level and neither wanted to over push to a detrimental affect – a draw was a fair result

Board 2 Rob Fell v David Friend. This game was played at a fast pace with white gaining the initial momentum which won a piece. Unfortunately a positional blunder soon followed which put white on the back foot and it did look like the game could be lost due to blacks advanced pawns. A draw was readily accepted as again like Board 1 neither player wanted to risk the position.

Board 3 Matt Carr v Michael Darlow. If the first 2 boards were evenly matched then this was the banker draw of the lot! Both players played steadily and kept a tight position where advantages were slight and few between. A quick assessment of the middle game came the realisation that it was going to become a long drawn out battle which neither player looked the probable of winning, again the draw masters of Walsall had done it again.

Board 4 Patrick Waller v Peter Nixon. Well the safe conservative usual style of Patrick was thrown out of the window as like a greyhound out of the traps he quickly manoeuvred his pieces to attacking devasting effect which left his opponents defences crumbling and subsequently mated by 8.20pm. And everybody though “Nixon”gate was a thing of the past – well done Patrick!

Board 5 Bob Edgar v Doreen Anderton. Bob was eager to play this game and although he played a combination out of order which resulted in him losing a piece, as quick as a “FLASH” (lol) this galvanised him into playing with attacking intent. His opponent despite being a piece up could not withstand such attacking play and soon succumbed to Bob’s advancing pieces and was quickly mated. Bob left feeling very satisfied.

Board 6 Tony Meakin v Victor Brown. Despite this being the last game to finish this was by no where any bit less enthralling. Tony who was battling against being a piece and a few pawns down somehow grinded out a draw from a helpless position – a true reminder to us all that even when the chips are down you can always reach for the jacket potato! A well deserved result with the effort and refusal to give in by our own Tony.

So Rugeley gained their first win of the season 4-2, hopefully we will be able to build on this going into the next couple of games – well done team!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Board 1 - John Staniforth v Bob Edgar. With Bob as white, he faced his toughest opponent to date. Bob used a solid opening but played his moves in the wrong order in the middle game. Black stole a pawn and white found it incredibly difficult to gain it back. Moreover black had a very well placed knight which infiltrated white's position for the majority of the game. Bob tried to trap the knight with a clever plan but unfortunately black had enough momentum to save it. Black played very solid and didn't give white the chance to gain anything in the game. After a very long drawn-out battle, white felt the position was lost with potential mating threats and resigned.

Board 2 - Adrian Dibble v Luke Sullivan. With Luke as Black he was up against an ungraded player. White was far too aggressive early on which almost resulted in his queen being trapped and so by move 10 was retreating to save his position. Black defended well with the Nijdorf and looked incredibly solid. White's aggressive queen movements resulted in a loss of 5 pawns in the middle game. After swinging his rook down to the 2nd rank, Black chose to exchange the queens and try and force white to resign. Luke couldn't see an immediate win so tried to wear white down, but yet again Luke found that his love for sacrifices are in vain. Black blundered a piece with an unnoticed backwards move from white's bishop. With black assuming he had lost, he made a second blunder which resulted in a mate in 4 black could just not defend. A very disappointing loss for the Rugeley player who could have easily got a point for his club.

Board 3 - Aaron Bails v Dave Hadley. Another game where an experienced member of the Rugeley team faced an ungraded player from Rushall. Dave as white played an opening he wasn't all too comfortable with but managed to stop black's aggressive moves early on in the game. As a new player likes to be aggressive he black found good lines and this was too much for white to handle in the middle game and this subsequently lost him a piece. White struggled to deal with the attacking player and resigned early on in the night.

Board 4 - Josh Hennion v James Perks. This was the last match to come to a conclusion and was a hard fought game where both players were clearly fighting for the win. Hennion had the white pieces and both were very solid throughout. White came up with a clever plan which black failed to notice, capturing a piece in the middle game with no chance of compensation or recapture. James fought like a warrior trying to cling to the hopes of a draw but alas white's attacking chances were just too strong... resignation was swift.

Final match score was 4-0 to Rushall, thanks to all who played.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

Board 1 - David Blower v Mike Page. With Blower as white the position was fairly symmetrical for the first 10 or so moves as neither colour wished to advance early. Mike played extremely carefully and managed to grab a pawn. White became greedy and stole a pawn back but he failed to see that black could swing his knight into white's position, after this a nasty forced mate in 2 soon occurred. A very well planned game with correct move play to secure a victory for the home team.

Board 2 - David Buckley v Luke Sullivan. After facing each other last year at Brewood they faced off again, this time with opposite colours. Luke started with Nf3-D4. Black played solidly not grabbing the centre for the entire game. White wished to take advantage of the fact black had castled king side and played G6 and Bg7. White had a good plan of pushing H4 H5. Although the first mistake of pushing the pawn to far onto H7 had white snookering himself. Instead white should have took on G6 and opened black's king side creating an open file for rook. Black found a comfortable defence after this. After some time the game looked drawn but instead white blundered a piece and it all fell through. Resignation soon followed. A very unfortunate loss indeed.

Board 3 - Andrew Davies v Dave Hadley. The home team had black in this closely graded match. Andrew played a very clever opening as white and soon found himself a piece up. David struggled to gain the piece back and after it got to the end game black had no choice but to resign as it was clear there was more of an advantage with winning chances for white. Still a very courageous effort for the home team but an unfortunate loss.

Board 4 - Darren Chell v James Perks. James as white out-graded his opponent as Chell is currently UG. White looked to have full control of the game by move 20. Black struggled to find any advantage and white soon found a he had a winning position. All James had to do was keep his cool and not make any mistakes which he managed to achieve quite easily. Black knew he was in trouble and even offered a draw which was correctly declined. With a few more moves exchanged white was in a very strong position and had infiltrated his opponents king side. Resignation was swift.

Final match score was drawn, thanks to all who played.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

Board 1 - Vadim Bancila v Bob Edgar. Bob (white) started with Nf3 planning to go into a Reti style opening while black just developed solidly. With both sides having a King's side fianchettoed bishop, the game looked drawn for some time. Black was soon material up and gained a pass pawn, it looked like a loss possition. Bob had one last attempt, as black missed the opportunity to secure the game. Bancila had to sacrifice his rook and try to force the draw, as white had a unstoppable mate threat. White took with the wrong piece causing a fork on the mating piece. White resigned. 1-0.

Board 2 - Peter Oliver v Mike Page. This game looked drawn for most of its entirety. Peter marched his white pieces on and infiltrated black's position but Mike was cool, calm and collected and managed to defend well. Black then went on to secure a very dangerous passed pawn but white had a perpetual check. White forced black to offer a draw which was accepted. 1/2-1/2

Board 3 - Default v Tony Meakin. Tony had a very easy win. 0-1

Board 4 - Chris Harrington v Luke Sullivan. The home team moved first in this epic 4th board battle. D4 was met with a Sicilian Najdorf in its full glory with some very aggressive lines. Luke gained the centre and had white struggling to decide which side to castle. Black had his plan, taking advantage of the exposed king which was pinned against the queen. White was forced to loose material and then struggled to find the space needed to defend the nasty attacking chances black had. After a few more moves white blundered the queen on move 24 and promptly resigned. 0-1.

Rugeley take home the win, thanks to all who played.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

After the previous match we knew we were in for another tough evening playing one of the stronger teams in the division. I knew that these results would not determine whether we stayed up or not so I encouraged the team to enjoy the evening and hopefully we may be able to spring a surprise or two?.

Board 1 Bill Hulley v Geoffrey Marchant. Our regular board 1 was back and boy did we need him! Steady play from both players resulted in an end game where the Kidderminster player had a slight advantage of being a pawn up. Bill missed an opportunity to draw if he had swapped the rooks off but in the end the one pawn advantage was decisive!

Board 2 Rob Fell v Maurice Bissell. Initially my aggressive play got me in a fortunate position where I was dictating play and looking good for the win. My new strategy - the "Virgin" attack soon had me "over excited" and then after what looked like a promising pawn to queen finish soon turned into a anti climax and was over in seconds...a draw was the eventual outcome much to my disappointment. I simply made a "pigs ear" of the end game which should have resulted in a win for white.

Board 3 Bob Edgar v David Close. Both players played solidly and a draw looked inevitable until Dave missed a pin and ultimately went a knight down prompting his resignation. A fantastic win for Bob even if the game did live up to his opponent's surname.

Board 4 Patrick Waller v John Chester. Patrick promised me it would be "all wight" on the night. Using the Bird's opening White had a pleasant position after 9 moves but then played the wrong move order. This lost the initiative and a few moves later the exchange. Patrick did get a big kingside attack but it was defended well and ultimately the White King became too exposed. After some brief counterplay on the queenside Black avoided all the traps and finished it cleanly for a victory to the away team.

Board 5 Tony Meakin v Alan Preece. After last weeks promising draw, Tony came into this game full of confidence. This was a game that ebbed and flowed for both players who had chances. In the end it was the odd pawn snaffling that cost our player going into the end game and he promptly resigned.

Board 6 Luke Sullivan v David Spowart. Luke thought he was playing somebody from "Hogwarts" and at times some of his play was "spell-binding". Unfortunately our player was so eager for the win that he pushed his position to an extent that it left opportunities for his opponent to exploit and a narrow defeat soon followed. A good performance never the less against a player that easily outgraded him.

So the eventual outcome was a 1.5 - 4.5 defeat by Kidderminster. Still like last weeks opponents Stourbridge, they are one of the favourites to go up and we did not disgrace ourselves in any way. Thank you for everybody that played, we certainly did not make it easy for them.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Rugeley started their 2017-18 campaign with a lengthy trip to Stourbridge. Hopes were not too high as it was recognised that we would be outgraded on probably every board so it was a chance to put in a good performance and shake some of the summer rust off. In the past Rugeley have always put a good account of themselves but perhaps the results have not reflected the overall performance, a similar theme did seem to follow here.

Board 1 Zibi Koncki v Catherine Hiley. Cath was playing an opponent who's previous grade had been in the 170's so this was always going to be tough! What started off as a Sicillian soon transcended into the "dreaded" french and soon Cath had lost control of the centre. A player of this calibre soon started to make steady inroads and the result was inevitable. Cath acknowledged the difficult task by turning to drink, and not even the renowned "rook bashing" drink Stella could uplift her mood - easier games will follow. Thank you Cath for bravely stepping in to the board one shoes.

Board 2 Greg Dyett v Rob Fell. My game was full of "what if's". An extremely open game with attacks on both sides. I played a certain move out of sequence and then the dangerous threats just faded away. Certainly if I had moved my king to safety first then the game become interesting......did a win slip from within my grasp?? Another win for the Stourbridge team though was the result.

Board 3 Dave Scriven v Bob Edgar. Bob put in a solid performance and had a really strong attack building against his opponents king. He felt that he probably should have sacrificed a minor piece to force the win but unfortunatly due to it being the first game opted for safety first and then the time pressure started to become a factor. Performance wise though was good and although a another loss to the Rugeley team it certainly was not easy!.

Board 4 Paul Sharratt v Patrick Waller. This game was also extremely close with both players seeming evenly matched. The end game went down to 2 rooks and a bishop, and a pawn break through from Patrick's opponent swung the game into Stourbridge's favour. Another brave performance with time becoming a factor, but a close one at that.

Board 5 Julie Wilson v Tony Meakin. Rugeley needed to stop the rot and stop it fast! Step forward Tony Meakin who put in a polished performance by controlling the centre to the detriment of losing the c file to his opponent's rook. After swapping off his opponent's good bishop, Tony felt that he had the better position but the draw was a fair result and in the end stopped the whitewash.

Board 6 Sam Bradley v Dave Hadley. Dave always knew he was going to be in for a tough time because the grading difference in this match was going to be massive. Our player though put in a performance to be proud of and it took a good 35 moves before he eventually succumbed to the inevitable. Thank you Dave for stepping in on a board that was close to being defaulted.

So Rugeley eventually lost 5.5 to 0.5 but like many things the result did not entirely tell the full story. One thing I have noticed with Rugeley is if we do go down - we go down fighting and that is what happend tonight. Thank you for everybody that played - better results will be around the corner!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Rugeley Chess Club is proud to announce our own rapidplay tournament to be held at Lea Hall social club on the 7th April 2018.

Entry forms are currently being prepared and further news will be published as soon as plans are finalised. Please keep 7th April free in your diary! Should be a really fun day.

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

Board 1 - Mike Hoare v Mike Page. After a very long game it came to an interesting rook ending, a draw was offered by Mike Page (white) but declined. Hoare went on to secure a pass pawn and had a clear winning advantage.

Board 2 - Kevin Gallagher v Tony Meakin. After Tony (black) lost a pawn early on, Tony played accurate moves to gain his pawn back in the ending. The position was equal and possibly could have ended in a dangerous zugzwang. A draw was offered and was accepted.

Board 3 - Charlie Brown v Luke Sullivan. Luke (white) opened with Nf3. After playing the queens gambit, it was accepted. Black was soon the exchange up, taking white's queen side rook, but white had a plan. Black's queen was incredibly misplaced and after almost getting her trapped, black blundered a piece with a check from the bishop forking the knight. Luke then went on to gain a massive attacking advantage with both knights, a bishop, and his queen at the end. Black resigned on move 30.

Board 4 - Roy Smith v James Perks. James's (black) opening suffered an early disadvantage after being unable to gain his pawn back. When he went the exchange down in the middle game it was a lost game and unfortunately ended up in resignation.

Thanks to all who played, we were unfortunate not to get a point out the match.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

Congratulations to Matt Carr who won our first internal summer rapidplay club competition.

If you want to check out the final results you need to click on the following link http://chess-results.com.

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

Ray Dolan (Staffordshire County General Secretary) kindly presented the presentation shield to Rugeley Chess Club. He took the opportunity to say it was in recognition of the fact the club has been active for 50 years. Patrick (Chairman) was delighted to receive the award and thanked Ray and Staffs County Chess Association. Patrick announced that we are planning some celebratory activities over the next 12 months and hope to host our own tournament inviting members of the Staffordshire League.

Rugeley Shield presentation 2017

We also managed to fit some chess into the evening, I played Patrick in our club championship match. You can view the game here Catherine Hiley v Patrick Waller

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

Rugeley was nominated and awarded Club of the Year as we start our 50th anniversary celebrations. Ray Dolan will be presenting us with our trophy in due course.

The Staffordshire County AGM was held on the 18th July 2017 and the minutes can be seen on this link

Staffordshire AGM 2017

Please note that The Staffordshire Congress is on 16th & 17th September at Leek further details please see link http://Staffscongress2017

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

FIDE changes or enhances the chess rules every 4 years. Alex Holowczak has been kind enough to upload his presentation on the website and can be found here http://www.wdclchess.org.uk. Please take some time to look at the presentation and familiarise yourself with some of the new rules, they won't always be required for club matches, but the rules should be known by every chess player.

Many thanks to Mercia Chess Club and Alex Holowczak for the link.

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

This Summer, Rugeley Chess Club has decided to try out a rapidplay tournament. It shall be graded, so it's a bit more serious than a friendly battle (although I'm not sure friendly is the correct description!)

If you want to check out the pairings and the results you need to click on the following link http://chess-results.com. The link will also be displayed in the club champs tab.

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

The website naturally goes a bit quieter over the Summer months, even webmasters need a break! However the club is learning a bit more about it's history as we start thinking about celebrating our 50th anniversary. If you have any stories you would like to share we would love to hear from you.

If you fancy a bit of a nostalgia trip to 1999, we feature in Wolverhampton League's archive https://www.wdclchess.org.uk. It features a match when Mercia won Div Two easily in 1998/99 but their one defeat was this match at Rugeley. The game between Andrew McCumiskey against Bill Hulley can be seen too.

Catherine Hiley, Webmaster

The pairings for the Summer Rapidplay Club tournament has been drawn and a print-out can be found at the club. A link to the Chess-Results.com website will be published soon with all the details.

Matt Carr, Club Tournament Controller

The draw for the 2017-18 Rugeley Club Championship has been done and can be found on the Club Champs section of the Website. Pool A is Bill, Patrick, Cath, James and Matt. Pool B, is Rob, Bob, Mike, Tony, Luke and Dave Hadley. Should any other members wish to join the competition please could you inform Matt.

Matt Carr, Club Tournament Controller

The Staffordshire Chess Congress will be held at Leek on 16th/17th September 2017. Please click on the link for further info https://www.dropbox.com .It is being run by our very own club member Matthew Carr, I'm sure he would appreciate a good attendance from Rugeley, and it's always good fun.

Catherine Hiley, Club Secretary

Please take a look at the new fixtures section for the upcoming WDCL season, and games you definitely cannot make I'm sure Rob would appreciate the info as captain for this year.

The Cannock fixtures date is 11th July.

Catherine Hiley, Club Secretary

Please take a look at the AGM section (under the 'other' tab) for the minutes of this years AGM and please get back to me with any enquiries you may have, otherwise I will assume they have been read and accepted. Matt shall hopefully be informing us soon of the club champs set-up, that should be in 2 pools (as last year), and organise the Summer rapid play tournament. Details to follow.

Having been to this years Cannock AGM, it was agreed to have 3 divisions which still means that we should be able to field a div 2 team (subject to similar grades). No change to fees.

Catherine Hiley, Club Secretary

After an exciting series of three hard fought long games which finished level and a rapidplay decider, Catherine Hiley has won the Club Championship for the third time. Congratulations to her and also to runner-up Bob Edgar for making it the closest contest yet..

Patrick Waller, Club Championship Tournament Controller

Board 1 - Simon Jones v Bill Hulley. Bill played Simon Jones and told me it was a real tough game Jones put up one hell of a fight and had four pawns charging down the board almost unstoppable. In the end, Bill's better insight into the middle game proved decisive.

Board 2 - Adrian Lissamore v Bob Edgar. Bob played a rather poor French defence but managed to survive to the endgame where Bob's bishop was more active than his opponent's knight. After Bob had declined the offer of a draw, Lissamore played a move which allowed Bob to fork his knight and rook, and so won the game.

Board 3 - Jeremy Whitehouse v Tony Meakin. Tony on board 3, against Whitehouse did well to come away with a point as the start seemed to go against Tony but his better end-game technique won the day.

Board 4 - Dave Buckley v Luke Sullivan. Luke on board 4 with the black pieces seemed to be giving Buckley a hard game but in the later stages he miscalculated and lost a whole piece, giving Buckley the win.

Well done the team for turning up for this much re-arranged fixture.

Mike Page, (Cannock Div 3 Captain)

A more than worthy mention goes to 3 members of the Rugeley Chess Club who made it on the WDCL Top 40 players this season. Congratulations to Rob Fell who is currently #1 played 9 won 5 drawn 2 and lost 2. Bob Edgar has also had a good season currently at #8 and Catherine Hiley who is at #30.

Catherine Hiley, Wolverhampton League Division 2

Our last game of the season, and we needed at least a draw to stay in division 2, Brewood needed a win.

Board 4 Rob Fell v Mike Jarocki. Rob stormed his pawns, bishops rook and queen down the King side which was becoming increasingly defenseless, after 30 minutes play Rob had a forced win. Fantastic play by Rob.

Board 3 Patrick Waller v Paul Wright. I likened this game to a particularly sticky and stodgy toffee pudding, it's not to everyone's taste. Patrick felt his opening play wasn't too good, but Patrick knows how to stop a player advancing. Big STOP sign! You cannot continue from here, a much valued draw came from our board 3.

Board 1 Bill Hulley v Derek Laight. Bill's game looked pretty drawish throughout, Bill was equal to any attack and had used the good strategy of nullifying his opponent's bishop by putting pawns and pieces on the opposite colour. Bill didn't look as though he could get his knight active enough and so agreed a draw but after continuing play may have regretted not playing on.

Board 5 Catherine Hiley v Roger Grainger. It felt like I was playing Bob, the good old Reti opening. White just couldn't get going, his king seemed vulnerable even though his fianchettoed bishop was doing a fine defensive job, in the end my pieces were dominant and it showed with an impressive forced mate at the end. The win secured division 2 status next season.

Board 6 Bob Edgar v Andrew Lenz. Bob looked like he was heading for a drawn match but he had cleverly calculated a forced win after timing the swap off of the remaining pieces and bringing his king forward to secure a pawn promotion, black thus resigned.

Board 2 Matt Carr v Mark Keady. The pressure was now off Matt, knowing we had won the match and having battled hard against someone graded 12 points higher. Matt was feeling that a drawn game was slowly becoming less likely, and resigned.

Well done to the entire club who have contributed in no small measure keeping us in div 2, where we belong. This match goes to prove that we can punch above our (grading) weight.

Catherine Hiley, Wolverhampton League Division 2

Congratulations to Catherine Hiley who has recently won Pool B and therefore qualified to meet the winner of Pool A, Bob Edgar in the final. Thanks to everyone who played in this year's championship - the total of 35 games played to date was more than double the number managed last year.

Patrick Waller, Club Championship Tournament Controller

Board 1 - Bill Hulley v David Blower. Bill out graded his opponent by some 30 points and I expected him to have the best of things, but Blower played with skill and determination taking Bill to the full time control at which point a draw was agreed.

Board 2 - Bob Edgar v Stephen Bird. Bob seemed to have the better game right from the start, winning a whole rook by move 12. Bird battled on but with Bob's position improving after each move the result was in no doubt. A good win from Bob sealing Brewood's fate.

Board 3 - Tony Meakin v Andrew Davies. Tony on board 3 was well matched against Davies, the game was a fine example of attack and defence as both players were giving nothing away a draw was agreed after a long struggle .

Board 4 - Luke Sullivan v Default. Luke was disappointed in not having a game, and found it strange that Brewood could not field a full team. I explained that these things sometimes happen and it may have been down to the grading limit, as like Rugeley, Brewood are one of the smaller clubs.

Thanks to all who played and well done. Another win for Rugeley keeping us near the top of the table.

Mike Page, (Cannock Div 3 Captain)

This was going to be another tough match as on paper we were outgraded on every board.

Board 1 Tony Hickey v Matt Carr. Matt played the London System and played it to the best of his ability, which is all a captain can ask for. Matt battled well but miscalculated the exchange and was defeated by the better player.

Board 6 Arthur Kent v Tony Meakin. Tony had a nice French defence position, beautifully placed pieces. However, what seemed to be a natural h pawn move for Tony, stifled his advantageous situation. An important lesson learned in this opening for Tony, who never looked in trouble and was happy to settle for a draw.

Board 3 Mike Biddle v Rob Fell. In form Rob is enjoying his chess at the moment. He had a superb attack on his opponent's king which was keenly defended. Mike offered draws in a desperate attempt to salvage something out of the game, but Rob was intent on the win, and proved it.

Board 2 Keith Thomas v Patrick Waller. Patrick really had a tough game, but was equal to anything his opponent offered in the way of an attack. A draw seemed to be on the cards, but unfortunately Patrick's stifled yawns seemed to suggest he was tiring. He missed the opportunity to take the draw and under immense time trouble lost the game.

Board 4 Malcolm Phipps v Catherine Hiley. Quite an unorthodox opening d4 d5, e3 Bf5, Bd3 e6 led to White having double isolated central pawns by move 7, leaving them very vulnerable so that by move 20 white was 2 pawns down. From there on it was only ever going to be a win for black.

Board 5 Kevin Spillane v Bob Edgar. Bob played an interesting endgame leaving himself a bishop and 4 pawns to black's rook and 2 pawns. It looked like a draw, but Bob missed that bringing his king into the game to support his pawns, in fact pinned his own pawn. An unfortunate error, that meant we lost the match.

I thought it was a valliant effort from every member, we played with spirit and tenacity. I thought we deserved a point out of this match, but alas chess isn't always fair.

Catherine Hiley, Wolverhampton League Division 2

The match was the first to be played in the upstairs computer room this is larger and brighter than our usual venue and made for a better atmosphere.

Board 1 - Bill Hulley v Keith Butler. Bill as black, was up against a strong player from Rushall.The game was a standard “Ruy Lopez” all was set for a good battle. White played with skill and originality, the queens were exchanged by move 9. As the game continued, Bill's position looked the better with 2 strong rooks in control and a powerful black bishop with open lines, later Butler lost a piece and resigned on the spot. Well played Bill on top board.

Board 2 - Tony Meakin v David Jarvis. Tony with the white pieces played the “Meakin b3 Trust opening” he knew well, but as ever on second board Tony was in for a hard game. Slowly as things continued all looked equal with Tony's 2 knights up against a knight and bishop. The game was heading for a draw which was agreed on move 36.

Board 3 - Dave Hadley v Shane Cooksey. Dave played a good game during the early stages but with Cooksey getting a stronger position as it progressed... Dave’s lady was lost during a “discovered check” move, the end soon came.

Board 4 - Luke Sullivan v Josh Hennion. Well prepared Luke was buzzing with anticipation hoping to continue his winning run of games. He played well from the start and by move 20 both players were about equal, the game was the last to finish and the result would determine the match. So “no pressure” as Luke calmly pushed his pawns up the open files his opponent was shaking his head in despair as he faced a now unstoppable new queen well played again Luke this result won the match for the home team.

A good result again against a strong team. Thanks to all for playing and well done.

Mike Page, (Cannock Div 3 Captain)

The league leaders have won all 6 of their matches, with such formidable form, we knew we would have to bring our 'A' game to compete.

Board 1 Nicholas Walker v Bill Hulley. Bill struggled in his game to get any decisive play, his opponent played aggressively and had Bill's King trapped on its home square. The 44 grading point difference was a tough ask and Bill was mated by a Queen and bishop combo.

Board 4 Moin Uddin v Rob Fell. In form Rob was looking forward to his challenge and thought that his on-pris rook, wasn't a sound capture for his opponent. Patrick and I were mesmorised by this fascinating game, as the West Brom player's king was exposed, and there seemed to be countless combinations. With a rook down Rob needed to play with precision, but unfortunately his valiant efforts lost him another rook, and as the game progressed, there was no return. Great effort though!

Board 3 John Crump v Patrick Waller. This looked like a game that Patrick had under control, but Patrick said that he was under considerable pressure throughout the game, and it sounded as though his opponent had the better placed pieces, which earned his team at least a drawn match.

Board 2 Dave Davies v Matt Carr. Matt was prepared, and unleashed the French defense, and was surprised by his opponent's evasive moves. At move 16 White had 15 minutes left on his clock with double isolated pawns. Matt's attack turned to the queen-side and as Matt tried to stay warm, his opponent was trying to turn down the heat in the game by stopping Matt from getting a great attack and so offered Matt a draw, which was accepted.

Board 5 Derek Backhouse v Catherine Hiley. The Giuoco Piano was played and black seemed to have the better opening, with the main line being played. However, he struggled to get his bishop off the back line and his pawn advantage soon diminished with a miscalculated pawn thrust, I saw a combination that gave me the exchange up and dominated the board, with time pressure my opponent made an error and took his eye off the back row, swiftly my Queen swooped in for a checkmate.

Board 6 Carlos Bryant v Bob Edgar. Bob played against an unfamiliar flank reply to his French defense, the queens were swapped off early, and Bob looked to be fairly even for awhile. Opportunities arose for both players to seek the advantage, but Bob managed to have the stronger endgame play and romped his pawn to promotional victory.

It was a super team effort, against a team who out-graded us by at least 20 points on every board, yet we almost took a point.

Catherine Hiley, Wolverhampton League Division 2

The long trip to Stourbridge meant that we didn't want to leave without at least a point.

Board 2 Ron Evans v Patrick Waller. This game opened with the Blackmar-Diemer for further reading see;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmar-Diemer_Gambit. Patrick decided to try an alternative 'out of book' reply which meant that it looked very drawish, very quickly, and indeed a draw was agreed.

Board 6 Martin Berridge v Tony Meakin. At an initial glance this looked to be an interesting French exchange game. Tony's opponent was pushing pawns forward towards the king but in doing so, allowed Tony to swap off, leaving the game in a drawn position.

Board 1 John Foxall v Bill Hulley. This looked like a draw early on to me, I didn't see the ending, but Bill is very good analysis, and if he says it's a draw... it probably is.

Board 3 Sam Bradley v Rob Fell. Rob's opponent was short on time, and looked like there was no quick win for the Stourbridge player. So under pressure a draw was agreed which was the honourable outcome.

Board 5 Jeremy Humphries v Bob Edgar. Bob played his Reti opening to good effect, his opponent left little holes open for a bilateral flank attack, shortly his opponent became the exchange down and from there on it was won game for Bob.

Board 4 Tony Shaw v Catherine Hiley. Feeling slightly jaded I went for the attack, however my opponent's intuitive counter-play meant that I needed to defend. Having made a calculated decision to continue aggressively I realised that my opponent could switch the attack much quicker than I could respond and therefore my attack was nullified, and defeat was certain.

I'm afraid the captain let the side down, sorry guys! Many thanks to all who made the effort to play, and Patrick for volunteering to drive.

Catherine Hiley, Wolverhampton League Division 2

Rugeley anticipated a tough match against Wolverhampton in the Cannock div 3 league.

Board 1 - Bill Hulley v Frank Wood. Bill was well matched against Frank Wood both played well and Bill as black seemed to be defending for much of the game, that went to a full time control. After a draw was agreed I asked Bill for his comments and he said that both had good attacking chances and a draw was a fair result.

Board 2 - Mike Page v Geoff Rosser. My game with Rosser was a very well played match with white having much of the play during the start and middle game. My opponent seemed to be taking too much time and coming up to the time control was moving very quickly, when he exchanged queens I moved instinctively on his time shortage and in doing so “gifted” him a whole rook after which I resigned in disgust!

Board 3 - Tony Meakin v Michael Oakes. Tony on board 3 played a sound game and seemed to be in a solid position, after most of the pieces came off it was Tony's knight against Oakes' Bishop with pawns about equal. However the black king came charging up the board right into Tony's net of pawns and was surprised when Tony's agile horse delivered a very pretty mate! Well played Tony.

Board 4 - Luke Sullivan v John Dugmore. Luke with white played well and after twenty moves seemed to have a commanding position a good three pawns in the centre, his king safe and other pieces well placed. I did not see the last part of the game but Luke often plays good attacking move and has been known to “sac” material for a better position. He may have done this to no avail as when I asked him how his game went, his reply “I lost”, just told me that as a young improving player he still has much to learn.

Thanks to all who played and well done Bill and Tony.

Mike Page, (Cannock Div 3 Captain)