Old Club News From 2018

Another fun filled evening run by Matt Carr, this evening was a victorious one for Luke Sullivan, he won a nice bottle of wine. For the results table http://www.chess-results.com .

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

After under-performing in the Rock Cup I looked forward to playing my opponent Vic Brown in the subsidiary Bidgood Cup. I learnt later that Vic had won the Bidgood Cup last year so this game promised to be a challenge, which it certainly was.

Vic played 1 d4 and dominated the opening leaving me unable to castle and develop my bishop. This was a game where I struggled to get any counter play whatsoever. With my opponents Queen, rook and knight threatening to break on the seventh rank I had to defend the a- file staunchly. I was particularly impressed by Vics pushing of the a and h pawns. The a pawn provided the initial invasion point for his attack and h pawn prevented any easy escape for my queen from her defensive duties. We fought to a standstill before Vic offered a draw with time pressure looming for both sides. There are times when chess transcends pushing pits of plastic around sixty four squares this “epic” was certainly one of those times. I have conceded the match because of my forthcoming sojourn to Cornwall but as Arnie says "I will be back", and of course best of luck to Vic in his defense of the Harold Bidgood trophy.

Steve Heath (Rugeley member)

We approached our next match with a slight bit of trepidation. It had been observed that Warley had gained some notable success in the league so far and also that we were slightly below strength but we aimed to do our best regardless. Matt secured a magnificent win on board 1, Matt Carr v John Fahy I blundered a winning position on 2 while Steve was unfortunate to lose only his first game this season on 3. Following on from that Bob gained a comfortable win on 4, Tony managed to hold his opponent to a draw on 5 and James put up a brave display but finally succumbed on 6. Thus the end result was a 3.5 – 2.5 loss to the Rugeley team. Thank you all for playing what proved to be a very challenging fixture this time of year, it was greatly appreciated.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Boldmere came with 3 opponents to a high spirited Rugeley for the last match before Christmas. Tony started solidly with black, and with white not wishing to advance knew the best option was to offer the early draw. 1.5- 1.5. Board 2. Mike with white had a fantastic game, Mike Page v Arthur Kent having offered 2 draws to his opponent which were declined, Mike went for it and smothered black with mate. Board 3. Using the Black Lion opening Luke was ready for a good game. A solid opening from both and everything to play for in the middle game. Unfortunately a blunder cost the Rugeley player his knight and it was resignation shortly after. Thanks to all players and Well done to Rugeley for grabbing the victory! 2.5-1.5.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

The majority of members managed to celebrate the chess club's 50th anniversary with founder member Mike Page at Ye Olde Dun Cow in Colton. There were plenty of laughs and anecdotes, and banter mixed with good food and a splash of wine. We look forward to the next 50 years, or as much of it as possible anyway! Thanks to all who attended, it was a lovely evening.

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

I set my mobile phone alarm on silent vibrate early on Sunday morning. After carefully getting out of bed without disturbing my better half, I quietly got dressed (into the previous day’s clothes to avoid opening any cupboards) & left the house. I was on the M60 before the inevitable phone call came….’where are you?’ ‘I thought I told you that I was going to play chess today darling’ ( I had told her weeks ago – you know the sort of conversation when you tell someone something in passing in the hope that they didn’t really pick up on what you said?) I had escaped for the day – she would have to go wallpaper shopping with just her sister. I felt free & very clever that my plan had worked.
I had entered the Knight’s section (up to 125) & as I’m graded 123 I felt that I had a chance of doing well. I won my first 2 games fairly comfortably, blundered a rook for bishop in my 3rd but managed to fight back & achieve a win & escaped a potential mate in 3 in my 4th game to get away with a draw by perpetual check. The 5th game was a tame draw which left me as 1 of 4 players with 4 points & there was 1 player with 4.5.

Fortunately I got drawn against the leader so a tournament victory was mine if I could beat him. As Black I played the Caro-Khan e4 c6, d4 d5, e5 c5 – he declined my initial gambit & played c3 with me later playing c4 it left the Queen side with a pawn blockade. White castled Kingside so I attacked with my minor pieces where I managed to win a Rook for a Knight after he pushed his King side pawns forward to counter-attack. He managed to break through on the f file & chased my King from f8 across the board to b6 with a series of checks. After consolidating I managed to pin his Bishop to his unguarded Rook & eventually his flag went down with me firmly on top. 1 of the other players on 4 points had also won so I shared first place & the prize money.I returned home very happy after another hour & a half on the Motorways, but expecting a mouthful from the other half for leaving her for the day. But she was pleased to see me, to my amazement she told me that she had heard the alarm vibrate but stayed in bed pretending to be asleep. She wanted me out of the way as her plan was for her & her sister to go shopping without me so that she could choose whatever wallpaper she wanted without me putting the expensive rolls back on the shelves! A hot sweat came over me (which is even more unpleasant when you’re wearing the same underwear for the second day in a row) – I’d been double bluffed. After adding my entry fee, petrol, lunch etc to the cost of the wallpaper she'd bought, it came to more than the prize money I’d won! Now all I need to do is find another Congress next weekend to play in, so I don’t have to help her hang the bloody stuff…….

Steve Whatmore (Congress man)

Well this match went off with a bang (of intense silence) we came away with a draw. Extremely well played by Tony, he had a swift victory and Steve Heath notably had a dominant win. Overall it was a good perforamnce as we were outgraded on every board.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

It would be remiss of me not to mention 3 members of the club travelling to Scarborough, Mike and Tony both in the Foundation section and myself in the Intermediate. There really are no easy wins this weekend, it's often quite a taxing weekend, so much so that my first game didn't finish until 11pm and so none of us ate that evening (sorry guys) and after a few vodkas to drown the memory of my first loss... I had a serious hangover to take me into Saturday. Mike and Tony fared much better. Mike finished on 3/5, and Tony had an impressive 4/5. For the results table http://www.chess-results.com. I had an enjoyable weekend, despite my result of 1.5/5

Catherine Hiley

We were hoping to keep the momentum going in this match and sign off with 4 wins before our annual Xmas meal. Unfortunately this was the match when the wheels started to fall off. While our board 1 got a quick draw with his opponent, board 2 being myself was literally “crushed” into oblivion, being mated by a pair of bishops! Bob on board 5 was next to come unstuck after resigning in a losing position leaving the rest of the team to try and salvage something. Patrick on board 6 battled on and soon found himself in a beautiful end-game that his opponent had no hope of recovering from Patrick Waller v Clive Billinge. Board 4 our reliable newbie Steve grinded out another win in the end-game which left Cath’s game on board 3 being pivotal. Despite a brave attempt to get a draw Cath finally succumbed to defeat despite battling through gamely. Well done team for giving it your all and nearly rescuing a point, we still have had a very good start to the season despite this unfortunate 3.5 – 2.5 loss.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

I ventured over to Warley Quinbourne Chess club in terrible weather to play Andy Southall. I enjoy the Rock Cup as it allows me to play very strong players who I would not ordinarily play. Andy with a grade of 192 played certainly fitted that bill. Andy played the French defence and I was quickly under pressure and capitulated after losing a knight on move 20. It’s interesting that lack of hope in a position and the pressure of continuously strong moves by an opponent obtains unforced errors. A thank you to Andy for explaining where I had gone wrong in the opening and best of luck as he advances in the Rock Cup. I am now entered into the Bidgood cup, where hopefully I can give my opponents a better game.

Steve Heath

Our next assignment as well as being quite a distance to travel was also viewed as one where we hoped to gain maximum points and build upon the growing momentum. Our board 1 Matt although losing finally in the end game performed admirably considering he was suffering with acute back pain! Bill on board 2 Julie Wilson v Bill Hulley made light work of his opponent winning within an impressive 18 moves. Draws quickly followed on boards 3, 4 & 5 for myself, Cath & Bob Ron Evans v Catherine Hiley, although we all admitted that our positions were inferior which left Board 6 Steve determining our fate. Jeremy Humphries v Steve Whatmore.Thankfully Steve managed to grind out a win very late on which gave us a 3.5 : 2.5 win overall. Well done team for a dogged display, we have now won our first 3 games and,*whisper* are top of the League!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

For this match we were slightly apprehensive as we recognised how strong a challenge Rushall would present and also that we were without 2 of our best players in Matt & Cath. Also we were welcoming a new debutant in Steve Whatmore Steve Whatmore v Peter Leary to the team so success was never guaranteed. However my fears were soon to be unfounded as each one of our players (bar myself) put in a performance to be proud of. Wins on boards 3, 4 & 6 (Bob, Steve & Tony) really set the tone, followed up by draws on boards 1 & 5 (Bill & Patrick) and then our solitary loss on board 2 (myself). Thus we won the match 4-2 and a few mild jokes about going for promotion were raised – but it is a very long season ahead. Well done team, again you delivered a display of attacking solid chess to be proud of!.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

We travelled to St George's for our opening match of the season with fresh optimism (we were already 1-0 up after the home team unfortunately had to default a board). Travelling wise was quite straight forward with hardly any delays and we all arrived promptly and ready for the task ahead. After some very good solid displays by all our team we came away with a 4-2 win – myself and Cath winning on boards 2 & 3, Bob & Patrick drawing on boards 4 & 5 and Matt unfortunately up against the clock in the end game losing on board 1. Cath’s game in particular was very impressive, going 2 pieces up very early on in her game and being able to manoeuvre a position where there was no escape for her opponent. Well done team – an impressive win and hopefully the start of another successful season again for us.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Luke & Steve took the plunge & entered while Matt had a very successful day as the chief arbiter. The blitz rules meant that all moves had to be made in 3 minutes + 2 seconds added per move, across 15 rounds in 7 exhausting hours. Both players had very challenging tournaments - there were 51 entrants, all in one section, with a GM, 2 IMs & 2 FMs amongst a very strong field with the vast majority of players graded far higher than either of them.
After a very long but really enjoyable day for both, Steve managed to achieve 6 wins, with 8 defeats & 1 draw (which was his highlight against an opponent graded nearly 160). Luke was very unlucky with the pairings he received, regularly getting matched up with some really excellent opponents, & finished with a creditable 5 points from his tournament.
Further details can be found on the UK Open Blitz Championship web site.

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

Steve Whatmore, Rugeley Chess Club

The first match of the 2018-19 season was underway seeing Wolverhampton travel to Rugeley for war.

Board 1 - Tony Meakin v Geoff Rosser. Rosser with White gained the opening initiative against the Rugeley player having the upper hand against the French. Tony found himself in a spot of bother when he lost the exchange forfeiting a Bishop for a pawn. Unfortunately after both sides tried to push pawns to gain the advantage it was white who had the material and gained the victory.

Board 2 - Mike Page v Gordon Sands. The Rugeley chess veteran took on a stronger rated player in Sands. With the white pieces Mike looked to gain a very aggressive opening, controlling most of the centre, but black was holding his own with sufficient counter play. It looked like total domination by white until Mike miscalculated a combination and unfortunately black was able to capitalise and steal the game.

Board 3 - Luke Sullivan v Eddie Badger. Badger with white opened with e4. Blacks response, The kings Indian defence. White pushed the 3 pawns to the centre and developed easily with black being very solid. White lost a pawn on move 6 and lost the centre structure. Luke didn't allow white's aggressive attacking moves to take effect. White over extended his pawns and placed his queen on an inactive square for the majority of the game. Black exchanged queens on move 51 and in the endgame black had too many pawns to promote. White graciously resigned.

Board 4 - David Hadley v John Dugmore. Dave with white was facing a higher rated opponent in this hell raiser of a battle. Both sides gained an equal advantage in the opening, but with white's pawns doubled and going the exchange down, it was hard to overcome the pressure black was forcing upon him. All 8 pawns were still on the board by move 21 and looked to be quite solid but alas Black managed to squeeze his way through and white's skeleton crumbled.

Final match score 3-1 to Wolverhampton. Thanks and well played all who fought in the match.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

This years event saw 10 players take part in the Rapidplay. The games were submitted for ECF grading in July with everything played after that going into the January list.
In total there could be a potential 45 games and of those only 12 were not played.
For the winner of 2017s event, fortune was not with him this time and had to settle for 9th place.
Our winner is the newest member of our chess club Steve Whatmore with an impressive 7/9
Following closely behind in joint second were Luke Sullivan and Bob Edgar.
Some of these games were played on liveboards and that fun can be viewed on our website.
It was a good event, one which I hope we will continue into 2019 and now to the main event, the club championships. Good luck to everyone.

  For the final table results of this Rapidplay please click on the link results table

Matt Carr, Tournament Controller

Just to let you know that the committee have been working hard behind the scenes. You may be aware of the recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and should you wish to look at the policy it can be found here or under the 'about' tab.
Tony should be distributing the forms to collate the relevant personal data in the coming weeks, along with any outstanding subs.

Catherine Hiley, Rugeley Chess Club

It's been awhile since any new posts have appeared but that doesn't mean things are quiet on the chess-front. We've been busy playing internal rapidplay tournaments, and managed to play in Crewe and Lichfield events.
The latest outing featured our most long-standing and our newest members of the club with myself from 26th July.

  For the final table results of this Rapidplay please click on the link Lichfield July26th

Catherine Hiley, Rugeley Chess Club

The season may have finished, but Rugeley Chess Club is still as vibrant as ever and enjoying playing chess and bringing the game a little closer to the community.

Most of the club were down at Green Lane Playing Fields at Rugeley Charter Fair enjoying playing various abilities of the general public, old and young, male and female. It was nice to play outside in some nice weather. Many thanks to Patrick Waller for supplying the gazebo and the furniture, and Matt Carr for bringing his energy amd garden set. It was a really good family day out.

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Catherine Hiley, 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.

Having been to this years WDCL AGM, it was agreed to change the time ruling which is in keeping with the Birmingham League so the ruling is now.

Rule 13 was changed to the following for all games in all competitions in WDCL. The change will appear in next years handbook.

The use of clocks shall be compulsory, and the time limits shall be one of the following options the default rate of play will be option (1):

(1) All moves in 80 minutes with 10 seconds per move added throughout (incremental) if sufficient digital clocks are available.
(2) All moves in 90 minutes

Catherine Hiley, Club Secretary

Rugeley held it's annual end of season blitz tournament run by our resident arbiter, Matt Carr. All moves were played in 5 minutes. This was another feast of manic play, blunders, illegal moves and nail-biting end play.
Another enjoyable mad evening of chess was had. Congratulations to Rob Fell who won the tournament, and Matt Carr for running the event and supplying the prizes. Thanks to all members for your continued support.

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

Catherine Hiley, Rugeley Chess Club

The Club championships were played on the 17/04/18 and 24/04/18. A best of two game final with a third game played if the score should be 1-1.

Cath Hiley won the first game on the 17th against Tony. Of note the second game was rather fun to watch from the player's perspective. The ending came down to both players having 20 seconds each and the arbiter in me trying frantically to count to 50 and look for three-fold repetition at the same time. In the end a draw was agreed.

As tournament secretary I wish to congratulate Cath on her victory in the club championships and add my commiserations to Tony who played some fantastic games.

Matt Carr, Tournament Controller

For our last match of the season Rugeley travelled to Wolverhampton for war.

Board 1 - Matt Carr v Gordon Sands. As a much needed reserve, Matt was eager to step in and take the board 1 challenge. With white the Rugeley player creates a clever opening with fast development. Black looked to be on the back foot from the opening and leading into the middle game struggled to keep Matt out of his position with both bishops controlling everything. 19 moves was all it took and the outcome was inevitable so Black offered his hand in resignation.

Board 2 - Eddie Badger 0 v 1 Bob Edgar. This was the last game to finish in the evening. Bob yet again with black was out for revenge. A very solid opening from both players ensured a battle in the middle game. With both queens coming off, an exchange was made, Black chose to test his talents keeping the knight while white had 3 extra pawns. The game looked drawn and the end game was hard to play. An error from white helped Bob's knight become a strong piece. Knowing the outcome White resigned honourably.

Board 3 - Michael Oakes 0 v 1 Luke Sullivan. Luke as white opened with c4, Blacks response e5. With white's bishops easily placed on b2 and g2 white looked to control more of the battle field but Black was defending well. Black committed to castling king side and this was white's chance. Castling queen side white grabbed some initiative throwing h and g pawns up the board locking down the position well.. completely blocking in his opponent's knight. Black spent some time moving his king in fear of white's plan. This gave more chances for White to double up Rooks and open files for them also blocking in Black's bishop. Black lost a pawn and was fighting the aggressive moves placed before him but an unfortunate error lost Oakes a piece and he didn't want to continue any longer.

Board 4 - John Dugmore 1 v 0 James Perks. Both players graded pretty much the same with similar minds at hand. With the Rugeley player as black, James grabbed the centre early with white developing modestly. James made a tiny error in the middle game and lost a pawn, then another. Black was struggling to gain any drawing chances and duly tipped his king in defeat just before the end game.

Thanks to all players and congratulations to Rugeley for securing the match win 3-1.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

And now the end is near...............As the forthcoming season draws to a close we were to play our final match against a Kidderminster side fighting for survival. Indeed Stourbridge B were looking for us to do them a huge favour by winning this match to secure their Division 2 status, unfortunately this was a match that we struggled for the first time to get out a full team.

Board 1 David Close v Rob Fell. As this name suggested this was a very "close" game, there was virtually nothing in it. My opponent though had taken his eyes off the clock and was in total surprise when I offered out my hand when his flag fell. When I pointed out that he had lost on time he replied "no I haven't that's impossible!" and after I pointed out that I had only used half an hour on my clock he eventually accepted the result.

Board 2 Mark Riley v Matt Carr. Matt's form has been tremendous of late and he wasted no time going on the attack and forcing his opponent on the back foot. Soon the end-game resulted in pass pawns racing to their eventual coronation and a bishop sacrifice could only stop one of them. A worthy victory!

Board 3 David Spowart v Bob Edgar. A very calm game up to move 33 which resulted in both queens and opposite coloured bishops remaining. Unfortunately Bob made an unwise king move that removed the space he needed to defend effectively and the game petered out to a gradual loss for our player.

Board 4 John Whitehead v Tony Meakin. A game in which our Tony didn't really get going, and a loss of tempo early on resulted in a grinding out win for the Kidderminster player.

Board 5 Clive Billinge v . Luke Sullivan. Luke's game looked promising early on but he unfortunately lost the initiative during the middle game and like Tony was made to pay in the end-game.

Board 6 Michael Kitchen v D Fault. D fault was playing really well to begin with and for one moment looked like he had victory in his grasp..........................oh heck wait a minute, this game didn't even take place! An easy win for Mike Kitchen without really trying.

Thus Rugeley lost their final match of the 2017-18 season 4-2 and you could hear the chorus of wails and boo's coming from the Stourbridge area. Still we have had a season to be proud of with some fantastic results and amazing performances. I want to thank each and every player for turning out for Rugeley this season and giving it their all. A team that was originally tipped for a relegation fight made it look extremely easy in the end - so for that hold your heads up high, you did Rugeley proud in their 50th anniversary year!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

This event was held at Lea Hall on Saturday 7th April and was run by International Arbiter Matt Carr (a club member) assisted by Dave Thomas. Fifty-eight players competed over seven rounds in three sections (click on the links below for the full results). The prize winners were as follows:

Open (8 players, all play all)

1st prize (£120) Gary Kenworthy (Bedfordshire) Joint 2nd prize (£45 each) Marek Mazek (Heywood) and Lawrence Cooper (Stafford) Grading (£25) Damian McCarthy (Culcheth)

Major (21 players, Swiss)

Joint 1st prize (£70 each) Peter Collins (Lichfield) Phil Bull (Wolverhampton) and Douglas Barnett (Crewe) Grading (£25) Robert Fell (Rugeley)

Minor (29 players, Swiss)

1st prize (£120) Robert Marks (Sutton Coldfield) Joint 2nd prize (£45 each) David Blower (Brewood) and Steve Whatmore Grading (£25) Simon Layhe (Crewe)

A great day for the club! Some pictures will be added soon.

Patrick Waller, Chairman

Board 1 - Tony Meakin 0 v 1 John Staniforth. Having moved up a board because of a forfeit from the away team, Tony was more determined than ever. John as White came up with a solid opening matched well by a very solid defence from black. In the middle game Tony lost 2 pawns and by the end game was unable to secure any drawing chances and resigned with honour. Tony later said that he felt as if he was being squeezed.

Board 2 - Luke Sullivan 1 v 0 Shane Cooksey. Also moving up a board and with the white pieces, Luke faced a Rushall veteran. With White deploying the dreaded English, Black responded sensibly grabbing the centre with E5 naturally. Giving up the bishop pair black seemed to be at a disadvantage according to Fritz as white had an unchallenged bishop on B2. Black castled king side, Luke castled queen side. Black made a slight error where he placed his Rook and this not only created weakness in Black's camp but gave White opportunities for attacking ideas. Black's pieces barely covered the squares needed to stop the worst. White kept pushing and eventually black succumbed to a mating net and resigned.

Board 3 - David Hadley 0 v 1 Peter Turner. Peter with white developed gradually, as did black. Dave made a blunder in the opening and lost a piece. This was going to be a struggle for black now but Dave fought on valiantly but lost another 2 pawns. After white has gained another of blacks pieces, this wasn't the Rugeley players day and he resigned with an open hand.

Board 4 - Defaulted by away team.

Thanks to all players and well done to both teams who managed to secure a draw for their clubs. Match score 2.2

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

Once the Captain had found the Brewood venue it was time to get down to playing chess.

Board 1 - Mark Binfield v Bob Edgar. We kick of this epic war with a very well placed and positional start. Bob, using the obvious move Nf3 went onto create a position in which both bishops were placed on B2 and G2. Black kept his nerve though as Mark did not go super-aggressive and had no intention of extending the position any further even though both armies were fully developed. A single pawn had been taken by move 24 and by move 28 the game was agreed a draw with a repeated knight move by Black, but was it surely the end? Well done to both players.

Board 2 - David Blower v Tony Meakin. Blower as white seemed to push Tony to the limit as this was the last game to finish in the evening. Tony decided to go 3 pawns for the Knight in the end game. Black fought valiantly but the Brewood player out-manoeuvred him and created a passed pawn plus the rook knight combo was just too much to handle for the extra pawns. Black honourably resigned.

Board 3 - Paul Guest v Luke Sullivan. Luke had the White pieces and tried his luck with the English opening c4 Nf3. Paul as Black gained the centre with e5 and with White's queen coming out to gain the semi-open file, black was immediately on the defensive. Luke managed to secure a good opening with pieces well coordinated. Black was holding very well and developing nicely. With a pawn push to defend this was a chance to trap Black's knight and it looked like black had fell for it. The queen's were quickly exchanged and Black was a Knight down. White quickly gathered all the attackers he could to swarm the F file against the king and an unstoppable pawn sacrifice soon followed but Black wouldn't let it continue any longer and resigned on move 32.

Board 4 - David Buckley v James Perks. David With white was trying to get his third Rugeley victory in a row. James was coming for revenge and was going all out. Castling opposite sides led to a very interesting set of variations in which it was very easy for White to gain a massive attacking advantage. After 9 moves James made a blunder and unfortunately became a whole rook down. A few more moves were exchanged and Black had no choice but to offer his hand in resignation.

Well done to Brewood who won the match 2.5 - 1.5 Thanks to all players from both clubs.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)

The captain had a "good feeling" about this match and welcomed Stourbridge to Rugeley.

Board 1 Catherine Hiley v Hossameldin Aboushady. The visitor opened very aggressively and thrust his pawns down both flanks. Cath waited until her opponent made an error which there was no coming back from. A win for the home team.

Board 2 Rob Fell v Eric Horwill. Evenly matched grading-wise but Rob didn't come with his A game tonight, and buckled under mounting pressure.

Board 3 Matt Carr v Richard Wilkinson. After Matt's last epic encounter I think he was after a quick result, he was the first to finish after securing a draw.

Board 4 Bob Edgar v Jeremy Humphries. Bob had the upper hand in this game and felt in control, he dominated the final stages in the game to secure another win for Rugeley

Board 5 Tony Meakin v Steve Alcock. Tony tried a few tricks in this game but his opponent was not going to be outsmarted, having little or no advantage a draw was agreed.

Board 6 Luke Sullivan v Trevor Tennant. Luke played well until the 47th move, but fortunately for Luke his opponent ran out of time before he could capitilise.

So the captain was right again. well played all!

Catherine Hiley, (Sec)

The journey to Halesowen was a relaxed venture. After recent results we felt that the pressure had lifted somewhat so were actually looking forward to this fixture with a degree of optimism.

Board 1 Dustin Bowcott v Catherine Hiley. Cath entered this match in relaxed fashion. Maybe too relaxed as after half an hour due to a slight miscalculation she was soon on the backfoot and ultimately heading for an early bath!

Board 2 Andy Ambrose v Rob Fell. Not to be outdone by Cath I decided to ignore the basics of Chess - developing pieces and castling early and soon found myself in a whole lot of trouble. I milked it for all I could but the cream soon rose to the top and I too headed for an early bath - 2-0 to the home team.

Board 3 John Davis v Matt Carr. Cometh the hour - cometh the Matt! What can I say, after 2-0 down early on it looked like curtains for Rugeley. Only for the rest of the boards to dig in deep and especially Matt who went for the jugular knowing what was at stake. A brilliant win and came at the nick of time too - phew!

Board 4 Richard Woolley v Bob Edgar. Our Bob played solidly and little by little carved out opportunities that would eventually result in our first win of the match - nobody was pulling the wool over Bob's eyes tonight!

Board 5 John Southcote v Tony Meakin. A game which was evenly matched from the word go. With little to give from either side a draw was the obvious outcome.

Board 6 Silas Bowcott-Terry v Luke Sullivan. Luke was up against one of the younger players of the evening, although this was no easy task as his little opponent played very solidly and due to precise play a draw was eventually agreed. He then went home to read the Beano while the younger Halesowen player rejoiced in earning a valuable point!

So we eventually drew the match 3-3 and a very proud Captain left in the knowledge that the deep well of reserves of Rugeley had served us well. Such was my satisfaction that I promised to field exactly the same team in the following match - how could i not??

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

We travelled to Brewood with high hopes of attaining another win in the knowledge that reaching 8 points would be relatively safety from relegation. I also had my strongest team again at my disposal which always helps!

Board 1 Derek Laight v Bill Hulley. Bill went straight on the attack in his game with positive play and it soon developed into a very interesting position. Unfortunately he miscalculated during the middle game enabling his opponent to take a stranglehold on the game and his resignation soon followed.

Board 2 Paul Wright v Catherine Hiley. Cath really has got the bit between her teeth lately and was literally throwing the kitchen sink at her opponent. Her onslaught was constant with wave of attack after attack before her opponent eventually crumbled and Cath secured a decisive win!

Board 3 Mark Keady v Rob Fell. My game was fortunate as my opponent had forgotten the rules of developing all his pieces and soon was on the back-foot when I started chasing his queen and bishop away. I managed to force his castled king into the corner where he was soon facing mate so duly resigned.

Board 4 Roger Grainger v Matt Carr. Matt was playing a wily old fox in the name of Roger and was playing extremely well gaining a few pawns advantage from the middle game. This match was on a knife edge with both players displaying counter threats if attacked wildly so a draw was eventually agreed.

Board 5 Mike Jarocki v Patrick Waller. Patrick's game was very interesting and with a passed pawn and the tempo seemed to hold an advantage of a gradual win. But unfortunately the clock was against him and with his opponent struggling to make any inroads into Patrick's defence a draw was agreed. Probably the most fair result as this outcome had been offered and declined a few times during the match.

Board 6 Andrew Lenz v Bob Edgar. Bob's game was one where he used up one of his "9" chess lives. Both evenly matched, the game was petering out to a draw so Bob made his move and offered one. His opponent shook his hand immediately not realising that Bob's last move was infact a losing one which would have lost him his queen and eventually the game. Well done Bob!.

So we won the match 3.5 - 2.5 and could finally relax in the knowledge that 8 points "should" be enough to stave off the relegation threat. Well done team for another great display, I was always confident that we would attain the necessary win and now we can enjoy our last 3 remaining fixtures. (Better not win all those 3 games though team or we might have another "nice" problem to contend with!)

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

We travelled to Rushall in high spirits actually looking forward to the match. I predicted a 4-2 win which Patrick seemed to think I might have been tipping for the home team but little did he know.......

Board 1 Devan Patel v Bill Hulley. Our resident board 1 seemed to have quite a solid game with any real chances at a premium. Slowly as the game descended from the middle to end game it was no surprise that this petered out to a well deserved draw!

Board 2 Steve Wilcox v Catherine Hiley. Now if board 1 was a stonewall draw then this was anything but! A captivating game with both players playing on the counter this ebbed and flowed with one false move by either player would certainly result in a loss. The end result was a draw which was a fair result as neither player deserved to lose.

Board 3 Alex Pready v Rob Fell. This was one of those games where it was those very little advanced pawn moves earlier on that made all the difference at the end. My opponent lost substantial tempo repositioning his knights early on and this proved his downfall where I was able to control important squares restricting his development and he resigned before his clock fell.

Board 4 Rich Wilshir v Matt Carr. Being a big Emmerdale fan Matt was overjoyed to meet one of his idols and he had prepared a rook-ZAC early on but decided against it! This game though would go down in history as one of the most "bizarre" openings ever - a3!! Matt was speechless and nearly choked on his coke. This did nothing to unsettle him though and he proceeded to try to get the game into some normality and before long he had a lovely rook pair and bishop working in tandem to bring his opponents eventual downfall - a beautiful win!

Board 5 Peter Leary v Bob Edgar. Our Bob was against a formidable opponent in Pete who if on top of his game would prove to be quite a stubborn and frustrating player in equal measures. This proved to be the way as both players took the game to its end stages and with the clock being almost equal and the flag poised to fall, a quick shake of the hands proved to be the most honourable thing and a draw was agreed.

Board 6 John Grant v Patrick Waller. I didn't tell Patrick earlier but this was the one board I was most confident on. It's not often you get a player of Patrick's calibre on Board 6 and his quality proved telling as he carved out a much better position with his pass pawn options eventually forcing his opponent to resign.

So for the first time this season I was able to field my most strongest team and look what happened - a deserved 4.5 - 1.5 win for Rugeley! Rushall were indeed left scratching their heads at want went wrong but they simply met Rugeley at its very best. Well done everybody for playing, same again in a fortnight please!

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

With a couple of our stronger team members out of action, this was going to prove to be a difficult match .

Board 1 Bill Hulley v Keith Thomas. This seemed to be quite a battle for control of the centre, Bill was feeling quietly confident in this game but uncharacteristically missed a discovered check losing the game.

Board 2 Catherine Hiley v Michael Harrington. This was the Sicilian opening and it was fairly even until I went too aggressive in the middle game and should have played a 'quiet move', sometimes it's not about forcing a position, its about making your opponent make a decision, I made it way too easy and resigned.

Board 3 Bob Edgar v Mike Biddle. Bob was feeling a little low on confidence, and was clearly suffering with his back/hip, yet he was determined to stodge up the board and ground his opponent into a coma (I mean draw).

Board 4 Patrick Waller v Sandy Wilson. If board 3 was a little tame, this game was top drawer full of action... feast your eyes on this! Patrick enjoyed this win.

Board 5 Mike Page v Kevin Spillane. This looked like an evenly matched game throughout, Mike sought for open play but struggled to break through his opponent's defence. Mike was a pawn down in the end but battled on for a well-deserved draw.

Board 6 Tony Meakin v Malcolm Phipps. Tenacious Tony struck again with his controversial b3 opening, it's not for everyone, but it made for an interesting drawn game with counter threats aplenty, but both players were happy to settle for the draw.

Congratulations to Boldmere, it was a close encounter, 2.5 - 3.5, many thanks to all who played.

Catherine Hiley, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Deputy Captain)

So 2018 has arrived and to kick things off to the new year, Tamworth came to Rugeley hoping to seek revenge after their defeat last year in the first of our 2 bouts this season.

Board 1 - Mike Page v Simon Walton. Another highly graded opponent for Mike and with Simon having the white pieces it was bound to be a bloodbath. Mike used the usual style of response to E4 and managed to secure a excellent position in the opening. Simon struggled to gain any advantage giving black a huge attack and Simon resigned before time control had reached 20 minutes. Well done to Mike.

Board 2 - Tony Meakin v Peter Oliver. Rugeley's Tony came prepared for this 2nd board war as he knew Tamworth had some strong graded players on the top boards. Peter had black and neutralised whites plans in the opening with a strong defence. White missed a combination which lost a piece but Tony fought on valiantly. In the end game the combinations for white meant certain defeat. Black secured the victory for Tamworth. Well done to Peter.

Board 3 - Luke Sullivan v John Howlett. Luke moved up a board for this battle and was faced with a stronger graded player. John as white started with c4 (English). The Rugeley player as black, found a comfortable response to this very aggressive opening challenging the king's side diagonal. Having exchanged light-coloured bishops, white's king became extremely vulnerable. Luke was a pawn up but this was a mistake. After going the exchange down from a winning position Luke slowly got outplayed and had to resign the game. Although going over the game Luke had noticed an unstoppable check mate in 5 in the position on move 19 but unfortunately did not think it was achievable at the time. Very unfortunate. Well done to John.

Board 4 - Dave Hadley v Kris Harrington. With the home player as white the outcome of the match rested on this game. Both players had a very good opening and middle game with some sharp lines played. This game looked drawn for its majority until white missed the opportunity to stop a dangerous passed pawn from black down the centre of the board. One more blunder from the Rugeley veteran and a nasty check was given with promotion on the next move and Dave resigned. Well done kris.

Thanks to all players and well done Tamworth who won the match 3-1

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock Div 2 Captain)