Club News

Every year it is customary for Rugeley Chess Club to hold what has become known as the Rugeley Christmas Crazy. Traditionally this is a 6-round handicap event where the stronger players are handed less time on the clock against the weaker players with the unlucky ones being given 3 minutes to defeat the opponents 17 minutes thinking time.

This year it was my turn as tournament organiser to go crazy and in my wisdom (or insanity, take your pick) I changed the format quite dramatically. I decided to invite a strong player down to Rugeley to play all the chess club in a simultaneous display. The club players were feeling quite confident but then I announced who I’d got, Grandmaster David Howell. This was met with words like “Wow”, “No way” and “Ill still ave him.”

David Howell is an English grandmaster and has been part of the England team at world events for many years. At the time of asking he was the strongest player in England. When it came time for the match he was the England #5. While this sounds like we had a bit more of a chance, the strongest player we had to put against him was 144, David’s grade is 269 and his FIDE rating is 2676. We were in for a tough fight despite the handicap we handed him. David would have to play everyone at the same time with no time to think, he would have to arrive at a board, make his move and move on to the next player. The Rugeley players would get the amount of time it took him to come back to them to think on what move they wanted to play.

So on to the night. We had 16 willing victims/volunteers assembled for battle. Players were told only to make their move when David was at the board and that they were allowed two passes (if they wanted more time to think on what they wanted to do) any more than that they would have to beg or bribe David. Prizes would be awarded at the end depending on various parameters. With the rules clarified, the battles began.

David Howell 2019

Everything started without too many problems. As David got to the last of the boards, the entire left side of the room erupted into laughter and cries “did you tell him about us?” David had by pure luck (I assure you) had played our club chairman’s favourite opening (The birds) against him. In my defence the only thing I told David about Rugeley is that we are a fun group of people, completely barmy and have a wicked sense of humour. David simply smiled and said, “Ill fit right in then.” To illustrate just how barmy the tournament organiser had gone by this point, here is my game against David. David Howell v Matt Carr.

The games were going well, our juniors especially giving David a good run for his money. I was later informed that one of them was at least even and was causing David a lot of trouble. Sadly, David managed to outplay him once the player made a mistake in the middlegame.
The night progressed and several of us had bitten the dust, it looked like nothing was going to stop David until in quick succession we had gasps and cheers from the right side of the room. One of our players had proudly announced “Stalemate”. I was so sorry to point out that he could move a pawn on the other side of the board, (the arbiter in me never switches off) and checkmate soon followed on that board. A few minutes after that a cheer went up, genuinely this time and I was informed that a draw had been agreed. Well done Steve. David Howell v Steve Whatmore.

Now it was down to who would win the final prize, the last player standing prize, and our club treasurer managed to win that one by one move! The finishing order and prizes were as follows:

Finished	Name	Result	Opponent
1	Dave Hadley	0-1	David Howell
2	James Perks	0-1	David Howell
3	Matt Carr	0-1	David Howell
4	Steve Heath	0-1	David Howell
5	Mike Page	0-1	David Howell
6	David Hiley	0-1	David Howell
7	Rob Fell	0-1	David Howell
8	Adam Routledge	0-1	David Howell
9	Patrick Waller	0-1	David Howell
10	Rachel Wood	0-1	David Howell
11	Luke Sullivan	0-1	David Howell
12	Ryan Wood	0-1	David Howell
13	Steve Whatmore	1/2-1/2	David Howell
14	Catherine Hiley	0-1	David Howell
15	Kevin Gallagher	0-1	David Howell
16	Tony Meakin	0-1	David Howell

Prize	Winner
Most Wins	David Howell
Best over 120	Steve Whatmore
Best U120	Luke Sullivan
Best U90	Rachel Wood
Best Junior	Ryan Wood
Stop and Think (Troublemaker)	Catherine Hiley
Last Player Standing	Tony Meakin

David Howell v Catherine Hiley.

After the tournament was over David very kindly agreed to go through his game and give some training to Ryan, both were enjoying themselves so much it was only when we got a warning the venue was closing in half an hour could I stop them.

Every player I spoke to on the night told me they’d had a wonderful evening and from my perspective, it was a pleasure to organise and my utmost thanks to David for agreeing to come along.

David Howell 2019 simul

Matt Carr, (International Arbiter and Tournament Organiser)

Rugeley's last match of 2019 welcomed Lichfield.

Dave was on a good run of form and didn't disappoint, earning Rugeley a draw early on. It was closely followed by Luke who earned another solid draw against a very experienced opponent.

Ryan has had a fantastic debut season and continued to shine with yet another solid performance, he didn't get carried away and showed a maturity in his play which is way beyond his youthful age.

James showed great stamina and resolve after going a piece down on the 8th move and took his opponent right to the end of the evening before eventually losing his game with the material disadvantage.

A very credible draw to help solidify our number 1 division status.

Catherine Hiley, (Cannock League Div 3 Captain)

Tamworth came to us for our second division 2 game of the season. Being out graded on the top 3 boards this was going to be a tough match.

Board 1 Saw our resident International Arbiter Matt taking on Marius, a powerful player who had the ability of a 170 strength. A very complicated middle game stemming from the Dutch defence with virtually no play on the queenside for either player as Matt had tripled pawns. White however had a very strong kingside attack and surely enough claimed the win.
Board 2 Opposing captains faced each other as Luke faced Peter Oliver for the first time. After getting to the middle game with plenty of time left for both it seemed like a very drawn position as both sides had bad blocked in light bishops. Yet in typical fashion the Rugeley player blundered a rook and that was that.
Board 4 Tamworth were already 2-0 up in this match and it was all down to our boards 3 and 4. James on 4 played a fantastic game as white James Perks v Alexis Edwards and with a devastating attack against blacks king managed to win in such a way that it left his ungraded opponent helpless.
Board 3 It all came down to Mike Page on board 3. This slow beautiful game came down the wire for his opponent having 14 seconds left to our player's 4 minutes. Mike had the chance to become a piece up but felt that time pressure was enough to just take a pawn and dominate the position. Mike won.

Final match score 2-2. Thanks to all players who played.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

With our penultimate away match of the season, I wanted to continue our winning ways. Having only two U100 contenders available we fielded a strong team.

Dave played an absolutely stunningly aggressive game and finished with an unstoppable queen, bishop and pawn mating combination, closely followed by Ryan whose opponent fell for a cunning trap and lost the game. Quite quickly we were 2-0 up.

My hopes for a clean sweep were soon dashed as I saw Luke in a resignable position.. a lovely bishop pair had Luke in all sorts of trouble, fortunately for Luke his opponent's sight let him down and lady luck helped Luke secure a draw for the match win. I was the exchange up but had 5 minutes left and credit to my lower-graded opponent he defended exceptionally well forcing me to reluctantly accept a draw.

Another brilliant team result, so proud of the performances.

Catherine Hiley, (Cannock League Div 3 Captain)

We returned to winning ways with a closely fought victory at home to Warley Quinborne’s B team. In contrast to last week’s match we fell behind early on, when after returning from a quick toilet break it became apparent that we were 2 nil down after defeats for Matt & Rob (I decided that I would cross my legs for the rest of the match as this was clearly a sign not to leave the room again).

After 80 mins Cath’s opponent’s flag fell & her perfectly executed Pawn to e4 got us a point back.
Bob then agreed his 4th consecutive draw to leave the match at 1.5/2.5. The result was therefore left in the hands of Steve & Tony.
Tony had a really hard battle with his opponent but eventually won thanks to a decisive central pawn push where he nearly had 3 of them promoted to Queens at one point.
With the scores now level Steve was last to finish in a fascinating match against a similarly graded opponent.Steve Whatmore v Dave Jeffs Castling on opposite sides, Steve had a wonderful centralised Knight & after a Rook for Bishop sacrifice managed to trap his opponent’s King in the corner of the board. The King was attacked by Steve’s Queenside pawns leading to his opponent’s resignation with a forced checkmate beckoning, before he had the chance to develop his own attack on the opposite side of the board.

A 3.5/2.5 victory therefore leaves us unbeaten in our last 6 WDCL Div 2 games (across this season & the end of last year’s) & we stand 2nd in this year’s current table. We can know look forward to 2020’s League games with confidence & attempt to build on our fantastic second half of 2019.

Steve Whatmore, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Luke & Rob dominated their opponents to both win in reasonably quick time. Steve & Bob then agreed draws giving us a 3-1 lead having all played against lower graded opponents.

Cath had a terrific battle with her young opponent & set him several traps which to his credit he rebuffed confidently, before his centralised Queen & small Pawn majority led to a chase of Cath’s King around the board & a clever mating combination. Cath can feel unlucky to be drawn to play against a player with outstanding potential on board 4 who could probably have beaten any of us on his day.
Matt played extremely aggressively against an equally strong opponent, going the exchange down to pressure his uncastled King in the centre. His passed d Pawn was all the way up to the 6th rank in the middle game, but despite his best efforts his opponent defended carefully & eventually blocked the Pawn with his Bishop. This freed his King to escape & support his own Pawn to advance & Queen first, leading to a narrow win levelling the scores at 3-3.

Although disappointed with another draw despite outgrading our opponents again, we had an enjoyable evening & stay unbeaten so far this season, now standing 3rd in the League.

Steve Whatmore, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Felt quietly confident about this match until as a NPC I played a lovely 8 year old boy in a friendly match which wasn't as comfortable as I was expecting, as he didn't make the team.

Ryan was the first to win with a confident mate with a king and rook. Luke celebrated his win by playing a friendly with the 8 yr old youngster and was relieved it wasn't a serious game. Dave was a little hemmed in but his opponent blundered by taking with the wrong piece (we've all been there), and lost his advantage. Dave played well and once he swallowed up his opponent's last piece his first win of the season was imminent.

Mike had a tough but enjoyable challenge against Mike Hoare but despite a positive start was unable to find the winning combination and lost at the end.

Brilliant team result, special thanks to Mike for stepping in last minute and to Luke who was accommodating.

Catherine Hiley, (Cannock League Div 3 Captain)

Our first home game of the Wolverhampton League season saw us welcome Wolverhampton’s B Team. A really close game left the honours even with a 3-3 draw.

Bill, myself, Bob & Patrick all drew with Rob getting his second victory (of ‘10 guaranteed wins’) of the season.
Sadly, Cath lost after a hard fought battle which could have gone either way against the opposition captain.

Wolverhampton are becoming our bogey team after 2 close defeats by them recently in the Chase Trophy, and I’m sure that they will be pleased with their first League point of the season, especially being out graded by around 20 points per board against us. We are however still unbeaten in the Wolverhampton League setting a firm foundation for the rest of our season.

Steve Whatmore, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Tony was playing Yuriy Slobodyuk graded 139. The match was really even although Tony felt his opponent had the upper hand. Both kings became open and pieces were swapped. Yuriy won back a pawn with a great knight move but then made an illegal move and accepted Tony's earlier draw offer.
A tough challenge for James playing a young John Moughton-Leay with some good attacking play on both sides just a build up of pressure ending James' resolve.
Dave played Sam Skinner and looked like he had the upper hand in the centre but allowed his opponent's attack to build up. At the end his opponent claimed mate and Dave resigned although there was the possibility of taking the mating piece only seen after the event!
Ryan's match was challenging against Maurizio Baravalle who played much better than his grade of 21 would suggest. Ryan missed that he was inevitably going to lose a minor piece. But the end of the game his opponent blundered and Ryan ended up securing his first win of the season.

Tough match but excellent to see Ryan doing so well, and Tony managing a good draw.

Tony Meakin, (Cannock League Div 3, Vice Captain)

The second game of the division 3 league, and we settled down to the match early on. James had an interesting game on board 2, with his opponent going for a queen-side attack, and James went full throttle with a counter king-sided attack which took even James by surprise with its devastating consequences and gained the first points. David Hadley got slowly strangled in his game but fought with heart. Luke was feeling quietly confident and quickly adapted to the visual-aided clock and saying his move aloud. He played solidly and didn't allow his opponent much space, after taking control of the centre, another win was secured. Ryan was last to finish with a gridlocked position and looked pretty tired bt 21:45, yet the youngster battled on against Coleshill's captain until both were in time trouble. Ryan offered a draw when he had just grasped a good advantage but felt the time pressure warranted a draw, securing a 2nd team win. Well played Ryan on your debut team match.

Fantastic team result, will hopefully boost confidence for future matches.

Catherine Hiley, (Cannock League Div 3 Captain)

Ryan played the replay in this exciting U100 encounter at Coleshill, it was a close game, and Ryan managed his time carefully but Kieran managed to gain a pawn and let it count at the later stages.

Congratulations to Kieran, and well done to Ryan for his first game at an opposing venue.

Catherine Hiley, (Webmaster)

Locations were reversed in this seasons cup match against Wolverhampton.

Board 1 saw I.A Matt Carr take on Stephen Tarr as black. A fascinating opening lead to a complicated locked pawn position with both sides material nicely placed on ideal squares. Matt thought he had a winning attack but couldn’t find the correct combination and so a draw was agreed.
Board 2 Steve Whatmore v Tony Preece. Steve seemed to have chances in the opening but couldn’t work out any clear advantage. Black managed to grab an important half open F file in the end game and overwhelmed the board, Steve resigned.
Board 3 Tony Meakin v Peter Pearson-Jones. Tony as Black, piled the pressure on. He seemed to dominate white's king with his knights. Whites cramped set up saw the position crumble and Tony took the win.
Board 4 Luke Sullivan v Geoff Rosser. The classic English Vs Kings Indian was on the board. Luke gave away his isolated Pawn in the middle game to remove his opponent's strong bishop. After 2 declined draw offers, black was in serious time pressure. It was too difficult to calculate the mate in 15 with 40 seconds remaining, ending in a draw.

Final match score (2-2) Wolverhampton win on board count.

Luke Sullivan, (Vice Cup Captain)

All players were eager to bring back a result in our first season match in Division 2, travelling to Rushall's new club venue.

Already being prepared for a very tough battle on board 1. Tony as white knew he would have to be very fortunate to overcome his opponent, being out-graded by 42 points. White had his rooks attacked and succumbed to a nasty check-mating pattern in the middle game.
Board 2 Patrick Waller v Shane Cooksey. Black managed to gain an advantage seizing a pawn early on. Patrick managed to maintain the pressure and the end game proved too much for white as he couldn’t stop black's pawn queening and duly resigned.
Our own veteran took the third board as white and played his regular e4 opening. Mike's opponent managed to weather the storm in the middle game and unfortunately Mike blundered a knight under time pressure. This was the last game to finish and the Rushall player took the victory.
As prepared as he was for whatever white threw at him Luke knew the black lion was his saving grace. White played very solid, developing early. The middle game proved that time is needed in chess and this was the case as black contemplated a potential sacrifice against White's king. Luke decided to castle queenside but this was too slow, in this drawn position Black managed to make “The worst move in chess history” forgetting the en-passant rule, not only giving white mate in 4 but blundering his queen too.

Final match score (3-1) Thank you to all players who could make it.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

We began our campaign with our longest away game of the season, but took the points with a fine victory against Kidderminster’s B team. It was pleasing to be able to play with our 6 highest graded players who all went home with wins or draws.

Rob was first to finish with a quick-fire victory on board 6 (apparently successfully ignoring the new captain’s advice of no sex, beer or curry the night before a match).
Bob’s opponent offered him a draw with a Queen and Knight endgame on board 4 which he accepted.
Bill was a Pawn down but fought back well & had chances to win on board 1, but he was happy to agree a draw.
After some typical Hiley thrusts (and also successfully ignoring the new captain’s advice of no beer during a match), Cath won with her opponent eventually yielding to her attack, giving her a well-deserved victory on Board 5 Catherine Hiley v John Whitehead.
Matt then agreed a draw after a tense tactical battle on board 2.
As is now traditional on long away games, the rest of the team left for home leaving me alone to eventually wear down my opponent on board 3 & claim a victory Steve Whatmore v David Waud.
This gave us a 4.5 - 1.5 team win to start our season.

Thank you to every member of the team for making yourselves available for such a long trip.

Steve Whatmore, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

The new season started with controversy, with a mix-up between captains. This wasn't the start I was hoping for and had to make an impromptu change to our line up as I stepped in at board 1 as the opposition had come with 3 very capable players. A little flustered we eventually settled down to play. David Hadley enjoyed his game but having missed being skewered, eventually lost too much material. I missed an opportunity to take a pawn advantage and happily accepted a draw which was a fair reflection in the end. Luke was a little unprepared playing white, but played a very solid game which can be seen here Luke Sullivan v John Fryer securing our first win of the season.

Hopefully we shall see our up and coming junior players competing soon.

Catherine Hiley, (Cannock League Div 3 Captain)

So the summer fun is almost over and the last Tuesday was packed with players playing friendly games and Club championship games. Most notable was Ryan's debut match against Kieran Mills from Coleshill graded 71, in the Cannock league U100 Dolan Trophy. Although Ryan had the opportunity to win, he did admirably well to maintain his nerve throughout the match and came away with a well deserved draw. The replay at Coleshill is on 23.10.19.

The new season starts next week at home with our new CDCL div 3 team. We hope they have a good first season and enjoy the challenges ahead.

Don't forget Chess in schools and Communities starts this Thursday at Rugeley library from 4-5pm and its absolutely FREE !

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

Not all games were played over the summer but it was an enjoyable event, with a few surprise results. Congratulations to Steve Whatmore who gained top spot. The Club Championship tournament and the U100 section is now underway.

For the results click on the following link http://chess-results.com

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

For further information regarding Chess in Schools in the Rugeley area please click on the following link

Rugeley Library Chess Club

Patrick Waller, (Club Chairman)

We have had a successful season finishing 5th in Division 2 of the Wolverhampton League, 2nd in Division 2 of the Cannock League and runner-up in the Chase Cup. Several players were in the hunt for the Player of the Season accolade (best percentage score representing the club) and Bob Edgar came out on top with 75%. Luke Sullivan and Bill Hulley scored 67% and Steve Whatmore 65%. Tony Meakin played the most games (15) scoring 57%. Bob Edgar also won the Club Championship beating Steve Whatmore in the final. Steve was awarded the Chairman's Cup and he also won the rapidplay (held last summer) and recent blitz tournament. Luke won the Christmas blitz competition. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who has represented the club this season. Thanks also to Rob Fell who is standing down as Wolverhampton League Captain after two successful seasons and good luck to his successor Steve Whatmore.

Patrick Waller, (Club Chairman)

Almost the entire club were present, Patrick and James unfortunately were unable to make it. It was a 5 minutes each blitz game, Luke had his 2 chairs to try and dominate proceedings but required a little more than increased height tonight. The juniors David and Ryan found the speed very challenging, but both enjoyed it, Ryan coming away with a well deserved junior prize of a large bar of chocolate. Congratulations to Steve Whatmore for coming first and Rob and Catherine also played very well to lose the title on a tie break. Thanks again to Matt Carr for organising another cracking event.

For the results click on the following link http://chess-results.com

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

Our AGM chaired by Patrick, took place tonight, with a good turnout. Briefly subs were voted to be slightly increased in view of Lea Hall's increase to £27.50 please pay Tony as soon as possible as this is required for registration to the leagues. It was also voted to have a div 3 CDCL team captained by Catherine Hiley as a NPC, Steve Whatmore is now captain of the WDCL div 2 team. For further details the minutes are under the 'Other' tab.

Thanks to all the members for a successful season and hope to have another good year.

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

A team of 4 from Rugeley starring Steve Whatmore, Catherine Hiley, Tony Meakin and Luke Sullivan started a new chess adventure of blitz chess under the guidance of Matt Carr (who else?) arbitering the event. It started off rather tough being paired up with opponents 50 - 60 points higher than us, after being subjected to 2 rather heavy defeats we started to play opponents of a similar level and started winning. In the end we came a rather credible 5/12 which I thought was rather a splendid result considering the gulf in grades. Special shout out to Matt who kept the evening running smoothly albeit with interesting time parameters of 5 hrs on one table.

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

Catherine Hiley, (Club Secretary)

With their initial match rescheduled, this was the final match of the season. Steve stepping in at Board 1, gained the exchange. This proved too much for the Tamworth player and having just over a minute on the clock against white's 5, resignation followed. Tony, held his own against his opponent in what looked like a clear development advantage for White, but alas he couldn’t break through Black's pawn structure and so a draw was accepted. A rematch on board 3, as Luke played Chris Harrington. White's piece development and space on the queen side put too much pressure on Black's shoulders having the choice to lose his queen or the game. Wanting to get another win on the streak, James held his own against his opponent quickly getting to the end game. Black lost a pawn creating 2 unstoppable pass pawns for the Tamworth player and unfortunately resignation was inevitable.

Final match score 2.5 – 1.5 Congratulations to Rugeley for the match win and thanks to all players for supporting their clubs. A great way to end this season.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

With honour to play for in division 2s final game of the season this proved to be a very entertaining match. Catherine Capitulated after being seduced by a very poisonous pawn and resigned after only 13 moves being played. Tony Tried really hard to gain some momentum after being a bishop down for 3 pawns, however Tony just couldn't hold on, but an impressive effort. Bob Brilliantly fought in what appeared to be a locked 'W' pawn formation, after declining the offer of a draw Bob pursued the flanks to good effect and won. Steve Solidly played out a drawn game where neither player could gain an advantage. Mike Manoeuvered his pieces in typical aggressive fashion to gain control of the centre and it was too powerful for his opponent, despite his best defensive efforts. Luke Luckily escaped a mating threat, and his opponent almost lost on time, but not quickly enough for Luke. His opponent being a rook to the advantage offered Luke a draw which was admirably accepted by Luke. Luke's draw was instrumental in providing the team with a draw which was on reflection the fairest result.

Final match score 3-3, Thanks to all players for contributing over the last season we finished 5th in the league.

Catherine Hiley, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Vice Captain)

Our penultimate match in the league was against Brewood, and we were all looking forward to the challenge ahead. The evening started off promising with their Captain explaining that they would have to default Board 6 at short notice – so a well-deserved evening off for our Patrick. Solid play by our in-form Steve gained an impressive victory on Board 1. I managed to slowly carve out slight advantages on Board 3 and was finally relieved to get a win under my belt. Matt & Cath on boards 2 & 4 gave very little away with resolute positional play but always a threat on the counter – 2 excellent draws soon followed. Finally board 5 was drawing to a close in the end-game – one of Bob’s strengths is in this field and precise play with the pawns soon resulted in another win. What a brilliant performance from everybody involved – 5-1 at this level is an impressive score considering many of us were out graded to begin with.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

We again were able to field the same team that equipped themselves brilliantly in the previous match. Draws again were the theme of the evening which shows how dogged and determined our players are when meeting superior-graded opponents. Steve attained a fantastic draw on board 1, Cath & Patrick proved reliable and solid on boards 4 & 5 also attaining draws while Tony on board 6 nullified his opponent with some steady play. Matt & myself were unfortunate to succumb to defeats on boards 2 & 3 while holding our own for much of the game. Thus Boldmere won the match 4-2 but certainly had to work for it. Many thanks to all those that turned out again.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Now this match was always going to be a tough assignment and we all knew that we would need to bring our “A” game to stand any chance of success. We also welcomed a new Board 1 – Steve Whatmore who was being promoted as reward for his recent performances. Cath started our team off on the right foot by neutralising her opponent on Board 4 and gaining a respectable draw. Draws soon become the main theme of the evening as boards 5 (Patrick) 3 (myself) and 6 (Tony) also ended in a share of the spoils with all our positions pretty much in a state of equilibrium. Now only boards 1 and 2 were left to play – both had very interesting positions and required a lot of thought. Ultimately as the evening drew to a close Matt secured a brilliant draw on board 2 Matt Carr v Anthony Sadler and Steve was extremely unlucky to encounter some very offensive play which resulted in his King being coaxed out on the open board Philip Hurtado v Steve Whatmore. Thus Rugeley narrowly lost 3 ½ - 2 ½ but equipped themselves extremely well against a stronger team and should be proud of their valiant efforts.

Rob Fell, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Captain)

Rushall travelled to Rugeley to battle out the first league match of 2019. Board 1. Tony Meakin v John Staniforth. Out graded, the home player with black mustered up a solid opening. Tony found a combination gaining him 2 pawns, but by the middle game it looked to be white who had the active pieces and so a draw was fairly agreed. Board 2. Mike Page v Shane Cooksey. Both players played a steady game. Although white had the winning edge with a piece up, due to time pressure, white had to offer the draw which was accepted. Board 3. Luke Sullivan v Peter Turner. Black went down the black lion route. Luke offered a draw but was declined. Black missed mate in 3 around move 30 and knowing it was this game that decided the outcome of the match, played out another 30 moves to secure the win. Board 4. James Perks v Josh Hennion. Similar in grade this would be a battle of the minds. Both players played solidly. With equal material and no obvious way through. A draw was agreed.

Thanks to all players and Well done Rugeley for their first win of the season.

Luke Sullivan, (Cannock League Div 2 Captain)

With our 3 top players missing we were slightly nervous about this match. Everyone stepped up a board or 2, and found that the teams were evenly matched. Patrick managed to gain a swift half point, Steve was happy to have his draw accepted. Tony's opponent was quite defensive, and Tony's patience paid off with a win. I had a difficult game but battled hard to secure a very helpful draw, and Bob managed to turn his game around to gain us a match victory. Unfortunately Mike lost a piece and a pawn in a very open and aggressive game to a junior player, and kindly resigned so that the young man could get off home. The end result was a 3.5 – 2.5 win to the Rugeley team. Thank you all for playing, it made the night an enjoyable one.

Catherine Hiley, (Wolverhampton League Div 2 Vice-Captain)