Rugeley Chess Club

13/12/21 Rushall B v Rugeley CDCL div 2

We arrive at our final division 2 match of the season. Rugeley were mentally prepared for this tough match. Lets see how the players got on.

Board 1 - Manpreet Sangha v Steve Whatmore. Massively outgraded, Steve with white had nothing to lose and felt no pressure. Both light squared bishops occupied the same diagonal and it seemed to be looking equal for most of the opening. Manpreet had a very slight advantage until he misplaced his knight. Black lost his queen in the end game and it didnt take long for Steve to collect more material. Black respectfully resigned. 0-1

Board 2 - Joseph Wilcox v Catherine Hiley. The 2 knight - Max Lange attack variation was played. It was a very quick game and before you knew it most of the pieces were exchanged off on Catherines terms and white just couldnt push for any advantage. Black also knew there was nothing in the position after playing solidly so a draw was offered. Even in post analysis Fritz agreed this was a dead draw. 0.5-1.5

Board 3 - Shane Cooksey v Luke Sullivan. Luke imposed the London System, Shane chose to develop quietly. White was given a doubled f pawn early on but opened the rook file against blacks king. Black castled to safety but had to be very careful his queen did not get trapped. Some clever exchanges made it an equal middle game but a tactic of a knight fork later on cost black the exchange. Luke found a rook sacrifice on move 39 that eventually led black to resign. 0.5-2.5

Board 4 - Peter Turner v Tom Woodhall. Solid opening from both players. Lots of pawn advancement and rooks doubled on dominant files. Tom may have had a slight advantage but it was all about the pawns. Neither side really wanted to push their solid skeleton anymore than they already had in fear of exposing a weakness. White offered a draw which was accepted. Final match score 1-3

Thanks to all players who have played this season. We would also like to congratulate Oscott on winning the division, and we cant wait for the next one.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

08/12/21 Coleshill v Rugeley CDCL div 3

The conclusion of this short season, in which Rugeley traveled to Coleshill for the final game of division 3.

Board 1 - Gary Haycock v Robert J Edgar. White was gifted out of the opening when his opponent left a piece hanging. Bob did what he does best and exchanged as many pieces as he could, with tons of pressure in the centre he was dominating. Options were limited and resignation was given from black. 0-1

Board 2 - Malcolm Jones v Anthony Meakin. White was allowed the centre whilst Tony focused more on king safety. Malcolm piled immense pressure on Tonys king, although black was the exchange up with a piece for a pawn, Malcolm had an enormous tempo attack and Tony ran out of escape squares and couldnt avoid mate.1-1

Board 3 - Oliver Kettlewell v James Perks. This was a very edgy game as James had a pawn advantage but Black had strong compensation for this and was making it complicated for James to push for an advantage. White was up on time but only slighty with the extra pawn and by move 48 there was a complicated rook and pawn end game which neither side was clear on how to proceed. A draw was offered an accepted. 1.5-1.5

Board 4 - Des Green V Tom Woodhall. Both sides were slow developing pieces yet black had the slight advantage of going for the first attack. White lost a rook on move 17 and thought all hope was lost. 20 moved later white lost a rook and gave Tom the opportunity to push for a win. Once the queens were exchanged Tom scooped up more pawns and his passed pawn was too much. 1.5-2.5

Thanks to all players and teams who played this season and see you for the next one. We would also like to congratulate Stafford on winning the division.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 3 captain)

02/12/21 Lichfield B v Rugeley CDCL div 3

Back to the lovely Guild Hall for our penultimate division 3 game of the season. With complimentary refreshments the match was on.

Board 1 - Yuriy Slobodyuk v Robert J Edgar. Both sides opening involved castling and making life easier for themselves. Into a complicated middle game where Bob managed to get himself a free pawn. Black couldnt quite get the compensation for the pawn and this was enough for white to gain a couple more in the end game. It was too much however for Black and he resigned. The exact same time as board 2's result was announced. 0-1

Board 2 - Bowey Carter v Luke Sullivan. A quick end game with only 7 moves being played until the centre pawns and the queens were off the board. Although white had prevented blacks right to castle Lukes king was perfectly safe. White castled Queenside and tried to develop the rooks onto the open files. A miscalculation lost white a pawn and Luke had less isolated pawns. Luke stole 2 more pawns and once the perpetual had been stopped white kindly resigned. 0-2

Board 3 - Stephen Smithson v James Perks. James wanted to play the scotch gambit, black the philidor. The opening was very tense yet it was white whose attack was refuted. White mopped up 2 pawns and created chances by doubling rooks. The passed pawns were beneficial for white in the end game. James kindly resigned as the material imbalance was too much. 1-2

Board 4 - Ian Boddington v Tom Woodhall. Both players had fighting chances in the opening and Tom was ahead for most of it. Unfortunatly an error cost black a rook and whites queen was on the mating attack. White did not play accurately enough which gave Tom the chance to equalise. Time pressure was low and after a crazy exchange of pieces it only came down to a pawn race. Tom knew his pawn would promote second and seeing this plan respectfuly tipped his king. 2-2

Final match score 2-2. Thanks to all players and good luck to Lichfield B in future games.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 3 captain)

30/11/21 Rugeley v Rushall A CDCL div 2

The current top contenders of the division came to challenge Rugeley who havent won a game this season in division 2. Lets see how the chaos ensued.

Board 1 - I.A Matthew Carr v John Staniforth. John with white developed naturally whilst Matt took the initiative, and with quick development went for a direct approach. White managed to hold but had less time. Matt took a leap of faith and offered a draw in a very complicated and uneasy position where neither side wanted to give up squares.It was accepted by John respectfully. 0.5-0.5

Board 2 - Tony Meakin v John Grant. Slightly outgraded and bumped up a board number on short notice. Tony with black played a brilliant defensive game, countering all of whites threats. The position was a dead draw and so Tony offered a draw which was declined by the Rushall player. This would be a big mistake though as black put white under tremendous sudden pressure and forced resignation eventually. 1.5-0.5

Board 3 - Luke Sullivan v David Jarvis David Jarvis v Luke Sullivan. White gained the centre and tried to seize control of the position with c4 and d4. Black had a nice tempo after exchanging bishop for knight and had some nasty pin threats. This gave Luke the opportunity to pounce. Tactically Black was sound and in most variations was at least equal. It all came down to the fight of the b file. An error from white cost him a piece and the pass pawn was not enought to push for a win. The unstoppable pass pawn for black in the end game secured whites fate. 2.5-0.5

Board 4 - Rory Melough v Stephan Winman. Queens Gambit accepted was on the board again for Rory. This is becoming a favourite of the Rugeley player of late. Whites aggressive play had black on the ropes for the majority of the game. White gained a pawn and kept onto it until the end game. White did think it was possible to promote the pawn over time but with time running out black played really well and held on for the draw preventing promotion. Final match score 3-1.

Thanks to all players and good luck to Rushall in future games.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

25/11/21 Wolverhampton B v Rugeley WDCL div 2

This was our first Wolverhampton League game for over 20 months. New rules for this season mean that there are 4 players per team, and with 4 of our top 5 rated players available we out-rated Wolverhampton’s B team on every board.

Board 4 – Eddie Badger v Catherine Hiley – Cath took an early lead & held a piece advantage going into the endgame, but Eddie’s passed central pawn was her undoing & sadly she lost.

Board 3 – Geoff Rosser v Bob Edgar – Geoff is no stranger to playing Rugeley & always seems to perform really well against us. A hard-fought game resulted in a level position & a draw was agreed.

Board 2 – John Lee v Matt Carr – a very even game was decided by a mistake by John under pressure from Matt’s attack. After going the exchange up Matt took control with his opponent resigning shortly afterwards.

Board 1 – Peter Pearson Jones v Steve – after taking an early pawn advantage Steve came under pressure but managed to get down to the endgame still a pawn ahead. Sadly, Steve was unable to convert this to a win so a draw was agreed resulting in the match finishing as a 2-2 draw.

Thanks to Wolverhampton for their hospitality..

Steve Whatmore, (WDCL Div 2 captain)

16/11/21 Rugeley v Wolverhampton CDCL div 2

The penultimate Home game of the season for Rugeley. Let's see how both clubs got on.

Board 1 Steve Whatmore v Geoff Rosser. Both sides played accurately and countered each other's threats with relative ease. Steve may have had a slight advantage with black at one stage but couldn't press enough. The final stages of the game consisted of a rook and pawn end game where neither side could push for a win. 0.5-0.5

Board 2 Catherine Hiley v Gordon Sands. A fairly straight forward French exchange, which Cath knew like the back of her hand. White managed to cause havoc for black's isololated centre pawns early on. Cath exchanged everything leaving both sides with Queen and Knights, but those central weaknesses of black played a huge difference in the advantage Cath had. Gordon played a good counter-attack but couldn't prevent Cath mopping up the weak pawns and resigned when he saw the plan. 1.5-0.5.

Board 3 Luke Sullivan v Ioannis Stefanis. Props to his opponent. This ungraded player out-played Luke in 7 moves. Luke had no choice in the matter and respectfuly accepted defeat after move 19. 1.5-1.5

Board 4 Rory Melough v John Dugmore. A strong opening and well prepared Queens gambit accepted. Black attempted to put pressure on early attacking vital diagonals. White held on and came up with a strong plan. White's rooks were well developed gaining control of the open D file and a weak exchange from black left him material down. There were no practical options for black to gain a draw. Final match score 2.5-1.5

Thanks to all players and good luck to Wolverhampton in their future games.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

03/11/21 Oscott v Rugeley CDCL div 2

This was a hectic late start as the journey was rammed with roadworks and then Catherine rang the capt to find out he had been involved in a car accident. This wasn't a good start.

Board 4 Sam Duffield v Luke Sullivan. Luke was understandably shaken from his accident and explained the situation to his opponent. After playing their initial moves, Sam was the honourable gent and agreed a draw. Luke left to deal with his situation. 0.5-0.5

Board 3 Les Andrews v Tony Meakin. This was a typical game from Tony nice and steady trying to gain a slight pawn advantage, however his opponent had a solid position and Tony, despite his open ranks was unable to get a definitive hold on the game. After denying his opponent his earlier offer of a draw it soon became clear that the draw was the only realistic outcome. 1-1

Board 2 Keith Thomas v Catherine Hiley.Keith Thomas v Catherine Hiley With 10 minutes already down on the clock, Catherine may have been a little hasty, and in 10 moves found herself in quite a pickle. Settling down, although material up her king was vulnerable, with steady play she managed to swap off most major pieces and take it into an end game where Keith tried hard to defend but struggled to stop the pawn queening. 1-2

Board 1 Tony Hickey v Matt Carr. Matt played an unconventional Ponziani opening, and mirrored the poor start to our evening by losing a piece early on. Matt doesn't give in though and valiantly played on finishing last. Time wasn't on his side though and played through a tricky endgame, and conceded after giving it all he had. Great effort. 2-2

Thankfully Luke managed to get home safely and wasn't injured, and a drawn game, in the circumstances, seemed a reasonable result.

Catherine Hiley, (Div 2 vice-captain)

02/11/21 Rugeley v Bushbury CDCL div 3

Bushbury came to Lea Hall for our 4th game of Divison 3, so let the madness begin.

Board 1 Robert Edgar v Adrian Lissamore. From the opening it seemed that white had a positional advantage as a miscalculated knight move from Bob came at a hefty price. The knight was whipped off. Bob fought on but already a pawn down and fighting for survival, Black's ideas of castling were also halted. Into the end game White was significant material up and Bob graciously resigned. 1-0

Board 2 Luke Sullivan V Jeremy Whitehead. Luke missed opportunities to take a slight advantage in the middle game despite having control of the open A file with doubled rooks. This gave Black every opportunity to defend well. Once the rooks came off, the Queen's position was vital. A tempo and attack on Black's knight cost him 2 pawns and the queens came off. White's king slowly improving towards the promotion square and black resigned. 1-1

Board 3 James Perks v Simon Jones. Aggressive play from both sides, with both sides castling king side the fight was on. James looked to be a piece up but Simon found a neat tactic to regain the bishop. James thought he had a winning combination but was unsure about the correct sequence. Once he made his move Black offered a draw which Simon gladly accepted. 1.5-1.5

Board 4 Tom Woodhall V David Buckley. Tom used his normal aggressive style early while David seemed to have the advantage of an extra pawn. White had significant compensation for the pawn but couldnt see an immediate win. After a little bit of shuffling it was too close to call. A generous draw offer was offered by Tom and this was accepted.Final match score. 2-2

Thanks to all players and good luck to Bushbury in their future games.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

26/10/21 Rugeley v Lichfield B CDCL div 2

Lichfield B's team came to Rugeley for another classical match. The 2 local clubs fought it out only the week before.

Board 1 Steve Whatmore v David Hulme. White opened with the English, while Steve replied with his beloved Caro. Black had a slight advantage after the opening but both players being very careful whittled the position down to an opposite-coloured bishop ending with both sides having a doubled pawn structure in their skeleton. After 28 moves after no progression a draw offer was a fair result. 0.5-0.5

Board 2 Robert Edgar v Gary Monks. Classic Bob and his English Reti system. Both players approached the opening phase with caution. Bob played rather too passively which gave Black the opportunity to put pressure on. With some resistance from white, Gary was heading towards a won end game. In desperation Bob tried to complicate the situation but Black responded with a mating net. 0.5-1.5

Board 3 Luke Sullivan v David Fone. Luke used his normal stuff but decided to become super aggressive far too quickly and underestimated a piece sacrifice David used to crumble Black's defenses early on in the night, resignation occured before White could mate. 0.5-2.5

Board 4 James Perks v Arthur Hall. Jame's idea of a calm Scotch gambit was refuted as Black played the Philidor. White found himself in a spot of bother when he had to give a queen for a rook and a bishop, James could not find a better alternative but it wasnt long before the Queen advantage became too much. White resigned on move 33. Final match score 0.5-3.5

Thanks to all players and good luck to Lichfield in their future games.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

18/10/21 Lichfield A v Rugeley CDCL div 2

We travelled to Lichfield's classy new venue for our first match of Division 2.

Board 1 Lukasz Walijewski v Steve Whatmore. White opened with the Queens Gambit, which was accepted by Lukasz. While the opening was solid and level, Steve had a king side attack, this was refuted by Black after major pieces were exchanged and the game fizzled out into a natural drawish position. Whites draw offer was accepted. 0.5-0.5

Board 2 Peter Collins v Tony Meakin. Both sides saw the opening was fairly level when Peter lost a pawn it was up to Black to put some pressure on. Black made a miscalculation in the middle game losing material and structure fell apart giving White a big advantage. Tony resigned in class. 1.5-0.5

Board 3 Ray Sawyer v Luke Sullivan. This game was last to finish, playing on till just gone 10:00pm. Using the London System white gained nice development. Luke was a pawn up in the middle game but Ray was using good resources to hold. White found a rook skewer and if this was taken it ends badly for Black. Ray took a rook with 2 minutes left on the clock, then white delivered check mate not long after. 1.5-1.5

Board 4 Fred Biles v James Perks. This was a very aggressive Scandinavian Main line and both sides had very good chances early on. Fred castled early and was holding well with an extra doubled pawn. James had a bishop for a knight and so offered a draw which was gladly accepted in such a position. 2-2.

Thanks to all players for participating and good luck to Lichfield in the rest of the league.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 2 captain)

12/10/21 Rugeley v Lichfield A CDCL div 3

Our second home match was against Lichfield A. Punctual as ever, and clocks started, the match was on.

Board 1 Tony Meakin v Ray Sawyer. Tony opened aggressively and had white on the back foot early on. A draw offer by black in the middle game was declined although later White made a positional error giving Tony a very dominant square for his knight. Upon realising there was no breakthrough for either, a draw was offered and this time accepted. 0.5-0.5

Board 2 Luke Sullivan v Fred Biles. Luke opened with the Reti and an early kingside castle. Black played very solidly but had 4 pawn islands to white's 2. Queens got exchanged on whites terms. This proved to be fatal as a misplaced rook maneouver had Luke in an unsolvable problem and he couldn't stop a unconnected passed pawn from queening. 0.5-1.5

Board 3 Rory Melough v Stuart Andrews. Andrews opened agressively but black had castled safely. The battle was for the centre, and so Black's rooks dominated the controlling files and pushed for an advantage. The pressure was too much for white and Rory collected the victory after his oppnnet lost his queen. 1.5-1.5

Board 4 Tom Woodhall v Keith Milner.Tom Woodhall v Keith Milner Just like Toms previous game this was the last to finish in the evening. Very little material was actually off the board by the time the middle game had come, with open lines for both and 2 bishops for white. Keith was extremely short on time. Tom found a beautiful forced check mate and black resigned before the fatal blow.

Final match score 2.5 - 1.5. Thanks to all players and good luck to Lichfield in the remainder of the League.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 3 captain)

30/09/21 Stafford v Rugeley CDCL div 3

Rugeley paid their close neighbours Stafford a visit in our second local league match of the 2021 season. Despite guiding our club secretary around stafford town centre's road works via mobile and grabbing a coffee, we managed to sit down on time. Then the madness began.

Board 1 Gabor Somogyi vs Catherine Hiley. Cath lead on time but let her advantage slip away in the middle game. Unfortunately white missed an opportunity to draw allowing Gabor to promote his pawn and this ended Caths night. 1-0

Board 2 David Barker Vs Luke Sullivan. Taken completely out of book by move 10 Luke controlled his nerves. Considering very little material had been exchanged late on into the game, a sudden strike in the centre cost Luke his winning chances and David was on the attack himself. Luke tried one last trick in hope that his opponent would take with the wrong piece and it worked! A draw was a fair result for 2 hard fighting gentlemen. 1.5- 0.5

Board 3 Evan Clarke vs James Perks. No holds barred in this game, as both opponents were swinging for the advantage with open lines and aggressive moves. It was going to be a short game. James decided a late castle was appropriate but cost him a bishop around move 10, and with a bold push from Evan, Black was mated on move 19, but a brilliant effort from both. 2.5- 0.5

Board 4- Stephen Luff vs Tom Woodhall. This was the last game to finish in the evening and it was very tense to watch. Both players were relatively equal in material despite Rugeley having the extra piece. Tom made a tactical error in the middle game causing his king to become slightly weak and Stafford pounced. Rooks got exchanged and Tom made his final move. Unfortunately forgetting his opponent had mate in 1. 3.5-0.5

Thanks to all players for participating and good luck to Stafford in their future matches.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 3 captain)

28/09/21 Rugeley v Norton Canes CDCL div 3

The first match of the 2021 season would have seen Rugeley taking on Norton Canes. Prepared and eager to start we awaited a much anticipated match. Sadly due to unforeseen circumstances Norton didn't arrive and therefore defaulted on all boards.

Thanks to the members who waited patiently, onto the next challenge.

Luke Sullivan, (Div 3 captain)

14/09/21 CDCL AGM

The CDCL was attended by Steve Luke and myself to establish how we finish the 2019-20 season. It was good news all round for Rugeley as we were declared joint winners with Oscott for div 2 and outright winners for div 3. Also Steve Whatmore was voted as Patrick's replacement as Vice President.

The fixtures for the forthcoming season are online and Luke Sullivan is captain both divisions.

Catherine Hiley, (Club Sec)

07/09/21 2021 AGM

Our AGM was held tonight we had a good turnout and lively debate for such a small club, we were decisive on going ahead with competitive chess as we have all missed it.

The details can be found on the 'OTHER' Tab. Please take a look and let me know if there have been any glaring omissions, otherwise I will assume all is well. The website will be updated with new season in next week or so.

Catherine Hiley, (Club Sec)

26/08/21 Internal competition

An all-play-all rapid internal competition is due to take place on 31/08/21.

We have decided to hold an internal all play all, ECF rated, Rapid tournament. Our first of anything competitive since we returned a few weeks ago. We're expecting a good turnout and it should be nice to see the improvement of players over the season. With an incremental time control of 5+6 we are hoping at least 6 games played!.

Hope to see you there at 7:30 prompt start. Good luck, have fun!

Luke Sullivan, (Chess fan)

19/08/21 Rugeley Chess Club, on their travels.

Rugeley friendly v Stafford.

We played a pre-season friendly on 19.08.21 - our first outing as a team for nearly 18 months. Tony captained our squad & arranged with Peter Evans his counterpart at Stafford for us to visit them. Luke got lost & Steve Luff, Stafford's board 5, volunteered to wander around the town to try to find him. They eventually joined us after about 15 minutes of 'I'm by a big island - am I close?' & 'I can see Sainsbury's from here' (ever heard of google maps Mr Sullivan?)

The challenge was set up as 2 x 25 minute games with 10 second increments per move over 5 boards. In game 1 the opponents were (Stafford named first):

Andrew Mowat (1743) v Steve Whatmore (1825)

Ken McNulty (1698) v Matthew Carr (1705)

Andrew Leadbetter (1548) v Luke Sullivan (1525)

Evan Clark (ungraded) v Tony Meakin (1585)

Steve Luff (ungraded) v James Perks (1300)

Tony finished 1st, although he came 2nd but then James won (possibly helped by Luke's tactic of wearing his opponent out earlier in the evening) to tie the scores at 1-1. Wins by Steve & Luke made it 3-1 & then Matt had a draw to make it 3.5-1.5 at the half way mark.

Peter then made a tactical substitution & another Stafford newbie Gabor Somogyi joined on board 4 in place of Ken, with Andrew & Evan moving up a board.

Things began well with Andrew cornering Matt's King in a corner with a 3-fold repetition offered but Matt decided to play something more adventurous & the gamble backfired 0-1. James won his 2nd game of the night - he's been practicing a lot with his sons & it shows - & then Tony added a victory to make it 2-1, meaning that we had won the overall game. Luke then won again (helped by Evan missing a mate in 2 in a complicated position & under time pressure) & then Steve agreed a draw so Rugeley also won the 2nd half 3.5-1.5 to take an overall 7-3 win.

It was so good to get our competitive juices flowing & it will be good to try to organise a return fixture before our respective league seasons hopefully get under way in the Autumn.

Thanks to Stafford for hosting us & being so welcoming & hospitable.

Next up is another friendly at home to Lichfield on Tuesday.

Steve Whatmore.

18/08/21 Rugeley Chess Club, UPDATE

Updated chess news in Rugeley.

The AGM is scheduelled for 7th September at 7:30, if you're not able to attend please make your availability for the upcoming season known to the committee.

Anyone interested in playing chess just to let you know that Rugeley Chess Club is back. We're still in the Computer room upstairs and there are no restrictions in place regarding numbers etc. You can wear a mask should you wish to and people will fully respect this decsion.

There is still Rugeley Chess Club online on Lichess for those members who dont quite feel ready to come down to Lea Hall. Play online chess

Rugeley Library Chess Club is still suspended until further notice, but hoping to get back soon.

Catherine Hiley, (Secretary)

20/07/21 Rugeley Chess Club, Covid-19

Updated Coronavirus and chess in Rugeley.

Lea Hall has now announced it is opening the doors back to the club. Which means we can finally play socially face to face on the 20/07/2021 (international chess day) #InternationalChessDay #chess and get back to over the board mayhem. Prior to that there will be a process of sanitising all the equipment, ready for use. We're pretty excited about meeting up again, and we will have to look at competitive chess when and as able. We're still in the Computer room upstairs and there are no restrictions in place regarding numbers etc. We may have lost some regular members but hope to gain some new interest, and welcome new members.

There is still Rugeley Chess Club online on Lichess for those members who dont quite feel ready to come down to Lea Hall. Play online chess

Rugeley Library Chess Club is still suspended until further notice.

Anyone interested in reading the ECF guidelines for clubs please refer to ECF

Catherine Hiley, (Secretary)