West Bridgford 1 and Newark 1 draw. Mansfield 1 narrowly defeat Gambit 2. Despite this battling defeat, the tenure of the only club second team in D1 seems under clear and present danger In D2 Ashfield 1 defeat leaders Radcliffe & Bingham 1 and are now on their heels Wins for Gambit 3 and Radcliffe and Bingham 2, the top […]
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4NCL On Line Round Three
Ashfield Anonymous A 1½ – 2½ Wessex B At one point Team captain Richard thought we were going to win as John G won quickly and the rest looked to have decent positions. Alex C’s opponent had just enough counterplay to get a draw, whilst Richard threw his away by blundering the exchange, trying for more than there was in […]
Continue reading4NCL Weekend 3
Weekend Three of the 4NCL was played at Peterborough and for the first time all three Ashfield teams were together. Split weekends are the bane of organising so at least we were able to play in the same room (at least for Round Four). Division Three Bishops has developed into a table of two halves. At the top, six teams […]
Continue readingWeek 21 Highlights
University 1’s win at Grantham gives them 21 points from 11 games. They have dropped just one point this season, as Mansfield did when winning the League title in 2022-3 in a reduced 7-team first division. Gambit 1’s win over Nomads 1 moves them above Mansfield into second place… Radcliffe & Bingham 1 remain leaders in D2 after defeating Grantham […]
Continue readingWeek 20 Highlights
No sign of University 1 slipping up in their title pursuit. They comfortably see off a weakened Gambit 2. Mansfield lead the chase, defeating Grantham 1, despite stubborn resistance from the Cumbers family. The title seems in University’s hands to lose… In D2 an exciting win by Nomads 2 over Ashfield 2 helps Nomads climb up the table… In D3 […]
Continue readingWeek 19 Highlights
University 1 show no sign of slipping up in the title race with a 4-1 win at Nomads 1. Gambit 1 move into second place with a 4-1 win over West Bridgford 1… In D2 Radcliffe + Bingham 1 stay top despite dropping a point v. Beeston 1 in a game of four draws. Ashfield 1 close the gap with […]
Continue readingWeek 18 Highlights
University 1 lead the title race again after their second defeat of title holders, Mansfield. University field Simon Schweizer, a Japanese Federation player , making his League debut, on Board 1 and secure a 3.5-1.5 victory with wins on the top two boards. Gambit 1 win 4-1 at Newark and gathering form, are not out of the title race. Gambit […]
Continue reading48th Nottingham Congress
Our annual event returns as usual to the Nottingham High School on the 10th & 11th May with 5 rounds of standard play chess. Rate of play is all moves in 90 minutes with 10 seconds increment from move one. We have sections for all abilities. Online entry and online payment are available via the Congress website. Free entry for […]
Continue reading34th Nottingham Rapidplay Report
We welcomed a record capacity (180) entry to the 34th Nottingham Rapidplay, held as usual at Nottingham High School. This was ECF-rated as normal and also FIDE-rated for the first time (but bear in mind that FIDE only now publishes ratings above 1400). We also used the congress.org site for the first time, enabling online payments rather than cheques in […]
Continue reading4NCL Online – Round 2 Season 11
It was a disappointing night for the Ashfield teams in Round 2 of 4NCL on-line. However the matches were far from being one-sided. Several of the games went down to interesting endings where a couple of slips meant that half points were lost in games that should have ended rather differently. Only two games were won and three drawn overall […]
Continue reading4NCL Weekend 2 Report
Ashfield 1 lost both matches in Week 2 of the 4NCL in Division Three Bishops. Playing the two strongest teams, disaster struck pre-match on Saturday when Mike Naylor-Eade was involved in a car crash that wrote off his vehicle; thankfully there were no injuries. Mike was due to pick up Alex Combie and as a result we had to take […]
Continue reading4NCL On-Line Season 11 – Round One
It was an all-Scottish encounter for Ashfield Anonymous in the opening round of Season Eleven. Anonymous “A” promoted to Division One this season faced tough opposition in previous champions, Dundee City “A”. There was a fine draw for David C against international master Richard Polaczek on Board One but the remaining boards were hard fought but in the end there […]
Continue readingWeek 17 Highlights
Big win for West Bridgford 1 at Nomads 1. Little between teams on ratings, but Nomads’ confidence will be further hit by 0-5 defeat. Gambit 1 defeat Gambit 2 4-1 in an eventful game… In Division 2 Grantham 2 climb off foot of table with 4-0 over West Bridgford 2 and Ashfield 2 take their place after loss to Beeston […]
Continue readingNottingham Rapidplay 2025 – Sunday 2nd February
Our annual event returns as usual to the Nottingham High School on the 2nd February with 6 rounds of quick chess. New this year, our event will also be FIDE-rated. We have sections for all abilities. Online entry and online payment are available via the Congress website. Free entry for GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. For more information and to […]
Continue readingTerry Lavelle (1958-2025)
We are sad to report the death of Terry Lavelle who passed away on 11th January. He was a member of West Bridgford Chess Club, Nottingham and a regular congress player. In addition he represented Ashfield in the 4NCL on occasions. Terry was taken ill in the COVID epidemic; his last over the board game was played in March 2020.
Continue readingWeek 16 Highlights
A very light fixtures week, with 3 fixtures postponed due to the Castle Rock Brewery’s annual staff party. Mansfield regain top spot with expected win over Nomads1. In Division 2 Ashfield hold Ashfield 1 to dent their promotion chances… This offers an opportunity to comment on club websites. 8 of our 12 League clubs currently appear to have active websites. Sad […]
Continue readingHistorical Records
Our website contains lots of historical information about the Nottinghamshire Chess Association. Drag Sudar has been updating our records recently. They are well worth a look. Historical records can be found on the Historical Records page and some interesting history can be found on the Historical Pieces page.
Continue readingNottinghamshire School Excels at London Chess Classic
A Nottinghamshire school team recently competed with great success at the London Chess Classic event in London, held in early December. A team from Pierrepont Gamston school played against schools from London and the South-East and came second overall, missing out on the gold medal by a fraction of a team point. The tournament was organised by Chess in Schools […]
Continue readingMid-Season League Review 2024-25
A close title race looks likely with University 1 setting a hot pace ahead of Mansfield, winners in the last 3 seasons. Mansfield won the League last year with 17 points, three clear of Gambit 1. A much higher winning points total will be needed this year with University already on 13 points. The title race could go down to […]
Continue reading4NCL Online Final
After eight successive wins, Ashfield came up against Scottish side Lenzie Basilisks, winners of Group “B”. Without top board David Coates, the Ashfield team still had four players who had carried the team to this stage. However some expansive play on Board One coupled with blunders on Board Three meant two Ashfield losses with the White pieces. World Number 9 […]
Continue readingWeek 15 Highlights
Mansfield keep up their title challenge with a 4-1 win at Nomads 1. Nomads 1 were competitive on the top boards, but lose both lower boards and stay rooted to the foot of the table. Dave Latham, a stalwart of Derbyshire Chess, makes his Nottinghamshire League debut for Mansfield. Gambit 1 are now clear third in the division after a […]
Continue readingEC Minutes 2024-25
October 2024
Continue reading4NCL Online Semi-Finals
The 4NCL semi-finals produced two different matches – one pedestrian and the other exciting. Division Two :- -Ashfield Anonymous A – 3½ Charlton Cobras A – ½ Charlton, runners-up in Group B, might have been expected to produce a strong team for the semi-final. But they didn’t. The bottom two boards were from their “C” team and there was an […]
Continue readingWeek 14 Highlights
University 1 opened their campaign in Week 6 with a home draw. Since then they’ve notched a sequence of six wins, the latest a comfortable win at West Bridgford, and hold a three points League lead. Grantham 1 narrowly defeat Newark 1 and move above them into the top half of the table, a win secured by their lower boards. […]
Continue readingWeek 13 Highlights
A rearranged fixture meant that Gambit 2 took on Mansfield and University 1 this week. Mansfield’s Tuesday win briefly regained top spot, before University’s Thursday win reclaimed this. These 2 teams are now clear of the rest and look set to fight out the League title. Radcliffe and Bingham 1 claim top spot in Division 2 after a 4-0 win […]
Continue reading4NCL On-Line Round Seven
Ashfield Anonymous “A” 4 Trelawny’s Army 0 There were three very different challenges in the 7th and final round of 4NCL on-line. Trelawny’s Army is a Cornish based team named after a local Bishop who denounced James II and was sent to the Tower of London. There’s a lot more about him but unfortunately turning to chess the Cornishmen fielded […]
Continue reading34th Nottingham Rapidplay
The 34th Nottingham Rapidplay will take place on the 2nd February 2025 at Nottingham High School. This will be a six round FIDE rated event. The first round will start at 10.00am. Enter online here. Details can also be downloaded from the entry form.
Continue reading4NCL Report – Ashfield 1
Ashfield 1 compete in the Division 3 Bishops league of the 4NCL. A report of the first weekend follows. Games can be viewed on the 4NCL website. Mike writes Ashfield 1 had varying fortunes in the first two rounds of the 4NCL. Saturday was a disaster with 4 games lost before the time control was reached. Hubert made it to […]
Continue reading4 NCL Report – Ashfield 2 & 3
Weekend one of the 4NCL was held over two separate weekends. Ashfield 2 and 3 played first and the games can be view on the 4NCLwebsite. Due to some vagaries of the Swiss Pairing System we had two sets of matches against the same teams at the weekend; Guildford Young Guns 1 and Peterborough United. The opening round was seeded […]
Continue readingWeek 12 Highlights
University 1 win at Mansfield and now lead Division 1, a point clear. Mansfield captain reports, ‘3-2 might look it was a close match. It wasn’t. We were worse on every single board and could easily have lost 5-0.’ This opens up the title race, and makes the division more interesting. In D2 Nomads 2 defeat Ashfield 1. West Nottingham […]
Continue reading4NCL Online Week 6 Report
Ashfield Anonymous “A” 4 Wessex “C” 0 Three of the games had finished in this match before any results had been posted by teams “B” and “C”. The remaining game did continue till the end of the session but that too never looked in doubt. Our team had already qualified for the play-offs and will face the second placed team […]
Continue readingWeek 11 Highlights
The snow arrived on Monday impacting on road/travel conditions. Thanks to captains and drivers who managed to safely keep their teams on the road over the week. D1 Grantham 1 slam West Bridgford 5-0, and overtake them to move into fourth place. D2 Better fortune for West Bridgford 2, whose narrow win over Ashfield 2, moves them into third place. […]
Continue readingWeek 10 Highlights
Grantham 1 are back. Grantham ruled the roost with 10 League titles between 2010 and 2020. The break-up of the team led by Nigel Birtwistle coincided with the Covid epidemic. Shorn of their championship players, Grantham 1 appeared in and won Division 3 in 2021-22. Last season they were promoted back to Division 1 as runners-up to Nomads 1.Their first […]
Continue readingWhatsapp for Notts CA
At the NCA AGM in July a straw poll was taken from attendees about their use of social media. The only medium with significant usage was shown to be Whatsapp. Arising from this it was agreed that a Whatsapp Group for Notts Chess would help to improve communications and fast dissemination of news and information. This has now been set […]
Continue readingWeek 9 Highlights
Mansfield power on in D1 with a 4-1 win at Gambit 1. After just 4 games Mansfield have a Board Points difference of + 15. Narrow wins for West Bridgford 1 over Gambit 2 and University 1 over Newark 1. University now sit second in the table, a point behind Mansfield. University last won the League title in 2008-9, a […]
Continue reading4NCL Online Week 5 Report
Round 5 of the 4NCL online took place on 5th November. The games can be viewed here – 4NCL Replays. Ashfield Anonymous “A” With two rounds to spare, the “A” team have already ensured a place in the play-offs. Their fifth win in a row to maintain a 100% record was not without incident. Board One was lost in tactical […]
Continue readingNottingham Rapidplay 2025
The entry system for the 2025 Rapidplay is now live. Please see this post for more information.
Continue readingRadcliffe and Bingham win ECF Small Club of the Year
Radcliffe and Bingham Chess Club is delighted to announce that we are the proud winners of the English Chess Federation’s ‘Small Club of the Year’ Award for 2024. This national award recognises the enthusiastic and enjoyable environment we have created and also the contribution our members make to chess throughout the county. We have also had great success in starting […]
Continue readingWeek 8 Highlights
Wins for Newark 1 and University 1 in Division 1. Yet another 3-2 defeat for Nomads 1. The Division 2 race opens up after leaders, Radcliffe & B. lose at West Nottingham. Ashfield 1 and West Bridgford 2 make up ground. Two more reverses for Radcliffe, second team at University 2 and third team at Newark 3. A busy week […]
Continue reading4NCL Online Week 3 Report
Round three of the 4NCL Online took place on the 8th October Ashfield Anonymous “A” 3 v Dundee “C” 1 A win is a win. Richard’s opponent blundered into a mate in two after our early advantage had dissipated. Although material up David faced a pawn steam roller whilst Justin’s opponent exceeded the time limit with still plenty of play […]
Continue readingWeek 7 Highlights
University 1 deliver blow to Gambit 1’s title chances with wins on top three boards. Nomads 1 still seeking first point in Division 1 for 20 years after defeat to Gambit 2. The players on Board 1 in this match were clubmates through the 1990s for Oxclose and Fiveways. Drag’s win over Julian set up a win secured by Nikolai. […]
Continue reading4NCL Online Week 2 Report
4NCL Online week two took place on the 24th September. Ashfield Anonymous “A” v Shropshire & Friends For a second successive week we were gifted a default win, David C was the recipient this time. With a penalty –½ it should have been plain sailing. However two of the games finished with blunders; Steve lost a piece and Alex C […]
Continue reading4NCL Online – Week One Highlights
Ashfield Anonymous field three teams in the 4NCL Online. The 10th season is being played over seven rounds leading up to semi finals and finals just before Christmas. Ashfield Anonymous “A” started with a win over Oxford 3 who defaulted a board which resulted in a penalty ½ point deduction. Although Steve lost we had a relatively easy win from […]
Continue reading34th Nottingham Rapidplay
The 34th Nottingham Rapidplay will take place on the 2nd February 2025 at Nottingham High School. This will be a six round FIDE rated event. The first round will start at 10.00am. Enter online here. Details can also be downloaded from the entry form.
Continue readingWeek 6 Highlights
Mansfield motor on in Division 1. University 1 and 2 open with draws. Radcliffe & Bingham, winner of the ECF Small Club Of The Year Award 2024 show they are a club on the rise. R&B 1 continue to set a hot pace in Division 2, defeating Ashfield 1 in the first match between these two teams for decades. Previously […]
Continue readingJonah Willow has a first Grandmaster norm!
Jonah Willow has secured his first Grandmaster norm at a tournament in Norway. The event was held in the town of Fagernes, which is situated 114 miles north-west of Oslo. Jonah was first equal (second on tie-break) with GM Rinat Jumbayev of Kazakhstan with whom he drew his game in round 7. Jonah was unbeaten on 7/9, with a tournament […]
Continue readingWeek 5 Highlights
Gambit 1 are held to a draw by West Bridgford 1. WB’s Shabhir Okhai has notched an opening top board hat-trick over Julian Cast, Jonathan Tait and now Mike Barnes. A good week for Newark. Newark 1 bounce back to winning form over Nomads 1 with a 4-1 win. Newark 3 better this score. A winning week too for Radcliffe […]
Continue readingWeek 4 Highlights
Mansfield follow up their 5-0 win at Grantham with a 4-1 win over West Bridgford. Gambit 1 trounce Newark 4.5-0.5. In Div 1 the League table already looks telling. After two games, two teams are on 100% – Mansfield with a 9-1 points difference and Gambit 1 on 8-2. The only other unbeaten team is University 1, yet to play […]
Continue readingWeek 3 Highlights
Mansfield, Post-Covid 3x League champions, launch their campaign with a statement 5-0 win at Grantham, despite being outrated on the top two boards. Nomads 1, who last appeared in Division 1 in 2005, narrowly lose at West Bridgford 1. In Division 2 Beeston 1 and R&B 1 fight out a 2-2 draw, of 4 decisive games. In D3 wins for […]
Continue readingNPSCA Chess Lessons Start on 12th October
Th Nottinghamshire Primary Schools Chess Association provides lessons at Nottingham High School. The first session takes place on Saturday 12th October. For for more information please see https://nottsprimarychess.uk/, or email.
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