Sunday 29 December 2019

Newcastle Mini Congress

The 16th Newcastle-Under-Lyme Mini Congress is being held over the weekend of 15th/16th February 2020. Please click here for full details and online entry form.

Sunday 8 December 2019

U140 Team Maintain 100% Record

Unfortunately it's not the 100% that we wanted. A 9.5 - 6.5 defeat by Lincolnshire yesterday afternoon means that we have lost all 3 of our MCCU Championship matches, only slightly better that Derbyshire who have lost their first 4 matches. The match between ourselves and them on the 1st February will determine the outcome of the Wooden Spoon. Click here for yesterday's match score card.

All Square For The U100's

The Staffs U100 team were held to a 6-6 draw by Worcestershire  in their opening MCCU Championship match last weekend. Click here for the match score card.

Tuesday 19 November 2019

U120's Win Again

The County U120 team recorded their second successive win at the weekend, beating Derbyshire by 6.5 - 5.5. They are now joint top of the table. Click here for the match score card.

Sunday 10 November 2019

MCCU County Championship Results

I have been a bit remiss in updating the News with the latest MCCU County Championship results. However, to summarise the position so far, the U100 are still yet to play their first match, the U120 have won their first match and the U140 team have, unfortunately, lost their first two matches. Results and match score cards can be found from the following links :

Friday 18 October 2019

County Cup Please Enter

All Staffordshire Clubs are invited to enter the Staffordshire County Cups.
To enter or for further information please email Peter Evans.
These consist of one open competition and three grade limited events. The competitions are held on a knock out format.
The events are summarised below :

Competition
Hickman (Open, 6 boards)
Gothard (Under 161, 4 boards)
Jackson (Under 141, 4 boards)
Withnall (Under 121, 4 boards)

The closing date for entry is Sunday 24th November and we intend to finish the competitions by Mid- June 2020.  Please note Meir and Rugeley Chess Clubs have already made their entries.
If any teams are worried about excessive travel, then a neutral venue may be arranged for any tie.
The July Grading List will be used to determine eligibility for the Gothard, Jackson and Withnall competitions.
The full rules are available on this link.

Sunday 22 September 2019

Alsager Win South Cheshire Shield

Alsager have won the South Cheshire Shield after drawing 2-2 with Crewe 'A' earlier this week. Congratulations to Andrew Barker and his team who finished one point ahead of the two Crewe Teams in the 9th running of the Shield. A fitting reward for Andrew's hard work with the competition. Click here to view  full league table and results.

Saturday 21 September 2019

County Fixtures Published

The MCCU County Championship fixtures for 2019/2020 have now been published and can be viewed here. They have also been added to the County Calendar.

Sunday 25 August 2019

Crewe Chess Congress

The 2019 Crewe Chess Congress is being held over the weekend of 27th/29th September. Please click here for full details and online entry form.

Wednesday 24 July 2019

North v South Match

It is hoped to organise a match between the North and South of the County sometime in either May/June/July 2020. We require a Captain for each team and anybody who would be prepared to take on one of these roles should contact Ray Dolan, the County Secretary.

Saturday 13 July 2019

MCCU Congress

This year's MCCU Congress is being held at the Ramada Hotel in Telford over the weekend of 9th/11th August. Please click here for details.

U100's Win The County Championship !!

Many congratulations to Robert West and all of his players on winning this afternoon's County Championship Final against Nottinghamshire by 7 - 5. Click here for the match score card.

Friday 5 July 2019

County AGM

The County AG was held on Wednesday evening at Stafford Chess Club. There is very little of note to report but the Minutes will be published here when they become available.

The Officers of the Association were re-elected en bloc, with the following exceptions - Alberto Gissi was elected as County Congress Secretary and the position of Correspondence Secretary was left vacant as we will not be running any teams in the coming season. We are still looking for volunteers to Captain teams at U160, U180 and Open level.

Alberto Gissi was voted Chess Personality Of The Year for his work at Newcastle following the departure of Martyn Harris, including organising the Newcastle Congress, the NSDCA Rapidplay Congress and his contribution to the County U120 team.

Norton Canes were voted Club Of The Year.

Wednesday 19 June 2019

Stafford Win Withnall Trophy

Congratulations to Stafford on winning the Withnall Trophy, beating Cheddleton
 by 3.5 - 0.5 in tonight's Final. Click here for the match score card.

Sunday 16 June 2019

Newcastle Win Jackson Cup

Congratulations to Newcastle on winning the Jackson Cup, beating Cheddleton by 2.5 - 1.5 in Friday night's Final. Click here for the match score card.

Sunday 9 June 2019

County U120's Fail To Reach Final

With Team Captain Peter Evans unavailable, Alberto Gissi took over as U120 Captain for the day. Unfortunately, the team were unable to emulate their U100 counterparts, going down by 8 - 4 against Essex in their County Championship Semi-Final. Unfortunately, they also defaulted a board, although this had no effect on the overall result. Click here for the match score card. However, Very well done to them on reaching this stage of the Competition.

Staffs U100's Into County Championship Final

It was a wet and windy afternoon yesterday but the sun shone on the County U100 team as they beat Lancashire by 8.5 - 3.5 to reach the Final of the County Championship. Lancashire didn't help themselves by turning up over an hour late and defaulting on 3 boards. However, even allowing for this it was a good win for the Staffs team, who will now meet Nottinghamshire in the Final on the 13th July. Click here for the score card from yesterday's match.

Congratulations to Robert West and his team who have got this far despite a shaky start in the earlier MCCU stage  of the competition. We wish them the very best of luck in the Final.

Thursday 6 June 2019

Walsall Kipping Win Hickman Cup

Walsall Kipping have retained the Hickman Cup with a 4-2 win against Cheddleton. Click here for the match score card.

Monday 20 May 2019

County Teams Reach Semi-Finals

Congratulations to both the County U100 and U120 teams on reaching the Semi-Finals of the County Championships.

They both recorded wins over their Norfolk counterparts on Saturday afternoon, with the U100 team winning by 7.5 - 4.5 and the U120 team by 7 - 5.

Click here for the U100 match score card and here for the U120 match score card.

The U100 team will now be at home against Lancashire in their Semi-Final on the 8th June and the U120 team will be at home against Essex, also on the 8th June.

Thursday 16 May 2019

RIP Brian Walden

You may have read in the news recently about the death of Brian Walden the TV presenter and former Minister in the Wilson Government. However, you may not know that he was the Staffordshire Chess Champion in 1948 and played for West Bromwich in the Birmingham League.

Tuesday 30 April 2019

County Championship Quarter Finals

The County Championship Quarter Finals against Norfolk U100 and Norfolk U120 are both being played on Saturday the 18th May in Thorney, which is about 5 miles from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.

Wednesday 10 April 2019

County Championship Quarter Finals

The U100 and U120 teams have both been drawn away against their Norfolk counterparts in the Quarter Final of the County Championship. One match was due to be played on the 11th May and the other on the 18th May. However, I understand that the Captains are in discussions on playing both matches on the same day. As far as I am aware, no venue has yet been arranged.

Saturday 23 March 2019

U140 Team Beaten In Final Match

The County U140 team were beaten 9.5 - 6.5 by Lincolnshire in their final MCCU Championship match this afternoon, to leave them propping up the table. Click here for the full match score card.

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Stafford Into Withnall Trophy Final

Stafford are through to the Withnall Trophy Final following a 3 - 1 win against Rushall in last night's Semi Final. Click here for the match score card. They will now play either Newcastle or Cheddleton in the Final.

Tuesday 12 March 2019

County U100's And U120's Both Qualify For County Championship Quarter Finals

The County U100's and U120's have both qualified for the Quarter Finals of the County Championship.

Despite being hammered 9.5 - 2.5 by Warwickshire last weekend, the U100's have qualified as runners-up by virtue of tie break. Click here for the match score card.

The U120's beat Leicestershire by 6.5 - 5.5. Despite my pessisism in my previous post, they have finished 3rd on tie break and have qualified for the Quarter Finals. Click here for the match score card.

Congratulations to both teams and the very best of luck to them in the next stage of the competition.

Sunday 24 February 2019

County U120's Share The Points

The County U120 team drew 6-6 with Worcestershire yesterday, despite defaulting a board. With only one match remaining, away aginst Leicestershire on the 9th March, we look unlikely to qualify for the next stage of the competition. Click here for yesterday's match score card.

Tuesday 12 February 2019

Cannock League 20th Anniversary

The Cannock & District Chess League will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary in April of this year, the original founders being Ray Dolan, Robert Mayne, Brian Lynam and Robin Lewis. The league currently run 3 Divisions, plus the Chase Trophy, the Robert Ward Trophy and the Dolan Trophy. Congratulations to all concerned.

Sunday 27 January 2019

First Win Of The Season For U100's.

The County U100 team scored their first points of the season on Saturday with a 7-4 win against Leicestershire. Click here for the match score card.

Sunday 20 January 2019

County U100's Beaten In Opening Match

The County U100 team were beaten 6.5 - 5.5 by Nottinghamshire in their opening MCCU County Championship match. Click here for the match scorecard.

U120 Match Postponed

This weekend's U120 match against Worcestershire was postponed and will now be played on the 23rd February.

Sunday 13 January 2019

U140's Off The Mark

The U140 team finally got off the mark with their first win of the season yesterday with a 9-7 victory against Derbyshire. For once we were able to field a full team and it obviously made a difference as we scored heavily in the bottom half of the team. Click here for the match score card. Our next, and final match, is away against bottom placed Lincolnshire on the 23rd March.

Tuesday 8 January 2019

U120's Start 2019 With A Loss

The County U120 team made a disappointing start to 2019 with a 4.5 - 7.5 home defeat against Warwickshire. Click here for the match score card.