News

T W Crabb Shield 2010

The Crabb Shield will this year be held on Saturday 31^st July, at The Harlequin, Nursery Street. The tournament format will be 6 rounds each of 50 minutes, with players having a straight 25 minutes each for all moves.

 Round 1 : 11.15 am
Round 2 : 12.10 pm
Lunch  1.00-2.00
(Excellent meals available in the pub)
Round 3 : 2.00pm
Round 4 : 3.00pm
Round 5 : 4.00pm
Round 6 : 5.00pm
 followed by prizegiving. 

Entry fees will be £4 waged, £2 unwaged. All money will be returned in prizes. The T.W.Crabb shield will go to the overall winner, provided they are resident in the Sheffield & District region (or if not then the highest placed player who is.) Entries will be taken on the day, but early notification of entries will help with preparations. 

All entries please to
Bill Ward, 60 Todwick Road, Sheffield S8 0NR.
Tel: 0114 2508656
Email: billward60@hotmail.co.uk

Summer League 2010

Games of the Summer League have started. Results are here. There is also a link in the bar on the left.

Registered Players:
Worksop A Jon Tait, Jim Burnett
Worksop B Tim England Cliff Briggs

Division 3 Play Off

The Division 3 Relegation Play-Off result was (three-way Jamboree system used):
Phoenix C 5½, Chesterfield B 2½, Darnall & Handsworth 1
Darnall & Handsworth are relegated.

Bulletin 5

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Online,  Excel, pdf. Thanks to Simon Dunkley.

A play-off is also required in division 4 to decide second place.

Second Barnsley Blitz Results

Gold Section

Silver

Download:   final standings    summary   (Excel)

As many of you are aware during the presentation Phil Ford of Nomads collapsed and did not recover. There are tributes to Phil on the Nomads website.

Hope Valley 5 Minute, Thu 20th May, The Highcliffe
Current Champion - Chris Shephard

Cost: £3 (£1.50)
Date: Thu 20th May
Time: 7:15 for a 7:30 start

Those who played last year need not notify me. players new to the competition, or anyone who has not played for many years should contact John Fryer 077 63 93 86 23 by Tuesday 18th May.

Sheffield Championship 09/10 Rd 4

There are two players in the lead on 3½/4, Chris Shephard and Farshad Ai. Full results and standings here.

Sheffield Championship 09/10

Much delayed due to bad weather. At the moment there are three players in the lead on 2½/3, Chris Shephard, Denis Molofej, and Farshad Ai. Full results and standings here.

Summer League Latest
Entry Form

Entries to be received by the League Secretary, Phill Beckett, by Saturday 17 April 2010
Tel: 01777 228 360, Work: 01476 563 180 ext 251, Email: familybeckett2@aol.com

Normal Evening League rules will apply except where not appropriate, for example:

Teams should be of 4 boards (or any other number agreed by both captains).
There should be at most 10 matches = maximum 6 teams per division all-play-all.
Matches may take place from May to September inclusive.
Please enter your 4 regular players so that the League Secretary [Phill Beckett] can best allocate
teams to divisions of similar strength.
If you would like your team to be entered into a particular division, please indicate on the form. Your request will be taken into account but is not guaranteed.
If you are running teams in more than one division, the top two players will be registered (unable to play for the club lower team), and two appearances on either of these boards will make a player ineligible for any club lower team.
It is possible that 2 or more club teams are allocated to the same division, and as you would not know this in advance, for this season, both/all of these teams will be considered to be the club higher/lower team, but otherwise players may represent both/any club team.
Promotion and relegation: one up and one down
The League Secretary and/or Executive will decide anything not covered.

T W Crabb Shield 2010, Saturday 31st July

The Crabb Shield will this year be held on Saturday 31st July, at The Harlequin, Nursery Street, Nomads venue. The tournament format will be 6 rounds each of 50 minutes, with players having a straight 25 minutes each for all moves.

Round 1 : 11.15 am
Round 2 : 12.10 pm
Lunch 1.00-2.00
(Excellent meals available in the pub) (www.theharlequinpub.co.uk/documents/buffet.pdf)
Round 3 : 2.00pm
Round 4 : 3.00pm
Round 5 : 4.00pm
Round 6 : 5.00pm followed by prizegiving.

Entry fees will be £4 waged, £2 unwaged. All money will be returned in prizes. The T.W.Crabb shield will go to the overall winner, provided they are resident in the Sheffield & District region (or if not then the highest placed player who is.)
Entries will be taken on the day, but early notification of entries will help with preparations.
All entries please to
Bill Ward, 60 Todwick Road, Sheffield S8 0NR.
Tel: 0114 2508656
Email: billward60@hotmail.co.uk

Bulletin 4

Online,  Excel, pdf. Thanks to Simon Dunkley.

The Second Barnsley Blitz
Monday 10th May 2010 at Birdwell Methodist Church

Entry forms: Word pdf

 Following the success of the first Barnsley Blitz, Barnsley Chess Club is organizing a second Barnsley Blitz event by popular demand. The event will take place on Monday 10th May 2010 at Birdwell Methodist Church starting promptly at 7.30pm.

The event is a ten minute four player team tournament.
Each team should consist of four players from the same club.
Each team player will have 10 minutes to complete their game.
Depending on team entries, this year we hope to have 3 sections of 6 teams. 
Teams will be split into sections according to strength using the average team grade.

Team entries are invited from local chess clubs. Initially each invited club can register up to two teams - each team  consisting of four club players. There is an entry limit of 18 teams and entries are on a first come first served basis - so please consider getting a team entry in early. The Entry fee is £12 per team on the night. The closing date for entries is 30th April 2010. If accepted there will be a £3 late entry fee applied to entries after the closing date. You can enter by email by completing and returning the entry form. In each section there will be a chess clock prize for the winning teams. Returnable salvers and awards will be presented to the winning teams and individuals with the highest scores in each section. If there are less than 18 teams we will permit entries from individuals who where possible will be allocated teams by the organizers. Full details are given in the entry forms given in word and pdf  formats, alternatively you can email the event secretary Tony Farrell on farrell830@btinternet.com Funds permitting it is intended to make a small donation to the Exodus Project to help local under privileged children. We hope to see you again if you attended last years Barnsley Blitz,if not then why not give this fun event a try and support a worthy cause in the progress. I look forward to receiving your entries.
Tony Farrell

Change of Venue for Barnsley

From Monday 22nd February 2010 Barnsley Chess Club will be based at the Victoria pub, Sheffield Road, Barnsley, S70 4NW. The Victoria is located at the corner of the crossroads of Sheffield Road, Park Road and Cemetery Road on the A61 close to Barnsley town centre. It is situated on the same road close to where we previously played at the Rising Sun. Adequate parking is available on Tune Street behind the doctor's surgery which is located just before the crossroads on Sheffield Road if coming from Sheffield. The home nights and home fixtures for the Barnsley A and Barnsley C teams will remain unchanged on Monday and Tuesday nights respectively until further notice. The home night for the Barnsley B team has been changed to Wednesday nights. Therefore all the Barnsley B team home fixtures previously published for Thursday nights after the 22nd February 2010 need to be altered to be one day earlier. See the Barnsley Chess Club website www.barnsleychessclub.co.uk for more information, on-line directions and updated Barnsley B team home fixtures.

Summer League

Is there the interest/demand to start a summer evening league? Sheffield Chess has always been a winter league. In the past we all took our holidays during the summer.  Now many of us take our holidays during the winter and stay at home to enjoy the barbeque summers :-) In recent years Bill Ward organised a tournament that ran through the summer on a series of Mondays.  This was always well-attended, with players not just from within 'Sheffield' by also from the distant parts of '& District'.  This tournament no longer runs due to a snooker table in the club room. So... there appears to be an unsatisfied demand for evening chess during the summer. I would like to gauge whether the interest is sufficient to set up a summer evening league. Please can I have feedback from club secretaries or other club official, by Email please by 15 March.  Nil returns please, so looking for one reply from each member club even if your club is not interested.

1. Is there interest in your club for summer team chess?
2. What level of interest?  [low numbers may be able to be combined as already works in the Daytime league]
3. If your club would like to play in a summer league, how many boards should teams comprise?
4. Any other advice or suggestions appreciated.

If there is sufficient interest, the league would probably start in early May and run through to late September (but please tell me in your Email if you think otherwise).  As always if there are dates to avoid, these can be accommodated in the fixture list and/or be rearranged by the teams concerned.  Tentatively: Normal evening league rules to apply except for number of boards (but please tell me in your Email if you think otherwise). If the Emails show there is sufficient interest, the responses will be analysed and interested clubs will be circulated with the number of boards, so that teams can be entered, fixtures drawn up and play can start in early May. This is an optimistic plan/timescale, but let's see if we can achieve it.
Mike Smith

County Championships
Sunday - March 14th @ Valley Parade, Bradford FC from 1pm
PLAYERS REQUIRED. PLEASE CONTACT THE APPROPRIATE CO-ORDINATOR.

The zonal round run by the NCCU will be based on a new format of a Jamboree. Yorkshire intend to provide seven teams: Open (16 players) and 12 players in the following U180, U160, U140 (2 teams), U120 & U100 based on new ECF grades.

Open, U180, U160
 Ihor Lewyk T: 01274 567559

U140, U120 & U100
 John Fozard T: 01226 792948

Second U140
Stephen Burton T: 0113 256 8157

Team based around the players who played in the U125 team (old grade) last year and will be made up of senior players

It has been decided that the county will put out three teams in the U140, U120 & U100 based on a junior/adult mix that will give up and coming youngsters a feel of the competition and a chance of long play (1pm - 5pm ... time control proposed 40 moves 1hr 45 + 15 mins) at this level in a large team. We are aiming for a 50/50 split if possible of junior/adults. If any junior or senior player is definitely available and is keen to be considered for selection please get in touch with John Fozard in the first instance (click on my email address at the top of the page). If the teams qualifies for the next stage - players must be prepared to travel for the national play-offs later in the year between April and July (dates yet to be announced).

Bulletin 3

Online  Excel, PDF. Thanks to Simon Dunkley.

Bulletin 2

Online  Excel, PDF. Thanks to Simon Dunkley.

Training Event for Players Graded U105

How to get a winning advantage after the opening

CALLING ALL CLUB PLAYERS UNDER 105 YCA OLD GRADE THAT WANT TO IMPROVE.
TRAINING COURSE @ WEST BRETTON (JUNC 38 M1) - SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER.
The Yorkshire Junior Chess Association has been running several very successful all day Training Camps this season using top ECF coaches. Now at the next event will include a course specifically for adult club players under 105 YCA old grade to be run by ECF coach, Nick Nixon of Leeds.

Contact John Fozard

Sheffield Individual Championship 2009/10
Reigning Champion: Chris Shephard
Bruce and Shapero Trophies: Kevin Marshall

Entries so far (17): Chris Shephard Nomads (187), Kieran O'Driscoll Nomads (186), Denis Molofej Rotherham Juniors (~180), Martin Howard Chesterfield (153), Haidar Nomeq Nomads (146), Louis Brijmohun SASCA (143), Farshad Ai Phoenix (136), Geoff Brown Darnall & Handsworth (132), John Fryer SASCA (124), Paul Bailey Nomads (116), Kevin Marshall Nomads (114), Bill Ward Woodseats (109), Miles Edwards-Wright SASCA (105), Chern Yean Sim University (104), Derek Chatterton Darnall & Handsworth (96), Joe Morrison Ecclesall (79), Mike Turnidge Darnall & Handsworth (~70)

Deadline 6pm Monday 30th November

Format
Six Round Swiss
One round per month, first round to be completed by the end of December
Time Control: 24 moves in an hour, then 12 per half hour
Adjournments are permitted (consulting computers is allowed - but might not be much use)
Black has choice of venue (usually either someone's home - often with a supply of tea and biscuits, or a club venue)

Benefits of Competing
Slower time control (should mean better chess)
Preparation for your opponent. You know who you are playing and with which colour and often a week or two in advance. This allows for in depth look at certain openings, which has to benefit your chess.
Adjournment analysis - again the chance to take an in depth look at late middlegame/endgame positions.

If you are interested in competing contact Tournament Controller Paul Bailey
email pbaileyREMOVETHESECAPITALS@sheffieldnomads.co.uk
mobile 078 12 49 49 57

*More detailed rules are available in the rules link.

Bulletin 1

Online  Excel, PDF. Thanks to Simon Dunkley. And a reminder: The area grader Jon Griffith is trialling online results reporting. The package produces automatically updating tables, results, fixtures, submitted match cards, and breakdown by team and player. Division 2 is here.
Feedback to Jon Griffith

British Rapidplay, Halifax, 21st-22nd Nov
website
There are just less than 3 weeks now to enter for the above tournament,  either for the Saturday and Sunday or for the Sunday only (in the case of adults). In the case of juniors there is a choice of Saturday only, Sunday only or both days.
Harry Baxter (via Bill Ward)

Division 2 Results Online

The area grader Jon Griffith is trialling online results reporting. The package produces automatically updating tables, results, fixtures, submitted match cards, and breakdown by team and player. Division 2 is here.
Feedback to Jon Griffith

Handbook Available

This season's handbook is now available as a webpage, Word document, pdf

Michael Clark email address

Michael Clark of Worksop has asked us to let captains know his email address is clarkmmcREMOVETHESECAPITALS@talk21.com

Email Chess

Webserver chess is an ideal way to improve your chess skills without the pressure of a ticking clock, although there are time restrictions eg 10 moves in 20 days and time saved is carried forward. The advantage is that you can research opening lines via books and so that annoying line that you get hit with in an OTB game is not likely to be effective. Computers are not allowed, but opening databases are allowed. Some players will try out new lines in this type of game. In this introductory event players will be grouped in sections of 5 players with one game against each player (2 whites 2 blacks) of approximately equal strength.

Phill Beckett

ICCF website http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Default.aspx
To participate contact familybeckett2REMOVETHESECAPITALS@aol.com