News
Grand-Master Simul at Snodland Chess Club
Snodland Chess Club are hosting a simultaneous display vs GM Sergey Tiviakov at 7.15pm on Tuesday 27th February.
If you would be interested in playing, or would like further information, then please click the link below.
There is a minimum £10 donation, to cover our costs for the event.
January 2024 Ratings
The ECF has recently published the January ratings, the first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play. A P suffix indicates a provisional rating that should be treated with discretion. The September 2023 ratings will continue to be used throughout the season for KCCA League events.
Chris Brown 1623, 1482
Gary Clifford 1531
Alistair Compton 2120, 2094
Lindon Dirmauskas 1273P
Joshua Gillespie 1613
Oliver James 1923P
Tyrone Jefferies 1558, 1377
Peter Lloyd 1767
Eddie Marker 1421P
Keith Nevols 1890, 1779
Terry Ogden 1490
Trefor Owens 2011
Alex Skerten 1522P
Rob Springett 1661
Toby Stock 2065, 1986
Martin Taylor 2394, 2250
Andy Waters 1920, 1882
September 2023 Ratings
The ECF has recently published the September ratings, the first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play. These ratings will be used throughout the season for KCCA League events.
Aditi Agarwal 1646
David Barnes 1932
Chris Brown 1601, 1441
Gary Clifford 1516
Alistair Compton 2109, 2094
Lindon Dirmauskas 1273
Joshua Gillespie 1612
Tyrone Jefferies 1555, 1378
Peter Lloyd 1767
Eddie Marker 1425
Keith Nevols 1899, 1779
Terry Ogden 1479
Trefor Owens 1993
Alex Skerten 1549
Rob Springett 1657
Toby Stock 2069, 1986
Martin Taylor 2363, 2246
Andy Waters 1861, 1909
KCCA Tournaments Knock-Out Stage
Our first team have a home tie against Beckenham and Bromley in the Lewis Cup semi-final and our second team have an away tie to Charlton 2 in their semi-final. Dates for these matches will be published once arranged.
Unfortunately our first team lost their home tie v Beckenham as did our second team away to Charlton so consequently we will not have a team at Finals Day this season.
January 2023 Ratings
The ECB has recently published the January ratings, the first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play. For most members the September 2022 ratings will continue be used for KCCA League events although the tournament controller may impose use of a January rating for those who don't have an A category rating.
Aditi Agarwal 1578
David Barnes 1932
Chris Brown 1538, 1552
Gary Clifford 1509
Alistair Compton 2107, 2094
Lindon Dirmauskas 1273
Tyrone Jefferies 1574, 1361
Peter Lloyd 1756
Keith Nevols 1919, 1798
Terry Ogden 1425
Trefor Owens 1992, 2043
Rob Springett 1672
Toby Stock 2103, 1986
Tom Stonehouse 1795
Martin Taylor 2384, 2220
Andy Waters 1899, 1946
Rail Strikes
Our Stevenson Cup match at home to Swale that was scheduled for Wednesday 9th November has been postponed because of a rail strike that will impact the availability of players.
Summer Quickplay
With three wins and a draw from the group stage our team has qualified for the semi-final of this event.
After beating Beckenham in the semi we are now through to the final with an away match at Hastings.
Rainham comfortably beat Hastings to record our first ever triumph in this event.
September 2022 Ratings
The ECB has recently published the September ratings, the first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play. These ratings will be used throughout the season for KCCA League events.
Aditi Agarwal 1578
David Barnes 1932
Chris Brown 1572
Aaron Clark 1165
Gary Clifford 1504
Alistair Compton 2105
Lindon Dirmauskas 1273
Andrew Gillard 1534
Keith Hyde 1865
Tyrone Jefferies 1567
David Lettington 1615
Peter Lloyd 1755
Keith Nevols 1924
Terry Ogden 1371
Trefor Owens 1985, 2043
Rob Springett 1646
Toby Stock 2115, 2013
Tom Stonehouse 1795
Martin Taylor 2379
Andy Waters 1885, 1926
AGM
The Club Annual General Meeting was held yesterday evening, Wednesday 24th August. The two most significant decisions made were to increase the fees (see Membership for the new rates) and to run a fourth team in the Tom Fuller Cup this coming season which will provide additional opportunities for developing players to compete in league chess.
Semi-finals and Finals
Our first team had a bad day at the office and succumbed to Lewisham in the final of the County Cup, it was the 29th time that Lewisham have won the trophy since it was established in 1890.
With the knowledge that we couldn't sensible field a competitive second team on Finals Day we conceded our Stevenson Cup semi-final to Petts Wood.
Out third team team lost their semi-final against a very strong Charlton team.
Stevenson Cup, thru to the semi-final
Our second team won their group and consequently are have qualified for a match at home to Petts Wood 2 in the semi-final; a date has yet to be arranged.
Rainham make the County Cup final
For the first time in the club's history we have reached the final of the County Cup, the premier team tournament of the KCCA, when we will face Lewisham 1 on Finals Day, June 18th.
Harvey Cup, thru to the semi-final
Our third team finished as runners up in the group stage and consequently are drawn away to Charlton 2 in the semi-final; a date has yet to be arranged.
Harvey Cup Medway 1 v Rainham 3
The Harvey cup match away to Medway has now been scheduled for Wednesday 30th March.
Stevenson Cup and Harvey Cup Updates
I am pleased to confirm that the two recent Stevenson Cup fixture's have now been arranged
Wednesday 13th April Rainham 2 v Maidstone 2
Wednesday 4th May Maidstone 2 v Rainham2
The Harvey Cup match away to Medway on Wednesday 9th February has now been postponed, a new date will arranged in due course
Stevenson Cup Maidstone 2 v Rainham 2
The Stevenson Cup match has now been postponed, a new date should be announced shortly.
Harvey Cup
The Harvey match has now been postponed, the new date has been arranged for Wednesday 6th April.
There will now a Problem Solving evening instead on Wednesday 26th January
January 2022 Ratings
The ECB has recently published the January ratings, the first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play. The August 2021 will continue to be used throughout the season for KCCA League events.
Aditi Agarwal 1578
David Barnes 1966
Aaron Clark 1165
Gary Clifford 1498
Alistair Compton 2124
Keith Hyde 1856
Tyrone Jefferies 1605
David Lettington 1615
Keith Nevols 1974
Trefor Owens 1968
Rob Springett 1623
Toby Stock 2083
Tom Stonehouse 1795
Martin Taylor 2384
Andy Waters 1838
Covid Omicron, update December 17th
The Christmas Handicap competition scheduled for December 22nd has been postponed. The next club night will now be January 12th.
In line with Government advice mask wearing is now mandated at the club unless you have a medical exemption.
Stevenson Cup Rainham 2 v Maidstone 2
The Stevenson Cup match has been postponed since Maidstone were unable to raise a team. A new date has yet to be agreed.
August 2021 Ratings
The following ratings are likely to be used throughout the season for KCCA tournaments. The first figure represents the standard play rating, where present the second represents that the rapid play.
Aditi Agarwal 1578
David Barnes 1975
Aaron Clark 1165
Gary Clifford 1503
Alistair Compton 2118
Tyrone Jefferies 1555
Nikki Kourmandraki 1195
David Lettington 1630
Chris Marshall 1788
Trefor Owens 1960, 2043
Stephen Pike 1795
Rob Springett 1608
Tom Stonehouse 1795
Martin Taylor 2358
Constantine Tucker 1630
Andy Waters 1848
To assist players assess their opponents strength the grade to rating conversion is:
(ELO rating) = 700 + 7.5 * (ECF Grade)
50 grade = 1075 rating
60 = 1150
70 = 1225
80 = 1300
90 = 1375
100 = 1450
110 = 1525
120 = 1600
130 = 1675
140 = 1750
150 = 1825
160 = 1900
170 = 1975
180 = 2050
190 = 2125
200 = 2200
LiChess tournament on July 7th cancelled
As this clashes with the England v Denmark football match at Wembley.
Trefor retains the Club Championship
Trevor Owens emerged as the winner of the Club Championship which was again held online this season. He scored four wins and a draw to retain the title that he won last season.
County Championship over the board matches - 2021
The ECF is organising a three round over-the-board county tournament, with two sections for teams of eight players, one for players averaging 2000 (formerly 173) and the other averaging 1600 (120). Matches are planned for Saturdays 14th August, 4th September and 25th September. With Average Ratings we should be able to fit in players of all levels. Kent would be in the South East group. Home games at Dartford but with some travelling likely, possibly across the Thames to play Essex at Wanstead House or round the M25 to play Surrey at Cheam, but it could be further afield. Rob Thompson ( thompsonrg@gmail.com )will captain the Average 1600 team. We’re still looking for an Average 2000 captain (if there are any offers!) There are more details in the attachment.
Matches are planned for Saturdays 14 August, 4 September and 25 September.
If any members have been missing over-the-board chess and would be interested in playing contact David.J.Gilbert@btinternet.com direct with the dates they you likely to be free.
Club suspended - posted 21st March 2020, latest update 16th September 2021
All club meetings are suspended and matches postponed until at least the end of April when the Club Committee will review the situation. We aren't alone in pursuing this action, many other clubs including Maidstone, Medway, and even the venerable Hastings Chess Club which stayed open during two world wars have also shut their doors.
Update 27th April - The Committee are awaiting the Government's expected announcement on May 7th so the club is further suspended until at least mid May.
Update 12th May - In light of the UK Government's advice, the club will remain closed until at least the end of June.
Update 30th June - We remain closed until the end of July.
Update 25th July - We remain closed until the end of August.
Update 12th August - The Club Championship has now commenced online.
Update 29th August - We remain closed until the end of September.
Update 15th September - Whilst the government's 'rule of six' is in operation attempting to reopen the club isn't practical. When this rule is deprecated the possibility of reopening the club for over the board chess will be reviewed.
Update 6th October. - The team Rainham has been set up on LiChess which we will use to facilitate internal online tournaments.
Update 22nd February 2021 - In light of the UK Government announcement today it is hoped that the club may reopen for over the board chess in late June 2021.
Update 14th June 2021 - As the Government has delayed the final phase of re-opening club reopening has also been delayed until at least late July.
Update 17th July 2021 - We expect to reopen the club on Wednesday 28th July and hope to confirm this very shortly.
Update 26th July 2021 - We expect to reopen the club in August or September.
Update 4th August 2021 - We intend to reopen the club on Wednesday 25th August.
Update 18th August 2021 - Our reopening is now delayed until September 15th when we will hold the Annual General Meeting. Members are strongly encouraged to attend and vote how the club should operate for the coming season.
Update 16th September 2021 - The club has now reopened.
Thanet Congress 2021 Cancelled
Unfortunately this years Congress has been cancelled.
British Championships 2021 Cancelled
The ECF has decided to cancel the full Championships for a second year although a distributed OTB Championship is being considered for October 2021. A full Championship is scheduled for summer 2022 in Torquay.
ECF Ratings - posted September 11th 2020 - updated November 30th 2020, further updated February 10th 2021
As many of you may be aware the ECF is moving towards an ELO type rating system with monthly updates. The first publication of this new system occurred this month and the ratings for Rainham players are shown below. The first value is for standard play and where present the second is for rapid play. (Due to the paucity of over the board chess and to avoid many players becoming unrated the ECF have extended the validity period of games to include in ratings. A quirk of this decision means that a number of players now have a rapid rating re-established, these are shown in italics below.)
February 2021 - The ECF has recently published the January 2021 list and it should come as no suprise that all ratings are unchanged from last year.
Aditi Agarwal 1578
David Barnes 1975
Aaron Clark 1165
Gary Clifford 1503
Alistair Compton 2118
Tyrone Jefferies 1555, 1555
Nikki Kourmandraki 1195
David Lettington 1630
Chris Marshall 1788
Trefor Owens 1960, 2043
Joe Pay 1308
Steve Pike 1795
Rob Springett 1608
Tom Stonehouse 1795
Martin Taylor 2358, 2410
Constantine Tucker 1630
Andy Waters 1848, 1848
Exactly how future grade limited KCCA tournaments will be managed is not currently known. What is clear however is that calculating a change to a players rating is considerably more complex than for ECF grades. Consequently it will not be practical to maintain players' performance figures when playing matches for the club and so unlike in past seasons our club website will not display such information for future matches.
ECF Grades - posted July 25th 2020
The ECF has just published the six monthly update to players grades. The new grades for club members are shown below, the first figure is the standard grade and where present the second represents the rapidplay grade.
Aditi Agarwal 117
David Barnes 170
Aaron Clark 62
Gary Clifford 107
Alistair Compton 189
Tyrone Jefferies 114
Nikki Kourmandraki 66
David Lettington 124
Chris Marshall 145
Trefor Owens 168, 179
Joe Pay 81
Stephen Pike 146
Rob Springett 121
Tom Stonehouse 146
Martin Taylor 221, 228
Constantine Tucker 124
Andy Waters 153
KCCA League suspended - posted 15th March 2020, updated 4th October 2020
The KCCA Committee have decided to suspend the league forthwith in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, consequently our outstanding three fixtures are postponed indefinitely.
At the KCCA AGM held on 17th September a vote was held that declared the 2019 season 'null and void'. So no trophies will be avoided but the results of matches will presumably stay on the record.