Old News

IN AUGUST

Bexhill Chess Club will be holding their fun day of Chess on the Beach on Saturday 10th August.

Once again it is being hosted by The De La Warr Pavilion .

In previous years entry to the two competitions was done on the day,

but such has been the interest on the day it has been decided that

entry this year will be by pre booking.

Full details are on the Bexhill Chess Club website.

IN MAY

The Delancey UK Chess Challenge Megafinals took place.  This is a massive national competition for younger players (up to 18 years old) and there were two heats relatively near us, one in Canterbury on 4th May and one in Tunbridge Wells on 19th May.  It is a 6 round one day competition and cost £25 to enter.  Harvey entered and scored 2 1/2 out of 6, which is very good for a first time attempt.

IN APRIL

I think it was mostly progress on the internal competitions.

IN MARCH

On 27th March we held our annual Easter Egg blitz.  19 attended and we played 5 Rounds for everyone and then an extra 2 rounds for those staying late.

As there are 2 objectives, win the game and capture eggs so it's a bit complicated, but the results were;

Alex won the Junior Egg, Oliver captured most eggs in the adult section (I think he had 13 at the end, but not many game wins) and Arran won a clean sweep of 7 out of 7 to win the 'proper' competition.  He didn't end up with so many mini-eggs so we can see where his focus was.

Excellent attendance and a good, though tiring night, thankyou everyone for taking part, it will be quieter next week.

Arran played in the Reykjavik Open, along with about 400 others, a massive tournament and a tremendous, though exhausting experience.

IN FEBRUARY

On February 24th was a one day congress at Crowborough.  Details and results at ;

https://crowborough.org/club/39th-Congress.html

February 21st, we looked at some positions from our match versus Lewes and then progressed our internal competitions.

February 20th (Tuesday) saw a semi-final match away to Lewes in the SCL Knockout.  We have played them many times over the years and more often than not ended up on the wrong side of a tight match...and this was no different as we went down 3-1.  Arran was again the last to finish and once again if he had won then we would have progressed but it wasn't to be.  Michael felt he was much worse from quite early on and Brian was a pawn up but had trouble developing his queen side pieces and was trapped.  Mark had the worse position on the black side of a London System.  I admit my spirits dropped just seeing it on the board, I play bullet on-line and I suspect about 50% of all queen pawn openings are this. (It's not as bad as the French...I've given it up because 90% of games are the exchange variation).  Luckily my opponent retook a knight with a pawn which allowed some tactics and although nearly mated, escaped and won in the end.  The computer is much more confident of me winning than I was.

February 14th saw a reduced attendance (can't imagine why) and a lot of friendly games played.

February 2nd (Friday) was an away match at Bexhill in the Paul Watson Trophy.  This was a quarter final, so still a long way to go.  We have had some tight matches in these cups and this was probably the tightest of all, even if the scoreline was 3-1 to Bexhill.  Mark lost, Brian and Michael drew so because of the way tie-breaks work, if Arran won on Board 1 it would have been 2-2 and we would have progressed on 'board count'.  Arran had a completely winning position (2 pawns up in a rook and pawn ending) and just needed to find the right set up to force a pawn home.  Unfortunately he was playing on the 10 second increment and ran out of time...so lost.  A bad way to lose a game.  It happens, though it doesn't make it any easier when it does.

IN JANUARY

31st January saw a good attendance and lots of activity.  No progress in the Arran vs Mark Knockout since the replay also ended in a draw.  Whilst I wasn't sure either of us could face a second replay we did finally get a result on 7th February, Mark winning suddenly in a game we both thought might end in another draw.

On 24th January some progress was made with the club knockout competition, though not as much as we might have.  Arran versus Mark (a replay of last years final) ended in a draw, so goes to a replay where I am hoping to take advantage of the sloping pitch.  Elsewhere Jason beat Peter, thereby progressing to the next round.  

The 10th January was a SCL Knockout match versus Hastings which we won 3 1/2 to 1/2.  This was a particularly good performance because we were out rated on all boards.  Well played Arran, Michael (especially), Brian and Oliver.

27th DECEMBER

No chess club this week, we are having a little break, back on 3rd January

20th DECEMBER

Was our traditional pre-Christmas Blitz.  There wasn't turkey  but there were mince pies and coffee cake.  Results to follow, but there's a certain amount of illness about at the moment which meant fewer competitors than we would normally have.

30th NOVEMBER

Although we haven't entered a team in the Sussex League we are playing in the knockout competition.  Our first match was away to Haywards Heath.  It is a handicap competition, but as it happened the ratings totalled about the same, so it was an even match, which we won 3 1/2 to 1/2.  Brian won convincingly, delivering mate, Michael collected pawns from a dominant position and Mark, whilst being on top came under a lot of pressure before sorting things out, leading to a blunder by his opponent and a win.  The most impressive result was Arran, who drew with Feliks Kwiatkowski, many times Sussex champion.  He should have lost, could have won, but a draw was agreed in the end.  Terrific game and a terrific match result for us.  It means we advance to the next round where we will be playing Lewes.

29th NOVEMBER

14 came along to play a mixture of friendlies and club competition games.  We'll need a bigger room soon.

20TH NOVEMBER

Long time no news, but that is because we are quietly going about playing friendly chess every wednesday.

20TH SEPTEMBER 

12 or it might have been 13 took part in a Chess 960 blitz to send Oliver on his way to uni.  Oliver supplied cupcakes, thankyou.  Oh, and Brian won, closely followed by Arran and Oliver himself.

16TH SEPTEMBER (Saturday)

At the 38th Crowborough Chess Congress Arran scored 4/6 and won a grading prize, Mark 2 1/2 (could easily have been just 1/2) and Oliver 2.

There was also a Sussex Junior Chess competition - see https://sussexjuniorchess.org/calendar.  Sussex Junior Chess also organise training days and a whole series of other events during the year if you are interested.

30th AUGUST

we had 12 attendees last Wednesday and made some good progress with the internal competitions and lots of friendly games.  I'll post an update of progress on the competitions when I have the latest details from Brian.

19th AUGUST

Again nothing to do with us but but Saturday 19th August is Chess on the Beach in Bexhill from 11am.  Various things going on.

16TH JULY

Nothing to do with us but Sunday 16th July in Trafalgar Square was Chessfest, lots of chess based activities going on, mainly for youngsters should you be interested.

12TH JULY

At the AGM we voted to increase the annual subs for adults to £15 per year.  The subs for Juniors (under 18, £5) and the weekly charges for both adults (£2) and juniors (£1) are to stay the same.

9TH JUNE

Arran won the U1950 Section at the Kent Congress over the weekend, scoring a perfect 5/5.  He's on a bit of a roll at the moment.   Congratulations.

28TH JUNE

This was the last night of the current season...but we carry straight on into the next...starting next week.  

21ST JUNE

8 of us played a blitz tournament.  Arran won, Harvey came second (terrific performance) and Oliver 3rd.  Less said about some of us the better.

20TH MAY

I don't know how many of you took part in the ECF 24 hour blitz marathon in aid of the Red Cross...but I played a few games.  This is the second one of these and it does give you the chance to play very strong players..last year I played and lost to 2 GM's, one of which was close to a draw.  (I know that doesn't count).  This year I played Ameet Ghasi currently an IM but pushing to be a GM...and I had a shot at an advantage, which I missed, and lost in the end.  The position is here.

17th MAY

13 played in a 5-minute blitz tournament.  Good fun and a triumph for Oliver Christian who ended up with a perfect 8 out of 8.  Arran and Mark followed with a distant 6 1/2 each.

29th APRIL

Our last MSCL League match of the season away to Eastbourne 4 was a return to the form at the start of the season and we won 4-0.  Looking at the scores on the right Eastbourne appear to be a  lucky club for us, two 4-0 victories over their 4th and 5th teams.

9th APRIL

Over the weekend Arran won the U2000 section at the Coulsdon Easter Congress, scoring 4.5/5.  Congratulations to him.

5th APRIL

12 took part in the Easter Egg 960 Blitz, with Arran running out the winner (again).  I can't remember who won the other prizes, but no doubt Brian will let me know.  There were some impressive hauls of mini-eggs, mostly by the younger players.

29th MARCH

Arran talked through an interesting game, emphasising that using basic principles can be enough.  Fast development, occupying the centre and particularly not wasting moves by moving the same piece from square to square can lead to a significant advantage.  Very interesting it was too.

CHESS NINE-O  4th MArch

8 of us attended Warrens house to play chess 960 to commemorate his 90th birthday.  It was good fun, 7 rounds and Arran beat Mark in a last round play-off to win the tournament.  (I have to say this, our earlier game was a draw as it doesn't happen very often.)  Thankyou to Warren for his hospitality, the prizes and the opportunity to celebrate his birthday.

CROWBOROUGH CHESS CONGRESS

A belated note that Arran and Oliver played in the Crowborough one day congress.  Arran was in contention for one of the main prizes right up until the last game and ended with a 'grading' prize, so congratulations to him.  

CONTACT DETAILS

You should all be getting an email from Mark about your contact details, just to make sure everything is up to date.  If you do not get one, but should, then please contact me...attreemark0@gmail.com . Thanks  Mark.

CLUB NIGHT ON 11th JUNE

Due to unforeseen circumstances, club attendance on Wednesday 11th July is likely to be extremely low-or indeed nonexistent.  Although I havent seen an email from Brian it is likely to be cancelled.  For some reason people would rather be watching the football.

AGM on Wednesday 27th June

But we also played some chess, starting the 2018/2019 internal competitions.

BACK TO NORMAL  CLUB NIGHT 25/4

Hello all

 Well for us the season is over, with the first team safe in Division 2 and the second team having had a good season in Division 4, just missing out on promotion by one point, but that was never the main aim of the season as our younger players gained more experience.  The first team’s last match away to Woodpushers 1 ended in a 3-2 loss but I understand we were closer still with Chaski returning to winning ways and Arran and Michael drawing, though I have seen Michael’s game and midway through he was well ahead but lost positional strength under time pressure, which we hope is not a precursor for his A-level exams !

 A message from Mark as first team captain:-

 Via the Mid sussex Chess website I can confirm that we are safe in Division 2 for next season, so thank you to everyone who played during the year. We had a frustrating season as I thought we might be pushing for promotion when we set out but some of us struggled for form throughout the year (and more often struggled to find the right moves) and we had several close matches where we were just unable to convert our good positions into wins.  Unfortunately these more often than not lost us half a match point, either drawing when we should have won, or losing when we should have drawn.  In the end it was enough for safety and for this we can thank our good team result against both Hastings sides and a good victory against our relegation rivals Lewes 2. Onwards and upwards, or just onwards as one of my school masters used to say, we can relax, enjoy the weather and regroup for next season.  As always we will see one or two changes to personnel (Michael may not be able to play all that regularly for example) and I hope we can bring a strong player into the squad to aid Chaski at the top end.

Thank you once again. Mark 

The annual Easter Egg night was fun as always, with nine attending.  Arran won the tournament, with Mark second and Stephen third and all of the Juniors attending went home with Easter Eggs !!

 So now we are back to normal (?) club sessions with all of our internal club competitions ready for action.  A full round-up of their current state will be given before the next club night but tomorrow’s focus must be on the Knockout competition as the quarter-finals must be completed by the end of the session.

 Hope to see you then !

Best regards, Brian

EASTER EGG BLITZ

Arran Airlie played a near faultless evening of blitz to win with a score of 7 1/2 out of 8. Congratulations.  Well played to Daniel Longley for gaining the only draw when Arran, very short of time, liquidated into a position where Daniel only had a lone king, before Arran's flag fell.  An exciting end to the game.  Full results to follow.

CLUB NIGHT 11TH APRIL

Yes, it is the last reminder for this Wednesday 11th and our annual Easter Egg club night. Please try and arrive by 7.30.pm so that we can prepare the start of the event for 7.45.pm.  If you arrive earlier then you may be able to fit in a match in one of the club competitions.

 Speaking of which, the quarter-finalists for our Knockout tournament are now complete:- Michael Stockham v Brian Gallington;  Arran Airlie v Simon McDonald;  Brian Stockham v Chaski Patrick;  Benedict Weis v Ali Ullah.  There will without doubt be no time on Wednesday to complete these matches, so I urge all of the foregoing to be at our next club night on 25th April so that we now stay on track.

April 18th, last First Team match of the season.  we aren't safe from relegation from Division 2 and will need a match draw against Woodpushers away to be certain.

CLUB NIGHT 28TH MARCH

Next club night and does include the last second team game. I don't think that we can gain promotion any more following some other results, so possibly an experimental team...isn't that what you do?

CLUB NIGHT MARCH 14TH

There is a home first team match on this night also which ended in a draw v Hastings 2.

CLUB NIGHT WEDNESDAY 28th FEBRUARY

Coincides with a first team game, line up to be confirmed.

NEXT CLUB NIGHT

Is on February 14th.  We do not have a match that night so it is an opportunity to make some progress with the club competitions.  Of course,some people may have other arrangements that night...or you could think ahead, like Brian.

This is just a quick reminder for you all to attend the next session this Wednesday 14th February.  I know it’s Valentine’s Day but such is commitment that I have had the foresight to treat my wife starting out on the Tuesday, but to be back for the club night.  So I hope you will all have done the same ! 

Given that the first round of the Knockout tournament has to be completed by the end of February, we have two sessions left in this month and to date none of the first round matches have been completed. We had to decide the preliminary round on attendance only, so I am hoping that we do not have to do the same in the first round.  There are no league matches this week, so it is an excellent opportunity to complete.  The revised first round draw is as follows:-  Ken Swanton v Michael Stockham;  Brian Gallington v Nathan Ridley;  Daniel Longley v Arran Airlie;  Stephen Perris v Simon McDonald;  Bobbie Ridley v Brian Stockham;  Mark Attree v Chaski Patrick;  Benedict Weis v Artur Mieczkowski;  Tom Stanistreet v Ali Ullah.

  Our second team has also now dropped to third in Division 4, so making even with one match in hand any chance of promotion quite slim as we cannot now catch the division leaders. There is an important match tonight between leaders Worthing 4 and Sussex University 2. 

I am hoping for a fuller attendance on Wednesday as I have still not had registration forms for some of our players, which I need completed for a variety of reasons connected with the club’s management, not least the League rules.  If you know you have not completed one as yet, I attach a form if you want to complete it and either send it or hand it to me on arrival, to save me bothering you during the evening. 

Without wishing to deter anyone from attending for financial reasons, Mark and I have also been liaising regarding the club’s finances.  We still have a large outstanding sum which the club has settled for match fees for last season and we need to keep chasing individuals for settlement to help keep the club afloat.  It is worth reminding yet again that if you are not an ECF member then we need to ask you for a match fee of £2.50 per match.  Currently the club’s members who are on the ECF 2017/18 membership are:- Mark, Daniel, Chaski, Bobbie, Brian S, Michael and Benedict.  I would urge everyone else that over a year it works out far cheaper (and is of course far easier for the club’s officers) if you have a Bronze membership of the English Chess Federation.  Please the rest of you go onto their website and join ! We will be starting to chase for this year’s fees much earlier. 

Mark and I have also become aware of some members who are attending club nights and not putting their £2 in the pot for the night. It is a simple thing to do, and not easily forgotten when you sign in and have the habit, but we have to remind you that we have to pay for the use of the premises. We are now noting non-payment and you will be chased for payment - as it is a club rule, and we are therefore obliged to do, much as we both hate to spend our time doing it .  Having said that, if any member is facing financial hardship please speak to one of us in confidence and we will be sympathetic. 

Speaking of the ECF, the new grades are out and changes are as follows (standard grades unless specified) :-  Arran – up from 138 to 139;  Mark down from 145 to 142;  Philip down from 89 to 86;  Jack up from 123 to 127  (Rapid stays at 106);  Daniel no Standard as yet, but Rapid stays at 88;  Simon stays at 136;  Artur now confirmed as 124;  Chaski down from 206 to 192;  Bobbie now has a Rapid of 78;  Nathan down from 93 to 89;  Brian S down from 134 to 127 (Rapid stays at 135); Michael up from 115 to 124 (Rapid down from 149 to 138);  Benedict now confirmed as 122 (Rapid up from 88 to 110).  New member Joe’s last Rapid grade was Jan 17 and at 104. Steve’s last standard grade was Jan 13 at 131, but we are playing him currently under an estimated grade of 110.  Dave’s last standard grade was Jan 12 at 116, and we have played him under an estimated grade of 85. Ken’s last standard grade was Jan 15 at 54.  I guess all of the foregoing shows that few of us are having a great season, but Michael and Benedict deserve a special mention and congratulations.  In the remaining games, let us all play to increase our grades again in July ! 

Finally I have an appeal to make to all club members. I had found a very good source for trophies and engraving in Heather Stonebridge, who briefly had a shop called Elysium in the High Street. She was more recently continuing to work in that line part-time from her home in Maresfield and we must be very grateful as in our recent batch of perennial trophies presented last year, she provided some at a very reasonable price.  I had coached her young sons for a while.  Sadly I have learned that she passed away, aged only 40 years, on New Year’s Day after a long illness.  I have conveyed my and indeed our sympathies to her husband Neil.  However that leaves us needing a new trophy engraver, so if anyone has an ideas please let me know.  For information, I have actually since found a very well-priced outlet for any trophies we may need in the future, if anyone is interested. 

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.  For those with diaries, next sessions:-

28th February – First team home to Lewes 2.

14th March – First team home to Hastings 3.

28th March – Second team home to Haywards Heath 2.

11th April – EASTER EGG NIGHT !

NEXT  CLUB NIGHT

On 24th January, coinciding with a First Team game versus Crowborough.  Players have been asked about availability (whilst trying to avoid disqualifying anyone from the Second Team, so please let me know as soon as you can whether you can play.

Mark

FIRST CLUB NIGHT OF NEW YEAR

From Brian

Hello all

 I hope you had a great Christmas, and belatedly wish you all the happiest of New Years !

 It is our first club session this Wednesday 10th and we hope to see all members there.  We have a potential new member coming along in Joe Light, who is now just short of 17 years old and is one of my best chess students over the years and more often than not has given Michael many a hard game in competition over that time as a fellow school captain and regular at local Academy events.  Unfortunately I will be involved in the match below so hope there will be other senior members there to welcome Joe and give him a game. Obviously there is a match so the best of order will be required.

 The second team match is at home to East Grinstead 2, and as no-one has contacted me as regards not playing, the team will be as follows:-

 1:- Brian Stockham;  2:- Artur Mieczkowski;  3:- Michael Stockham;  4:- Stephen Perris;  5:- Benedict Weis.  Reserve for the night will be Daniel Longley.

Please can all of the above acknowledge this message by return, or text me on 07790 018445 so that I do not have to chase round on Tuesday evening.  Please can all be at the Luxford Centre before 1920 hrs to ensure we are comfortable before the start.  It is an MSL rule that if the away team is present and complete, they can insist on clocks being started at 1930 hrs.

 Currently we are second in Division 4, but have played more games than anyone else so it is questionable whether we can maintain a promotion position to the end of the season.  We definitely need to win this match to keep the pressure on the other teams and hope for the best.

 Best regards

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Christmas party night was a great success, albeit we had just nine members present, but many thanks to all who provided elements for the buffet, including Ken who was not present but sent a donation. The fact that we had a fair amount of stuff left at the end shows how well that went, as ably marshalled by my wife.  The fun chess element was something else as we played a jumbled back line of pieces which changed for each round and five minutes each on the clock.  Chaski gave a masterclass to all of us in quickly understanding the potential for each piece and having excellent strategy and finished unbeaten on 7/7, but well done also to Michael on 6/7 and Benedict on 5/8. Everyone scored so it was good. 

This is just a quick reminder to all that there will be no session as might have been expected on Wednesday 27th. 

Our next club session is on Wednesday 10th January, when our second team has a match at home to East Grinstead 2.  If anyone will not be available, please let me know. 

In the mean time, have the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years !

Brian

CHRISTMAS SESSION

EARLY NOTICE – Our last club session of the year will be on Wednesday 13th December, which will of course be our Christmas party when we will have a fun evening for all.  Please can all make an offer and bring something for the buffet.  It would be helpful if you could let me know what you are bringing before then, and I will send out a reminder closer to the event. 

As an aside I noted that only four of us have so far joined the English Chess Federation for the current season.  This is a way of preventing bills for match fees at the end of the season which are currently £2.50 per game.  I know Mark still has a number of outstanding fees from last season and we will have to pursue those as otherwise our club fees will be wiped out.  Maybe we should issue vouchers so that Santa might help people out ? 

By the Christmas session, I will have both the Handicap Split and the Knockout competitions sorted (see Internal Competitions page) out, as I will use our junior players who attend Uckfield Junior next week to help me with the draw for the latter. - Brian

NEXT CLUB NIGHT

Just a reminder to all that we have a club session on Wednesday 22nd.  This will feature a second team Division 4 match at home to Woodpushers 3, so the best of order will be required.  At the last, I was intending to make the draw for the Knockout tournament, but at the last minute due to a player absence I was drafted into the first team. I do hope that we will be able to fit in the draw this time, though obviously my attention will be mainly on the match. 

Our team for the match will be:- 

1:-  Brian Stockham;  2:-  Artur Mieczkowski;  3:-  Michael Stockham;  4:-  Stephen Perris;  5:-  Benedict Weis.   Reserve in the event of illness:- Daniel Longley. 

Please can all be there by 1920 hrs in case our opponents arrive for the early start.  It would also be helpful if others could arrive to help with the set-up of the room from 1845 hrs. Please can all team members respond either to this email, or by text, to confirm that you have seen this email, which will save me chasing you during tomorrow evening. 

I am struggling also to fill a team for next Monday 27th for our second team away match at Sussex University, which on paper we should be able to win.  I am assuming that Artur and Nathan Ridley are able to play, but I know that Steve is not available, and we try not to use Junior players on away matches – unless the closeness of this one where we should be back by 2300 hrs makes a difference, or a parent could collect from the University if their youngster finishes earlier ?  If anyone on this circular could respond I would be grateful as I do not want us to register our first default loss.

Please check at the next club night whether you owe money for MSCL games from last season or your annual subscription.  Thankyou.

MSCL KNOCKOUT COMPETITION

Defending champions, our first game was away to Sussex Uni on 2nd November.  Unfortunately we drew, which meant we lost.

NEXT SECOND TEAM GAME

is on 7th November, away.

NEXT CLUB NIGHT

Wednesday 8th November, also the second First Team game of the season.

MSCL FIXTURE LISTS

The fixture lists for this season have been published - see MSCL site.  Our first match is 1st team away to Eastbourne on 20th October, 2nd Team play 25th.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION AND GAME FEE

A reminder that it is time to pay the annual membership fee and for those of you who played in league games last year to pay the game fee.  This is £2.50 per game so it is generally better to join the ECF for £15 a year....do the maths!  By playing in the league you are agreeing to pay this and each year the League gets a bill which is passed on to the club.  This year the bill is over £100 and the club cannot afford to pay that.

26th SEPTEMBER 2017

This year's edition of Sussex Chess News has just been published where you will see we have an entry.  Apologies for team members not in the photograph, but it had to be taken and forwarded swiftly so we used a club night, and I think I did give a little advance notice.

I have just received the first and second team league fixtures for the coming season, so will assimilate them over the next day or so, then circulate to all.  I have noticed one anomaly which I have addressed with the fixtures secretary immediately.

Attached also please find our new registration form, which needs completing and return to me. I will have paper copies with me at the club session tonight.  If you are not going to be at a session soon, please complete and scan/copy then send to me.  It is important to have these, which should be alongside payment of annual membership fees to Mark.

Apologies for the delay with this circular, but have been exceptionally busy recruiting new juniors for all of my school clubs.

2017/18 club competitions are underway

The Mid Sussex Chess League will start early October so we are in training (not).  Last year we entered two teams in the league and hope to do the same this year.  We also entered the Knockout Competition and a team in the Rapidplay Division, which is mostly junior players.

REPORT FROM 2016/17 AGM  Brian Stockham

The last club session included our Annual General Meeting. The date on which this is held had been delayed so that we hold it at the end of a season, so we covered a lot more months for business purposes than had been previously the case. In the future we will be holding meetings, as for this last season, which cover the whole of our season activity. 

The minutes of the meeting will be circulated in due course, but there are some important points to be circulated to all. It was a great shame that all members were not present, and there was only one apology for absence received. 

The officers of the club have now radically changed. From being a founder of the club and holding office since its inception, Ken Swanton felt on the grounds of age (all of us were surprised when Ken confided his actual age !) and health reasons, Ken felt he had to step down from holding all of the club positions.  It was the unanimous wish of all present that Ken be given the position of Life President of the club, which he accepted.  Mark Attree took the position of Treasurer, and I have taken on the dual roles of Chairman and Secretary. 

The Mid Sussex League shield for the Knockout Competition was shown to all, which I had collected at the MSL AGM a few weeks before.  This has been engraved with our name, the second time we have won the shield, and will be passed around team members for their enjoyment and celebration during the season. 

We also presented the new perpetual trophies for our club competitions:- Simon MacDonald was not present but won the Standard Play competition, with Brian Stockham second and Daniel Longley, Chris Dunn and Michael Stockham all third equal;  Mark Attree won the Blitz competition, with Philip Fletcher second, Brian Stockham third, Michael Stockham fourth and Simon MacDonald fifth;  Brian Stockham won the Rapid Play competition, with Michael Stockham second and Mark Attree, Chris Dunn & Simon MacDonald third equal; Michael Stockham won the Grand Prix ranking tournament, with Bobbie Ridley second and Jack Graham & Nathan Ridley third equal;  the Handicap Split was also won by Michael Stockham, with Brian Stockham second, Ken Swanton third and Daniel Longley fourth; the Knockout Cup was won by Brian Stockham, with Daniel Longley the runner-up.     A big thank you to all of the trophy donors, who were acknowledged at the AGM as will be shown in the minutes, with all of the trophies having been engraved with previous winners since we started club competitions.  It was decided at the AGM that we would use one of our former trophies to present to the Top Junior player for the season at the AGM.  It was the unanimous view of all present that our top Junior this season has been Jack Graham, who sadly could not be there for the presentation. 

We obviously as always need to recruit more members for next season.  Membership and subscriptions will remain the same for the next season, but the latter will be kept under review by our new Treasurer and I guess this is the first appeal for the annual membership to be paid to Mark as soon as you are able, but we only do the draw for the season’s Knockout Cup competition in late September to include paid members.  Several initiatives for recruiting were discussed, with individual members making offers.  If you have anything to offer, please let me know.  We have been making urgent enquiries for the creation of a website which are progressing well, so hopefully more news soon.  My wife Tessa has agreed that whenever possible, for home matches next season she will assist with the refreshments – any further offers of help at club sessions too would be similarly appreciated, or maybe we could do with a rota !? 

Let us look forward to the new season after a fairly successful one.  We only had time to play a few games after a fairly lengthy AGM, so with the first full session of the new season tomorrow, it would be good to get going again on all of our internal club competitions.  Remember – if you are challenged to a game, you have to accept !!