Entries for the Sutton Coldfield Chess Club Championship were closed midnight 27th September. The draw for both sections, Open and Major, will be made and advertised mid-week with a view for the first round to be on Monday 4th October.
League Fixtures 2021-2022
Our league fixtures for the 2021-2022 season have finally been worked out, thanks to John Mildenhall. We are in two leagues: the Birmingham League (6 teams with 64 matches altogether), and the Cannock League (1 team with 4 matches). The Cannock League runs only till Xmas. Neither league is running any cup competitions. NB Postponements and rearrangements are still possible.
https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/league/club/72/35/club/fixtures
You will have to scroll down past the old WMAL results to get to the latest matches.
Club Night 20th September
On Monday 20th September the lounge, were we usually hold our sessions, will be closed for rebfurbishment. Unfortunately, the alternative back room will be in use too. So, any chess will have to occur in the bar, which is far from ideal. In addition, two of our regulars will be away at the Birmingham League AGM.
Committee News
The Executive Committee Meeting on 13st September was very productive. The six squads were chosen for the Birmingham League season, and then the six captains: Golam Ali 1st Team, John Mildenhall 2nd Team, and Rob Marks 3rd Team. These were familiar names and postholders so far, but the next three were newcomers: David Carpenter 4th Team, Dwight Reynolds 5th Team, and Adam Bialasiewicz 6th Team. Meanwhile John Mildenhall was restoring order to the chaos of the generated fixtures.
Club Championship
SUTTON COLDFIELD CHESS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
Open & Major sections, £50 & £30 first prizes
Starting soon!
- Entry is free to Members or soon-to-be Members.
- The Open section is open to all players.
- The Major section will be for players rated U1750 (U140 in old grades).
- Each section will be either Swiss or APA, so everyone gets more than 1 game.
- Games will be 75 minutes each, and will be rated (if both players are or become ECF Members).
NB These details may be amended depending on number of entries, etc.
For your diaries
A reminder that, as usual, the Chess Club will not be meeting on the Summer Bank Holiday, Monday 30th August.
Besides the normal casual chess games, on Monday 13th September there will be an Executive Committee Meeting to select squads and appoint Captains for the Birmingham League 2021-22 season, which is due to start on Monday 4th October.
If you haven’t already been in touch, and wish to play for Sutton Coldfield Chess Club, let us know soon. We are always looking for players of all, yes all, standards.
AGM 2021 Report
The headline decisions at our well-attended Annual General Meeting on Monday 16th August 2021 were to re-elect all the principal officers, and keep the annual subscriptions as they were pre-COVID (£20 adults, £10 juniors). Keith Escott, besides being re-elected Chairperson, was voted Clubman of the Year. Arthur Kent was unanimously appointed a Life Member. A vote of thanks was given to Neil Owen for his work as Online Director. Lastly, the meeting decided to enter 5 or 6 teams in the Birmingham League season that starts in October 2021.
AGM 16th August 2021
Sutton Coldfield Chess Club will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 16th August 2021, starting shortly after 7.30pm, at the Minworth Club & Lodge, Robinsons Way (off Water Orton Lane), Sutton Coldfield B76 9BB. Among other things, the meeting will elect Club Officials, and select Captains for the new season/s starting in the autumn.
Lightning Tourney 19th July
Congratulations to Marek Soszynski on winning the Lightning (Buzzer) Tournament on Monday 19th July with a perfect score of 7 wins from the 7 rounds. This was our chess club’s first over-the-board ‘event’ at the Minworth Social Club since the initial lockdown.
Sutton Coldfield Online Championship Result
Congratulations to Marek Soszynski for winning the inaugural SCCC Online Championship with a score of 26 points from 8 games. Commiserations to Peter Oliver and Larry Hayden who finished second and third respectively.
As I have no official prize to award, Marek will just have to revel in the respect and admiration of his peers. Now that the club is tentatively open, perhaps you could buy him his favourite tipple of Newcastle Brown Ale if you see him!
Over 20 games were played between members in the championship, but it is perhaps telling that I stopped receiving any results right around the time Minworth Club and Lodge re-opened! Clearly our members have been yearning for the return of OTB chess and (hopefully) this means I will be out of a job!
Stay safe, I hope to see you all after I’ve had my second jab!
Neil – SCCC Online Director
