With Round 6, played on Tuesday 31st March, we moved towards the end of the season, with several promotion and relegation places now being decided.
At an individual level, we recorded 18 wins, 4 draws and 14 losses, translating into 4 match wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
Gremlin-wise, we had 4 default wins and 3 “near-miss” default losses (involving some frantic phone calls from myself!).
Division 1
Wessex A, facing one of the lower-graded teams in Division 1, produced an excellent performance to win comfortably. Victories from Jamie, Mark and Peter, plus a draw from David, secured the result.
Wessex A are now joint second on 8/10, and a win in Round 7 could see us reach the play-offs for a sixth consecutive season.
Wessex B faced a very strong Dundee City A side and came close to a major upset. A win from Richard and a draw from Adam meant we lost very narrowly. Hugo was better for much of his game, and Adam also had winning chances — on another night, the result could easily have gone our way.
With 3/12, we drop to 7th place and into the relegation zone. We will need a win in Round 7, along with favourable results elsewhere, to stay up.
Division 2
Wessex C continued to dominate Section A of Division 2 with a comfortable win over Worcestershire Wolfpack B. Wins from Jamie, Bill and Rob, plus a draw from Roger, take us to 11/12 and guarantee first place with one round remaining.
The play-offs now await us for the Division 2 title 😊
Wessex D faced Settle and drew a tight match 2–2, with wins from Tom and Robert.
With 4/12, we remain in 6th place. A draw in Round 7 should be enough to secure survival — setting up a tense final evening.
Division 3
Wessex E played London Deaf A, who out graded us on the top two boards and duly won. A good win from Andrea on board 4 was not enough, and we lost 3–1.
With 6/12, we sit in 5th place and, barring a series of unlikely Round 7 results, look set to avoid relegation.
Wessex F encountered the “Bromley juggernaut” and, like all others before us this season, lost comfortably.
With 4/12, we remain in 6th place, two points clear of the relegation zone, and look almost certain to stay up.
Wessex G won yet again — their fourth consecutive victory. A standout result came from Steven, who defeated a much higher-rated opponent with a neat rook sacrifice leading to checkmate. Further wins from Nathaniel, plus a default win for Rob, secured a comfortable match victory.
With 9/10, we remain joint first and firmly in contention for a play-off place.
Division 4
Wessex H had one of the most evenly matched encounters grade-wise and, with four decisive games (all won by White), drew 2–2. Our wins came from Tim and Sarah, who made a successful debut.
With 6/12, we move up to 13th (of 31) and look set for a solid mid-table finish
Wessex J were unfortunate to benefit from three default wins, and a draw from Steve ensured a 3½–½ victory.
With 5/12, we sit in 19th place (of 31) and are likely to finish mid-table.
Overall Summary
A good round for Wessex:
- Wins: Wessex A, C, G, J
- Draws: Wessex D, H
- Losses: Wessex B, E, F
Stats Corner
Golden Pawn Contest
This will go down to the wire in Round 7, with three players separated by just half a point:
- 4.5 – Tom Anderson
- 4.0 – Peter Anderson, Steven Charles
Best Wessex Result
Steven Charles achieved the standout performance of the round, defeating an opponent rated 356 points higher — the best result by any Wessex player this season.
Wessex War Horse Contest
Seven players remain in contention, having played all six rounds.
We have already used 59 different players this season.
Keith Gregory
4NCL Wessex Captain
3rd April 2026
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