Minor News

Apr

13

Team Battle: It’s Poole Again

There was an excellent turn-out with 39 players taking part. Whilst not notching up as many points as last time, Poole once again comfortably won the team battle, led by Oscar Garcia who berserked in every game, meaning he got extra points for winning but had only 2 minutes and 30 seconds and no increment [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL Online Penultimate Round – Wessex Results and Game

Apr

07

4NCL Online Penultimate Round – Wessex Results and Game

Results In round 6 of season 3 of 4NCL Online the Wessex teams had mixed results, winning 2, drawing 3 and losing 3. With one round to go the situation is already clear for some teams whilst for others the final round will be critical. The A team lost 1.5 - 2.5 against the very [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Online West of England County Championship – End of Season Report

Apr

01

Online West of England County Championship – End of Season Report

Ian Clark has sent the following end of season report on the Online West of England County Championship which ran from January to March 2021. The very first online County championship was efficiently organised by Ian George of Cornwall. The decision for us to play was made after asking Dorset players who wished to take […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Mar

30

Imperious Poole Pulverise in Team Battle!

It has been a while coming but was always on the cards. Poole's top players all hit form on the same evening and scored a mightily impressive 127 point in the Team Battle, by far and away the highest total so far. It was also good to see that they turned out with eight players. [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL Online Round 5 – Wessex Results and Game

Mar

24

4NCL Online Round 5 – Wessex Results and Game

Results It was a return to normal service with a good set of results for the Wessex teams last night as they won six matches and lost only two. With just two more rounds to go there is a lot to play for. The A team won again against strong opposition. It is now not [...]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts beat Somerset in the final round

Mar

22

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts beat Somerset in the final round

Dorset & Wilts finished the Western Counties on a high, beating Somerset 9-7 in the final round. The match was decided on the bottom boards: the top 8 boards were level on 4-4 but Dorset and Wilts won the bottom 8 boards 5-3. Once again Allan Pleasants acquitted himself very well, having the better side [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Mar

16

West Dorset Jedi win Team Battle

There were new winners in the team battle last night as West Dorset Jedi walked away with the event. Congratulations to the Jedi who had the night's top scorer and joint second top scorer in Allan Pleasants and Kevin Goater. This is only the second time either Poole or Southbourne have not won. Poole did [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL Online Round 4 – Wessex Results, Tables and Game

Mar

10

4NCL Online Round 4 – Wessex Results, Tables and Game

Results Having had a good Round 3 two weeks ago the Wessex teams had a pretty terrible Round 4 last night. Starting with the good news, the A team won again and in style, 3.5 - 0.5. Antonio Matinez-Sykora's win on board 4 is given at the end of this report. The OK news is [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Western Counties Championship – Dorset and Wilts lose to Devon

Mar

08

Western Counties Championship – Dorset and Wilts lose to Devon

Dorset and Wilts went down 12.5 - 3.5 to Devon. Ian Clark, captain of the Dorset and Wilts team, comments that, "The result was very good and we have had the best result against Devon! The result of this match means that if we can beat Somerset in the last round on 21st March we [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News . Uncategorised

Purbeck Chess Club on The Radio – Thursday 4th March at 6pm!

Mar

02

Purbeck Chess Club on The Radio – Thursday 4th March at 6pm!

The Netflix show The Queen's Gambit has certainly stirred up some interest in chess. Having seen the show, Andrew Bordiss, who does a sports show on Purbeck Coast Radio, wanted to cover chess in the Purbeck area. So on Monday he interviewed Steve Peirson from Purbeck Chess Club for 15 minutes. The interview will be [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Mar

02

Poole Win Latest Team Battle

It was Poole's turn to win again at the team battle and they did so in style with Mike Duggan alone notching up an incredible 35 points. The Highcliffe team had a good night too, with steady scoring reaping them second place. Ringwood were down to just two team members but still managed to finish [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL Over The Board Tournament !?

Feb

27

4NCL Over The Board Tournament !?

In light of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, the 4NCL management team has made the confident (or brave) assumption that there will be over the board chess soon after the 21st June. It has already booked the 4-star conference centre hotel Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa for its 25th 4NCL Congress on 9-11 July […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Coronavirus Update

Feb

27

Coronavirus Update

Here is the UK government’s link to its Roadmap out of lockdown including its 4 steps announced this week … Covid-19 Response Spring 2021 As the dates are indicative and subject to change, it’s too early to be definitive but with a significant relaxation of measures and restrictions for meeting up indoors scheduled for 21st […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL Online Round 3 – A Good Evening for Wessex Teams

Feb

24

4NCL Online Round 3 – A Good Evening for Wessex Teams

Overall it was a good set of results for the Wessex Some Stars teams in round 3 of the 3rd 4NCL Online season. The B, C, D, and F teams all won, the G team drew, whilst only the A and E teams lost. In the A team suffered a couple of short losses with [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts narrowly lose to Cornwall

Feb

22

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts narrowly lose to Cornwall

Dorset and Wilts put up a tremendous fight and very nearly pulled off an upset against Cornwall who outrated them on 15 of the 16 boards. In the end the score was 7.5-8.5 Two games in particular stood out for completely different reasons. Firstly, Allan Pleasants was playing no less than John Nunn. After 34 [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Wimborne vs Chandlers Ford match

Feb

16

Wimborne vs Chandlers Ford match

Graham Hillman reports that Wimborne and Chandlers Ford played a friendly match on Friday 12th. It was conducted at the very civilised speed of 45 minutes plus 15 seconds increment and was held on lichess. The match ended in a draw, reflecting two well balanced teams. Options for future matches, possibly involving other clubs, are […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Feb

16

Chandlers Ford join team battle, Southbourne win.

An excellent night in the team battle as Chandlers Ford joined in for the first time. The consensus before the battle started was that it could be a close run evening. In the end Southbourne romped it, winning by a clear 18 points. That did not stop it being exciting as the contest for second [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Latest Junior Newsletter Issued

Feb

14

Latest Junior Newsletter Issued

In Junior Newsletter 10 Nikki Forster reports on the Dorset Junior Xmas Quiz results, coaching, our juniors in action, Kasparov and more! Past newsletters are available here in the Junior section of the website.

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

4NCL Online Round 2 – Wessex Results and Game

Feb

10

4NCL Online Round 2 – Wessex Results and Game

Another night of mixed results for the Wessex teams. First the really good news: the A team won! For once they were not outrated on every board, just the top two. Gavin Lock had the better side of a draw on board one whilst David Pye on board two survived a lost queen ending [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts draw with Hampshire

Feb

08

Western Counties Championship – Dorset & Wilts draw with Hampshire

The second round of the Western Counties online championship took place yesterday. Dorset and Wiltshire faced Hampshire and drew 8-8 in an exciting match. The match was full of interesting chess and quite a few critical moments that went in both directions. A few stood out as I watched the games. Captain Ian Clark won […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Feb

02

Poole Win Latest Team Battle

After a delayed start due to lichess server problems, the Poole team, which was on good form, comfortably won the latest team battle by 21 clear points ahead of Southbourne in second. Along the way Alan Dommett turned in an exceptional 2494 performance for Southbourne. Ringwood managed third place despite only having three players by [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

4NCL online restarts – Wessex teams in action – Results and Games

Jan

27

4NCL online restarts – Wessex teams in action – Results and Games

Introduction Season 3 of the 4NCL Online leagues commenced yesterday evening with seven Wessex Some Stars teams in action, all captained by Keith Gregory. The format of the leagues is that each of Divisions 1 to 6 consists of 32 teams in 4 groups of 8. There are 7 rounds so it is all-play-all within [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Jan

19

Poole edge exciting Team Battle

It was back to winning ways for Poole as they edged out Southbourne in a tight team battle. West Dorset Jedi were clear of the remaining field in third. Spare a thought for Dan Ursell who was the only Highcliffe representative but battled on gamely. Well played Dan! Please click on the table below for [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Review of the Year Feedback

Jan

08

Review of the Year Feedback

In Bulletin No.43 we asked you for feedback on the bulletins and other chess related issues. These are the replies we received via the feedback form: Keith Gregory I look forward to the Dorset chess newsletters – they are always imaginative, entertaining & enlightening and it’s great to feel part of a “chess community” at […]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Wimborne U125 Tournaments Tuesdays 2 pm

Jan

07

Wimborne U125 Tournaments Tuesdays 2 pm

Wimborne have been running online tournaments on Tuesday afternoons for a while and would like to notify everyone that these are open to players from other local clubs. The details are: Held on lichess for players graded under 125 old money Tuesday 2 pm – 5 pm Time limit: 20 minutes + 10 seconds increment. […]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Jan

05

1st Team Battle of the Year: Southbourne win

They won the last battle of 2020 and now Southbourne have won the first of 2021. With no fellow Wimborne team-mates, Ian Clark played for Ringwood who nonetheless only had three players. Allan Pleasants was also bereft of team-mates but turned downed an offer from Martin Clancy to join another team, despite several clamouring for [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Online Tournament Schedule Changes

Dec

31

Online Tournament Schedule Changes

The format of the Monday and Wednesday sessions is changing in the new year.

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Dec

22

Southbourne win last Team Battle of the year

Southbourne put in a superb performance to comfortably win the last team battle of the year, notching up 89 points in the process, one of the highest ever scores. It was a good team effort as many of their players scored well, with Alan Dommett being their top scorer and Keith Gregory once again going [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Dec

08

Poole make it 3 in a row in team battle.

Once again no Wimborne team with Ian Clark guesting for Ringwood in the absence of any team mates. Poole won once more, comfortably ahead of Southbourne, to make it three victories in a row. All the Poole team scored well but perhaps the most notable performance was from Oscar Garcia who only played 5 games [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Semi-Finals – B & C teams knocked out

Dec

02

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Semi-Finals – B & C teams knocked out

Results Having come top of their Division 3 and Division 4 groups and having already gained promotion, the B & C teams had the opportunity to win their divisions by knock-out matches against the top placed teams in the other groups. The B team drew its match against Catford Cosmonauts 2 but lost the match [...]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Nov

24

Poole win again in Team Battle

Once again no Wimborne team but once again a well fought evening of chess that came down to the wire. Poole won again, finishing just four points ahead of Southbourne with the result being decided in the last minute of play. There was also the traditional battle for third place between Highcliffe and Ringwood, with [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Final Round: A good night!

Nov

18

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Final Round: A good night!

Results In the final round it was a really good set of results for Wessex teams in terms of the league standings. The A team whilst being outgraded again on three of the four boards always stood a chance against bottom placed Wood Green Youth and duly won its match. Atticus A lost theirs leaving [...]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Terry Walsh – R.I.P.

Nov

14

Terry Walsh – R.I.P.

It is with great sadness we report that Terry Walsh (Southbourne) passed away in early November. Terry was a regular, active and much valued Southbourne Chess Club member since the mid 1980s and a keen cyclist. More details can be found here … https://southbournechessclub.weebly.com/

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Nov

10

Poole Win 10th Team Battle

Sadly no Wimborne team this time as Ian Clark would have been lacking teammates (as last time). Instead Ian guested for Ringwood. Poole won in style, notching up a record 95 points. They were headed by a new signing, Adrian Pinem, who won 10 in a row to score 36 points, before finally losing to [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Round 6 out of 7: Results, Standings and Game

Nov

04

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Round 6 out of 7: Results, Standings and Game

Results Another night of mixed results - this time coupled with strange online happenings. The A team was outgraded on every board again and lost but it was once again looking promising at one stage. Gavin Lock was playing IM Jack Rudd who plays incredibly quickly which always makes things difficult for the opponent. Gavin [...]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Oct

27

Southbourne Win Team Battle

Once again Southbourne and Poole were fighting for top spot in the Team Battle, with the former winning on this occasion. That makes it four wins each as their neck and neck race continues. Also as usual Highcliffe and Ringwood had their own competition with the former winning this time, denying Ringwood their almost traditional [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News

Junior Chess Newsletter 8 Available

Oct

26

Junior Chess Newsletter 8 Available

In Newsletter 8 Nikki Forster reports on the success of Dorset Juniors in the Delancey Chess Challenge, explains the latest opportunities for junior practice and training online, and covers lots of other interesting chess snippets! Past newsletters are available here in the Junior section of the website.

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Round 5 Results and Game

Oct

21

Wessex Some Stars, 4NCL Round 5 Results and Game

Congratulations to the A Team who won their first match in Division 1, courtesy of a win by Gavin Lock on top board. I give that game with light notes at the end of this report. The B team was again up against weaker opposition and again won, albeit not without some worry along the [...]

By Peter Anderson | Minor News

Western Counties Championship Online – Call For Dorset Players

Oct

15

Western Counties Championship Online – Call For Dorset Players

Effort is being made to organise a Western Counties Championship online. Ian Clark is coordinating on behalf of Dorset. This is an exciting opportunity for our County players to represent Dorset without all the traveling and expense that was previously involved. Ian is therefore looking for players for the Dorset team/teams. If you are interested [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess Headlines . Chess news . Minor News

Oct

13

Poole Win Again In Team Battle

Good news as West Dorset Jedi joined the battle giving 7 teams in the scrap. All but Wimborne turned out with at least 4 players too. It was close at the top again but Poole managed to edge out Southbourne despite another very strong performance from Martin Simons, who was top points scorer and top [...]

By Peter Anderson | Chess news . Minor News