Christmas Handicap Results

Jonathan presents the Harvey-Ironside Shield to this year’s winner – Dylan

Reminder – Christmas Handicap on Friday and chess this week

4NCL Online season 8 summary

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No meeting on Wednesday 29th

On Wednesday 29th November we will not have access to the Monro Pavilion. This is the last Wednesday we don’t have access to the building this season (i.e. until the summer holidays). We will be meeting there again as normal on Wednesday, 6th December.

OTB 4NCL Weekend 1


4NCL 2023/2024

The over-the-board 4NCL season is nearly upon us, with Crowthorne A playing its first two rounds this coming weekend (Nov 11-12) and the B team the weekend after that.

However, the on-line 4NCL team has already been active, having played five rounds in Season 8 of the competition.

Team Captain, George, has been rotating the players so that all the squad gets games. In the online event, teams have four players.

Results have been mixed, and Crowthorne are currently sitting mid-table in the league.

Results of the previous rounds:

Christmas Handicap 2023

Our annual Christmas Speed Handicap has been booked for Friday the 15th December. This is in the Pinewood Centre, like last year, but this year we have the rear function room booked, which will make it a little quieter and more private. A buffet will be provided. Jonathan has promised to send frequent reminders about this event, but for now perhaps you could note the date in your diaries.

For those unfamiliar with the Christmas Speed Handicap, all games last the same time (10 or 15 minutes, depending on the number of attendees) but the time allocated for each player is adjusted according to their strength to give each player an even chance of winning. The overall effect is that any player can win the whole event. Quickness of mind and hand are more important than a simple ECF rating.

Keith Richardson Memorial Tournament

On Saturday, September 30th, our friends at Camberley Chess Club held their annual Keith Richardson Memorial Rapidplay tournament. This year’s tournament was the first to be held at their new venue at the Heatherside Community Centre.

Keith Richardson was a member of Camberley Chess Club, who was very well liked and respected in the club and the local leagues he played in. He was also very well-known in the wider chess community as a correspondence Grandmaster. Camberley has held a memorial event annually (lockdown permitting) since his death in 2017.

This year’s tournament saw success for Crowthorne’s Richard Webb who won his second rapidplay tournament in a week (see Witney report).

Congragulations to Camberley for running a friendly and successful tournament. Full details of the event can be found here.

Camberley Chess Club chairman Martin Wallman presents Richard with the trophy

Success for Crowthorne Players at Witney Rapidplay

On Sunday (24th September) two Crowthorne players emerged as prize winners in the Witney Rapidplay. This is a very pleasant tournament, which is held in the excellent venue of Cokethorpe School in Oxfordshire.

FM Richard Webb won the Open, scoring 5.5 out of 6. Richard won in the final round against fellow Crowthorne member FM Ian Thompson.

Ashton Grimmett was also successful, with the best excess-of-rating performance in the Open, scoring 3 out of 6.

Well done to both!

Full results of the tournament can be found here.

Border League Fixtures are out!

The Surrey Border League has just published the fixtures for the 2023/24 season. Please check the Useful Links page for links to the fixtures for the various divisions and for Crowthorne Teams.

Note that fixtures are occasionally rearranged by team captains, so it is best to check the site from time to time.