Premier

1^st  Mark Hebden (Leicester)  4.5  £250

2^nd  Ali Jaunooby (Denton)  4  £120

3^rd  Tomasz Sygnowski  (Wolverhampton) ( Advertiser Trophy)  3.5 £100

Senior/ Grading  Mike Surtees (Bolton) 3  £35 & Richard Bryant (Bolton) 3  £35 

Junior Henrik Stepanyan 3  £20

 Major

1^st  & 2^nd = Robert Clegg (Huddersfield)  £100 & Ian Emery (Warley Quinborne) 4  £100

Senior Andrew Walker (Stroud) 3.5  £20

Junior Rhys Bennett (Newport South Wales) 3.5  £20

 U 140 Grading Andrew Collins (Leamington) 3.5 £20

 3^rd = Ben Graff (Leamington)  3.5 £16.66 & Pavel Ondrejka (Rugby) 3.5  £16.67 & David  Pritchard (Walsall Kipping) 3.5 £16.67 

Minor

1^st  Adam Bennett (West Nottingham)  4.5  £120

2^nd  = Stephen Crockett (Redditch) 4  £43.32   &  Gabor Csepregi  (Shirley & Wythall) 4  £43.34   &  Peter Windows (Meir) 4  £43.34

5^th =  Jacob Cartlidge (Cheddleton & Leek) 3.5  £25  &  John Pakenham (Warley & Quinborne) 3.5  £25

Senior Peter Griffin  3  £20 & David Hull (Southport) 3  £20

Junior Sam Beardmore (Cheddleton & Leek) 3 £10 & Benjamin Headlong (Moonrakers) 3  £10

U100 Grading James Waddington (Bolton)  1.5  £20

A local production of Chess: The Musical, in Worcestershire, will feature the original strategies used by Bobby Fisher and Anatoly Karpov, as well as other Grandmasters.

 Here’s the link: http://www.number8.org/events/chess/

Regards,  

James Megarry  

Asistant Producer

2 day - 5 round - 4 section - Swiss Tournaments. New Venue. Excellent facilities with free car parking and refreshments available throughout the event (hot and cold food). £1500 Prize fund. British Championship qualifier. ECF and MCCU Grand Prix.

Venue : Trident Centre, Warwick CV34 6SW 

Contact: Guy Greenland  Email: warks.ccc@gmail.com 

Website:http://tinyurl.com/bqxd2av 

4 Sections : Open, U170, U145, U120 – online entry available from 01/02/2013.

List of entrants:http://tinyurl.com/cbr96j9   

More info - Tel: 07854 709168.

Map : http://goo.gl/maps/8q1XC

Local information/accommodation : http://www.visitwarwick.co.uk/

Guy Greenland

Nominations for the 2012-13 Ritson Morry award for the outstanding Junior player, and entries for the Baruch Wood best game must be submitted by 31st March.

E-mail submissions go to morrywood@birminghamchess.org.uk

Alternatively, postal submissions go to Mr Laurie Wheatley (address as in handbook)

The entry form for the Morry award can be found on the link "Morry-Wood" and then clicking "Youth Entry Form"

Games submitted for the B H Wood award must show the date when played, the players names and the venue.

10/01/2013 - Rushall Venue/Secretary change

Rushall C.C will now meet at the Bowman Inn, at least until the end of the season. I will let visiting teams know and re-arrange postponed matches. We will commence there on Monday 21st January.

The Bowman Inn, corner of Gretton Crescent/Myatt Avenue, Aldridge, WS9 0DR.

Alan Cross (alan.cross11@btinternet.com) was elected as new club secretary with duties being passed over gradually from myself.

Steve Wilcox

10/01/2013 - Sutton Coldfield Venue change

NEW VENUE for Sutton Coldfield Chess Club

Sutton Coldfield Chess Club will be meeting as usual at the Jaguar Club, Chester Road, on the Mondays of 14th and 21st January. However, at the end of the month the Jaguar Club will be closing down for demolition.

Therefore starting Monday 28th January 2013 Sutton Coldfield Chess Club will meet at a new venue. The match day is the same (7.30pm Monday) so existing fixtures should be unaffected.

The Erdington Club

33 Sutton New Road

Birmingham

B23 6TD

The Erdington Club is on the A5127 near Erdington Six Ways Island, almost opposite the Maplin Electronics store. There is free parking on the dual carriageway central reservation and in a car park opposite.

Lots of different buses serve the Sutton New Road.

Marek Soszynski

01/01/2013 - Stourbridge venue access update

From Dave Scriven :

The road layout changes around Stourbridge town centre now appear complete, but development of the new supermarket will continue for another year so there is still no parking available in the immediate vicinity of our venue. Visitors to Stourbridge Chess Club are advised to use the Ryemarket multi-storey car park (pay and display). This can be accessed from the ring-road via Victoria Street, between the Police Station and Aldi. It will then be a two minute walk to our club. Alternatively, street parking is available in High Street and Market Street and also in Lower High Street. All of these are accessed from the ring-road. Please be aware that each of these is one-way.

I assume most visitors previously used Bell Street to reach the Bell Street multi-storey, which is now demolished. Bell Street has been completely changed and is now accessed via traffic lights from the ring-road. I recommend you DO NOT use Bell Street at present.

If anyone needs any further information, please contact Dave Scriven (Secretary).

18/12/2012 - e2e4 Congress West Bromwich

The Park Inn Hotel in West Bromwich, formerly the Moat House, will host the e2e4 West Bromwich Congress on the weekend of 25th-27th January. The Congress features two FIDE-rated sections, and one ECF-graded section, and a prize fund in excess of £1,500.

 Full details of the event, as well as the online entry form, can be found here: http://e2e4.org.uk/west_brom/Jan2013/index.htm

Alex Holowczak

02/12/2012 - MCCU Correspondence Championship

The 2012-13 tournament is by electronic transmission

The rising price and slower delivery of postal mail means that this year's tournament is by electronic transmission of moves. The Controller is Cyril Johnson to whom entries by e-mail should be sent by 15 December. Entry is free to MCCU players and there is a gift voucher prize sponsored by Chess Direct.

http://mccu.org.uk/correspondence.htm

Cyril Johnson

28/11/2012 - Birmingham Checkmates

Birmingham Checkmates have withdrawn from Divisions 4 and 6 of the Birmingham League due to a lack of availability from most of the former core of the team. This would have lead to a series of board defaults in the Division 4 team, which would unfair on the rest of the teams within it. I thought it was better to withdraw now - before we play half our games, so all our results get scrubbed - rather than later, when we'd ruin Division 4 for the rest of the teams in it. With the core of five remaining, I think we could have fielded a decent Division 6 side; without it, we have no chance! The active players will mostly go on to play for Warley Quinborne in the Birmingham League, so they will not be lost to the League.

Alex Holowczak

18/11/2012 - Mike Walker, Hon. Gen. Secretary

From The Hon General Secretary

I have decided to resign from the post of Hon General Secretary as from Monday 19^th November. I have chosen to do so, at this time, because this will give the BDCL plenty of time to appoint my successor (as explained below). The main reason is that I have taken on other commitments over next summer which will make it difficult for me to continue as HGS, but I also want to take a break from chess administration and just play for my club, Mutual Circle.

I have had considerable satisfaction in the five years I have been involved with the BDCL as HGS. I would like to thank all the officers, chairmen of subcommittees, and secretaries of clubs for their support in implementing the extensive administrative changes over these five years. The League is certainly fit for the 21^st century! Even the compromise on “quickplay finishes” and “adjournments” seems to me worthwhile continuing into next season!

To ensure continuity, I am pleased to report that Tim Lane, the Honorary Assistant General Secretary, has agreed to take over my duties until the 1^st March. These include dealing with Late Registrations for chess players joining club teams; for any decisions concerning exceptional weather conditions affecting matches over the winter months; and for organising the MCM on Monday 28^th January. After 1^st March, there is little administration required by the HGS until mid-May. There will be an opportunity to discuss these issues at the MCM on Monday 28^th January; and an appointment could be made at the MCM on Thursday 16^th May, or at the AGM on Monday 10^th June. However, I do not intend to be part of these discussions – I think this is a matter for members of the League. All communications (including applications for the vacant post of HGS) should be directed to the Assistant General Secretary, Tim Lane, who will undoubtedly ensure an orderly transition.

Most of the administration done by the HGS begins about mid-May (starting with the collection of BDCL clubs team submissions for the Match Committee Meeting scheduled for Thursday 6^th June). I have chosen to resign early in the chess season to avoid leaving the matter until the AGM meeting itself  - which, in my view,  is too late for someone to take over. Particularly, since the BDCL will be in the middle of preparation for the following season.  For continuity in the administrative information in the League, I have an archive of material of computer files which I am happy to pass on to the next HGS.

I wish all members of the League good competitive chess in the forthcoming seasons!

Mike Walker

24/10/2012 - Halesowen roadworks

The roadworks on Combs Road in Halesowen are now complete.

Stewart Fishburne

8/10/2012 - Birmingham Rapidplay

110 players entered the Birmingham Rapidplay on Sunday, 7th October. A summary of the results appear lower down this page, or you can visit the Rapidplay pages for the full results.

The round 1 colour of the player who has the #1 seed in each section was to be determined by the American League Wildcard Playoff game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers (05/10/2012, 8:37PM ET). If Baltimore won, then the #1 seed will be white in round 1. If Texas won, then the #1 seed will be black in round 1. Both teams were 93-69 during the season, so the teams are evenly matched!

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 5-1, which means that the number 1 seed in each section will be white in round 1

Alex Holowczak

08/10/2012 - Free chess tournament for West Midlands schools & clubs

A free chess tournament has been organised for schools and clubs who are based in the West Midlands. The entry form can be downloaded here. Entries need to be sent back by Monday 22nd October and the tournament is being held at West Bromwich Town Hall on Wednesday 24th October (during half term).

Andrew Moore

Chess In Schools and Communities

24/09/2012 - New eCards available for download

Version 8 of the eMatch card is now available and is in the preferred format for the Records Secretary to copy over results. There is also a template file to allow printing of 4 cards on an A4 sheet here...

10/09/2012 - FIDE-rated Blitz Tournament

Saturday, October 20th: 1st Birmingham Blitz International. Details can be found on the website:  http://www.birminghamblitz.org.uk/ 

Get-Me-A-Rating FIDE All-Play-Alls

Venue: Hill & Cakemore Liberal Club (Warley Q home venue)

Weekend 1 (Friday 9 - Sunday 11 November):
Friday: 1 - 1900
Saturday: 2 - 1000, 3 - 1500
Sunday: 4 - 1000, 5 - 1500

Weekend 2 (Saturday 17 - Sunday 18 November):
Saturday: 6 - 1000, 7 - 1500
Sunday: 8 - 1000, 9 - 1500

Time control: 4 hour session. All moves in 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move.

The event is an All-Play-All - you must play in all rounds. You can't withdraw or take byes. The games will all be FIDE-rated and ECF-graded. By playing in this event, a player will get a FIDE-rating, subject to everyone in the field scoring at least 1/9.

Entry fee: Rated players: £0, Unrated players: £30. All English players must be ECF Gold Members.

Anyone interested should get in touch with me at alexholowczak@gmail.com. I hope to run two sections. For this we need (at least!) 8 rated players - I already have 4, so I can guarantee that we will run at least one section. There is plenty of space for unrated players still. Entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

31/08/2012 - Changes to division formations

Solihull have entered an additional team in Division 6.

Mutual Circle's Division 5 team has been withdrawn and re-entered in Division 6.

Fixtures for Mutual Division 5 should be disregarded and new fixtures will be arranged for the two new Division 6 teams.

24/08/2012 - West Bromwich Chess Club

West Bromwich are looking for anyone interested in playing for their Division 1 Wolverhampton League team in the coming season. This would be an opportunity for a Birmingham League player to get extra games. Please contact Dave Davies on 07751 964788 if you are interested.

20/08/2012 - Birmingham Rapidplay Oct 2012

The 17th Birmingham Rapidplay Tournament will take place at Quinborne Community Centre on Sunday 7th October. There will be sections for FIDE Open, Maximum grades 170, 140 and 110 ECF. Full details can be found on the Rapidplay page. Entries can be made via the online entry form, or you can download a form in WORD format to send with a cheque through the post.

24/06/2012 - Staffordshire Congress 2013

An early date for the diary next year is the Staffordshire Congress on 13th/14th April 2013. The entry form is here...

12/06/2012 - League AGM

The League AGM took place on Monday 11th June. Dave Brelsforth is the new League President. Tim Lane takes over the post of Hon. Assistant General Secretary from Graham Humpreys. Graham has been involved in chess in the Midlands since 1951 and was thanked for all his work over the years, He remains a member of the Individual Tournament committee he has chaired for some time.

22/05/2012 - Morry-Wood Awards

Leo Tsoi of Boldmere St. Michaels has completed a double by winning the Morry Junior award and the B.H.Wood best game prize for 2012. Click on the Morry-Wood button for more information.

20/02/2012 - I have now produced an updated google places map of chess clubs in the Birmingham area. This is accessible through the last button on the left hand side of the page. 

Google Maps

Locations of clubs are on Google maps

click Here