The KO Cup competitions all got underway last week. In the Under 1400 section, for the A.D. Nicholson Shield, 7 teams initially entered and it got underway with the Upper Killay club hosting two quarter final matches. In the first match UK Harriers were up against White Knights C but could only manage to take one of the games. The 3-1 victory for White Knights takes them into the semi-final where they will be up against De la Beche B. De la Beche B had already got a surprise bye when their scheduled opponents Castell-Nedd Tribunes suddenly realised that they did not have enough under 1400 players and had to withdraw. The other match played was between UK Hawks and BF Nidum D. A less convincing win for the visitors but the 1½-2½ score was enough to take the Briton Ferry side into a semi-final against Morriston C who had the original bye.

In the Under 1800 section, for the Richard E Jones Trophy, 8 teams have entered and all but one of the quarter final matches was played. The first match, held on the Monday between Morriston B and UK Merlins, was not without controversy with Merlins board 2 claiming a draw, under quickplay rules, on the grounds that his opponent was making no effort to win by normal means. If this claim is upheld it will be enough to give Merlins the victory 1½-2½.

BF Nidum have entered two teams in this under 1800 section and both were victorious. In spite of a couple of good individual results for the opposition the B team beat De la Beche A 2½-1½ while the C team beat UK Eagles 3-1. BF Nidum C will meet either UK Merlins or Morriston B in their semi-final while BF Nidum B will meet the winners of the remaining quarter final between CN Senators and White Knights B.

As is proving the custom the Open section for the Stan Fortt Memorial Cup had a dearth of entries with only four teams deciding to take part. The competition, therefore, went straight to the semi-final stage. One of these was played last week when CN Emperors played host to Morriston A. The 4-1 score in favour of Morriston left little room for debate and Morriston go into the final where they will meet either White Knights A or BF Nidum A.

01/02/2016