With the League competitions finished the focus of attention was on this week’s finals in the KO Cup competitions, all held on the 16th May at the Morriston Chess Club.

The Open section final for the Stanley Fortt Memorial Cup was between the holders White Knights A and Morriston A, teams that had finished second and third in the League respectively. The 2½-1½ victory to the Knights, thanks to three draws and a board 3 win, was apparently not as close as the board scores might suggest and the Knights, by all accounts, were never in danger of losing.

The section for players graded 1800 or under (Richard E Jones Trophy) was the most heavily contested of the sections with last year’s winners Morriston getting knocked out in the first round. The eventual finalists were Castell-Nedd Senators and Nidum Bluebell with Nidum looking fractionally stronger in grading terms. Senators had reached the final after knocking out the University and White Knights C in matches that both ended 2-2 but went to the Senators after bottom board elimination. Nidum had knocked out Upper Killay Eagles (4-0) and drew with White Knights B but progressed once again thanks to bottom board elimination. The result in the final was, however, unequivocal. Two wins on boards 1 & 2 for the Senators coupled with a draw on board 4 resulted in yet another 2½-1½ score with the Cup going to the Senators; the first time a Castell-Nedd team has won this section.

The A.D. Nicholson Shield is awarded to the winner of the 1400 or under section and this year’s final was between newcomers Swansea University and De la Beche. The University had won both their two previous matches 3-1; initially against Briton Ferry Nidum in the quarter-finals and against Morriston E in the semi-finals. De la Beche had defeated Upper Killay Harriers 2½-1½ in the quarter-finals and Castell-Nedd Tribunes by the impressive 3½-½ in the semi-finals. To all intents and purposes two evenly matched teams so it was something of a surprise to see the University take the match by the most convincing score of the night - 3-1. Yet again a new name on the trophy.

The only League competition still to be played is the Rapidplay tournament for the A.O. Jones Trophy. A date has not yet been announced although it is expected to be in the first half of June and before the League’s Annual General Meeting.

Finally FIDE have revised the rules and the new edition comes into force in July. A copy has been posted in the documents section and the sharp-eyed will notice that the copy contains comments from the Chess Arbiters Association. This copy has been used as it makes identifying the changes a bit easier and also allows the reader to get an inkling of current arbiter thinking.

21/05/2017