The week just gone was a mixture of events with one first division match, three second division matches, a semi-final in the cup and the third round of the West Wales Closed Championship all taking place.

The first division match was between Morriston A and CN Emperors. The fact that the match points went to the Morriston team was probably not a surprise but the 5-0 score was unexpected although Emperors did default a board. The result keeps Morriston in top spot with White Knights A continuing to breath down their necks.

In the second division Morriston D, away to CN Tribunes, unexpectedly went home the victors by scraping through 3 games to 2. The only Tribune player to win was Stephen Lloyd-Brown on board 4. The clash between top of the table Merlins and second from bottom De la Beche B also turned up an unexpected score line. Wins on boards 3 to 5, coupled with two draws meant that the 4-1 score in favour of De la Beche was their most impressive victory of the season. It did not knock Merlins off the top of the table but it does make their position a bit more precarious. The final Division 2 match saw White Knights E easily overcome bottom of the table UK Hawks 3½-1½ with Hawks only full point coming courtesy of a default.

The cup match was in the Open Section, where teams are playing for the Stan Fortt Memorial Cup, and it was between White Knights A and Nidum A for a place in the final. White Knights fielded their strongest possible team and only a draw on board 2 stopped Nidum from being totally annihilated. The 3½- ½ win for White Knights means that they go forward to play Morriston A in the final on the 23rd May.

The third round of the West Wales Closed Championship took place in Llanelli at the home of the White Knights Club and on the same night as the cup match. The results are given below. A number of players have dropped out and the competition is now down to 18 participants. On the night only a couple of games were not played due to player unavailability and the individuals concerned will need to make their own arrangements to play their games before the 4th round on the 20th April. (NB Results of re-arranged games now added)

Last year’s winner, Richard Cleveland, now leads the field.

White Black 1473 Tony Goodchild (1) 0 v 1 Richard Cleveland (2) 2075 2028 Peter Bevan (1½) ½ v ½ Ian Jones (2) 2031 1787 Mike Cleaves (1) 1 v 0 Bye 1665 Andrew Smith (1) 1 v 0 Paul Bevan (2) 1318 1593 Ralph Cook (1) ½ v ½ Carl Halpin (1) 1114 1511 Steve Edwards (1) 1 v 0 Eleanor Collins (0) 1171 1174 Greg Goold (1) 1 v 0 Albert Easton (1) 1498 1390 Bill Flew (1) 1 v 0 June Evans (0) 942 941 Janet Evans (0) 0 v 1 Cecil Rowland (0) 1203 1081 Harry Lewis (1) 1 v bye

28/02/2016