On behalf of the Home Committee of the Welsh Chess Union I am pleased to announce the formation of an under 1850 team tournament to be run at the same dates and venues as the Welsh Chess Premier League. I have offered to run the league for the first two seasons and will look at the possibility of running an under 1500 event, if there is sufficient interest.

I am having difficulty drafting a set of rules and undoubtably there will be some mistakes in the first draft, so pending production of those rules, here is a summary of what we hope to achieve.

The league will be open to teams of four players rated 1850 or less at the start of the season.

The league will be team, rather than club based, so that teams might represent clubs, a group of clubs or just a group of friends.

All players must be members of the Welsh Chess Union.

Depending on the number of entries the dates will be

Sunday 23rd February,

Sunday 8th March and

Sunday 3rd May

at the same time and venue as the Welsh Premier League matches, Bishop Hedley High School, Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 9AN.

Or the above dates plus

Sunday 26th January

Sunday 19th April at

Melyncrythan Community Centre, Crythan Road, Neath, SA11 1TB.

Again, depending on the number of entries it will either be an all-play-all or a swiss.

Cost £20 per team. Kevin will make arrangements for receipt of the payments on behalf of the WCU. There will be a trophy at the end of the event.

Squads will consist of up to 10 nominated players. Nobody can play for more than one team. Further nominations to bring the squad up to a maximum of 10 may be made during the course of the event.

Time limit, all moves in 90 minutes plus 30 second increments from the start.

Points will be awarded as follows

1 for each game won.

½ for each game drawn.

A bonus point for winning the match.

Half a bonus point for drawing a match.

Whichever team gets the most points during the event (game and match) wins.

If you are interested please contact me by email at maddai01@gmail.com

Entries on or before 1 January, but if you are going to enter, if possible, let me know before then so I can sort out the logistics.

I will reply to all enquiries. Do not assume I have received your email if you have not had a reply.

20/10/2019