West Wales Closed Championship.

A reminder that on Wednesday of this week (October 24th) the first round of the West Wales Closed Championship takes place. It is open to all members of the League and there is a £5 entry fee. As well as taking possession of the E.J. Clarke Trophy for a year the winner is guaranteed a prize of £50 while all the entry fees plus an additional £20 will be redistributed as other prizes (e.g. grading prizes). The championship is run as a five round travelling Swiss Tournament with the rounds scheduled as follows: Round 1 - Upper Killay Chess Club - Wed 24th October at 7.15pm Round 2 - Castell-Nedd Chess Club - Tue 27th November at 7.15pm Round 3 - Morriston Chess Club - Mon 4th February at 7.15pm Round 4 - Briton Ferry Chess Club - Thu 21st March at 7.15pm Round 5 - Upper Killay Chess Club - Wed 8th May at 7.15pm

In this type of Tournament all the entrants get to play 5 games and after the first round they are paired against other players with the same, or nearly the same, score. If you have not already entered turn up early on the night. It is unlikely that you will be turned away!

League

In the one match that was played in Division 1 Nidum successfully saw off a strong challenge from Morriston B. The 3½-1½ score in favour of Nidum allowed them to leapfrog their compatriots, the All Blacks, and brings them back into second place behind White Knights A.

On the Monday the first of three matches in Division 2 was a close affair between Morriston C and Briton Ferry Giants. With 4 of the boards eventually drawn it was decided by a Morriston win on board 2 and no doubt Morriston C were happy to get their first win of the season under their belt.

On the Thursday Upper Killay Merlins had a short trip down the road to play division favourites De la Beche A. Merlins put up a valiant struggle managing to draw on 3 of the boards but wins on boards 1 and 4 ensured De la Beche of the victory and moved them to the top of the table.

The third of the division 2 matches was between Morriston D and White Knights D. The Knights proved the stronger on the bottom 3 boards and although Morriston’s top two boards were no doubt happy with their draws the Knights emerged comfortable 4-1 winners.

There were two matches in Division 3, the first of which was a top of the table clash between Upper Killay Harriers and De la Beche B. Both teams were undefeated so it was thought that the result could have gone either way. De la Beche B, however, fielded the much stronger team on the night and, in spite of defaulting their top board, notched up a convincing 3½-1½ victory. With a 100% record to date De la Beche B must now be one of the favourites to take the Division 3 title.

The final match of the week was an interclub battle between Morriston F, composed mainly of youngsters, and Morriston E, composed of the not so young. Experience proved the decider on the night with the E team taking both match points courtesy of a 3½-1½ win. It allows Morriston E to stay in touch with the leaders.

A final piece of news is that it now looks likely that the University B team will be reinstalled into Division 2 in one guise or another. This is still subject to official confirmation and comes about thanks to the University team merging with the De la Beche club. Technically the University players will be registered as De la Beche members and the De la Beche club will be running four teams. It is anticipated, however, that what now becomes their second team will, in the main, be fielding players from the University. Other De la Beche members will, where necessary, provide transport to away matches. It also gives players from the University the opportunity to play for the other De la Beche teams should they so wish.

21/10/2018