Six of the seven teams in Division 1 were in action the week just gone. BF Nidum were at home to Morriston A and managed the win by the closest of margins with a score of 3-2. The win keeps Nidum well ahead of third placed Morriston but still well behind leaders White Knights A. In fact the following night White Knights A moved a little closer to taking the Division 1 championship when they comprehensively defeated Swansea University A by 5-0. The Knights need just 1 point from their remaining three matches to be untouchable and the race could indeed be over before the end of March if their encounter with Nidum on the 21st goes their way.

The remaining Division 1 match was an inter-club event between White Knights B & C. The B team was much the stronger on the night and helped by a C team default kept both match points to themselves, winning 3½-1½. The result gives the B team a fighting chance of moving above their C team who, at the moment, are still 1 place higher.

It was also, in theory, a busy week in Division 2 with only top placed Morriston B not playing. In the first match Morriston C were at home to BF Giants but lost by the same score as in their previous encounter - 1½-3½ in favour of the Giants. In the second match CN Emperors fielded their strongest team against UK Merlins and won 4-1; a result that temporarily moved them back into second place. The following night, however, White Knights D usurped them when they received 2 match points without moving a pawn. Morriston D only remembered late in the day that they were expected at Llanelli and as a result defaulted the match 5-0. This is the second time that a Morriston team has failed to turn up against a White Knights team with little or no warning given to the White Knights players. It is understandable then if the Llanelli club is feeling aggrieved and one can only hope that the Morriston club’s ability to organise their teams shows some improvement.

In the remaining match De la Beche A took on Swansea University B who unfortunately had to default a board. Understandable as the University A & C teams were also playing that night (the C team in the cup). In their previous encounter the University had a narrow 3-2 win but this time round it went the way of De la Beche 3½-1½.

All these results make little difference to the ranking in the Division 2 table. It is now certain that either Morriston D or C will be relegated while at the same time Morriston B remain favourites to go back into Division 1.

Last week Division 3 began with CN Tribunes travelling to Upper Killay to take on the Hawks and coming away the winners 4-1. The following night St Michael’s made the trip to Sketty to play bottom of the table De la Beche C. The Sketty team were sitting on a negative points total thanks to a pile of defaults but by the end of the match had managed to go into positive territory. A 3½-1½ win gave them 2 match points and while they are still bottom at least they now have 1 point. The final match of the week saw a weakened De la Beche B visit Morriston E at Glais. The Morriston team started with a 1 board advantage thanks to a De la Beche default and it only got better for them. The 3½-1½ win keeps them firmly in fourth place and gave De la Beche B only their third defeat of the season. This puts a serious dent in De la Beche’s chances of catching the Brunel side who are now 8 points clear.

In the Under 1400 Cup competition for the A.D. Nicholson Shield Upper Killay Harriers had a resounding 4-0 victory against Swansea University C. The Harriers now go forward to play De la Beche B in one semi-final while Tribunes and Brunel play each other in the second.

10/03/2018