This page is updated regularly with the latest news for the members of Wallington & Carshalton Chess Club
15th February 2010:
Steve Ashworth is top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the President's Cup. Can anybody stop him? The draw for round four has been made and is on the website.
Wallington III bounced back from a defeat with a 5-1 thrashing of Wimbledon V. There were wins for the two Vics, Steve and Gavin while Jim and Alan drew their games.
23rd January 2010:
Happy New Year!
There have been several results this month, which have now been posted. The home match in the Minor Trophy against Redhill IV was postponed from January 7th, due to the snow. We don't have a new date for this yet.
Wallington II succumbed to a strong Redhill III side in the Centenary Trophy, despite some excellent individual results from Alan, Derek and Gavin. Wallington III lost narrowly to Ashtead IV in the Minor Trophy; there was a win for Vic Bluett and draws for Alan, Vic Bassi and Gavin. Most recently, Wallington I scraped a much-needed win in the Beaumont Cup at home to Kingston. This was helped by the away team only bringing four players due to various illnesses and unavailabilities. Mark and Colin secured our points with draws on the night.
22nd December 2009:
The webmaster has just noticed that, in the Centenary match against Crystal Palace III on November 16th, Vic Bassi in fact won his game, rather than losing it, so the final score is 3-3. His opponent's name was spelt wrongly too! If you spot any other errors on this website please feel free to post a forum message or to email any of the club officials... Thanks.
21st December 2009:
Wallington III continued their own winning ways with a 5-1 demolition of Dorking II on Thursday. Jim, Geoff, Vic and Steve all won while Alan and Mark drew to secure the team's second 5-1 result in a row!
Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year from all the staff of wallingtonchess.co.uk...
16th December 2009:
Dorking I continued their domination of the Centenary Trophy this season with a hard-fought win against Wallington II last week. Vic scored a fine win, while Gavin, Steve and Alan all drew for a final score of 2½-3½. This week Wallington III is in action against another Dorking side - let's hope we can put the record straight!
12th December 2009:
Wallington III have registered another emphatic victory in the Minor Trophy. They defeated South Norwood II by the score 5-1. Geoff gained a slight advantage which he held on to, to give him a winning ending. Vic Bluett's game was very close but at the death Vic's pressure gained him a piece - and the game. Vic Bassi was able to convert a slight middlegame advantage into a win, while Gavin and Steve won so quickly that their captain barely had time to inspect their games! Mark was edged out by an in-form player.
The President's Cup has reached round 3 and the draw for the round has been made. Provisionally, matches in round 3 start next week (17th December) but that night Wallington III host Dorking II in the Minor Trophy, so President's Cup may take a back seat that night.
29th November 2009:
The outstanding results in the Beaumont Cup match against Battersea have been resolved. Jim scored a vey fine victory and Mark secured a well-fought draw but it wasn't quite enough to give Wallington any match points as we went down 4½ - 3½ .
25th November 2009:
In two recent matches Wallington trail by 4 - 2. The first is a result in the Centenary Trophy, when Wallington II visited Crystal Palace III and were beaten. The points for Wallington came from Alan and Steve (both draws) and yet another win from the unstoppable Gavin!
Wallington I trail Battersea I by the same score but with two games to be adjudicated. Wallington stands well in both those games but we will probably be very lucky to be given wins in both, to get the two points needed for a drawn match result. Geoff scored our win on the night, with more than a slice of luck in a mutual time-scramble. Simon prudently offered his opponent a draw in an unclear but difficult position and Alan played well for his draw on board seven.
Two games have been played in round two of the President's Cup; both with rather surprising results!
N.B. Wallington II will now play at home against Dorking I on 10th December 2009, and away against the same opponents on 25th March 2010. The fixture list has been updated to reflect this.
15th November 2009:
In the match Wimbledon III v. Wallington I, Alan has agreed a draw with his opponent, so the result is 5-3. Wallington II have been penalised for a board-order infringement in the match against Ashtead III, so are deemed to lose the match by the score 3½-1½.
The draw has been made for round 2 of the President's Cup. Three players, so far, are on 100%, with one round 1 match remaining to be played.
9th November 2009:
In a very close match Wallington II were defeated by their visitors Ashtead III on bonfire night! Geoff, Alan and Gavin secured draws for Wallington while Vic Bassi managed an excellent win to give some hope but in the end Ashtead III emerged winners by the narrowest of margins; 3½-2½.
3rd November 2009:
The first and third teams were both recently in action, both against Wimbledon teams. The third team scored a good victory over Wimbledon V, with wins for Geoff, Mohammed, Mark and Gavin and a draw for Bassem. However the first team were well-beaten by Wimbledon III, with Steve scoring the sole win for Wallington on the night. Alan's adjournment looks likely to be a draw, which is a good result against a strong opponent.
22nd October 2009:
The bad news first is that, once again, Wallington failed to field a team in the Lauder Cup competition. Streatham were the whitewash victors and we have sent an apology to the Streatham players who expected to play a game on 13th October. This happened last season too, and we must now get to the bottom of why we keep missing this fixture in our calendar!!
Not to dwell on the bad news, Wallington II recorded probably the best result of a Wallington team so far this season, with a 3-3 draw against a strong Kingston II team in the Centenary Trophy. On top board Derek scored a fantastic win against a player graded 35 points higher, after his opponent had turned down a draw offer. Alan played almost the same game (same opponent, same colour, same opening, same time trouble) that he had played in the Alexander Cup fixture with, alas, the same result! James and Geoff were ground down by their higher-graded opponents but Steve and Gavin were once again the heroes of the evening, Steve scored a very good win and Gavin was the recipient of an automatic win when his opponent's mobile phone went off. To be fair to Gavin, his was the last game to finish and he was well on the way to chalking up a victory anyway; the exchange and two pawns up. Well done Wallington II.
17th October 2009:
Wallington III were also in action against a Redhill team this week, in their first Minor Trophy match of the season. Good wins from Baz and Gavin and draws from Jim and Mark secured a 3-3 final result.
16th October 2009:
Wallington I began their campaign in the Beaumont Cup this season against a strong Redhill 2 side. Owen played very inventively in the opening, as usual but came unstuck against a seasoned opponent. Mark has adjourned in an interesting position and he will have to play well to get the point we need to draw the match. Geoff was lucky to win a piece after being under tremendous pressure for most of the game. Meanwhile Colin, on his return to the club, played very solidly and secured a good result. Simon and Steve both missed out against their opponents, meanwhile Jim and Derek defied the gradings to secure a win and a draw on the bottom boards to give the team the hope of a possible result. Well done to them!
6th October 2009:
The President's Cup 2009-10 is due to begin this Thursday, 8th October and the first round draw has paired the two dominant forces from last season against each other this time, with Derek having the white pieces against Mark Daniells... If you would like to be in the draw and are not, just turn up on Thursday and Derek will be happy to accept entries!
The season is well under way and we have played two matches already. Both, unfortunately, resulted in heavy reversals, albeit with one or two good individual performances.
Wallington II were well beaten by a strong Redhill III team by the score 5-1. Steve and Gavin both played very well to score draws against higher-graded opposition. Geoff, the most out-graded, lost quite quickly. Alan played well until move 33, when a rook exchange allowed his opponent's knight to become the strongest piece. Vic castled queen side to attack on the king side but saw his opponent's attack arrive first. Mark made an unsound sacrifice which lost a piece.
At Kingston, in the Alexander Cup once again the opposition's strength in depth told in the end, although a few minutes before the end there were whispers of a possible upset among those playes who had finished... Geoff won quickly seizing on an opening error of his opponent's. Mark built up a very strong attack for the cost of a pawn and broke through in style just before the time control. Steve kept the pieces on for as long as possible and secured a sound draw against a highly-rated opponent and Simon, one of two prodigal sons to return on the night, managed to keep his composure after dropping a piece for a pawn to go on the attack and force his opponent to either offer a draw or submit to quickplay torture! Meanwhile Owen, on top board, was causing the usual havoc and just failed to cement an advantageous position to clinch victory. Although the bottom five boards put up a great fight (notably Alan and Geoff defended tenaciously throughout the evening) they were all beaten by very experienced opponents. And final mention to Vic Bluett, who played his first game in almost four years and certainly rattled his opponent before going down in a tactical melee. The final result was 7-3 to Kingston.
16th September 2009:
Congratulations to Mark Daniells who won the President's Cup, beating Derek Coleman by 1½ - ½ in a play-off. Well done to Derek too, who almost pulled off a remarkable comeback. The President's Cup 2008-09 results have now been archived.
9th September 2009:
The Wallington fixtures for season 2009-10 are now posted on the website. Wallington 2 kicks off with a home match against Redhill 3 on Thursday, 1st October. Last year's league results have been archived.
7th September 2009:
The contacts page (off the Club Details page) has been updated. The fixtures for 2009-10 have been drafted and are on the SCCA website. Wallington's fixtures will be posted on this site shortly; there are one or two fixtures that may be rearranged. Last season's results will be archived soon.
24th July 2009:
The President's Cup is reaching an exciting climax. Derek has seemingly "come from nowhere" to beat Mark, the runaway leader, in round six and join him on 4½ points. There will now be a play-off between these two for the trophy.
The new grades for 2009-2010 were due to be released around now (before the British Championships, which start on 27th July) but due to extra issues relating to the new grading structure they will be late. Hopefully they should be on the ECF's website by 10th August...
The annual League Composition Meeting, at which Wallington first team need to make representation to the SCCA for promotion to the Surrey League (division 1) on account of finishing second in the Beaumont Cup (division 2) this year, will be on 24th August, at Dorking.
4th June 2009:
One more reminder that our first club night at Sutton Lawn Tennis Club is this evening. Do try to get down to see our new venue and play some summer games (plus the sixth round of the President's Cup)... the address is Sutton Highfields Lawn Tennis Club, Mayfield Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5DT.
8th May 2009:
Wallington I managed to squeeze a 5-3 victory in the last match of the season, against Crystal Palace. With two boards left the result was in the balance but the last to finish, Susan and Peter, came through with a draw and a win right at the death to deny Palace. This may mean Wallington finishes in second place in the Beaumont Cup, although there are other results pending which we don't know about...
The most important decision at the club's AGM last week was to vote unanimously in favour of relocation of the club to Sutton Highfields Lawn Tennis Club, in Sutton. The first night at the new venue will be Thursday, 4th June, since we have paid rent at BedZED until the end of May. The following link on the tennis club's website gives its location.
27th April 2009:
Final reminder: this Thursday, 30th April is Wallington's AGM, at BedZED, from 8pm. All members please do your best to attend; we have several important agenda items to discuss.
Wallington II are locked level against Dorking after their match last Thursday. The score stands at 2½ - 2½ with Geoff Hurst claiming a draw in the adjudicated board one encounter.
3rd April 2009:
The third team was unable to win its last game of the season. In a tight match, the away team who heavily outgraded us on all boards, managed two sneak two wins, with the remaining games drawn, for a 4-2 result. Nevertheless, Wallington III finish a really good season with the prospect of second place in the league. Well done!
31st March 2009:
Wallington I secured a good away win at Ashtead with sparkling victories from Susan, Owen and Steve this evening.
In addition to being the first week of round six in the President's Cup, it has been decided that the Annual General Meeting will take place on 30th April, at BedZed.
27th March 2009:
Belated congratulations to Wallington II who scored their first win of the campaign on 12th February, with an emphatic 5½ - ½ victory against Redhill III. The individual scores have now been posted.
23rd March 2009:
The website has been updated at last! Two results from the Beaumont Cup mean that Wallington I are set to miss out on promotion, following two heavy losses. However in the Minor Trophy Wallington III have won again and are now joint top of the table, behind South Norwood II by half a game point. With one match to go, there's everything to play for!
The President's Cup has been updated and the draw made for round five (which is scheduded for this Thursday, 26th March). Mark is leading but has a crunch game against Geoff in this round...
11th February 2009:
Wallington II stand all square with one to play after the latest match, at home to Ashtead IV. Mateusz scored a fine win and there were three draws. Geoff hopes to get a result in his game to be adjudicated, so that the team can score its first point of the season!
Meanwhile Godfrey won his adjudicated game for Wallington III against Redhill IV, giving Wallington a 4½ - 1½ victory margin.
4th February 2009:
Better late than never! Inexplicably the webmaster has neglected to keep up-to-date with Wallington II's results this season. Well, we are almost there now, with three matches from last year posted. I can only apologise to all the players concerned...
Also, Owen's adjudicated game has returned as a win, so it was indeed 8-0 in Wallington I's match with Guildford III.
24th January 2009:
Round three of the President's Cup is now complete and the results are on the website. The leaders at the halfway stage are Jim, Mark and Steve, each with 2½ points. Baz, Geoff and Godfrey have 2 points.
20th January 2009:
Wallington III scored a great away win last night in the Minor Trophy, defeating Redhill IV by 3½ - 1½ with Godfrey's game outstanding. Steve very quickly checkmated his opponent. Jim, Mateusz and Godfrey all played good games, while Mark, although always in command, allowed his opponent a draw in the most gruelling and hard-fought game of the evening. With Godfrey expecting a win on adjudication, this is a fine start to the new year for the team.
16th January 2009:
After reaching the final last season, Wallington stumbled at the first hurdle this time. Despite playing away on a cold January night, Redhill were able to field what is possibly their strongest team for this match, which they won by an 8-2 margin. There were good results from Susan, Paul and Geoff, while some of the defeats were frustratingly close games.
The President's Cup pages are now up-to-date with the round three results so far.
12th January 2009:
Wallington I started the new year in the best possible way with a resounding 7-0 lead in the match with Guildford III. This is a great result, despite Guildford being under strength. All of the games played were hard-fought and some could easily have gone the other way. Nevertheless, Owen is quite confident that his adjourned game result will give us an excellent 8-0 whitewash result!
Surrey County Chess Association has created a new, improved website, which includes match cards and individual results. Its URL is http://www.surreychess.org.uk
24th December 2008:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Wallington members and other website readers. Wallington's next match is on 8th January, at home to Guildford III in the Beaumont Cup...
6th December 2008:
Wallington's Minor League Team was in a tremendous battle with Ashtead V on Thursday evening, which they managed to win by the narrowest of margins, when Jim on top board squeezed a win out of an almost dead drawn position. Well done to all the team but especially to Jim! Results here.
25th November 2008:
A belated results update: the President's Cup has reached its second round, with all but one game completed. Maximum points scorers so far are Jim and Bassem.
Wallington III had a tough match at South Norwood II and they lost by the narrow 2½ - 3½ margin. Individual results have been posted.
4th November 2008:
The outstanding game in the Wallington I versus Wimbledon III match was agreed drawn, so Wallington won by a score of 5½ - 2½. The match was closer than the score suggests; with one Wimbledon player resigning in a drawn, or possibly won, position and another not noticing a Wallington flag fall... Individual results are on the Wallington I page now.
31st October 2008:
Wallington I kept up their winning ways with a 5-2 lead (with one game outstanding) against Wimbledon III last night. Detailed results will be posted soon.
28th October 2008:
With the resignation of Mark Webley, Derek has agree to take over as caretaker manager of the first team for the foreseeable future. This means junior coach Jim McGing steps up to be second team captain. Congratulations to both on their appointments and good luck. See the contacts page update...
It has been decided that Wallington I will make an appeal to SCCA following the events of the board 8 game in the Beaumont Cup match against Battersea. More details to follow.
27th October 2008:
Wallington III returned triumphant from the first Minor Trophy match of the season, against Crystal Palace III, with a 3½ - 2½ scoreline. Three draws and wins for Bassem and Mateusz were enough in a close contest.
Battersea have conceded the board 1 game in our recent match, so the result becomes a 5-3 win for Wallington I...
20th October 2008:
Wallington's First Team played its first match of the season last Thursday, at home to perennial rivals Battersea. With one game to be adjudicated Wallington lead 4-3. Susan, on board one, will be claiming a win, so there appears to be a good chance that we can take all the points in this match. Good wins by the two Marks and Peter in the middle order were accompanied by solid draws from Steve and debutant Owen. Geoff collapsed when an attack failed but Jim was very unlucky to lose, to put it mildly, when his opponent's flag fell. He protested so strongly that he did not know the rules that he was granted a second chance by generous Jim & our captain!
15th October 2008:
It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of David Malcolm, whom many of us will know from his time at Sutton Chess Club, Insurance Chess Club and Surrey County Chess. He was a fine chessplayer and a friendly, engaging person. There is an obituary on the Insurance Chess Club's website.
Good news of our treasurer, Vic, who is out of hospital and convalescing at home. Get well soon, Vic.
Our first match of the season, Wallington II away at Ashtead IV, was a close affair with Ashtead IV taking the honours by 3½-2½ in the end. The individual results have been posted.
22nd September 2008:
The new season started last Thursday with six youngsters turning up to our new junior section. By all accounts the session was a great success.
The first round of the President's Cup is this coming Thursday.
The fixtures have now been arranged and are posted on the site.
As some of you may know, Vic, our Treasurer, has gone into hospital for heart surgery and we wish him a speedy recovery. In the interim, he has asked Derek to be acting Treasurer. Subscriptions for the year are £50 and a further £10 if you wish to enter the President's Cup. Prompt payment would be much appreciated since we have several bills to pay.
Again, some of you may know that Mark Webley has moved home and job and wishes to relinquish the first team captaincy. He still hopes to play in some matches but is now living in West Byfleet.
16th September 2008:
Welcome to the 2008-09 Season! The website has been updated and there are some extra items of news:
Finally, let's get ready for some fun and daring chess this season. Happy chess-playing...
4th June 2008:
A longer than usual season draws to a close tomorrow evening with the club AGM (from 8pm). The final two matches of the season were a contrast. In the Alexander Cup Final, we were well beaten by Wimbledon; for the record the score was 10-0, a big disappointment indeed. In our final match, the Beaumont Cup fixture against an already-promoted Woking, there were some middle-order heroics from Colin, Steve Ashworth and Geoff Hurst which earned a well-deserved 4-4 draw on the night.
3rd May 2008:
Notice of Wallington's Annual General Meeting: our AGM will be on Thursday, 5th June at BedZED Pavillion, from 8pm.
Wallington I secured a vital 4-4 draw against high-flying Surbiton in the Beaumont Cup. This result means that Wallington I could still get promoted to the Surrey Trophy division, although it's unlikely. We would have to beat Woking by a 7-1 margin in our last match, and hope that Woking lose an outstanding adjourned game... it could happen though!
1st May 2008:
The site has been updated with the latest match results. Last week the first team scored a very good away win at Guildford III, by 5-2 with one board result outstanding. The bottom four boards did particularly well as a unit to score four out of four! Meanwhile earlier this week Wallington II were defeated by Coulsdon V. Steve Ashworth, Jim and Derek scored the draws in a 4½ - 1½ defeat.
16th April 2008:
The President's Cup is coming to a head and Derek is currently negotiating to get Wembley for the play off, which now is a definite possibility. After a stunning victory by Peter Lalic over Mark Daniells, he and Mark Webley are both on 4 out of 5 but Mark Daniells could still join them if he wins his game in hand. Please note: the final round is scheduled for tomorrow evening (and not for 15th May, as mentioned in the fixture list on this site).
Meanwhile the second team were beaten by Dorking last week, although not by quite as large a margin as we beat them by earlier in the season! With just one match left, a respectable mid-table position has been achieved this season.
9th April 2008:
Following on from the last post, Wallington III duly finished off the regular season with a fantastic away victory at Wimbledon VI, by 3½ - 2½. This also puts them on top of Minor Group A. If Ashtead V fail to win their last match then Wallington VI will go through to the play-off against the winners of Group B!
2nd April 2008:
In the Minor Trophy Wallington III overcame leaders Redhill III on Monday night; giving themselves a chance to win the group if they win against Wimbledon IV and Ashtead V don't. Good luck for that one!
Meanwhile the result of a Stoneleigh match from just before Easter has been posted. Wallington were well out-graded but performed creditably - Steve scoring a fine win against one of the most consistent players in the county and Mark securing a winning draw in his second game on top board.
6th March 2008:
STOP PRESS! Wallington are in the final of the Alexander Cup! After a tremendously tense and changing battle, the hero of the day was Jim McGing who defeated a player over twenty grading points higher to take us to the magic five points total. This was closely followed by Peter Lalic's amazing draw to ensure that we didn't need board count to do it. After solid draws from the middle order, two wins from Geoff Marchant and Susan showed us that Wallington really could win this match. Steve was massively unlucky to find a way to lose after bamboozling his opponent into the loss of a piece. Meanwhile, Peter was verging on the edge of a time loss for what seemed like an age, playing instant replies to his opponent's well-considered moves. But eventually he emerged into a winning queen and pawn ending. His opponent knew that he had been out-manoeuvred and graciously accepted the draw offer at the death. Geoff Hurst could have pressed at the end had he needed to but in the end he comfortably held out for a draw. How James managed his draw may become even more of a legend than Peter's but most of us mortals probably won't understand it...
On Monday, Wallington II lost 4-2 to Wimbledon IV, despite fine wins from Steve and Geoff Hurst. Individual results will be added soon.
3rd March 2008:
A fine away win for the third team was followed last week by a disappointing home defeat. The team are still well-placed in this league to challenge for honours at the end of the season. Individual details are here.
This week the second team are visiting Wimbledon for a Centenary match this evening, while possibly Wallington's biggest match for several years approaches when we host Kingston for a Beaumont Cup and Alexander Cup semi-final double-header on Thursday!
19th February 2008:
The President's Cup pages have been updated with the recent results, while Wallington II were well-beaten by a strong Wimbledon III team in our last match at Strawberry Lodge. Even Peter Lalic lost a game; a rare event this season!
Please don't forget: our next club night is this Thursday, 21st February at BedZED Pavillion, Hackbridge. This link gives location details.
12th February 2008:
Today's good news is that last night Wallington I bounced back from defeat at Wimbledon with a 5½-2½ victory over Redhill II in the Beaumont Cup. There were fine wins for James, Colin, Geoff Hurst, Alan and Steve and a draw for captain Mark Webley.
The bad news is that we shall be parting company with Strawberry Lodge after this week. Luckily we do have a new venue to go to: BedZED Pavillion, off London Road near to Hackbridge Station. A link has been added to the "Club Details" page. Please note: this week's Centenary Trophy match, Wallington II versus Wimbledon IV, on Thursday will take place at Strawberry Lodge.
11th February 2008:
An under-strength Beaumont Cup team battled hard against Wimbledon III last Monday but came out narrowly losing 3½ - 4½. Mark Daniells scored a fine win on board one and Jim McGing managed a storming victory against a higher-rated opponent. Mention must also be made of Alan Hare's draw, as he was down to his bare king when his opponent's flag fell. The tension!
Happily, on Thursday the third team secured a good victory over Wimbledon VI in the Minor Trophy, by 5 -1. Unfortunately Wimbledon VI only arrived with half their team, which rather gifted us the result. The individual details will be posted soon.
24th January 2008:
The website has been updated with the match results from two recent matches: Wallington I won 5½ - 2½ away at Ashtead III, while Wallington II have a winning lead of 3½ - ½ against Ashtead IV.
22nd January 2008:
The President's Cup page has been updated with the latest results and outstanding fixtures. Mark Daniells has moved into the lead on 3 points from 3 games; Peter Lalic and Mark Webley have 2½ points from 3, while Vic and Jim have 2½ out of 4 games.
Following our EGM, negotiations are still ongoing regarding the timing of our departure from Strawberry Lodge; meanwhile there are one or two venues which look like very favourable alternatives at the moment. The EGM itself was fairly short; it was decided that the main officers of the club will check out the suitable venues and report back - a task they have very good recent experience in, alas!
15th January 2008:
The results of Wallington II's recent matches are a winning lead against close rivals Ashtead IV of 3½ - ½ with two games unfinished, followed by a narrow defeat away at Coulsdon IV, by the score of 3½ - 2½. The details of the first match will be posted as soon as possible while those of the second match are on the Wallington II results page.
There will be an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club, from 7pm this Thursday, 17th January, to discuss the letter we have received following the 2nd January meeting of the Leadership Team of Carshalton Baptist Church/ Strawberry Lodge Committee.
14th January 2008:
Happy New Year, and hopefully you won't do what World Champion Vishy Anand did and lose your first game of the year! There are several items to note, please: firstly the President's Cup results have been updated for the games completed in round 3, before Christmas - round 4 is to be played this Thursday, 17th January.
Secondly, our venue is once again cause for concern; we will be calling an EGM once we have received a letter from the Strawberry Lodge Committee, regarding the amount of rent we are paying. We should know more later this week.
The Minor Trophy match against Wimbledon VI has been postponed until February 6th, on Wimbledon's request.
The second team has had two matches so far in 2008. Their results will be posted as soon as the webmaster receives them.
17th December 2007:
Wallington II continued their fine Centenary Trophy form with a 5½ - ½ demolition of Dorking last Thursday. This puts the team in a strong position in the league with three points from four matches.
This Thursday (20th December) sees the return of the President's Cup - round three has been paired and some games have even begun ahead of schedule, although I am reliably informed that all of these games have been adjourned!
8th December 2007:
Wallington have been involved in two derby games against local rivals Coulsdon recently. In the Minor Trophy we emerged victors by the narrowest of margins: 3½ - 2½ with good wins from captain Alan and young Peter Lalic, whose form this season is extremely good.
Meanwhile a sensational Stoneleigh match was played out with Wallington taking a fantastic 3½ - ½ half-time lead, only for Coulsdon to claw their way back to a draw. The final game to finish went down to the wire, with former Wallington stalwart, Simon Wrigley, desperately claiming a last-gasp win, as Peter Aitkins walked his king into a check and, according to the competition rules, forfeited the game.
24th November 2007:
Last Thursday evening history was made when Wallington scored our first Alexander Cup match win in living memory! In a nailbiting affair, the team scraped through 6-4 against Battersea at the eleventh hour. Despite soon being 2-0 up through defaults, Battersea were clearly going to make it a fight and an opening trap allowed Robin Huq to win quickly on board 2. With losses for Steve and Derek to balance two draws and a fine sacrificial attack from Mark Daniells, it seemed our decision to rest captain Webley might backfire. However, both Colin and Susan managed to eke out wins from seemingly level positions to get us over the final hurdle. An away match against Kingston in the semi-final beckons!
The Stoneleigh Team had a hard-fought battle with Streatham, the result of which betrays the closeness of the match. Streatham emerged 6-2 victors. The individual results will be added to the Stoneleigh page as soon as the web-master receives them.
10th November 2007:
The site has been updated with the results of the second round of the President's Cup. Some games have not yet been played and new members' games are yet to be incorporated. Yet again no drawn games in this round of the tournament so far; although I am told some games were very close this time! The front-runners are Peter Lalic and Mark Daniells with maximum 2/2 scores.
Last week the second team scored a good victory at home to Coulsdon VI; the score stands at 4-1 with Peter Lalic's game to be adjudicated. Earlier in the week the third team came away from Ashtead V in the Minor Trophy empty, although the top three boards all secured fighting draws.
First team captain, Mark Webley, has a new home address. I have substituted his work telephone number for the old home phone number on the contacts page.
1st November 2007:
Unfortunately the Ashtead result was mis-reported below; in fact the second team went down 2-4 away to Ashtead IV. The result has been corrected on the page now. Even worse, we lost our Lauder Cup tie on Tuesday, away to Streatham, by 3½ - 1½. To compound the misery further, the bottom board was agreed a double-default, since our captain, Derek, was burgled just a short time beforehand. I'm sure we will all wish Derek well, in recovering from this trauma.
Good luck to all club members playing tonight in the President's Cup. Results will be up as soon as possible!
23rd October 2007:
Some mixed fortunes for Wallington teams recently: the second team achieved a very good away draw at Ashtead IV last week. All games were decisive in an uncompromising slugfest. Fine wins from Jim, Derek and Len brought home a share of the spoils for Wallington. Alan managed to get his "win" claim through in the Wallington III match against Redhill III but, alas, we were subsequently penalised for including an ungraded player on top board without first clearing this with the Inter-club Tournament Secretary. Thus the final score becomes 3 - 2 to Redhill III. Mark Webley battled hard last night but ended up losing his adjourned game against Wimbledon II, thus handing the wombles the match, even with Susan's game outstanding.
The draw for round two of the President's Cup has been made by Derek and is on the website. Matches should be scheduled on or before 1st November.
17th October 2007:
A result has been agreed between the captains in the Beaumont Cup match against Battersea I. Mark Daniells' game was conceded while Battersea conceded Colin's game to leave a 4-4 draw. Meanwhile the second Beaumont match followed closely on, when we entertained Wimbledon II last Thursday. Susan and Mark Webley have unfinished games which both hope to win, so that we can turn the tables on the current score: 3½ - 2½ to Wimbledon II. Derek turned in a barn-storming performance but was unlucky to lose in the end; meanwhile Peter found a forced sequence eight moves long to defeat his experienced opponent. James gave more evidence of his undoubted class when he refused a draw offer while extremely short of time and emerged with an overwhelming position. Once again Geoff put up an heroic performance with a fine draw against a player who outgraded him considerably.
10th October 2007:
On Monday the first team played its first match of the season and came away from Battersea with good chances of securing a useful away draw. New captain Mark Webley played a fine game to give Robin Huq no chance, while Peter secured an effortless draw. Derek scored a good victory and Geoff Hurst a solid draw against opponents who outgraded them. Bassem and Jim can both consider themselves unlucky to lose out in complex positions. In the adjourned games, Mark stands slightly worse but may achieve a draw while Colin is very confident of gaining a win. Tomorrow night will be another stern test for the team as we host Wimbledon II.
5th October 2007:
The new season has started with a bang at Wallington. Last week's President's Cup first round produced six decisive games and last night's first inter-club fixture produced a further five, with not a drawn game in sight. Wallington III entertained Redhill III at our brand new and very spacious venue; Strawberry Lodge. Players from both clubs and spectators all agreed that this venue really is rather special. It's certainly encouraged some fighting spirit! Godfrey and Peter scored fine wins to keep us in touch, while captain Alan is reasonably confident he can secure a win to draw the match 3-3, with his adjourned game.
25th September 2007:
This season's fixtures have now been added - they may be subject to change, especially the President's Cup dates for future rounds. However, Round 1 definitely goes ahead this Thursday, 27th September at our current venue (Ruskin Road). Next week, our first night at Strawberry Lodge, we shall welcome Redhill III for a Minor Trophy match.
10th September 2007:
At the EGM on 6th September it was decided, by a majority decision, that the club will move venue to Strawberry Lodge, Strawberry Lane, Carshalton. We hope to negotiate this move by the first week in October or if we have a home match in September then in time for that! Click here for a link to the Strawberry Lodge website.
The 2006-07 results have now been moved to the website's results archive.
5th September 2007:
The Extraordinary General Meeting of Wallington & Carshalton Chess Club will go ahead tomorrow, Thursday 6th September, at the Church Rooms, Methodist Church, Ruskin Road, Carshalton. Please arrive from 7:30pm for an 8pm start.
14th July 2007:
Mike Gunn, the county grader, has compiled lists of all the games played in the Surrey Leagues during the last season 2006-7. Please can you take time to check that the details he has for you are correct? Contact Mike directly (or Wallington Club Secretary, Geoff Marchant, who will forward details if you prefer) if there are any errors or ommissions. The link is: http://www.scca.co.uk/results07.html
17th May 2007:
Tonight is Wallington Chess Club's Annual General Meeting. Please make every effort to attend, since there have been lots of develoments at the club this season and we must discuss the way forward...
The final match of the season resulted in a disappointing 5-1 reversal in the Lauder Cup Final at Coulsdon. Steve scored an excellent win against an opponent with a very good pedigree.
The President's Cup has been decided, with Susan scoring a perfect 6/6. Well done Susan! There are still games to play and results to come in. Please try to play your games (and inform Derek) by the end of this month; then the games may be included in your grade for next season.
27th April 2007:
This week Wallington I finished its league programme with two games which decided who would be promoted. On Monday Coulsdon II beat us 5-2, with Mark's outstanding game looking to peg back the final game score. Our final match of the season saw us defeat the other promotion hopefuls, Ashtead III by the fine score of 5½-2½. This should ensure us a respectable third place finish in the final Beaumont Cup table.
Last Friday the Surrey County Chess Association was dissolved at an Extraordinary General Meeting! This sounds like drastic news but in reality what is happening is that, from May 1st, the old SCCA will now become SCCA Ltd, a company limited by guarantee, with the existing senior officers as company directors. This measure will give greater accountability but also more flexibility to those directors, in addition to reducing the liability of us all, as individual members of the county association in the event of litigation, for example. Wallington used its four votes at the meeting and in general we are very happy with the outcome. If any members would like more information on this development, both the club secretary (Geoff) and the county secretary (Susan) will be able to give a fuller picture, I hope!
15th April 2007:
Wallington II has almost completed its programme for the season, apart from the Lauder Cup Final on May 9th against Coulsdon. All the match results have now been entered on the Wallington II page...
13th April 2007:
Wallington I continued its winning ways with an impressive victory over Guildford III in the Beaumont Cup competition last night. Notable victories were from James, who didn't mind that his opponent turned up this time, and Mark Webley who managed a cruel swindle with a 'poisoned bishop'! Derek tried to offer the Surrey President, Mike Gunn, a belated wedding present of a rook several times but it kept getting turned down!
The 2007 AGM of Wallington Chess Club is scheduled for Thursday, May 17th. Please try to attend, since we have some important items to discuss. Minutes of the previous AGM will be forwarded to members shortly.
Please note, for grading purposes, all President's Cup matches should be played before the end of May. Any outstanding games then may still be played but it's unlikely that they will count for this season's grading.
30th March 2007:
As this season draws to a close two of our teams have completed their fixtures already. Wallington II played three matches in March, beating Wimbledon IV by 3½-2½ but losing to both Coulsdon IV and Ashtead IV by that same score. I will update the results page as soon as I receive them. Wallington III were beaten 5-1 by Minor Champions Ashtead V, with Alan scoring a good win on top board. Meanwhile Wallington I scored an emphatic 6-1 over Wimbledon III (with one game outstanding) and, dare I say, are still in the hunt for promotion! A warm welcome to new member; James Coleman, who had the easiest of debuts when his opponent didn't arrive.
Our Stoneleigh programme was completed in three hectic days with an away match at Streatham and a home game against Surbiton. Both matches were narrowly lost but there were some great individual performances; especially from Jim, who outscored the wily Robin Haldane, fifty grading points higher, and Mark who comprehensively defeated the strong theoretician Graham Borrowdale in both games.
Good luck to all our players who are representing Surrey in the jamboree at Ashtead this Sunday... and please can I encourage you to enter (it's still not too late) the Surrey Congress over the Easter weekend, co-organised by two of our members (Susan and Paul) and held locally in Cheam. Click here for the congress website.
15th March 2007:
Bad news! Due to a lack of numbers for the chess & curry this Saturday it has had to be cancelled (well, hopefully, just postponed to a later date). It was unfortunate that this date clashes with a U150 match, Mother's Day weekend and, of course, St Patrick's Day. We hope to arrange an alternative in the closed season, perhaps. Apologies to those who had intended to turn up this weekend.
13th March 2007:
Don't forget this year's annual 'chess & curry' incorporating the club blitz tournament this Saturday, 17th March. The venue is the Cottage Room at the Windsor Castle pub, Carshalton and the start time is (approximately) 2pm.
8th March 2007:
The latest Wallington result is a fantastic away victory in the semi-final of the Lauder Cup competition on Tuesday of this week at Streatham! Peter and Steve caused a particularly nail-biting finish to the match with both their games involving queen sacrifices at the death to force the win! The 18th January result for the third team against Redhill III has also been added. Two fixtures have been rearranged: Wallington I now host Ashtead III on Thursday 26th April, while Wallington II visit Wimbledon IV on Monday 2nd April...
21st February 2007:
The website has been updated with some more results. The Stoneleigh team unfortunately came away from Crystal Palace second-best following a 7-1 defeat against a very strong line-up. Well done to Steve for getting one point in his mini-match. Against Wimbledon II the first team, missing several players, also lost, by a 6-2 score. Captain Mark Daniells scored Wallington's only win and there were good draws from Simon and Steve. Last Monday, Wimbledon once again entertained Wallington when our third team played their fifths, in the Minor Trophy. Unfortunately the final score greatly belies the close nature of all the games and the team came away completely empty-handed ...
The President's Cup returned for a first night in our new venue, The Church Room in Ruskin Road. There were some hard-fought games and no draws this round, so far! A fitting start to life at our new venue.
8th February 2007:
Round 5 of the President's Cup, originally scheduled for tonight, has been postponed, due to lack of a venue for this week. However there is good news, in that it has been rescheduled instead for next Thursday, 15th February at our new venue; the Methodist Church Hall on Ruskin Road, Carshalton (a few minutes walk from the Windsor Castle pub). The 'chess & curry' fixture has been rearranged for Saturday 17th March, in the Cottage Room at the Windsor Castle.
The second team managed to complete the double over Dorking on 25th January, with an excellent 5-1 away victory. Steve's new 'team bus' did the trick in boosting morale for the winning formula.
Next Monday 12th February sees two Wallington teams in action away at the same venue: Wallington I play a Beaumont Cup match against Wimbledon II, while Wallington II are there to play Wimbledon IV in a Centenary Trophy fixture. Good luck to both teams...
24th January 2007:
The board results of the Wallington II vs Ashtead IV match have been added to the Centenary Trophy page. On 18th January both Wallington I and Wallington III were in action. Wallington I scored an emphatic and much needed victory over South Norwood I in the Beaumont Cup , by 5½-1½ so far, with Steve's adjudication looking like a straightforward win for us. Wallington III entertained Redhill III and are currently 1½-2½ down, with two games to be adjudicated. They look like a win apiece but we never know!
The 'chess & curry' (mentioned below) has been postponed, since the Windsor Castle is not available on the date we had chosen below nor on several other dates. However it will not be forgotten. We are also currently reviewing our arrangement for club nights at the Windsor Castle. More on this when I know more.
17th January 2007:
There has been quite a bit of news recently. Firstly, your webmaster lost my adjourned game for Wallington I against Redhill II in the Beaumont Cup. I will have to brush up on my rook endings... However that match was drawn, since Steve's adjudication came back as a draw, saving my blushes a little. Also, due to a board order discrepancy by Wimbledon V, the score in our Minor Trophy match has been altered to give us the win, by 3-2, somehow. I imagine we wont argue with that. Vic's second team went down fighting against Ashtead IV, in our first match at the Windsor Castle on 11th January, losing by 4½ - 1½ . Unfortunately, a nameless member of our team (clue: he's also captain of Wallington III) received a phone call during his game, causing him to immediately default the board. I will update the Centenary Trophy page when I get the full score with players' names etc.
Finally, and some would say most importantly, this year's 'chess & curry' is scheduled for Saturday 17th February, at the Windsor Castle, from 1pm. I hope to see lots of your there!
3rd January 2007:
Happy New Year to one and all. And let's hope it is a happy year for Wallington & Carshalton Chess Club with the first gathering at our new venue, the Windsor Castle in Carshalton, tomorrow (Thursday) evening. We shall be using the Cottage Room, which is mentioned on the pub's website.
Also, may I encourage you to enter this weekend's Richmond Rapidplay (Sunday 7th January, from 10:30am, go earlier if you haven't already entered), being organised by Paul and Susan from our club, among others. Click on this link to their new website...
20th December 2006:
On 14th December, Wallington III entertained Wimbledon V in what has turned out to be Wallington's final fixture at the Coach & Horses pub in Carshalton High Street! The result was a hard-fought victory for the away team, with the result in doubt until the very last game finished. Unfortunately this result has been somewhat over-shadowed by the news that yes, Wallington Chess Club has lost its venue. The new landlord at the Coach & Horses has been complaining about us for several weeks now; according to him we move tables, leave full ashtrays(!) and glasses upstairs, pull wires out and leave the heating on, so now we have been ejected. Alan has recovered our equipment and we are hoping that we can move to another local pub (the Windsor Castle) at least for the remainder of this season. Further updates when information arrives...
14th December 2006:
Wallington's latest Beaumont Cup match ended unresolved on Thursday night. Entertaining Redhill II, Wallington I finished the evening 3½ - 2½ ahead but with one game unfinished and another to be adjudicated. Both games appear to favour Redhill players, so this match may slip through our hands. Mark, Paul and Simon all had good wins; Simon managed to bamboozle his opponent into premature resignation, while Paul was ruthless when his adversary unwisely snatched a stray pawn. Susan missed a win in a double-edged position but did well to hold the draw in the end. See the Beaumont Cup page for player details.
3rd December 2006:
Wallington began this season's Stoneleigh Trophy campaign with a good 6-2 victory at home to South Norwood on Thursday evening. There were three 2-0 scores for Wallington players and one 2-0 score for the away side. I was told that none of the mini-matches were as one-sided as their scores suggest. Click here to see the individual results.
15th November 2006:
Wallington I suffered their second defeat in a row, away at Ashtead II last night. There were, however, good performances from Mark Webley, back from the West Country, and Paul Dupré who is currently in fine form. Captain Mark Daniells managed to grasp a half-point at the death from his rapidly improving opponent, while Susan had to settle for a draw on top board. A special mention must go to Peter Lalic, who stepped in at the very last minute following Colins withdrawal, and was the last to finish against a very experienced opponent. Thank you Peter and get well soon Colin. The final score was 5-3 to the home side.
There was, however, some good news for Wallington fans yesterday. Len's adjourned game against Redhill III has been adjudicated as a win for Wallington, so we did we that match, by a 4-2 margin.
13th November 2006:
Paul Dupré has agreed to help continue the famous Richmond Rapidplay series of tournaments, after previous organisers had stood down. The next event, its 69th, is on January 7th, 2007. Click here to download an entry form.
9th November 2006:
Last night Wallington crashed out of the Alexander Cup in a tough away match against Surbiton. Hoping to repeat Southend Uniteds performance in the Carling Cup the night before, instead it was a middle-order collapse in the style of the less successful
3rd November 2006:
On Thursday, 2nd November the first team began their Beaumont Cup campaign with a convincing win against a team we had lost to last season; Battersea I. Jim, Mark and Paul set the ball rolling with good wins, and Colin, Simon and Geoff secured the match points. Steve won well at the end but Peter was extremely unlucky to lose in a time scramble when he was clearly winning. The final score was 5½-2½ to Wallington I.
On Wednesday, 1st November Wallington II travelled to near-neighbours Coulsdon for a Centenary Trophy match against Coulsdon's fourth team. They returned with an away point , although captain Vic Bassi says that this was really a point lost rather than an away point gained. We well out-graded our opponents on all boards.
29th October 2006:
Wallington members have had more success playing for
On Thursday 26th October Wallington III had a hard-fought encounter with the youngsters (mainly) of Ashtead V and in a night of uncompromising chess there were no drawn games. Eventually Wallington III were downed by 2-4 ; well done to Alan and Steve who scored good wins for the home side.
21st October 2006:
Well done to Wallington members who represented the
Wallington II beat Dorking by 4-2 on Thursday, 12th October. Steve, Geoff and Andrew all won, while Alan and Jim secured good draws against strong opposition. Vic was desperately unlucky to lose but he can bask in captain's glory.
Congratulations to club member Paul Dupré, who won the Major Section in the Metropolitan Chess Congress over the weekend of 7th/8th October. Godfrey Nurse also competed in a very strong Minor Section, with a creditable result.
Wallington III travelled to Redhill on Monday, 2nd October and returned with the advantage against Redhill III in the Minor Trophy. The current score is 3-2 to Wallington III, with Len on board 4 claiming a win on adjudication. Godfrey and Andrew won on the lower boards, while Alan and Thomas drew their games on the top boards. Delroy was the unlucky loser on board three.