Hamilton Chess Club

We started the school term with a respectable turnout of 24 for lightning last night. Graham managed to beat Stefan in the final round to take out the tournament on tiebreak.

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then next club night on 3 May at 7pm is a good place to start. We will have an evening of lightning chess, 7 games at time control 3 minutes plus 2 second increment per move from move one.  We will have a slower format the following week; guests welcome then as well. Come along and join in the fun.

The club is in recess now for the school holidays, we resume on 3 May with a night of casual lightning chess, 3 + 2

In case you are wondering (or not, but it is too late now as you are already reading this post) what the club champs did to your rating the table below shows those in whom the rating went up, and those in whom it went South. Oh well, there is always the rest of the year to repair it I guess

It came down to the last game to decide Club Champion 2016. Richard had the white pieces and needed to play for a win. In the  end Hilton had queen rook and knight against queen and two rooks and conceded defeat. Richard is therefore Club Champion 2016, meaning he is Club Champ for the second year in a row.  Hilton and Milton were second equal half a point behind.The title of club Junior champion goes to Sivaram this year, with Joel in second place. Sivaram receives a book prize for his efforts. The final cross table is here, and the roll of honour has been updated here.

Club ratings have been updated for the five rounds of the club champs so far. Four club members have achieved new personal bests.

The draw for next week is below. Remember no byes allowed in the final two rounds, so if you cant make it you will forfeit the point, unless you can arrange to play your opponent prior, for instance on the weekend. Let me know if you cant be there, so that we can save your opponent coming in unnecessarily, and so that I can  see what can be arranged in terms of a make-up game.

Standings at round 5 below

The draw for round 5 is below. Clocks will be started at 7:15 or as soon as possible thereafter. Don’t be late.

The draw for round 4 is below. Clocks will be started at 7:15 or as soon as possible thereafter. Don’t be late.

Please email Richard Jackson if you wish to take a half point bye in the next two rounds of the club champs as I will be out of town.

So far we have byes awarded for Ian and Murray for round 4

The draw for round 3 is below. Clocks will be started at 7:15 or as soon as possible thereafter. Dont be late.

All club ratings, graphs and crosstables have been updated

The club welcomes Lara Heppenstall as its newest member. Lara is a seasoned player having competed in tournaments in her native British Columbia. She is a strong player and came very close to victory against Graham in round one of the club champs. Welcome Lara.

Club champs round one last night. Twenty seven players turned out, a few less than 2015 when we had 31  and a definite improvement on 2014 (23) and 2013 (19). Two games went down to the wire: Murray v Hilton, and Graham v Lara. Round 2 next week. Remember that clocks will be started as soon as I do the draw, whether you are there or not. Also, let Ian know if you are not going to be there as you will be awarded a bye. Crosstable so far is below. Club ratings have been updated.