Club news and forthcoming events
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2009
30/6/09 – The AGM of the Saxmundham & District Chess Club will be held at the Benhall & Sternfield Ex-Servicemen's Club on Tuesday 14th July 2009 at 7:30pm.
Members, prospective members and anyone interested are all invited to attend.
For further details please contact the Club Secretary, Hugo Brown, on (01728) 452056.
David Spence and Stephen Gregory visit, plus the 2009 Club Championship!
30/6/09 – Arthur McCormick writes:
First, last Tuesday (23rd June) David Spence and Stephen Gregory from Ipswich Chess Club came to Benhall. Not the best turn-out, possibly because the e-mail sent advertising the evening was a bit too close to the event. As luck would have it, a very pleasant and educational evening was had by David Brown, Hugo Brown and Arthur.
Both of the mentors gave some interesting advice particularly on some of my league games this season. What bothers me is that when you hear two skilled practitioners analyse what I thought were simply straightforward moves they turn out to be far removed from that - wow it's a bit powerful! Anyway, David said he thought they enjoyed the evening and are happy to do another.
Second, last Saturday, 27th June, the Club Championship was organised by Andrew Paige. Seven members (John Feavyour, David & Hugo Brown, Peter Chadwick, Arthur McCormick, Andrew Paige and Don Picton) played in two league groups in the morning.
Not surprisingly, David Brown and John Feavyour won their groups respectively and in the final during the afternoon, John beat David to become club champion outright this year. Don Picton beat Peter Chadwick in the play-off for third place.
It's amazing the things that you find . . .
7/3/09 – The Internet is simultaneously both a wonderful and awful thing, but for chess enthusiasts it can be a fantastic resource.
A few days ago it was with great pleasure that I stumbled upon a reference to a former Saxmundham Chess Club member (and well known character!) Charlie Gold. Sadly for the chess club, Charlie retired to his native United States many years ago, but he is fondly remembered by those who knew him.
Chess Cafe (www.chesscafe.com) is an excellent website and if you click on the following link you can
read about the typical chessboard antics that Charlie was famous for!
Friendly Match vs Lowestoft Ex-Servicemen's Club Chess Group
1/9/08 – On Tuesday 19th August the Chess Club hosted a friendly match against Lowestoft Ex-Servicemen's Club Chess Group, following an approach by them in late spring.
The evening was a great success and included a welcome break to enjoy tea, coffee and snacks!
The final result was: Saxmundham 2 – Lowestoft ESCCG 4.
Many thanks to all participants; we look forward to enjoying many more such matches in the future.
Annual General Meeting
18/7/08 – The 2008 AGM of the Saxmundham & District Chess Club was held on Tuesday 8th July at our regular venue, Benhall & Sternfield Ex-Servicemen's Club.
Members enjoyed the usual wide-ranging and lively discussion, and re-elected John Feavyour (Chairman), Hugo Brown (Secretary) and Geoffrey Lilley (Treasurer), as the principal officers of the club.
Formal approval was given for the minutes of the last AGM, along with the Treasurer's Report and the Secretary's Report for the past year.
It was agreed that the club would not enter any of the Cup tournaments in the coming season but instead concentrate on Suffolk League matches. As last year, Andrew Paige will again be captaining the ‘A’ team in the 2nd Division and Arthur McCormick will be looking after the ‘B’ team in the 3rd.
Arthur McCormick was nominated to continue liaising with an ad-hoc ‘rules committee’ (which was set-up to try and formalize a set of rules for the Suffolk Chess League) and members expressed their gratitude for his work clarifying these issues for the club.
Among other items agreed, enthusiastic endorsement was given for another Christmas Dinner this year and for another quickplay event! It is also hoped that we may be able to arrange friendly matches against other clubs in the area (we have been approached by at least two potential opponents) and interest was shown in inviting a very strong player to give a simul at the club.
English Senior Championship
16/2/08 – The 1st English Senior Chess Championship was held between 28th January and 1st February in Dovedale, Derbyshire. Saxmundham's John Feavyour scored a very creditable 3/5, but was unlucky to have been paired against the eventual winner, IM Andrew Whiteley, in the first round!
Quickplay Tournament
24/9/07 – The chess club held a Quickplay Tournament on Tuesday 18th September. Club members Peter Chadwick, Arthur McCormick, Alan Naysmith, Andrew Paige and Don Picton participated in the competition, which was organised by John Feavyour.
After several hard-fought and entertaining rounds of high-speed chess (just 5 minutes each, plus an extra 3 seconds for every move completed!), Don Picton finally emerged as the winner, receiving a box of chocolates from John for his success.
John Feavyour (right, with the black pieces)
at the British Senior Chess Championship.
(Photograph courtesy of Bob Jones).
British Championships 2007
10/8/07 – The 2007 British Chess Championships have just concluded, having taken place right on our doorstep in Great Yarmouth.
Saxmundham Chess Club can feel well represented with the participation of John Feavyour in the Senior competition.
John is a strong player with an international rating (FIDE 2083) and he performed well against tough opposition to finish in joint 4th place (out of 33 players). John's final score was 4½ points, from seven games played.
New Club Website!
Following approval at the AGM, this club website was launched in July. So far, the response from visitors has been very positive and the hope is that the website will help to promote the club and (in a modest way!) chess in general.
A number of local chess clubs (as well as the Suffolk Chess League and the ECF), have already included links to www.saxchess.org.uk on their own websites, and we would welcome others who wish to follow suit!
Please e-mail: admin@saxchess.org.uk with news, suggestions or contributions.
AGM 2007
The chess club held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 10 July.
At the meeting the minutes of the last AGM were approved, along with the club Treasurer's Report and Secretary's Report for the past year.
Amid wide-ranging discussion, arrangements were made for the coming season and the following Officers were elected:
| Post | Holder |
|---|---|
| Chairman | John Feavyour |
| Secretary | Hugo Brown |
| Treasurer | Geoffrey Lilley |
| A Team Captain | Andrew Paige |
| B Team Captain | Arthur McCormick |
| Suffolk U125 Captain | Andrew Paige |
| Norfolk & Suffolk Cup Captain | Andrew Paige |
| Club Championship Controller | Alan Naysmith |
ECF Grades
You can follow the links here to be taken to the English Chess Federation's latest grading lists for Saxmundham Chess Club players, and for the whole of Suffolk.
League and other Results
Rather than repeat tables of figures on this website, you can follow the link to be taken to John Lambert's superb web pages, which contain all of the results and standings for teams playing in the Suffolk League and other competitions.