Following ECF advice the CDCL will be suspended immediately. The Chase Trophy Final has been postponed & we request that any individual trophy/plate games also be delayed until further notice.
We will provide further updates as the situation develops.
We are keeping the ever-changing situation regarding the Coronavirus under review. The next league match is due on 1st April & we intend to issue further guidance before this date.
In the meantime, The Chase Trophy Final is due to be played this week & some individual trophy games are also due to be played in March. These can continue should all participants be happy to play, but if anyone has any doubts or concerns then please feel free to postpone the games & inform the Records Secretary on recordsecretary.cdcl@hotmail.co.uk.
Stephen Smithson has overcome Des Green in their semi final replay so now will play Kieran Mills in the final.
Kieran has been drawn with home advantage so Stephen gets the White pieces.
After a 3-1 victory last night Sutton Coldfield took the Division 1 title by the narrowest of margins. With Lichfield also winning the first game 3-1 both teams were tied at the top of the league, however Sutton Coldfield have retained their title thanks to fielding the lowest graded players over the 2 games (rule 17iii).
Congratulations to Marek Soszynski & his team.
Division 1: Lichfield won the first game in September 3-1, so Sutton Coldfield need a large victory in the reverse fixture to take the title.
Division 2: After February’s games Rugeley lead the table from Rushall by a point, but Oscott, Tamworth & Stafford all have games in hand & all 5 teams can possibly win the division. The key games due between the teams are Tamworth v Stafford, Oscott v Rugeley & Stafford v Oscott.
Division 3: Again, the table is now led by Rugeley followed by Lichfield B, who along with Norton Canes have games in hand. The pivotal remaining game is on Tuesday 3.3.20 when Rugeley will win the division with a victory over Norton Canes. However, a Norton Canes win will mean that their final two games versus Lichfield B will decide the winners, with all 3 teams still in with a mathematical chance. A draw & Norton Canes will not be able to win the division; however, Lichfield B will then be able to overtake Rugeley with 2 wins in those final 2 games against Norton Canes. Complicated stuff!
The dates of the final games in each division are:
Division 1: 9.3.20 Sutton Coldfield v Lichfield
Division 2: 4.3.20 Bushbury v Wolverhampton, 5.3.20 Tamworth v Stafford, 12.3.20 Lichfield v Rushall, 1.4.20 Oscott v Rugeley, 8.4.20 Bushbury v Tamworth, 9.4.20 Wolverhampton v Oscott & 29.4.20 Stafford v Oscott
Division 3: 3.3.20 Rugeley v Norton Canes, 10.3.20 Norton Canes v Lichfield B & 9.4.20 Lichfield B v Norton Canes
Tamworth defeated Wolverhampton in their semi final yesterday and will now host Sutton Coldfield in the 2020 Final.
Congratulations to Nigel Byrne & David Gardiner who have won their respective semi finals & now meet in the Robert Ward Trophy final. Both are members of Sutton Coldfield CC & Nigel has been drawn as the home player (black pieces).
Division 2 – 7 points from their 3 January games has propelled Rugeley up the league table, but Rushall continue to lead following a hard fought draw with still unbeaten Tamworth. However, the league is still wide open with everything to play for and there is still the opportunity for several teams to win the league.
Division 3 – Norton Canes & Lichfield A were both successful against Coleshill, improving their positions in the league, but it still looks like a tight race for the championship between Lichfield B & Rugeley.
The 2nd Chase Trophy semi final is scheduled for 27.2.20 with Wolverhampton hosting Tamworth to see who will play Sutton Coldfield in the Final. Other fixtures planned are:
Division 2 – 5.2.20 Stafford v Rushall, 6.2.20 Wolverhampton v Tamworth, 10.2.20 Oscott v Bushbury, 12.2.20 Stafford v Wolverhampton & Bushbury v Rugeley.
Division 3 – 6.2.20 Lichfield B v Coleshill, 13.2.20 Lichfield A v Norton Canes, 26.2.20 Coleshill v Lichfield B, 27.2.20 Lichfield A v Rugeley.
Robert Ward Trophy
Steve Whatmore & Nigel Byrne are scheduled to play their semi final on 11.2.20, with David Gardiner & Jet Ajimal yet to arrange the other.
Robert Ward Plate
Peter Oliver & Tom Vanes drew their first game so will replay on 11.2.20. Richard Bailey, Paul Barrett & Mike Hoare await the outcome & subsequent semi final draw.
Dolan Trophy
Kieran Mills awaits the winner of the replay between Des Green & Stephen Smithson in the Final.
The 3 league games planned for December have now been played with no more games due now until January.
Rushall’s draw with Oscott means that they maintain their lead in Division 2, closely followed by Oscott, Tamworth & Stafford who all have a least 1 game in hand. The Division promises to continue to be very close & competitive with all 4 teams in a strong position to mount a challenge to win it. Indeed, any of the other 4 teams could also still run them close with a consistent spell of victories in the 2nd half of the season as well.
Rugeley extended their lead in Division 3 with a draw against Lichfield A, but Lichfield B look well positioned with 2 games in hand & their final 4 games are against the 2 teams in the Division who are yet to gain a victory so far.
January’s planned league games are:
Division 2 – 7.1.20 Rugeley v Lichfield, 16.1.20 Wolverhampton v Rugeley, 28.1.20 Rugeley v Stafford & 30.1.20 Tamworth v Rushall
Division 3 – 14.1.20 Norton Canes v Coleshill & 29.1.20 Coleshill v Lichfield A
Everyone at the CDCL would like to wish all players a Happy Christmas & successful New Year, hopefully with plenty of exciting competitive chess being played in 2020.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
Although the Quarter Final match between Mike Hoare & Jettender Ajimal is yet to be played, the draws for the Semi Finals of the Robert Ward Trophy & the First Round of the Robert Ward Plate (all players who have been eliminated from the Trophy) have been made to allow the other players the chance to arrange their games for the new year.
Robert Ward Trophy with the home player (black pieces) shown first:
Steve Whatmore v Nigel Byrne
David Gardiner v Mike/Jettender winner
Robert Ward Plate with the home player (black pieces) shown first:
Tom Vanes v Peter Oliver
Kieran Mills v Mike/Jettender loser
Byes: Richard Bailey & Paul Barrett
Games are scheduled to be played before 29.2.20.
Additionally, both Semi Finals of the Dolan Trophy (Kieran Mills v Fred Biles & Stephen Smithson v Des Green) are now scheduled to be played on 23.1.20.
Sandy Wilson, Tournament Secretary & Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
David Gardiner, Steve Whatmore & Nigel Byrne have qualified for the semi finals of the Robert Ward Trophy. The other quarter final is due to be played shortly, after which the draw will be made for the semi finals & the Robert Ward Plate.
No games were played in the Dolan Trophy.
The first Chase Trophy semi final was won by Sutton Coldfield meaning that they qualify for the final versus the Wolverhampton/Tamworth semi final winner, with that game due to be played in February.
No games were played in Division 1.
Rushall lead Division 2 after November’s games with Tamworth, Oscott & Stafford in close pursuit. The other 4 teams are yet to register a win; however all of the games have been decided by the tightest of margins so everything is still to play for.
Rugeley & Lichfield B are dominating Division 3 with Rugeley just ahead having played an extra game. Both teams won their respective home games against each other by the score of 2.5-1.5 so there is every chance that the Division winners could be decided by games difference over the season if their dominance continues.
In December there are far fewer fixtures planned due to the Christmas holidays:
Dolan Trophy 1st semi final – 11.12.19 Kieran Mills v Fred Biles
Division 2 – 2.12.19 Rushall v Oscott
Division 3 – 3.12.19 Rugeley v Lichfield A & 12.12.19 Lichfield A v Coleshill
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
The Preliminary Round of the Robert Ward Trophy took place with the 2 losers now eligible to play in the Robert Ward Plate, while the Dolan Trophy quarter finals were completed & the semi final draw made.
Wolverhampton qualified for the semi finals of the Chase Trophy after a very exciting game, with a board count victory over Rugeley following a 2-2 draw.
No games took place in Division 1.
In Division 2 there were 2 drawn games & a narrow Stafford win at Bushbury leaving Rushall, Oscott & Stafford top with 4 points each from 2 games. Wolverhampton’s fixture at home to Rugeley has had to be rescheduled so they are yet to play their first league fixture.
2 wins for Rugeley plus 1 win apiece for Lichfield A & Lichfield B mean that Rugeley lead the way in Division 3 closely followed by Lichfield B. Again, there were several close interesting games in October with all teams playing at least once.
Looking ahead to November the following fixtures are planned:
Chase Trophy semi final – 4.11.19 Sutton Coldfield v Stafford
Division 2 – 7.11.19 Tamworth v Lichfield, 14.11.19 Lichfield v Wolverhampton, 18.11.19 Rushall v Wolverhampton & 26.11.19 Rugeley v Tamworth
Division 3 – 20.11.19 Coleshill v Rugeley & 21.11.19 Lichfield A v Lichfield B
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
With the 4 Quarter Finals having been played so promptly the draw has been made for the Dolan Trophy Semi Finals - the knock-out competition for players graded less than 101. The home player (black pieces) is shown first:
Kieran Mills v Fred Biles
Stephen Smithson v Des Green
The games are due to be played before the end of February 2020.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
Following Wolverhampton's thrilling Preliminary Round victory over Rugeley by board count (the teams drew 2-2 but Wolverhampton's win came on board 2 while Rugeley's was on board 3 with boards 1 & 4 drawing) they have qualified for the Chase Trophy semi finals. The draw has been made with the home teams shown first:
Wolverhampton v Tamworth
Sutton Coldfield v Stafford
The games are to be played before the end of February 2020.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
Preliminary Round result - Richard Bailey has defeated Tom Vanes. The other game is to be held on 16.10.19, a little later than planned due to unavoidable player commitments.
Quarter Final draw with home players (black pieces) shown first:
Richard Bailey v David Gardiner
Mike Hoare v Jettender Ajimal
Peter Oliver v Steve Whatmore
Nigel Byrne v Paul Barrett or Kieran Mills
Games to be played by 15.12.19
Sandy Wilson, Tournament Secretary & Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
Games have been played in all 3 Divisions with Lichfield taking a commanding lead in Division 1 thanks to a 3-1 victory over reigning champions Sutton Coldfield.
In Division 2, Rushall lead with 4 points from 2 home games followed by Oscott who have 3 points from 1 game.
Rugeley lead Division 3 after a victory against Lichfield B who also have 3 points following that loss & a win against Lichfield A.
Looking ahead to October, the Chase Trophy begins tonight with last year’s runners up Rugeley hosting holders Wolverhampton, while 9 League fixtures are planned:
Division 2:
9.10.19 Bushbury v Stafford, 23.10.10 Oscott v Tamworth & Stafford v Lichfield, 30.10.19 Wolverhampton v Rugeley.
Division 3:
2.10.19 Coleshill v Norton Canes, 8.10.19 Rugeley v Coleshill, 15.10.19 Norton Canes v Lichfield A, 17.10.19 Lichfield B v Rugeley, 29.10.19 Norton Canes v Rugeley
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
We are pleased to announce that the new CDCL season is now up & running with both League & Individual Trophy matches having already taken place. With all players now aware of their draws in the Individual Trophies we can confirm the details.
Entrants for the Robert Ward Trophy:
David Gardiner (Sutton Coldfield), Nigel Byrne (Sutton Coldfield), Steve Whatmore (Rugeley), Mike Hoare (Lichfield), Jettender Ajimal (Sutton Coldfield) & Peter Oliver (Tamworth/Sutton Coldfield). A preliminary round has been arranged with 4 entrants from Coleshill drawn together - Paul Barrett v Kieran Mills & Richard Bailey v Tom Vanes. Ties to be played by 6.10.19.
Entrants & draw for the Dolan Trophy:
Fred Biles (Lichfield) v Colin Bissell (Coleshill), Tom Vanes (Coleshill) v Des Green (Coleshill), Malcolm Jones (Coleshill) v Stephen Smithson (Lichfield) & Ryan Wood (Rugeley) v Kieran Mills (Coleshill). Ties to be played by 31.10.19
We will update the draws after each round has been played.
Once again, good luck to everyone involved.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary & Sandy Wilson, Tournament Secretary
The draws have been made for the Individual Competitions & all players have been notified of their fate.
In total 18 players have entered which is a significant increase from last year, so it's pleasing to see the interest grow.
Good luck to everyone involved.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary & Sandy Wilson, Tournament Secretary
Rushall's venue is St Francis' Social Club, 20 Mill Road, WS4 1RH. The CDCL contacts page is correct but we still had the old venue in our latest announcements from last year, so it's important to clarify this for all prospective visitors.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
Sandy Wilson is running the Robert Ward Trophy this year while I will be running the Dolan Trophy (players graded below 101 or ungraded).
The closing date for entries for both will be Sunday,1st September 2019.
Entries are FREE and the Tournament Rules are in the Cannock and District League Handbook & also on www.cdcleague.com/rules/
Robert Ward Trophy entries - alexanderwilson7@sky.com
Dolan Trophy entries - recordsecretary.cdcl@hotmail.co.uk
Entrants need to send their name and CDCL club affiliation, grade (or estimate if ungraded) and contact details:- email address and/or telephone number.
We will acknowledge entries within 48 hours of receiving them.
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
5 teams have entered this season's Chase Trophy. The draw has given last year's runners-up Rugeley a home game against holders Wolverhampton. The other 3 teams (Stafford, Sutton Coldfield & Tamworth) receive a bye into the semi-finals where they will be joined by the Rugeley/Wolverhampton winners.
2019-2020 Team entries
Update: Bushbury have now contacted me to confirm that they will be entering a team in Division 2 so the updated team entries are as follows:
Division1 (<551) – Lichfield & Sutton Coldfield
Division 2 (<461) – Wolverhampton, Stafford, Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth, Rushall, Oscott & Bushbury
Division 3 (<371) – Rugeley, Lichfield A, Lichfield B, Norton Canes, Coleshill
Chase Trophy (<551) – Wolverhampton, Stafford, Rugeley, Tamworth & Sutton Coldfield
The fixtures meeting is still scheduled for Tuesday 2nd July at 7.30pm at the Bridgtown Social Club in Cannock
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
I can confirm that the 2019-2020 Divisions will be:
Division 1 (<551) – Lichfield & Sutton Coldfield
Division 2 (<461) – Wolverhampton, Stafford, Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth, Rushall & Oscott
Division 3 (<371) – Rugeley, Lichfield A, Lichfield B, Norton Canes, Coleshill
Chase Trophy – Wolverhampton, Stafford, Rugeley, Tamworth & Sutton Coldfield
The fixtures meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 2nd July at 7.30pm at the Bridgetown Social Club in Cannock
Steve Whatmore, Records Secretary
The AGM took place on Tuesday 21st May 2019 at the Bridgtown Social Club in Cannock. Minutes will follow. Eunice Dolan had organised and prepared a fine buffet, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the League. Special guest Robert Mayne was in attendance, as a founder member and the first General Secretary of the League.
The Chase Trophy has been won this year by Wolverhampton CC who beat Rugeley CC in the final. Congratulations to Wolverhampton, and thanks to the other participating clubs for this year's competition.
RKS
The winner of the Robert Ward Trophy this year is David Gardiner (Sutton Coldfield CC) who beat Mike Hoare (Lichfield) in a replay after their intial draw.
The Robert Ward Plate has been won by Nigel Byrne (Sutton Coldfield CC) who beat Richard Bailey (Coleshill CC) in another replay after an initial draw.
Congratulations to both winners and thanks to the other players who participated this year.
RKS
Roy Smith will be standing down as Recoreds Secretary at the AGM due to work commitments, after many years sterling work in the post. Anyone interested in taking over is invited to contact Roy or myself to discuss.
The Annual General Meeting of the League will be held on Tuesday 21 May 2019 at 7.30 pm at the Bridgetown Social Club in Cannock. The agend for the meeting will be sent out during the firwt half of April. Everyone is welcome to attend, but please ensure that every club is represented at the meeting.
Peter Oliver, League General Secretary
Ray Dolan reminds us that on April 4th this year the Cannock & District Chess League will have been in existence for 20 years.
We now have the finalists for the Robert Ward Trophy for this season. David Gardiner (Sutton Coldfield) beat Kevin Spillane (Boldmere) in their semifinal, and so David meets Mike Hoare (Lichfield, Norton Canes) in the Final. Mike beat Chris Cox (Wolverhampton) in his semifinal.
Roy Smith (Tournaments Secretary)
Round 1 of this competition for CDCL players at all grades has now been completed by the replay of Kevin Spillane vs Nigel Byrne. Kevin won the game and is into Round 2 (semi-final): Kevin Spillane vs Dave Gardiner, and Mike Hoare vs Chris Cox.
Round one losers are now paired up for the Robert Ward Plate competition semi-final; Nigel Byrne vs Malcolm Phipps, and Geoff Rosser vs Richard Bailey
Roy Smith Tournament Secretary
The Dolan Trophy final between Brian Jones and Richard Bailey was played on January 23rd and the winner was Richard Bailey.
Richard is the first winner of this new competition for CDCL players graded at<101. Congratulations to Richard and thanks to Des Green and Brian Jones for entering this new competition and helping to get it started.
Roy Smith, Tournaments Secretary
Apart from one replay due in early January, Round 1 of the Robert ward knockout tournament is complete. Those going into Round 2 are: Dave Gardiner, Chris Cox and Mike Hoare. They will be joined by either Nigel Byrne or Kevin Spillane. The first round losers are automatically entered for the Robert Ward Plate.
In the Dolan Trophy, an all-play-all first round is now complete, and the two going forward to the Final are Robert Bailey of Coleshill Chess Club and Brian Jones of Lichfield Chess Club.
Thanks to all for participating!
Roy Smith Tournaments Secretary
Sadly, we've heard from Brewood Chess Circle that they are withdrawing from our Division 2 competition. The League Officers will decide shortly the outcome on matches already played for the league tables. We anticipate that individual games will still be submitted for grading. This will be confirmed shortly. RS
Robert Ward trophy: Chris Cox goes into Round 2 after defeating Geoff Rosser in Round 1. Geoff is now entered for the RW Plate competition for Round 1 losers.
Dolan Trophy: Brian Jones has won his first match in the all-play-all first round by defeating Des Green.
Roy Smith
Richard is currently looking at a bug affecting the league table scores for each division; you will see they are not working correctly at present. Roy Smith
Richard has now activated the Results tab on the home page, showing a list of current season events. Click on the event and you get a fixture list; click on the fixture and match results are displayed. Results only show up when both captains have entered their match result. Any problems with the data, check with me! Captains will recall they have received instructions about how to enter match data. Again, any problomes, check with me. Roy Smith, Records Secretary
I've now started the Robert Ward Trophy and the Dolan Cup competitions for 2018-19; those taking part have been informed of their draws. We have had eight entries for the Robert Ward Trophy, and three entries for our new competition for lower-graded players, the Dolan Cup. I'll report results as each round progresses. Thanks to all who have entered the competitions and good luck to all players!
Roy Smith Tournaments Secretary
Team Captains have now been sent instructions for entering results online.
Records Secretary
Entries for the Robert Ward Trophy and the Dolan Trophy will be accepted until 30th September 2018. Email recordsecretary.cdcl@hotmail.co.uk with your name, club, grade, email and phone number. Robert Ward Trophy is open to all individual members of participating clubs; Dolan Trophy is open to individual members graded less than 101 (including ungraded players). Rules for each competition are posted on the website under the 'Rules' tab.
RKS - Tournaments Secretary
Note that the Rushall Chess Club's new venue is at the Bowman, corner of Myatt Ave/Gretton Crescent; not "Wyatt Ave" as previously posted!
This year we have two individual tournaments for members of CDCL clubs.
The long-standing Robert Ward Trophy is open to all players of participating clubs.
New for 2018-19 is the Dolan Trophy. This new competition is open to al players in participating clubs, plus the Bloxwich Junior Chess Academy. It is restricted to players graded at <101 ECF, or new ungraded players.
Full rules of each competition are available under the RULES tab on the site homepage.
Enquiries to: Roy Smith recordsecretary.cdcl@hotmail.co.uk
Entries also to Roy Smith as above, stating NAME, CLUB, GRADE, EMAIL, PHONE, and which of the competitions you want to enter.
Deadline for entries is 31st August 2018
Club entries for the CDCL league competitions for 2018-19 are:
Division 1 (<551): Lichfield; Sutton Coldfield
Division2 (<461): Bolmere St Michael; Brewood; Bushbury; Lichfield; Rugeley; Rushall; Tamworth; Wolverhampton
Division 3 (<371): Bloxwich JCA; Coleshill; Lichfield A; Lichfield B; Norton Canes
Chase Trophy (<551): Brewood; Rugeley; Sutton Coldfield; Tamworth.
A reminder to fixtures secretaries that CDCL is holding its Fixtures meeting on Tuesday 3rd July, 7.30pm at Bridgtown Social Club. Club entries for League Competition should be with the Records Secretary no later than Friday 15th June. Email Roy Smith on recordsecretary.cdcl@hotmail.co.uk if you have not already sent your entries.
Welcome to members of the Bloxwich Junior Chess Academy, which is entering a team in CDCL Division 3 for the 2018/19 season. This is great news as it reaffirms the League's commitment to encouraging new and junior players with opportunities for friendly competitive chess.
This is where Cannock & District Chess League matters will be announced.