2023-4 season, older news

Worcester in Towers Summer Cup

29 Aug 2024. Tony Shaw acted as captain for the second round of the jamboree for the Towers Cup at Meadow Farm Redditch. Only Joe Rastall won and the team shared third position with Redditch. Winners were Longbridge. See full result.

New chess club to start in city college

15 Aug 2024. Colin Vernon, Lecturer in Esports & Computing at Heart of Worcestershire College is hoping to start a chess club for students at the St Andrew’s Building on Deansway next term. Colin recently qualified as a World Chess Federation Lead School Instructor (LSI) and will be putting it to good use in coaching players for the Delancey UK Chess Challenge in spring term.

Worcester in Summer Cup competitions

22 Aug 2024. u1650 team lose final to Kidderminster. Kidderminster trounced Worcester. Although the overall score was 4-0, the games were close. See score card.
15 Aug 2024. Open team share lead after first round. Worcester scored 2½ points in the first round of the jamboree tournament for the Towers Cup at Redditch. Kidderminster also scored 2½. Longbridge, Malvern and Redditch scored 1½ points each and are very much in touch wityh the leaders. Round 2, also at Redditch on 29 Aug will be decisive and any team could win. Ray Collett and Scott Oxtoby won their games. See match card.
8 Aug 2024. Under-1650 team through to final. Worcester travelled to Manor Farm, Redditch for the semi-finals of the u1650 Summer Cup competition. Worcester were drawn against Longbridge and won 2½-1½. Simon Berry and Aiden Griffiths won their games. Simon got out of a poor position with a knight sacrifice and his king-side attacke broke through. At one point it looked like Arnold on board 2 could win but his opponent found a drawing position. See match card. In the other semi-final on the same night at Manor Farm Kidderminster beat Redditch.

Worcester players at the county championships

14 Jul 2024. Peter Kitson and Ed Higgs were the highest scoring players at the tournament held at the King’s School Worcester, but both were bested by Joe Friar (Kidderminster) the new county champion. Chris Lee retained his Minor championship title. Other Worcester players in the tournament were Rob Sutton, Doin Luca, Scott Oxtoby, Phil Austin, Tony Shaw, Colin Vernon, Paul Serafini and new member Alfie Brazier. See full results.

Worcester lose to Hereford

16 Jul 2024. Worcester took 9 players for the return match at Hereford. The match went down to the last game but Hereford prevailed 5-4. Joe Rastall, captain Chris Lee won their games. Players enjoyed a feast of sausages and chips after their games.
20 Jun 2024. Worcester lost the home game 1-3. Only Dorin Luca had a win. Players enjoyed sausage rolls and sandwiches after their games. See match cards.

Congratulations to Scott, Aiden and Colin

12 Jul 2024. Aiden Griffiths, Scott Oxtoby and Colin Vernon passed the ECF examination as level 1 arbiters. Colin has additionally passed the World Chess Federation school instructor (SI) examination.

Summer chess

4 Jul 2024. The first summer chess session at Spin the Black Circle, Pump Street, Worcester WR1 2QX started in cool conditions., but there was a good attendance.

Worcester play at Leominster

17 Jun 2024. Worcester toook a team of nine players for the first friendly match of the summer. New club Leominster has lost narrowly to Hereford the previous week and Worcester were ambushed losing 2½-6½. Chris Lee played a captain’s game and won as did new player Paul Serafini. See full results.

Annual meeting agrees existing venue for 2024-5 season

The president with the club’s awardees at the 188th AGM

30 May 2024. A well-attended AGM decided to stay put at St Stephen's Church hall for the 2024-5 season. The vote was tied but as there was no majority for the move, it was decided to stay. The President said the club now had a Facebook page and was also on Instagram. The secretary, Ray Collett said that membership had increased, and members continue to play key roles in the county association. The club had entered two teams in the Worcestershire Summer Cup competitions to be played in August. Jim Keene, honorary treasurer, reported the club’s finances were healthy and he was stepping down from the role as was Phil Smith, the honorary auditor. Both were thanked for their work for the club over several years. The meeting decided to increase subscription rates slightly in line with inflation and exact tariffs are to be fixed by the club committee - club officers and team captains. Team captains reported that the Rooks had finished as runners-up in the Challengers League and the Bishops team were runners-up in the District League while the Wheatley Cup team were losing finalists. To provide more games for members the meeting agreed to ask the county association to restore the number of boards in the Championship League to six, the number played pre-Covid. Members elected Joe Rastall as treasurer and Tony Shaw as auditor and the other existing officers continue in post. See secretary and competition reports. The final item of business was the presentation of awards. Ray Collett, President of Worcestershire Chess Association presented The Jim Friar Award for services to Worcestershire Chess to Arnold Kirkland (see picture on the WCA website) and The club’s President Rob Sutton presented the Ranken Cup and the Challenge Cup to Joe Rastall for winning both the Club Championship and the Rapidplay Championship. Aiden Griffiths received the President’s award for his work as assistant secretary and Scott Oxtoby received the Jones Cup as the most improved player in the season. .

Members play at Gloucester

28 May 2024. Colin Vernon scored 3 points in the Minor Tournament in the six-round Cotswold Congress at Gloucester and Aiden Griffiths scored 2½.

Joe Rastall double club champion 23 May 2024. Jo Rastall and Scott Oxtoby played the standardplay club championship final at the club HQ St Stephen’s Church Hall. Scott playing black used a Sicilian Defence and Joe responded with the closed variation and advanced his king side pawns. To generate counterplay, Scott made an ill-judged central pawn advance only to find the exchanges unleashed the power of white’s fianchettoed bishop and he lost material and had to concede the game. 15 May 2024. Joe won his Rapidplay semi-final against Chris Lee while Ed Higgs and Rob Sutton were still in battle in the other keenly contested semi-final. Rob eventually won. After a short pause to gain breath, Rob and Joe played the final. It was an even game for long time and they entered a R+P ending where Rob was a pawn down, but had an advancing outside passed pawn. Joe won more pawns and manoevred his king in front of his pawns where it was impossible for Rob to check and promote his pawn.

Rooks team placed second in Challengers League

22 May 2024. In the final match of the Worcestershire League season Aiden Griffiths took his team to Stourbridget. Worcester Rooks lost with Phil Austin and Dorin Luca escaping with draws. See match card.

Ed Higgs wins Ball Cup

8 May 2024. The final of the Ball Cup competition was played at the club between John Varilone (Kiddernister) and Ed Higgs. Ed gained a pawn, but chances were evenly balanced until Ed made a central pawn advance to get a passed pawn. Pieces were exchanged leading to a major piece ending. John had play along the f-file attacking Ed’s king position. Getting short of time, both players were using their increments in a complex position when John allowed Ed’s rook to invade the seventh rank and force the win of a second pawn. After an exchange of a pair of rooks and the queens, it was purely a matter of time and technique before John had to concede.

Worcester lose to Redditch in Wheatley Cup final

1 May 2024. Chris Lee took his team to Redditch for the 2024 final of this handicap competition. Redditch turned out a much higher rated team and had to win by 3½ points. This they did and only Chris was able to escape with a draw. See full result.

April results for city teams

25 Apr 2024. Worcester City beat Longbridge in the final Championship fixture of their campaign. This result powered Worcester to mid-table after languishing at the bottom for most of the season. See match card.
18 Apr 2024. Worcester Knights lost heavily at home to Longbridge in the Rapidplay League. Only Rob Sutton was able to finish the night without being in deficit. See score card.
17 Apr 2024. Worcester Rooks won their away Challengers fixture against Redditch. Phil Austin, Tony Shaw and Aiden Griffiths won their games. See score card.
11 Apr 2024. Kidderminster brought an under-strength team to Worcester for the Championship fixture. Worcester won 4½-½. This was the City team’s first win since October when the team beat Kiddrminster away. Stephen Mellor, Ed Osbourn and Joe Rastall won their games. See score card.
4 Apr 2024. Three of the games in this Challengers League home fixture were drawn and Joe Rastall was the only player to win. That win secured the match points. See score card.

Club Championship and Rapidplay finals

28 Mar 2024. A further two rapidplay games were played and the finalists have been named. Championship - a Qualifier match between Scott Oxtoby and Aiden Griffiths scheduled for 9 May the winner of which plays Joe Rastall for the club championship on 23 May. Rapidplay Championship - Ed Higgs plays Rob Sutton in the first semi-final and the second semi-final will be played on 16 May between Joe Rastall and Chris Lee.. The winners will play off for the Rapidplay Championship on the same night.

Knights draw penultimate fixture of their season

27 Mar 2024. The penultimate fixure with Kidderminster away was drawn with identical results in both legs. Rob Sutton and Dorin Luca won both games. See score card.

Bishops win final match of their campaign

21 Mar 2024. Worcester Bishops beat soon-to-be-crowned District League champions Kidderminster in their last match of the season. Chris Lee played a queen sacrifice in the late middlegame to get a knight ending where his pawns could be promoted. See score card.

Worcester players help county teams in online 4NCL matches

19 Mar 2024. In round 5, Peter Kitson and Ed Higgs won their games for Worcester Wolfpack A; Ray Collett won for Worcestershire Wolfpack B; and Dorin Luc and Phil Austin won in the Cadets team. See details with links to games.
5 Mar 2024. In round 4, Peter Kitson and Ed Higgs won their games for Worcestershire Wolfpack A; Dorin Luca won his game for Worcestershire Wolfpack B. See details with links to games.

Worcester player beats GM 13 Mar 2024. Three club members travelled to Hereford to take on GM Keith Arkell. Scott proved a winner defeating the former English Champion in 27 moves. Aiden and Joe lost their games.Keith is third from left in the picture. Worcester book a place in the Wheatley Cup final 11 Mar 2024. Chris Lee's team journeyed to Wythall to play Shirley & Wythall in a semi-final in this team handicap competition. Chris was the only Worcester player to win. With the over-the-board score being 2-2, Worcester with the lower rated players go forward to the final against Redditch or Kidderminster. See score card.

Latest league results

8 Mar 2024. Worcester City lost their away fixture at Malvern in the Championship League. Only Phil Austin and Joe Rastall escaped with draws. See score sheet.
7 Mar 2024. Worcester Bishops beat Longbridge in the District League. Captain Aiden Griffiths was the only player to win. See score card.
29 Feb 2024. Worcester Rooks drew with Malvern in the home match in the Challengers League. See score sheet.
28 Feb 2024. Worcester City travelled to play Redditch away for their penultimate match of the season and won 3-2. Boards 1 to 4 drew and captain Rob Sutton was the only player to achieve a win. Board 2 saw a complex game with both players short of time finishing as a draw, both players having a rook and two pawns on the same side of the board. See score sheet.
22 Feb 2024. Worcester Knights drew the first leg of their home fixture against Stourbridge, but were outplayed in the second leg. Scott Oxtoby won both his games. See score sheet.

Worcester win online team battle against Ukmergé

21 Feb 2024. Worcester City is twinned with Ukmerge in Lithuania and both cities have well established chess clubs. The play online matches as part of the Twinning programme. The chess club at Ukmerge is called Juodasis Rikis – The Black Bishop.  In the first online match last summer, Ukmerge defeated Worcester 42-28. The two teams met again and Worcester emerged victorious winning by 54 points to Ukmerge’s 42. The format of both matches was a team battle and the playing session was one hour. Unlike an ordinary chess match where players have one game only, in a team battle each player can have as many games as possible within the hour the ‘arena’ is open.  Pairing of players was performed online by the chess server. The time control was 7+3. The fast play leads to plenty of upsets. Fifty eight games were played and the ferocity of play resulted in only two drawn games.  Worcester’s highest scoring player was club president Rob Sutton 12 points followed by Joe Rastall on 10 and new player Dorin Luca with 8 points. You can play through an example of Rob’s winning ways by visiting https://lichess.org/Vt8F0CyZ a miniature that ends in a pretty mate. Full results and a link to the team battle on lichess.

City team draw against Longbridge in the championship League

15 Feb 2024. Worcester City scored its second match point with a draw in the away fixture against Longbridge. Joe Rastall was the only Worcester player to win. See score sheet.

President wins blitz championship

1 Feb 2024. Well over a hundred games were played in the club’s annual blitz tournament. There were two preliminary 7-round all-play-all tournaments to determine the semi-finalists. Group A was won by Stephen Mellor with 7 points well clear of new member Dorin Luca on 5½ points and Ray Collett on 5 points. Rob Sutton won the group B tournament with 6½ points. Ed Osbourn was second on 6 points and Scott Oxtoby third on 5 points. In the semi-finals Mellor beat Osbourn and Sutton beat Luca. The first game of the final ended in a draw, but in the second, Sutton prevailed to become the 2024 Blitz champion. Best performing of new players was Alfie Brazier who scored 1½ points in group B.

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Knights win against Kidderminster: City lose to Halesowen

29 Jan 2024. Although fielding the highest rating team this season, the City team went down 1-4 in their away match against Halesowen in the Championship League. See match card.
26 Jan 2024. Chris Lee’s Knights team now lead the Rapidplay League . In the home fixture, Worcester won the first leg and drew the second. Both Chris and Rob Sutton won both their games. See match cards.

Club members steer online county teams to victory

23 Jan 2024. Seven members played for the Worcestershire Wolfpack teams in the opening round of the 4NCL online season 9. Ed Higgs was promoted to the A team because of his excellent results before Christmas and drew his game. Team B with four City club team players won their match against Shropshire & Friends 4 - 0. The Cadets team also won. See the County website for full details.

Worcester players at Lincoln match

20 Jan 2024. Five Worcester players travelled to East Groscote, Lincs to play in the u1650 county fixture against Lincolnshire. David Cleak and Simon Berry won their games, but the team lost 9½-6½. See score card.

Member's win at Shropshire congress

14 Jan 2024. Joe Rastall won the Major Tournament at the Telford five-round weekend congress outrfight with 4½ points from his five games. Aiden Griffiths was placed 3rd-7th with 3½ points in the Minor tournament. See congress result details.

Poor league results at start of year

12 Jan 2024. The Rooks team went down 1½-2½ in their away Challengers League fixture with Malvern. Team captain Scott Oxtoby was the only Worcester player to win. See score card.
10 Jan 2024. The Bishops team lost 1½-2½ in the away match at Redditch in the District League. Team captain Aiden Griffiths was the only Worcester player to win. See score card.

Rastall and Sutton lead club tournaments

4 Jan 2024. After the first games in 2024, Joe Rastall leads in the race for the club championship trailed by Scott Oxtoby and Aiden Griffiths, each on 1 point. In the rapidplay championship, Rob Sutton is on a streak and has already scored 5½ points and is trailed by Chris Lee on 2½ and Joe Rastall on 2 points.

Christmas Chess variants at The Dice-Box

21 Dec 2023. The Christmas Variants evening was hosted by The Dice Box in the city centre.

Worcester lose to Redditch

7 Dec 2023.The Rooks team suffered their first defeat of the season losing to Redditch. See score card.
30 Nov 2023. Worcester City fielded a new player Keith Sorrell, who drew his game on board 5 in the match against Redditch in the Championship League. See score card.

Seamus at Birmingham Congress

26 Nov 2023. Seamus Flynn scored 2 points in the five-round Birmingham Minor tournament.

Two league matches

22 Nov 2023. The Bishops team lost playing away to Kidderminster. Only Simon Berry escaped with a draw. See score card.
15 Nov 2023. The Knights team won both legs of their rapidplay fixture against Stourbridge. Rob Sutton and Chris Lee won both heir games. See score card.
2 Nov 2023. The City team in the Championship League drew their home match with Malvern. Scott Oxtoby and Seamus Flynn won their games. See full score card. On the same night, The opening game of the club Rapidplay Championship was played.
26 Oct 2023. Bishops draw with Redditch at home. New member The match was in doubt until Arnold, in a difficult position, lost on time on board 2. Paul Serafini won his first game for a Worcester team. See match card. Meanwhile, Scott and new member Edward played the first game in the Ball Cup and Ray and Joe played a club championship game.

Worcester players in county online squad

24 Oct 2023. Five City club members played in the 4NCL online matches.Phil Austin and Tony Shaw, making a welcome return after disruptive housemove, won their games. Visit WCA website to see scores of matches and links to the games played. In Division 5, former City player Matthew Holmes played and won for Witney on board 1 against the Worcestershire team in Division 5.

County players in Birmingham Rapidplay

22 Oct 2023. Three club players players entered. In the Open, WGM Kata Toma was third with 5 points from seven games. Tony Shaw scored 3 points in the Intermediate and Simon Berry scored 4½ points in the Minor.

Worcester players at Newcastle-u-Lyme for MCCU u1450 team final

21 Oct 2023. Aiden Griffiths and new member Paul Serafini travelled to Newcastle-u-Lyme, but the Worcestershire team lost heavily with only Aiden being able to score.

Club League team results

19 Oct 2023. The City team suffered a second defeat, this time at home against Halesowen. The only decisive game was on board 2 where Fishburne outplayed Collett in a double bishops and pawn ending. See score sheet.
11 Oct 2023. The City team travelled to Kidderminster for the first Championship League match, but lost to Kidderminster. Captain Rob Sutton was the only club player to win. See score sheet.
5 Oct 2023. Aiden stood in as captain for the first home rapidplay fixture against Redditch selecting new player Edward Higgs for board 3. The first leg of the fixture was drawn and the Knights got into their stride with a convincing win in the second leg. See score sheet.

New member Paul plays in Lille 30 Sep 2023. Paul Serafini travelled with other Scots fans to Lille for the Scotland-Romania rugby match. Before the kick-off, and in full regalia, Paul took on the local chess talent. Paul says: It was lovely to see crowds of people playing and watching chess and recommends a site visit to Lille if you can. The game was played in the square of the Vielle Bourse in Lille.

Good start to 2023-4 league season

30 Sep 2023. The club has had a successful start to the season with two match wins so far and a total of ten new players attending on Thursdays. Members have also had successes playing online for the Worcestershire Wolfpack teams.

Worcester Rooks’ winning ways

28 Sep 2023. The Rooks team won their second fixture 3-1 playing away to Longbridge. View score card.
21 Sep 2023. The scoreline did not reflect the tough battles in this match. On board 1 Collett was lucky to escape with half a point when his opponent, short of time, offered a draw. Flynn, Oxtoby and Rastall won their games. Oxtoby’s game was a marathon with victory eventually coming in a R+BP vs R ending. View score card.

Club members score well for county online teams

26 Sep 2023. The second round of 4NCL Main Online saw Ray Collett’s board 3 win in the A team secure the first victory for Worcestershire Wolfpack A. They were playing playing against Cozy Tomatoes, an international team who fielded a titled player on board 2. New junior player Edward Higgs won his first competitiongame playing online for for Worcestershire Wolfpack Cadets against Crowthorne A in 4NCL Division 5

Worcester Knights go down to Longbridge

14 Sep 2023. In the first Rapidplay fixture of 2023-4, the Knights team lost playing away. Joe Rastall was the only Worcester player to win his games. See score card.

Worcester players in county online teams

12 Sep 2023. Seamus Flynn and Phil Austin won their games in the 4NCL Main Online Worcestershire Wolfpack B match against East Kilbride B.

Worcester Bishops win their first fixture

7 Sep 2023. The team beat Longbridge for its first victory of 2023-4 in defence of the championship won last year. New player Jacques Olden won his game as did Seamus Flynn and Arnold Kirkland. See score card.

New member at Coventry Rapidplay

3 Sep 2023. Seamus Fynn scored 3 points from his seven games at Coventry.

Worcester’s team captains for 2023-4 season

31 Aug 2023. Captains for the new season are: City team, Rob Sutton; Rooks, Scott Oxtoby; Bishops shared by Aiden Griffiths and Andy Gilhooly; Knights Chris Lee. Aiden is selecting the team to defend the division’s title in the opening fixture. Scott’s rating has improved so that he is unable to play in the Bishops team and he takes over the Rooks, while Chris takes the rapidplay Knights team.