West Midlands Area Online League Summer 2020
Worcester entered two teams, one in each division of the league. In these matches Droitwich joins forces with Worcester City with Arnold Kirkland and David Cleak playing. At each event there were two four-board matches played on the same night using the chess.com platform. That platform determined the team order based on games played by the players using chess.com. Players had two rapidplay games against the same opponent with colours reversed.
The winning team in each 4-board match scores 2 match points and 1 point for a draw. The team with the highest aggregate score of the night receives an additional point.Time control in the league is 15 minutes plus 10 seconds from move 1.
You can join the Worcester City Online club at chess.com as a basic member free of charge and email Rob Sutton you would like to play.
Link for Spring 2020 season results
Worcester 1 in Division 1
| WMA Online Rapidplay League Division 1 Summer 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | Points* |
| Sutton Coldfield 1 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 34½ | 21½ | 26 |
| Solihull 1 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 25 | 19 |
| Greenlands 1 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 27½ | 28½ | 18 |
| Redditch | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 27½ | 28½ | 18 |
| South Birmingham 2 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 26½ | 29½ | 17 |
| South Birmingham 1 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 26½ | 29½ | 13 |
| Worcester 1 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 29 | 13 |
| Warwick University Alumni | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 25½ | 30½ | 11 |
| *Teams receive 2 match points for each won 4-board match, and an extra 1 point for an aggregate win for two matches played on the same evening. A draw in a 4-board match gains 1 match point. |
|||||||
| Date | Team | Aggregate score |
Team | Match points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 13 Aug | Worcester 1 | 4½ - 3½ | Warwick Univ Alumni | 4 |
| Thu 20 Aug | Sutton Coldfield 1 | 5 - 3 | Worcester 1 | 1 |
| Thu 27 Aug | Worcester 1 | 3 - 5 | South Birmingham 2 | 1 |
| Thu 10 Sep | Worcester 1 | 2½ - 5½ | Greenlands 1 | 0 |
| Thu 17 Sep | Redditch | 1½ - 6½ | Worcester 1 | 5 |
| Thu 24 Sep | Worcester 1 | 2½ - 3½ | Solihull 1 | 1 |
| Thu 1 Oct | South Birmingham 1 | 5 - 3 | Worcester 1 | 1 |
8 Oct. Worcester 1 were not playing, but the matches were important because the bottom team could be relegated. In the end, Warwick University Alumni and South Birmingham 1 neutralised each other and Worcester were not bottom.
1 Oct. Worcester lost the first half of the fixture badly, but fought back to achieve a draw in the second half and take away a match point from the evening. SB1’s team featured a grade 200 player on board 4 and Stephen Mellor emerged with an even score against a player graded nearly 50 points higher.
24 Sep. Worcester drew in the first half against Solihull 1, but lost in the second to garner a single match point. Both teams defaulted board 4.
17 Sep. Worcester's best night so far in the Summer season with two wins and five match points against Redditch. Stephen Mellor and Peter Kitson both scored double victories. Worcester 1 are mid-table, but Worcester 2 are near the bottom of Division 2.
10 Sep. Worcester lost to Greenlands led by GM Keith Arkell. Stephen Mellor retained his plus score by winning one game and drawing the other against Kevin Hurney.
27 Aug. Worcester drew the first match of the night, but lost the second against the strong SB team
20 Aug. Worcester 1 scored only one match point after losing the first match and drawing the second. Peter Kitson played on board four being new to the WMA online format. In fact these wins were against a former Worcestershire Open winner.
13 Aug. Worcester 1 won one and drew one match against Warwick University Alumni. Stephen Mellor won both of his games.
8 Aug. South Birmingham 2 were promoted and join Division 1.
| Board | Grade | South Birmingham 1 | Worcester 1 | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 220r | Pitcher, John | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen | 181 |
| 2 | 180r | Hazelhurst, Cory | 1 - 0 | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 3 | 171 | Walsh, Marcus | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 4 | 201 | Larsen, Pelle | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| Result | 3 - 1 | ||||
| 5 | 220r | Pitcher, John | 0 - 1 | Mellor, Stephen | 181 |
| 6 | 180r | Hazelhurst, Cory | 1 - 0 | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 7 | 171 | Walsh, Marcus | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 8 | 201 | Larsen, Pelle | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| Result | 2 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 1 | 24 Sep | Solihull 1 | Grade |
| 1 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | ½ - ½ | McCumiskey, Andrew | 192 |
| 2 | 179 | Kitson, Peter | 1 - 0 | Summerfield, Julian | 153 |
| 3 | 122 | Sutton, Rob | 0 - 1 | Gibbon, Eric | ug |
| 4 | - | default | 0 - 0 | default | - |
| Result | 1½ - 1½ | ||||
| 1 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | 0 - 1 | McCumiskey, Andrew | 192 |
| 2 | 179 | Kitson, Peter | 1 - 0 | Summerfield, Julian | 153 |
| 3 | 122 | Sutton, Rob | 0 - 1 | Gibbon, Eric | ug |
| 4 | - | default | 0 - 0 | default | - |
| Result | 1 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Grade | Redditch | Thu 17 Sep | Worcester 1 | Grade |
| 1 | 165r | Evans, Harry | 0 - 1 | Mellor, Stephen | 181 |
| 2 | 149r | Towers, Nigel | ½ - ½ | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 3 | 110r | Stanton, Giles | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 4 | 126r | Russell, Scott | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| 1½ - 2½ | |||||
| 5 | 165r | Evans, Harry | 0 - 1 | Mellor, Stephen | 181 |
| 6 | 149r | Towers, Nigel | 0 - 1 | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 7 | 110r | Stanton, Giles | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 8 | 126r | Russell, Scott | 0 - 1 | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| 0 - 4 | |||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 1 | Thu 10 Sep | Greenlands 1 | Grade |
| 1 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | 0 - 1 | Arkell, Keith | 236r |
| 2 | 181 | Mellor, Stephen | ½ - ½ | Hurney, Kevin | 180r |
| 3 | 179 | Kitson, Peter | ½ - ½ | Stern, Robert | 160r |
| 4 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Woodhouse, Stephen | 159 |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| 5 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | 0 - 1 | Arkell, Keith | 236r |
| 6 | 181 | Mellor, Stephen | 1 - 0 | Hurney, Kevin | 180r |
| 7 | 179 | Kitson, Peter | ½ - ½ | Stern, Robert | 160r |
| 8 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Woodhouse, Stephen | 159 |
| 1½ - 2½ | |||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 1 | Thu 27 Aug | South Birmingham 1 | |
| 1 | 145r | Holmes, Matthew | 1 - 0 | Kasafir, Nathanael | ug |
| 2 | 181 | Kitson, Peter | ½ - ½ | Lane, Tim | 162r |
| 3 | 118 | Kirkland , Arnold | 0 - 1 | Dicen, Elis | 134r |
| 4 | 138 | Hayles, Robin | ½ - ½ | Clarke, Neil | 158r |
| 2 - 2 | |||||
| 5 | 145r | Holmes, Matthew | ½ - ½ | Kasafir, Nathanael | ug |
| 6 | 181 | Kitson, Peter | ½ - ½ | Lane, Tim | 162r |
| 7 | 118 | Kirkland , Arnold | 0 - 1 | Dicen, Elis | 134r |
| 8 | 138 | Hayles, Robin | 0 - 1 | Clarke, Neil | 158r |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| Board | Colour | Sutton Coldfield | Thu 20 Aug | Worcester 1 | |
| 1 | 224r | Stepanyan, Henrik | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen D | 181 |
| 2 | 186r | Mesesan, Mircea-Marius | 1 - 0 | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 3 | 167 | Owen, Neil J | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| 4 | 160r | Soszynski, Marek J | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 3 - 1 | |||||
| 1 | 224r | Stepanyan, Henrik | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen D | 181 |
| 2 | 186r | Mesesan, Mircea-Marius | ½ - ½ | Holmes, Matthew | 144r |
| 3 | 167 | Owen, Neil J | ½ - ½ | Sutton, Rob | 122 |
| 4 | 160r | Soszynski, Marek J | 0 - 1 | Kitson, Peter | 179 |
| 2 - 2 | |||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 1 | Thu 13 Aug 2020 | Warwick Univ Alumni | |
| 1 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | ½ - ½ | Goodall, Jasper | 116r |
| 2 | 181 | Mellor, Stephen D | 1 - 0 | Munns, James | 152 |
| 3 | 118 | Kirkland, Arnold | 1 - 0 | Coldwell, Matthew | 112 |
| 4 | 138 | Hayles, Robin | 0 - 1 | Foster, Sam | 99r |
| 2½ - 1½ | |||||
| 1 | 144r | Holmes, Matthew | 0 - 1 | Goodall, Jasper | 116r |
| 2 | 181 | Mellor, Stephen D | 1 - 0 | Munns, James | 152 |
| 3 | 118 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Coldwell, Matthew | 112 |
| 4 | 138 | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Foster, Sam | 99r |
| 2 - 2 |
Worcester 2 in Division 2
| WMA Division 2 Summer 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Play | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | Points |
| Coventry Chess | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 45½ | 26½ | 31 |
| Isle of Wight | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 42½ | 29½ | 31 |
| Sutton Coldfield 2 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 46½ | 25½ | 30 |
| Lichfield* | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 39 | 33 | 24 |
| Kidderminster | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 37 | 35 | 23 |
| Greenlands 2* | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 38½ | 33½ | 21 |
| Stourbridge | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 39 | 21 |
| Mutual Circle | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 37 | 35 | 18 |
| Worcester 2 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 47 | 11 |
| Solihull 2 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 56 | 11 |
| *Teams receive 2 match points for each won 4-board match, and an extra 1 point for an aggregate win for two matches played on the same evening. A draw in a 4-board match gains 1 match point. |
|||||||
| Date | Time | Home Team | Result | Away Team | Match points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 13th Aug 2020 | 20:00 | Isle of Wight | 5 - 3 | Worcester 2 | 1 |
| Thu 27th Aug 2020 | 20:00 | Mutual Circle | 3½ - 4½ | Worcester 2 | 4 |
| Thu 3rd Sep 2020 | 20:00 | Worcester 2 | 2½ - 5½ | Stourbridge | 0 |
| Thu 10th Sep 2020 | 20:00 | Sutton Coldfield 2 | 7 - 1 | Worcester 2 | 0 |
| Tue 15 Sep 2020 | 20:00 | Worcester 2 | 2 - 6 | Lichfield | 0 |
| Thu 17th Sep 2020 | 20:00 | Worcester 2 | 3½ - 4½ | Kidderminster | 2 |
| Thu 24th Sep 2020 | 20:00 | Worcester 2 | 3½ - 4½ | Solihull 2 | 1 |
| Thu 1st Oct 2020 | 20:00 | Coventry Chess | 7½ - ½ | Worcester 2 | 0 |
| Thu 8th Oct 2020 | 20:00 | Worcester 2 | 4½ - 3½ | Greenlands 2 | 3 |
8 Oct. Worcester 2 redeemed itself from last week’s defeat by an aggregate win against Greenlands, the last match Greenlands played beforemorphing into Longbridge.
1 Oct. Worcester 2 were almost annhilated by Coventry Chess. Only David Cleak managed to get a draw in the second half of the fixture.
24 Sep. Against Solihull 2, fellow strugglers at the bottom of the table, Worcester 2 drew the first match, but lost the second.
17 Sep. Worcester won the first half, but lost the second and had a lower aggregate against Kidderminster. Tony Shaw was the best performer with 1½ points from his two games.
15 Sep. Simon Berry was the only Worcester player to score in the postponed match against Lichfield. Simon won both his games and Worcester 2 lost 2-6.
10 Sep. Only two players managed draws in one of their games against Sutton Coldfield: Simon Beryy in his second game and Colin Vernon in his first.
3 Sep. Ray Collett was the only player to end the night with a plus score against a strong Stourbridge team.
27 Aug. Lower boards scored well for Worcester to make the first match drawn and the second a win against Mutual Circle. Simon Berry and Colin Vernon won both their games.
20 Aug. We all “sat down” ... and nothing hapened for about half a minute .. then up pops a message from chess.com: "this match has been cancelled". Captains are trying to find what happened.
13 Aug. Worcester were outgraded and Collett missed a difficult chance to win in the second match.
8 Aug. Kidderminster and Lichfield joined Division 2 and Stourbridge downsized to a single team.
| Board | Colour | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Woodhouse, Stephen | 159 |
| 2 | 135 | Hayles, Robin | ½ - ½ | Dance, Joseph | 97 |
| 3 | 110 | Cleak, David | 0 - 1 | Crees, Steve | 132 |
| 4 | 83r | Berry Simon | 1 - 0 | Bignall, Paul | 105 |
| Result | 1½ - 2½ | ||||
| 1 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Woodhouse, Stephen | 159 |
| 2 | 135 | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Dance, Joseph | 97 |
| 3 | 110 | Cleak, David | 1 - 0 | Crees, Steve | 132 |
| 4 | 83r | Berry Simon | 1 - 0 | Bignall, Paul | 105 |
| Result | 3 - 1 | ||||
| Board | Grade | Coventry Chess | 1 Oct | Worcester 2 | Grade |
| 1 | 148r | Cotterill, Sam | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G | 123 |
| 2 | 120r | Scaife, Warrick | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | 117r | Johnson, Mike J | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David | 110 |
| 4 | 103r | Weaver, Simon | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 4 - 0 | |||||
| 1 | 148r | Cotterill, Sam | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G | 123 |
| 2 | 120r | Scaife, Warrick | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | 117r | Johnson, Mike J | ½ - ½ | Cleak, David | 110 |
| 4 | 103r | Weaver, Simon | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 3½ - ½ | |||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 2 | 24 Sep | Solihull 2 | |
| 1 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | ½ - ½ | Byrne, Nigel | 142r |
| 2 | 153r | Collett, Ray | ½ - ½ | Joy, Praveen | 125r |
| 3 | 126r | Shaw, Tony | 1 - 0 | Mitchell, George | 88r |
| 4 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | 0 - 1 | Green, John | 106r |
| Result | 2 - 2 | ||||
| 1 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | ½ - ½ | Byrne, Nigel | 142r |
| 2 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 0 - 1 | Joy, Praveen | 125r |
| 3 | 126r | Shaw, Tony | 1 - 0 | Mitchell, George | 88r |
| 4 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | 0 - 1 | Green, John | 106r |
| Result | 1½ - 2½ | ||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 2 | 17 Sep | Kidderminster | Grade |
| 1 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 1 - 0 | Riley, Mark | 125 |
| 2 | 126r | Shaw, Tony | ½ - ½ | Close, Dave | 133 |
| 3 | 83r | Berry, Simon | ½ - ½ | Billinge, Clive | 103 |
| 4 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | ½ - ½ | Cameron, Henry | 70 |
| 2½ - 1½ | |||||
| 1 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 0 - 1 | Riley, Mark | 125 |
| 2 | 126r | Shaw, Tony | 0 - 1 | Close, Dave | 133 |
| 3 | 83r | Berry, Simon | ½ - ½ | Billinge, Clive | 103 |
| 4 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | ½ - ½ | Cameron, Henry | 70 |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 2 | Tue 15 Sep | Lichfield | Grade |
| 1 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 0 - 1 | Nevett-Farman, Benjamin | 165r |
| 2 | 126r | Shaw Tony | 0 - 1 | Green, Anthony | 173 |
| 3 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Willett, Peter | 146 |
| 4 | 83r | Berry, Simon | 1 - 0 | Skinner, Samuel | 63 |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| 1 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 0 - 1 | Nevett-Farman, Benjamin | 165r |
| 2 | 126r | Shaw Tony | 0 - 1 | Green, Anthony | 173 |
| 3 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Willett, Peter | 146 |
| 4 | 83r | Berry, Simon | 1 - 0 | Skinner, Samuel | 63 |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| Board | Colour | Sutton Coldfield 2 | Thu 10 Sep | Worcester 2 | Grade |
| 1 | 127 | Larry Hayden | 1 - 0 | Ray Collett | 153r |
| 2 | 83 | Steve Mildenhall | 1 - 0 | Tony Shaw | 126r |
| 3 | 140 | Rob Marks | 1 - 0 | Simon Berry | 83r |
| 4 | 135 | Steve Edwards | ½ - ½ | Colin Vernon | 93 |
| 3½ - ½ | |||||
| 1 | 127 | Larry Hayden | 1 - 0 | Ray Collett | 153r |
| 2 | 83 | Steve Mildenhall | 1 - 0 | Tony Shaw | 126r |
| 3 | 140 | Rob Marks | ½ - ½ | Simon Berry | 83r |
| 4 | 135 | Steve Edwards | 1 - 0 | Colin Vernon | 93 |
| 3½ - ½ | |||||
| Board | Grade | Worcester 2 | Thu 3 Sep 2020 | Stourbridge | Grade |
| 1 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Aboushady, Hossam | 137 |
| 2 | 153r | Collett, Ray | ½ - ½ | Foxall, John | 135 |
| 3 | 135 | Hayles, Robin | 0 - 1 | Wilson, Julie | 150 |
| 4 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | ½ - ½ | Humphries, Jeremy | 114 |
| 1 - 3 | |||||
| 5 | 123 | Kirkland, Arnold | 0 - 1 | Aboushady, Hossam | 137 |
| 6 | 153r | Collett, Ray | 1 - 0 | Foxall, John | 135 |
| 7 | 135 | Hayles, Robin | ½ - ½ | Wilson, Julie | 150 |
| 8 | 93 | Vernon, Colin | 0 - 1 | Humphries, Jeremy | 114 |
| 1½ - 2½ | |||||
| Board | Grade | Mutual Circle | Thu 27 Aug 2020 | Worcester 2 | Grade |
| 1 | 136 | Evans, Chris | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray | 153r |
| 2 | ug | Ogeleye, Oluwole | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | 120 | Singhal Saket | 0 - 1 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 4 | 70 | Ishaq, Wahhaab | 0 - 1 | Vernon, Colin | 93 |
| 2 - 2 | |||||
| 1 | 136 | Evans, Chris | ½ - ½ | Collett, Ray | 153r |
| 2 | ug | Ogeleye, Oluwole | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | 120 | Singhal Saket | 0 - 1 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 4 | 70 | Ishaq, Wahhaab | 0 - 1 | Vernon, Colin | 93 |
| 1½ - 2½ | |||||
| Board | Grade | Isle of Wight | Thu 13 Aug 2020 | Worcester 2 | Grade |
| 1 | 171 | Wrench, John | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray | 153r |
| 2 | 151 | Williams, AD (Tony) | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | ug | Warren, Peter | 0 - 1 | Cleak, David | 110 |
| 4 | 103 | Charalambous, Charles | 0 - 1 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 2 - 2 | |||||
| 1 | 171 | Wrench, John | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray | 153r |
| 2 | 151 | Williams, AD (Tony) | 1 - 0 | Shaw, Tony | 126r |
| 3 | ug | Warren, Peter | 0 - 1 | Cleak, David | 110 |
| 4 | 103 | Charalambous, Charles | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon | 83r |
| 1 - 3 |