Last updated 27 April 2013

Worcestershire Under-140 Team

The team

The team captain of the under-140 side is Giles Stanton (telephone 01527 402 436 or 07932 053 621). If you are graded below 140 and would like to play please contact him. In the last two seasons the team has made it to the national stages and are current Midlands u140 champions.

These matches are played over 16 boards and the playing session is normally 4 hours with time control at 36 moves in 1½ hours followed by a further ½ hour for each player to complete the game. Last season, there were five matches in the MCCU stage and home matches were played at Redditch. Adult players contribute £2 to cover some of the costs of the venue and catering for home and away team players. For players who are not members of the ECF there is an additional charge of £2 to cover the cost of Game Fee. There is no charge for juniors at any match.

The county boundary for Worcestershire Chess includes Dudley and you are eligible for selection for a Worcestershire team if:

  • You were born in Worcestershire
  • You have ever lived in Worcestershire for a period of 5 years or more
  • You are a member of a club affiliated to Worcestershire or meets in Worcestershire
  • You currently live in Worcestershire
  • You are a teacher or student at a Worcestershire school, college or university

Fixtures 2012-13

County Under-140 Team MCCU stage
Dates Opponents Venue Result
20 October Shropshire Away at Scout and Guide Headquarters, Currier Lane, Shifnal TF11 8EQ near the junction with Greenfields Crescent starting at 2.00pm. Lost 7 - 9
10 November Staffordshire 1.30pm at Bushbury Community Centre, Northwood Park Road, Wolverhampton. WV10 8ER Lost 6 - 10
1 December Nottinghamshire 2.00pm at Wall Village Hall, Staffs. WS14 0WA Won 9 - 7
16 February Warwickshire 1:30 pm start agreed. Village Hall, 18 Heathfield Road, Webheath, Redditch B97 5SQ Lost 7½ - 8½
9 March Leicestershire 1.30pm start at The Methodist Centre, Birmingham Road, Water Orton. B46 1SP. Won, Leics conceded
30 March Derbyshire 1:30pm, Wall Village Hall, Lichfield, Staffs. WS14 0AW Lost 7½ - 8½

This season 2012-13

1 Dec. Giles Stanton reports. First win for Worcestershire at a neutral venue in Staffs against Nottinghamshire. This was a cracking match with a very tense finish. Notts were two players short and we had an early win to give us a 3 point lead. Notts then had to chase the points, which they did with a vengance. When there were two games to finish, Worcestershire were leading by one point. One of the games looked drawish and the otherlooked good for Worcestershire. But in both our players were getting into time trouble. John Varilone, having sacked a piece to get good activity and extra pawns, handled the pressure well and mated his opponent to take us over the winning line. In a same coloured bishop and pawn ending John Chester played well and a draw was agreed. So Kidderminster CC saved the day!

10 Nov. The team lost to Staffordshire away after a misunderstanding resulted in a selected player not meeting his transport. Michele Clack filled in at the last moment.

20 Oct Giles Stanton reports on the away match against Shropshire. The Teams looked to be well matched. Shropshire gained a 2 point early lead. Then the situation took a turn for the worse as Shropshire doubled the gap making the score 8-4. A trouncing looked on the cards, but Worcestershire's top eight boards showed plenty of fighting spirit gaining three points from the remaining four games. John Gittus on 4 used a Bird's Opening and gained a promising kingside attack but his opponents's stout defence led to an agreed draw. Andrew Wiggins crafted a superior position from a Queens Pawn Opening but was unable to capitalise owing to time trouble. Jeremy Humphries had a comfortable win from a Ruy Lopez with queen and knight infiltrating his opponent's position. Ian Truscott used a passed pawn on the rook file to win.

Last season 2011-12

Worcestershire won the Midlands u140 Championship, but went down to Hertfordshire, the national champions, in the semi finals. For details of these results visit the 2011-12 results page.