2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018

2009

The National Clubs Finals were split between Golden Lane in the Barbican and Syston Social Club on July 12th 2009. I am grateful to Brian Smith and David Sedgwick for taking care of the events in London whilst Cyril Johnson controlled the matches at Syston for me.
The Golden Lane Community Centre hosted 4 matches. The final match of the Open, which would determine the prizes saw Wood Green retain their title by 4-2 with wins by John Emms and Richard Pert with draws by Nick Pert, Chris Ward, Neil MacDonald and Desmond Tan, a remarkable achievement in not losing a match against a strong Mushrooms for whom Ian Snape, Ron Harris, Bill Linton and David Wilson drew, all against higher rated opponents.
The Major final saw another victory without losing a game by Wanstead and Woodford 4-1 against St Albans. Ian Hunnable, Larry Marden and Philip Staniland all won with draws by Ian Reynolds and David Spearman. St Albans fought valiantly but draws by Jacek Winter and Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell were not enough.
Snodland followed their win of the Small Club of the Year with a close win by 2½ – 1½ against Hackney. Wins for the men of Kent by Matthew Bunn and Chris Marshall with a draw by David Nicholls overcame a spirited defence of their title by Hackney for whom Mark Rivlin won and Dashiell Shaw drew.
The U100 Plate between Forest of Dean and Thurrock was won by the men of Essex 3½ – ½ with wins by Andrew Offord,
Robin Smith and Ron Prickett with a draw by Mike Bradford whose draw with Raymond Francis was scant consolation for the Foresters
An excellent set of matches, in a good venue well organised by Brian Smith and controlled by David Sedgwick, to whom my grateful thanks

At Syston, the three matches were all interesting. The U100 Championship match between Hackney and Bushbury was decided after an hours with wins by the London team on Boards 1 and 3. A further win on board 4 meant that the final win by Bushbury was a consolation, yet all fours were very close games. Mr A Schroeder, the Bushbury top board put in a remarkable performance, the oldest player in this event for many years at the age of 94.
For a long time, Cyril thought we might have a replay in the Minor Plate final between Bedford and Newark, especially as the bottom boards were drawn and the other games also looked drawish. Eventually Bedford won the top board and the match, but Newark ensured that the match was decided on board count by winning board 2.
The Major Plate final went right down to the wire. An early draw on board 4 in a double edged position was followed by a win on time for Wood Green on board 5, followed by another in for the London holders on board 3. Bushbury won an exciting game on top board, leaving it all down to a very open game on board 2, with the arbiter keeping score in anticipation of a 10.2 claim. Bushbury’s board 2, whilst being very short of time, ignored a draw by repetition which would have cost the match and then won his opponent’s queen. The power of two passed pawns on the 6th coupled with mutual time shortage caused a flurry of moves and an agreement of a draw, which meant that Wood Green retained their title by 3-2

— Julie Johnson

[* – estimated grade]

2010

Once again the finals were split between London & the Midlands, with Brian Smith organising venue & refreshments at Golden Lane Community Centre in London, and Syston & District Social Club organised by the Chief Controller.

Wanstead & Woodford retained the Major Championship, but not without a valiant fight from Maidstone. It appeared early on as if Wanstead were cruising to victory as their team was stronger than Maidstone on 4 of the 5 boards. But a win on board 3 by Maidstone suddenly turned the tide, if Maidstone could win on board 2 they would win the match on board count. Maidstone started to get a slight positional edge, but Oliver Gill ran very short on time and had to settle for a draw – giving the match win to Wanstead.The Major Plate saw Metropolitan overcome fellow London Leaguers Athenaeum, without losing a game. This feat was emulated by Bedford, who denied Snodland a second successive winning trip to the capital in the Intermediate Championship.The Intermediate Plate was in contrast a much closer affair, only settled in favour of Hackney on board count. The Hackney win was remarkable because their average grading of 118 was significantly lower than the 144 of opponents Bushbury. But for the grading of the Hackney top board, the team would have been eligible for the Minor section.

The Minor Championship final has been a cause of much consternation, with Chipping Campden only able to raise 3 players from their small club, too many players having booked their holidays – perhaps lacking confidence in the team reaching the finals? Already down a board from the start, the Cotswold side could only muster a draw, leaving Hastings & St Leonard’s comfortable winners. As the current rules fail to address this situation, there is currently much deliberation over rule amendments to clarify matters for next season.

Forest of Dean out-graded their opponents in the Minor plate, but were quickly a board down to Bushbury when their board 3 overlooked the fact that Queen could be pinned to King. They failed to recover from this early shock, with Bushbury winning 3-1 without losing a board & thus gaining compensation for their narrow loss in the Intermediate.

My thanks to Brian Smith for organizing the Southern venue; and to Cyril Johnson for acting as arbiter and assistant sandwich maker. Thanks are also due to Guy Greenland & Mike McNaughton as section controllers in the Intermediate & Minor sections respectively.

If you’d like to download a PDF of the final results, click here

— Julie Johnson

2011

The finals have now been played!
Click here to see Adam Raoof’s photographs from the event

Open

Single round all-play-all – Maidstone / Mushrooms / Wood Green
Result – Mushrooms 5½ – Maidstone ½ [details]
Result – Maidstone ½ – Wood Green 5½ [details]
Result – Wood Green 4 – Mushrooms 2 [details]
Wood Green take the title!

Major

Preliminary Round (the losers will be eligible for the Plate competition. Matches to be played by 31st December)
P1 St Albans v Hendon
Result – St Albans 3½ – Hendon 1½ [details]
P2 Athenaeum v Ilford
Result – Athenaeum 2 – Ilford 3 [details]

Major Round 1
(All first round matches to be played by January 30th)
Metropolitan v St Albans [13 Feb]
Result – Metropolitan 2½ – St Albans 2½ – Metropolitan won on board count [details]
Wood Green v Ilford
Result – Wood Green 2 – Ilford 3 [details]
Bushbury v Gloucester
Result – Bushbury 3 – Gloucester 2 [details]
Brown Jack v Forest of Dean
Result – Brown Jack 3½ – Forest of Dean 1½ [details]
Saxmundham v Wanstead & Woodford
Result – Saxmundham 0 – Wanstead & Woodford 5 [details]
Hastings v Tunbridge Wells
Result – Hastings 3½ – Tunbridge Wells 1½ [details]
Snodland v Maidstone
Result – Snodland 3 – Maidstone 2 [details]
Farnham v Hackney
Result – Farnham 2 – Hackney 3 [details]

Major Championship Quarter Finals
Brown Jack v Bushbury
Result – Brown Jack 3½ – Bushbury 1½ [details]
Ilford v Metropolitan
Result – Ilford 2 – Metropolitan 3 [details]
Hastings v Snodland
Result – Hastings 4½ – Snodland ½ [details]
Wanstead & Woodford v Hackney
Result – Wanstead & Woodford 1½ – Hackney 3½ [details]

Major Championship Semi-Finals
Metropolitan vs Hastings
Result – Metropolitan 2½ – Hastings 2½ – Metropolitan won on board count [details]
Hackney vs Brown Jack
Result – Hackney 4 – Brown Jack 1 [details]

Major Championship FINAL
Metropolitan vs Hackney
Result – Metropolitan 2 – Hackney 3 [details]

Major Plate (as all preliminary or first-round losers wish to enter the Plate, a Preliminary Round is needed to get down to 8 teams)

Preliminary match – Tunbridge Wells vs Farnham
Result – Tunbridge Wells 2½ – Farnham 2½ – Farnham won on board count [details]

QF Draw
Gloucester v Forest of Dean
Result – Gloucester 4 – Forest of Dean 1 [details]
Hendon v Athenaeum
Result – Hendon 2 – Athenaum 3 [details]
Maidstone v Farnham
Result – Maidstone 1 – Farnham 4 [details]
Wood Green v Saxmundham
Result – Wood Green 4½ – Saxmundham ½ [details]
QF Matches to be played by April 30th

Major Plate Semi-Finals
Farnham vs Wood Green
Result – Farnham 3 – Wood Green 2 [details]
Athenaeum vs Gloucester
Result – Athenaeum 2½ – Gloucester 2½ – Athenaeum won on board count [details]
SF matches to be played by June 19th

Major Plate FINAL
Farnham vs Athenaeum
Result – Farnham 2½ – Athenaeum 2½ – Farnham won on board count [details]

Intermediate

Intermediate First Round
Hackney vs Wanstead & Woodford – Hackney 2 – Wanstead & Woodford 2 (W&W win on board count) [details]
Prescot & Knotty Ash vs Bushbury – Prescot & Knotty Ash 2½ – Bushbury 1½
Alwoodley vs York RI – Alwoodley 3 – York RI 1
Rushall vs Bedford – Rushall 2 – Bedford 2 (Bedford win on bottom board elimination)
Bishop’s Stortford vs St Albans – Bishop’s Stortford 3½ – St Albans ½
Snodland vs Maidstone – Snodland 1½ – Maidstone 2½
Hastings & St. Leonards vs Cosham – Hastings & St. Leonards 4 – Cosham 0
For a breakdown of the results click here (all first round matches)

Intermediate Championship Quarter Finals (matches to be played by April 30th)
Maidstone v Hastings
112436F 162 D Heath 1 – 0 O Namouk 156 116059L
165744G 145 A Riddoch 0 – 1 S Blewitt 149 106893D
114052J 139 R Lane 0.5 – 0.5 D Cosens 131 247569J
273983F 133 G Hollands 1 – 0 R Webb 124 101520F
Maidstone win 2.5 – 1.5

Prescot & Knotty Ash v Alwoodley
118501K 158 K Sartain 0.5 – 0.5 S Swain 154 265142H
116571K 147 D Owens 0 – 1 R Jones 151 180278B
103107H 135 D Moore 1 – 0 S Johnson 138 113717H
143912B 131 R Amos 0.5 – 0.5 M Dow 128 109828H
Alwoodley win on board count

Bedford v Bishop’s Stortford
120791L 156 G Valerio 0 – 1 G Thurston 168 255003K
160543E 154 J Harbour 0 -1 P Kenning 150 234286J
176318A 142 C Hill 0.5 – 0.5 J Spencer 149 250082G
119558L 125 N Staddon 0 – 1 A Hirst 104 260817A
Bishops Stortford win 3.5 – 0.5
Wanstead & Woodford received a bye

Intermediate Championship Semi-Finals
Maidstone v Wanstead & Woodford
112436F 162 D Heath 1 – 0 J Philpott 163 117079L
165744G 145 A Riddoch 0 – 1 M Murell 162 116012G
114052J 139 R Lane 0.5 – 0.5 K Jones 145 113845F
273983F 133 G Hollands 0 – 1 A Lu 105 261134D
Wanstead & Woodford win 2.5 – 1.5

Alwoodley v Bishop’s Stortford
108452F 152 P Clarke 0 – 1 G Thurston 168 255003K
120371L 149 H Thornton 0 – 1 P Kenning 150 234286J
231230L 139 J Lobley 0.5 – 0.5 J Spencer 149 250082G
109828H 128 M Dow 0.5 – 0.5 A Hirst 104 260817A
Bishop’s Stortford win 3 – 1

Intermediate Championship FINAL
Wanstead & Woodford v Bishop’s Stortford
Result – Wanstead & Woodford 1½ – Bishop’s Stortford 2½ [details]

Intermediate Plate

Intermediate Plate Quarter Finals (matches to be played by April 30th)
Cosham v Snodland
Snodland forfeited match – Cosham win by default

Bushbury v Rushall
119572E 151 P Staley 0.5 – 0.5 M Sangha 160 273578H
264385C 147 P Baggott 0 – 1 S Wilcox 142 121625K
263578B 141 S Harris 1 – 0 C Styles 137 119868D
118591D 135 A Schroede 0 – 1 P Broomhall 132 107382F
Rushall win 2.5 – 1.5

St Albans v Hackney
Both teams disqualified due to failure to complete fixture by deadline set
York received a bye

Intermediate Plate Semi-Finals
York v Rushall
216820A 143 O Robson 0 – 1 R Parker 164 136884K
105750K 142 N Andrews 0 – 1 S Wilcox 142 121625K
128551J 139 N Pearce 0 – 1 C Styles 137 119868D
106483G 106 M Beavers 0 – 1 P Broomhall 132 107382F
Rushall win 4 – 0
Cosham received a bye

Intermediate Plate FINAL
Cosham v Rushall
Result – Cosham 0 – Rushall 4 [details]

2012

OPEN
The Open has the same make up as last season – Mushrooms, Maidstone & Wood Green

MAJOR

MAJOR PLATE

INTERMEDIATE

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP PROPER
St Albans have a bye as a result of the withdrawal of Rushall

INTERMEDIATE PLATE

MINOR

This year’s winner in the National Club Championship – Minor Section is being decided by a mini league system in two pools, with the top team in each pool contesting the Final.
Pool A – Bishops Stortford | Hackney | Forest of Dean
Pool B – Fenton | Bushbury | Syston

2013

Open
Wood Green, Maidstone and Hackney have entered

Maidstone 1 – Wood Green 5; details here
Hackney 4½ – Maidstone 1½; details here

Major

Maidstone v Farnham [result: Maidstone 2½ – Farnham 2½ (Farnham win on board count); details here]
Bourne End v Gloucester [result: Bourne End 3½ – Gloucester 1½; details here]
Bishop’s Stortford v Bedford [result: Bishop’s Stortford 2 – Bedford 3; details here]
Hackney v Ilford [result: Hackney 3 – Ilford 2; details here]
Metropolitan v Wood Green [result: Metropolitan 3 – Wood Green 2; details here]
Athenaeum v Wanstead & Woodford [result: W&W 2 – Athenaeum 3; details here]
Byes: Tunbridge Wells, Bushbury

Next round draw –

Championship
Gloucester v Bushbury [result: Gloucester 2½ – Bushbury 2½ (Bushbury win on board count); details here]
Farnham v Athenaeum [result: Farnham 4½ – Athenaeum ½; details here]
Tunbridge Wells v Hackney [result: Tunbridge Wells 2½ – Hackney 2½ (Hackney win on board count); details here]
Bedford v Metropolitan [result: Bedford 4 – Metropolitan 1; details here]

Semi-Finals
Bushbury v Bedford [result: Bushbury 1½ – Bedford 3½; details here]
Hackney v Farnham [result: Hackney 2 – Farnham 3; details here]

Final
Bedford v Farnham

Plate
Bishop’s Stortford v Bourne End [Bishop’s Stortford conceded to Bourne End]
Wanstead & Woodford v Maidstone [result: W&W 2½ – Maidstone 2½ (Maidstone win on board count); details here]
Byes – Ilford & Wood Green
Matches to be played by 31st March

Semi-Finals
Bourne End v Wood Green [result: Bourne End 1½ – Wood Green 3½; details here]
Ilford v Maidstone [result: Ilford 2 – Maidstone 3; details here]

Final
Wood Green v Maidstone

Intermediate
Controller: Michael McNaughton, 110 Cavendish Court, Recorder Road, Norwich NR1 1HX
Tel: 01603 632235 Email: mike181040@hotmail.com

Alwoodley (Leeds)
Bishop’s Stortford
Bushbury
Cosham (Hants)
Hackney
Leamington
Maidstone
Prescot and Knotty Ash (Liverpool)
Saxmundham (Suffolk)
Wanstead and Woodford

FIRST ROUND DRAW TO BE COMPLETED BY 27 JANUARY 2013
Prescot and Knotty Ash vs Alwoodley[result: Prescot & KA 2 – Alwoodley 2 (Alwoodley win on board count)]
Cosham vs Wanstead and Woodford [Cosham 1 – Wanstead and Woodford 3]
Bishop’s Stortford vs Saxmundham [Bishops Stortford 1 – Saxmundham 3]
Leamington vs Bushbury [result: Leamington 3 – Bushbury 1]
1. Steve Burnell ½ – ½ Richard Parry
2. Ben Graff 1 – 0 Phil Staley
3. Tom Darling ½ – ½ Alf Schroeder
4. Andy Collins 1 – 0 David Molineux
Maidstone vs Hackney [result: Maidstone 3 – Hackney 1]
Detailed results may be found here

Championship
Wanstead & Woodford v Maidstone [result: Wanstead & Woodford 2 – Maidstone 2 (Maidstone win on board count); details here]

Thereafter – Alwoodley v Leamington [result: Alwoodley 1½ – Leamington 2½]

Maidstone v Saxmundham [result: Maidstone 3 – Saxmundham 1]
R E Lane 159 114052 J 1 – 0 John Feavyour 110497 E 166
George Hollands 153 273983F ½ – ½ Malcolm Lightfoot 157 290418E
Alan Riddoch 165744G 133 ½ – ½ Arthur McCormick 115230A 130
Douglas Smith 154729 L 119 1 – 0 Andrew Paige 140702J 106

Plate
Prescot and Knotty Ash v Bushbury [Bushbury conceded, Knotty Ash win]
Cosham v Bishop’s Stortford
To be played on or before the 2nd June

CONTROLLER’S NOTE
The winners of these first round fixtures will progress to the Championship. However it will be necessary to have a preliminary round to bring the numbers in the championship to four. The losers will progress to the Plate unless they indicate they do not wish to compete, and again two preliminary rounds will be required to bring the number down to four. These pairings will be done after the conclusion of round One.

Minor
Six teams entered. Pools A & B were set up with three teams in each. Under an all-play-all system the best team in each Pool became a finalist. The results are summarised as follows:

Pool A
Harrogate v Louth
113717H 129 Stuart Johnson 1 – 0 Charles Ayton 126 222104E
192948D 128 Andrew Zigmond 0 – 1 John Grasham 107 277724B
118292E 119 Margaret Rowley 0 – 1 Adam Wardlow U/G 222119G
281560G U/G Chris Watt ½ – ½ Cameron Marnoch U/G 286934C
Harrogate lost to Louth 1½ – 2½

Syston v Harrogate
*Syston forfeited match – Harrogate win

Louth v Syston
*Syston forfeited match – Louth win

Louth win Pool A

Pool B
Bushbury v Fenton
119572E 144 Phil Staley 0 – 1 Rob Taylor 136 273508J
131946C 123 David Molineux ½ – ½ Steve Emmerton 119 266803J
113908D 105 Simon Jones 0 – 1 Geoff Yates 112 147838C
107597E 106 David Buckley 1 – 0 Derek Whitehurst 99 282297A
Bushbury lost to Fenton 1½ – 2½

Forest of Dean v Fenton
255665A U/G Derek Lomax 0 – 1 Rob Taylor 136 273508J
110858L 129 Ray Francis ½ – ½ Steve Emmerton 119 266803J
227191G 100 Ian Jenkins ½ – ½ Jason Plant 110 289301A
281893A 75 Tim Bateman 1 – 0 Derek Whitehurst 99 282297A
Forest of Dean tied Fenton 2 – 2

Bushbury v Forest of Dean
119572E 144 Phil Staley 1 – 0 Derek Lomax U/G 255665A
131946C 123 David Molineux 1 – 0 Ray Francis 129 110858L
113908D 105 Simon Jones 1 – 0 Tim Bateman 75 281893A
107597E 106 David Buckley 1 – 0 Malcolm Wootton 55 161349C
Bushbury beat Forest Of Dean 4 – 0

Fenton win Pool B

Final – Louth v Fenton [result: Louth 3 – Fenton 1; details here]

2014

Open
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Crosstable | PGN

Under 175
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Crosstable | PGN

Under 150
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Crosstable | PGN

Under 125
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Crosstable | PGN

2015

Prizewinners —

Open: Sutton Coldfield; Major: Newton Abbot; Major Plate: Drunken Knights
Intermediate: Sutton Coldfield; Intermediate Plate: Redditch
Minor: Sutton Coldfield; Minor Plate: GLCC

PGNs – Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

Round 1
Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

Round 2
Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

Round 3
Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

Round 4
Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

League Tables
Open | Major | Intermediate | Minor

2016

… played 9th & 10th April, 2016, Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport, Coventry Road, Birmingham B26 3QW

Results

Open – Sutton Coldfield

Major – Championship: GLCC
Plate: Broadland
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | League Table

Intermediate – Championship: Redditch
Plate: Kenilworth
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | League Table

Minor – Championship: Redditch
Plate: GLCC
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | League Table

Replay the games

Major

Intermediate

Minor

2017

Results

Major – Wanstead & Woodford
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Table
Major Plate – Penyffordd

Intermediate – Newcastle-under-Lyme
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Table
Intermediate Plate – Solihull

Minor – DHSS
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Table
Minor Plate – GLCC

Replay the games

Major

Inter

Minor

2018

Major trophy – Solihull A | Major plate – Telepost A

Intermediate trophy – Telford | Intermediate plate – Redditch

Minor trophy – Telepost B | Minor plate – Forest of Dean

Final tables [PDF] – here