Tag: Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As the end of the year approaches there are a few things to announce.

The two teams have so far had very differing seasons.

Cumnor 1 sit in second place in division 2 with 5 wins and a single loss to City 2. This puts us in a good position being only one point behind Banbury 2 with a game in hand, we played Banbury 2 last week and won handsomely 5-1, this is important as head-to-head is the decider when teams are level.

Cumnor 2 are struggling in division 3 but are already looking forward to playing in division 4 next season, Cowley Workers disbanded last year so Cumnor 2 stayed up in a division which is a little too strong for them.

Check out the leagues here.

The two internal competitions finish this week. Congratulations to Robert for winning the Bill Laar Trophy while Pedro finished in second place and Chris in third. The Players Cup is decided this week and I will let you know the permutations when someone explains them to me.

The club will be open on Thursday 22nd but closed on the Thursday just after Christmas (the 27th) and will open again in the New Year the 3rd Januray 2019.

Cumnor 1’s first match of the new year away to City 2 on the 7th January and Cumnor 2’s isn’t until the 24th January.

May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cowley Christmas Blitz, 3 December 2018

Cowley Chess Club invites you to its 2018 Christmas Blitz Tournament, which will be held on Monday 3 December at Cowley Chess Club (at Rose Hill Methodist Church in the Main Hall downstairs), with Round 1 beginning at 7.15 pm. All chessplayers are welcome. (The draw for the 2019 Frank Wood Shield Handicap Knockout Competition will also be held during the evening.)

There will be ten games in the Blitz (five rounds playing games with both colours, with a digital clock and a time allowance per player per game of 3 minutes plus a 2 seconds increment per move added from move 1). The tournament winner may take either a prize from the prizes table or a cash prize of 10% of the entry fees. There will lots of prizes of books, etc., on the prizes table, including grading prizes, prizes for juniors in various age groups, for the best slow starter, etc. (see below for lists of prizes and prizewinners in recent blitzes). We rely on donations of prizes, mainly chess books but also other (non-alcoholic) prizes, and these will be gratefully received.

Round 1 is scheduled to start at 7:15pm. Players who have not notified their entries in advance are asked to register by 7pm at the venue on the night, to enable pairing cards to be written and the first round draw to be completed promptly.

The Prizegiving for the Blitz will be at approximately 9:45pm. (It will be possible for young juniors for whom a 9:45pm finish is too late to play in either two rounds [8:05pm finish approx.] or four rounds [8:55pm finish approx.] if this is arranged in advance.)

Entry fee: £3, to be paid when you arrive on the night. We will also be glad to receive additional donations for the Lester Millin Memorial Fund, which supports Cowley junior players.

To help us make a prompt start, please register your entry in advance if possible by sending an email to blitz@cheekychess.org.uk giving the following information or by filling in one of these forms, hard copies of which will be available at the club (or otherwise getting the information to Gerard O’Reilly):

Name:

Club:

Grade (Standard-play rather than Rapidplay if you have one):

Age on 1 September 2018 if under 18:

Finally, if the entrant is a junior who can play in only the first two (or the first four) rounds, please specify which:

Advance registration by email will be accepted until 4pm on Monday 3 December.

Gerard O’Reilly (gerard@fianchetto.co.uk)

Merry Christmas

Christmas is finally here and the League has paused for the festivities. The club is open tonight (Thursday the 21st) but closed on the 28th and open again on the 4th January 2018.

Tonight will see the conclusion of the Players Cup 2017 and the Bill Laar 2017. The Players Cup has been finalised and was won by Daniel but the Bill Laar still has one game left which will decide who can claim the glory!

The updated tables can be found below.

If I don’t see you tonight Merry Chirstmas and a Happy New Year, may 2018 be full of wonderful Queen sacs and rating points.

Report from the Cowley Christmas chess blitz

A touching mark of respect for the cricketer Phillip Hughes who lost his life last month
A touching mark of respect for the cricketer Phillip Hughes who lost his life last month
The 2014 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Monday 1 December and attracted a total of 48 players.

A closely contested blitz chess tournament was eventually won by Mark Hannon of Witney Chess Club with 8.5 out of 10, half a point ahead of Phil Hayward (Oxford City), Graham McInnes (Didcot), and Cowley’s own Will Burt.

Cumnor Chess Club was well represented with 8 players, 5 of which got a prize! Some of the prize winners are below and a full list can be found on Cowley Chess Club’s website.

A list of some of the prizewinners and their scores is as follows:

1st: Mark Hannon (Witney) 8.5/10
2nd: Phil Hayward (Oxford City) 8
3rd=: Graham McInnes (Didcot), Will Burt (Cowley) 8
Best junior (U18): Daniel Varney (Cumnor) 6.5
Best U145: Mark Sayers (Cumnor) 6
Best very slow starter - 0/4: Alan Flockton (Cumnor) 3

The coincidence of having several entrants graded 147 (and with the UK Snooker Championships currently taking place) prompted Controller Tim Dickinson to award a special ‘Best 147’ prize!

Special 'Best 147': Andrew Varney (Cumnor) & Liam Glenn (Cumnor) 6/10

Fancy a Christmas Chess blitz?

Xmas chessCowley Chess Club will be holding its 2014 Christmas Blitz Tournament on Monday 1 December.

As always, the venue will be at Rose Hill Methodist Church, Oxford, with Round 1 beginning at 7.15 pm sharp. All chess players are welcome.

There will be ten games in the Blitz (five rounds playing games with both colours). A cash prize will be available for the tournament winner, and lots of other prizes of books, etc., including grading prizes, prizes for juniors in various age groups, for the best slow starter, etc.

For more details, and to register in advance, visit the Cowley Chess Club website.

Have fun!