Tag: Frank Wood Shield

New Year, New News!

With so much going on right now I thought it was worth a quick run down on the important things to note.

Cumnor Trophy Night
Trophy presentations will take place this coming Thursday (26th), come down and give the winners a well deserved ovation!

The winners are:

Players Cup 2022
1st Nigel Moyse
2nd Mark Sayers
3rd Ian Bush

Bill Laar Trophy (BLT) 2022
1st Robin Carr
2nd Callum Brewerton
3rd Steven Jackson

More information can be found on the original post.

Frank Woods Shield
Last night our invitational team the “Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse” won their first round tie last night against Witney Spinners 4-2. The result means they move into the second round with a home draw against Wantage Alfredians, the very team they lost to last season. Is it time for some revenge?

Our second team “Six Donkeys of the Acropolis” will play Cowley Williwaws. Both of these quarter-finals will take place before mid-march.

Kidlington Tournament

The rate at which entries have been coming in makes it likely that the Kidlington Tournament will reach full capacity a few days before the weekend of the tournament. They are continuing to welcome entries, but please bear in mind that if you want to play, you risk disappointment if you delay your entry much longer.

The tournament, taking place as usual at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, is a 5-Round ECF-rated Swiss tournament, with four sections: Open, Major (U2000), Intermediate (U1800), and Minor (U1600) and a total prize fund of over £2200.

Standard entry fee (for ECF members at Silver or higher level): £28.

There is a discount of £5 for junior entrants (under 18 on 1 January 2023).

This event is disabled-friendly and wheelchair-accessible.

For full details, and to enter, see the pages under the ‘Kidlington 2023’ tab of the tournament website:
https://kidlingtonchess.org.uk/

2021-2022 Frank Wood Shield

The first round of the Frank Woods Shield has now been completed and I am happy to report both Cumnor teams are into the next round, which is the Quarter Finals!

Cumnor 1 (which for this tournament have been called Cumnor Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse) had a bye in the first round and would play either Banbury Misfits or Wantage Alfredians in the Quarter Finals. Wantage in a small shock beat Banbury in the FWS last night (03/02/22), so they are the Horsemen’s next opponents in an AWAY match that is to be played by 1st March. They managed to beat their higher rated opponents by four points to two and didn’t even need to rely on the handicap system.

Cumnor 2 (who are called Cumnor Six Donkeys of the Acropolis) had a match in the first round against Cowley Conundrums however Cowley could not get a team out for the match and had to forfit. Steve said at the time “We were looking forward to the match very much. Thanks (for Cowley) for letting me know in good time.”. The Donkeys will play the Witney Weavers in a home match before 1st March.

A quick glance at the draw shows us that Cumnor have a quarter of the teams (2 from 8) left in the competition (admittedly due to some luck), and that both teams are in the top half of the draw (to use a Tennis explanation). This means they could meet in the semi’s if they both get through these tricky ties, this is the first time Cumnor 1 would play Cumnor 2 in any over the board competition. The draw also kept us away from the University Alpha (University 1 team) until the final, if either team makes it that far. Cumnor have had a good relationship with the Frank Woods Shield over the years, winning it in the 2017-18 season, more information about our record can be found at the bottom of our Team’s page.

More information about this season’s Shield can be found here.

Some Busy Club Nights Ahead

The season is progressing well for both teams. Cumnor 1 are currently 4th out of 8 in Division 1 with 2 wins and a loss in the first 3 matches. While Cumnor 2 are 2nd in division 4 with 2 wins, a draw and a loss.

Both teams have a lot of matches before Christmas, with both teams playing on the same evening two weeks running. This coming Thursday (14th November) Cumnor 1 are playing away to last years double winners Oxford University 1 while Cumnor 2 are playing at home to Cowley 6. The following week (21st November) Cumnor 1 are at home to Banbury 1 and Cumnor 2 are away in the Frank Woods Shield to an Oxford University team.

The club will remain open on these evenings (right up until the 19th December which will be our last Club night before Christmas) but please be aware that 12 players will be playing matches so the opportunity to play friendly and Players Cup and Bill Laar Trophy matches might be a bit thin on the ground.

An updated Players Cup and Bill Laar Trophy can be found here.

Please see which players you have left to play before the end of the year especially if you are in the running for a prize and good luck to the players who are playing for each team.

Frank Woods Shield

Since the Frank Woods Shield was revamped a couple of seasons ago we have had some good results in the competition, winning the inaugural year and reaching the semis last season.

This year we have decided to two enter two teams.

The Frank Wood Shield, Players Cup and the Bill Laar Trophy

Our first team is:
The Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Our second team is:
The Six Donkeys of the Acropolis

The draw for this season’s Frank Wood Shield will take place on the Saturday of the upcoming Witney Congress, on the 2nd November.

Five Cumnor players are down to take part; Nigel, Nick and Simon in the open, Ian in the U170 and Gareth in the U145.

There is still time to The 7th Witney Congress at http://www.witneychess.co.uk/.

Good luck to the Cumnor Players who will take part.

The Grunifeld Defence (aka Oxford University) win the 2018/19 FWS

The final match of the 2018/19 season was played this week and it saw The Grunifeld Defence, a team made up from Oxford University, lift the cup.

After winning the title last year (check out our crowning moment here), this year we reached the semifinal but lost to The Cowley Countergambits who then lost to The Grunifeld Defence.

Cowley only needed 1 win with the grading difference being a massive 58 points but they lost 6-0.

Congratulations to Oxford University who also won the first division with their very strong team.

Ray Starkie Memorial Award

Please get your thinking caps on and if you think you played a brilliancy this season get your game entered.

“As some of you will be aware at the last OCA AGM it was decided that an annual best game award be instituted in Ray Starkie’s memory. This will be judged by Matt Rose, and games should be submitted by the May meeting – so if you have played any games which you are particularly proud of this season in OCA events (the League, The Frank Wood Shield and the Chiltern League) get them in!

The way to submit your game is to send it to Roger Thetford, the League Secretary, in PGN format – Please, please, please, no photos of score sheets! Roger’s email is available under the contacts tab on the OCA web site, and if you are unsure of what PGN format is please visit PGN editor where there is a nice on line utility which will help you create a PGN file. Click on the “2.Game moves” tab where you can play out your game, then click on “NEXT” to add the details about the players, and “NEXT” again and the PGN file is in the window. Simply cut and paste this into your email to Roger or (probably better) save it into a file and send it as an attachment.

Roger plans to put the submitted games on the web site, so hopefully we will soon all be dazzled by your collective brilliance!

Ian Bush 02/04/2019″

Cumnor 1 win the League

Last night saw Banbury 2 travel down to Oxford University for a match which would have an affect over here in Cumnor.

Cumnor 1 have been sat on the summit of the Oxford and District Chess League 2 for most of the season gaining a healthy lead at the top. Big wins home and away to Banbury 2, our closest rivals, and a win against Bicester 1 last week put us 6 points clear with a better head to head record against Banbury.

The Frank Wood Shield, Players Cup and the Bill Laar Trophy
A single win in any of our remaining three matches would see us clinch the title and promotion to the first division while Banbury would need to win their four remaining matches to keep the pressure on. But Oxford University handed us the silverware be beating Banbury 4-2 yesterday. The result means we have a unassailable lead so Cumnor 1 will be promoted to division one of the Oxford and District Chess League for the 2019-20 season.

This tops off a very successful time for the club after winning the Frank Wood Shield last year and now this promotion. The membership continues to increase and we must congratulate all the players who have helped the club achieve this triumph.

As noted we still have three league matches left, all at home, to Wantage 1 and Cowley 3 and 4. At the same time as the Oxford University 2 v Banbury 2 the club had a Frank Wood Shield match against the Cowley Chessnuts which we won and now we have a semifinal tie against either the Wantage Alfredians or the Cowley Countergambits.

Lets get organising that open top bus tour.

Silverware on the cards, in the League, Frank Wood Shield or Kidlington?

During the snow storms of last night Cumnor 1 took a big step to achieving promotion to division 1 by beating Banbury 2, 4-2.

The result moves Cumnor 1, 6 points clear (with a better head-to-head) of Banbury 2 with 4 matches left.

The updated table can be found here.

The first round of the Frank Wood Shield has been confirmed away to The Didcot Dynamos on Wednesday 20th February, as defending Champions we are looking forward to the match and won’t be taking it lightly.

The Cumnor players who won the 2018 Frank Wood Shield.
This weekend is the Kidlington Chess Congress, as long it isn’t cancelled due to the weather. The entries are now closed and 6 Cumnor players are taking part.

Eldar, Nick, Nigel are playing in the Open, Ian in the U180’s, Gareth in the U145’s and Robin in the U120’s.

Good luck to all those taking part.

Trophy Night

Next Thursday, 17th January will be our annual Trophy Night, the top three players in the two tournaments will each receive a trophy and the top players will get their hands on the prestigious Players Cup and Bill Laar Trophy.

Liam enjoying a pint from the Players Cup Trophy (yes I will keep using this picture so that people don’t forget I won it ;-))
The winners for the 2018 Players Cup are;
1, Mark Sayers
2, Ian Bush
3, Garth Stevens

and the 2018 Bill Laar Trophy are;
1, Robert Steel
2, Pedro Monteiro
3, Chris Siebert

Our silverware from last season, the Frank Wood Shield will also be on show and we will get some pictures of the winning team. So come along and celebrate the achievement of the year.

The following week both teams are playing away, Cumnor 1 will be playing Oxford University 2 and Cumnor 2 will be playing Magdalen College School, this will mean the club will be closed for the evening.

Cowley Summer Blitz

As Cumnor won the Frank Wood Shield we will be receiving the cup at the Cowley Summer Blitz, so we are hoping for many Cumnnor Players to attend!

Cowley Chess Club invites you to its 2018 Summer Blitz Tournament, which will be held on Monday 25 June 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. (During the evening we also expect to host the OCA Prizegiving for the season just finished. We particularly hope, therefore, that the captains of trophy-winning teams for the League divisions and the Frank Wood Shield, or their representatives, as well as the individual award-winners for the County Individual Championship and the best individual performances in the League will be able to come along both to play in the Blitz and to be presented with their trophies.)

There will be ten games in the Blitz (five rounds playing games with both colours, with five minutes per player per game). A cash prize of 10% of the entry fees will be an option for the tournament winner, with lots of other prizes of books, etc., 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, not only 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 if under 18 on 1 September 2017:

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 3pm on Monday 25 June.

Gerard O’Reilly