Stourbridge Chess Club mid-season report
Just before Christmas, the club held a Christmas blitz tournament. Ten players played a round robin with a time control of 5 minutes plus a 3 second increment per move.
Joe Friar and Dan Jones tied for first place on 8 points. Joe Friar only lost one game to Dan and Dan also lost one game against Che Adams. Adam Ware came 3rd on 6½ and Ben Doran and Che tied for 4th place on 6 points.
We knew it would be tough in division one of the Wolverhampton league but so far Stourbridge have held their own. They have won one match, drawn one and lost 2. There are several teams with much worse records so Stourbridge do not look in danger of relegation. At this point in the season, league tables are meaningless as teams have played different numbers of matches.
The division 3 team is often used to give less experienced players match practice. The team is currently on 50% - won 3 lost 3.
In division 2 of the Birmingham league, Stourbridge have exactly the same record as in the Wolverhampton league – won 1 drawn 1 and lost 2. They need to win a few more matches to be sure of avoiding relegation.
In division 4, Stourbridge are currently 9th out of 12 teams Having won 1, drawn 2 and lost 2. Their one win was just before Christmas so hopefully their better form will continue into 2026. The best Stourbridge player in division 4 is board 1 Dan Jones on won 2 drawn 1.
In Dudley division 3, Stourbridge have found it difficult to field a complete team because of the rating limit of under 1600. So far they have drawn 1 and lost 1. There is no promotion or relegation in this league so players just play for experience and ratings points.
The club meets at the Queen’s Head pub Enville Street, at 7.30pm every Tuesday evening and is looking for new members to strengthen its squads for the second half of the season. Anyone who is interested in joining Stourbridge chess club,should contact Dan Billingham on 07752 046656 or visit stourbridgechess.f9.co.uk for more information.
