Stourbridge Chess Club prepares for new season after busy summer
The club has rounded off its summer programme with a blitz tournament and success at the Worcestershire championships
With the 2026/27 chess season due to begin on September 1, Stourbridge Chess Club’s summer programme has come to an end.
The final event was a pre-season blitz tournament, with players competing for the Eric Horwill Memorial Trophy.
Twelve players took part in a round-robin tournament, with games played at a time control of five minutes per player, plus a three-second increment after each move.
Jeremy Fallowfield was the overall winner, scoring an impressive 10½ points from a possible 11. He won 10 games and drew with his father, Nic Fallowfield, who finished runner-up on 9½ points.
Adam Ware took third place with 8½ points.
The club’s summer tournament was a five-round Swiss competition, with one game played every two weeks between June 16 and August 11.
Games were played at a slower time control of 45 minutes per player, plus a 30-second increment.
Nic Fallowfield won the tournament with 4½ points, while Dan Jones took the rating prize for the best player graded below 1700 after scoring three points.
The prize for the best ungraded player went to Michael Green.
The Worcestershire Closed Chess Championships were held on August 22 and 23, with Stourbridge club president Julie Wilson winning the ladies’ championship.
Julie scored three points from five games, recording two wins and two draws. Her only defeat came against Worcestershire men's champion Joe Raskall.
For the new season, Stourbridge Chess Club will compete in the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley chess leagues, with teams catering for players of all strengths.
The club meets at The Queen’s Head, Enville Street, at 7.30pm every Tuesday and is looking for new members to strengthen its squads for the coming season.