Competitions
49th Nottingham Congress
The 49th Nottingham Congress took place on the 18th and 19th April 2026 at Nottingham High School. For details of upcoming tournaments please see the calendar page.
Tournament News
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49th Nottingham Congress Report
The 49th Nottingham Congress took place on the weekend of 18th 19th April 2026. There was a capacity attendance (200), much more than last years disappointing numbers. Due to the bumper attendance we were able to award prizes for fourth place and slow starters. A summary of results are below. Details of the tournament can be found on Chess Results. We are […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2024/25
Best Game 2024/25 (three entries) Winner – Benjamin Humphreys “This was an excellent game from White in a French Winawer structure. They built up the position very well and the tactics flowed nicely after 18.e6! The following sacrifices 24.Bxc4! and 29.Bb5! were the cherry on top of a dominating performance.” IM Jonah Willow (judge) Best U1800 Game 2024/25 (two entries) […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2023/24
Best Game 2023/24 (three entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “In a small set of unflinching, fighting games, in this one White introduces a neatly thought-out concept in a well trodden Ruy Lopez Breyer position, carrying a piece sacrifice to springboard the attack. Black defends well, and the first player has to generate a series of complex blows to break the […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2022/23
Best Game 2022/23 (two entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “With the centre of the board keenly contested and completely congested, Black’s clever knight sacrifice on move 16 launches an overwhelming attack on White’s unsuspecting defences.” Stuart Humphreys (judge) Best U1800 Game 2022/23(two entries) Winner Neil Graham. “A perfectly executed Blackmar-Diemar Gambit by White, with a rampant Garry the g-pawn delivering […]
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35th Nottingham Rapidplay Report
35th Nottingham Rapidplay Report We welcomed a slightly reduced field of 169 players to the 35th Nottingham Rapidplay, held as usual at Nottingham High School, with a new layout. As per last year this was an ECF and FIDE rated event. Entries were much slower than usual compared to last year; but picked up in the last week. We are […]
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Notts County Championship 2025 – Report
The County Championships were held on Sunday 15th June and Sunday 20th July, organised by Radcliffe and Bingham at their Royal British Legion Social Club, Radcliffe-on-Trent venue. The playing schedule comprised five rounds of ECF-rated standard play with a time limit of 75’ plus 2” increments under the watchful eye of FIDE Arbiter Hambel Willow. A tense second Sunday saw […]
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2024-25 Nottinghamshire Blitz Championship
An amazing entry of 57 players took part in the event, last held in 2009. There were 5 rounds with a time control of 7’ + 2’’ increments. It was an exciting tournament played in a great spirit. After 3 rounds 5 players were on 3 points. In round 4 Chris Cantrill beat top seed and newly crowned Nottinghamshire County […]
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Nottinghamshire Blitz Championship 2025
Nottinghamshire Blitz Championship 2025 Monday 11 August 2025 5 Round Swiss. Enquiries to drag_sudar@yahoo.co.uk Eligibility: Born in Nottinghamshire Currently living, or formerly resident for at least 3 years, in Nottinghamshire Working in Nottinghamshire Attending an educational establishment in Nottinghamshire Member of a chess club based in Nottinghamshire or affiliated to the Nottinghamshire Chess Association For full details and and online […]
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Nottinghamshire County Championship 2025
Nottinghamshire County Championship 2024/25 Sunday 15th June and Sunday 20th July Royal British Legion Social Club 17 Main Road Radcliffe-on-Trent Nottinghamshire NG12 2FD Organised by Radcliffe and Bingham Chess Club Enquiries to: Nick London, email: nicklondon2222@gmail.com Eligibility: 1. Born in Nottinghamshire 2. Currently living, or formerly resident for at least 3 years, in Nottinghamshire 3. Working in Nottinghamshire 4. Attending […]
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Final Match – Beeston 1 Win
Beeston 1 won 3-1 at Nomads 2 in the final game of the season to clinch the Division 2 title. Congratulations to the Beeston Club on this success. Nomads 2 finish in a relegation spot. Hope that all clubs have enjoyed the season’s play. It’s been a notable season with very tight, hard-fought title races, completed without any disputes arising […]
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48th Nottingham Congress – Report
48th Nottingham Congress The 48th Nottingham Congress took place at a later time (10-11 May) than our more usual late March/April berth. This was not our preference, but 4NCL dates occupying the first three April weekends, EPSCA dates and a March event at our venue, Nottingham High School, forced our hand. This timing probably accounts for our numbers (138) being […]
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Notts Summer Rapidplay
Notts Summer Rapidplay • Entries close on Sunday May 25th • Teams of four players • Play as a club or with your mates!! • 4 Sections (Open; U-1800; U-1500; U-1200 -all averages) • Two matches at home; Two matches away. All rated. • Week 1 – w/c 2nd June • Week 2 – w/c 16th June • Week 3 […]
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48th Nottingham Congress
Our annual event returns as usual to the Nottingham High School on the 10th & 11th May with 5 rounds of standard play chess. Rate of play is all moves in 90 minutes with 10 seconds increment from move one. We have sections for all abilities. Online entry and online payment are available via the Congress website. Free entry for […]
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34th Nottingham Rapidplay Report
We welcomed a record capacity (180) entry to the 34th Nottingham Rapidplay, held as usual at Nottingham High School. This was ECF-rated as normal and also FIDE-rated for the first time (but bear in mind that FIDE only now publishes ratings above 1400). We also used the congress.org site for the first time, enabling online payments rather than cheques in […]
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Nottingham Rapidplay 2025 – Sunday 2nd February
Our annual event returns as usual to the Nottingham High School on the 2nd February with 6 rounds of quick chess. New this year, our event will also be FIDE-rated. We have sections for all abilities. Online entry and online payment are available via the Congress website. Free entry for GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. For more information and to […]
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34th Nottingham Rapidplay
The 34th Nottingham Rapidplay will take place on the 2nd February 2025 at Nottingham High School. This will be a six round FIDE rated event. The first round will start at 10.00am. Enter online here. Details can also be downloaded from the entry form.
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47th Nottingham Congress
Our annual Congress took place over the weekend of Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April 2024 at our usual venue, Nottingham High School. A record 172 players competed in the Congress (compared with 153 last year). We had accepted 180 entries (our venue maximum) but unfortunately there were eight last minute withdrawals for a variety of reasons. The loss guarantee […]
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Nottingham Rapidplay 2025
The entry system for the 2025 Rapidplay is now live. Please see this post for more information.
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34th Nottingham Rapidplay
The 34th Nottingham Rapidplay will take place on the 2nd February 2025 at Nottingham High School. This will be a six round FIDE rated event. The first round will start at 10.00am. Enter online here. Details can also be downloaded from the entry form.
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Week One Update & Week Two Preview
Intra-Club Matches Gambit 2 could not pull off their usual upset win against Gambit 1, losing 1.5- 3.5. As the ‘home’ team they had the disadvantage of 3 Blacks. The reverse fixture in January might be closer. Gambit 5 did share the points with Gambit 4. Three more intra-club matches follow next week. Radcliffe and Bingham 4 host R&B 3. […]
Fixtures & Results : 2025–26
The league usually runs from 1 September to 15 May. All clubs affiliated to the NCA are eligible to compete. Teams normally consist of four players (five in the top division) and play each other home and away during the course of the season.
We are using the ECF’s League Management System now. Apart from team captains, each club should have one (or two) nominated members who will be able to submit match results. If you’re unsure of yours then ask your club secretary.
If you have any questions, or need to submit your results by email then contact :
Simon Scott email link
The latest versions of the league fixtures, results and tables are available through the League Management System.
To assist team captains we provide links to the following useful documents
- The League Rules
- The League Rules (downloadable PDF)
- League Fixtures 2025-26 (downloadable PDF)
- The Laws of Chess 2023 (downloadable PDF)
- The GDPR consent form (downloadable PDF)
- The Child Protection Action List (downloadable PDF)
- Results Slip (downloadable PDF)
Please note there is NO quick play this season.
League News
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Notts League 25-26 Week 33 Review
D1 Mansfield defeat Newark 1. Beeston 1 move up to third defeating West Bridgford 1. The value of Shabir’s excellent top board win was cancelled out by a board default. University 1 defeat Gambit 1, to move above them in the table? D2. Nomads 1 clinch a win at Grantham 1 to win the division. Third placed West Nottingham 1draw […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 32 Review
D1 Grantham 1 score last gasp win at Ashfield 1. Newark 1 score fine draw with Gambit 1. West Bridgford 1 continue revival with win over RAB 1. D2 Gambit 2 claim back top spot with win over West Bridgford 2. The title will be decided on Nomads 1’s visit to Grantham 2 on 6 May. A draw will be […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 31 Review
D1 Grantham 1 defeat Beeston 1, despite top board loss, to move 7 points clear. D2 Grantham 2 defeat RAB 2. West Nottingham 1 , missing regular top boards, draw with Ashfield 2. D3 Ashfield 3 cling on to win against Gambit 4 to stay on heels of leaders. D4 Gambit 6 beat Ashfield 4 and scupper their promotion chances. […]
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Rules Revision Meeting 2026
The Rules Revision Meeting, will take place on Tuesday 19th May 2026. Bramcote Memorial Hall (West Nottm CC), Nottingham, NG9 3HD. Meeting starts at 7:30pm prompt. Proposals can be viewed here. If any textual or typing errors are found by proposers/seconders, please respond as soon as possible with corrections – provided they do not alter the purpose or meaning of the proposal. Any other items […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 30 Review
D1 Ashfield 1 move up to third with a draw at Newark 1. D2 Nomads 1 defeat Gambit 2 and replace them at the top. Winning the Division will now be in their hands, at Grantham on 6 May. D3 Beeston 2 go top after beating Grantham 3.Nomads 2 are level on points with win over Gambit 4. D5 Gambit […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 29 Review
D1 Third placed Beeston 1, without top board, Alex Posazhennikov (on 9.5/11 for the season), are no match for second placed Mansfield. D2 Gambit 3 complete the double over RAB 2 by the same 2.5-1.5. RAB 2 have had 3 other narrowest margin defeats this season, against each of the top 3 teams in the division. D3 Beeston 2 go […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 28 Review
D1 Congratulations to Grantham 1, whose win at Newark 1 confirms their League title win. Defending champions, Mansfield defeat RAB 1 and look set to finish as runners-up. Beeston 1 defeat Gambit 1 to move up to third. With 3 games each remaining, Beeston and Ashfield, two promoted teams, now look likely to fight out third place. D2 West Nottingham 1 defeat […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 27 Review
D1 University 1 defeat RAB 1, reversing 3-2 scoreline of earlier encounter. D2 Gambit 2 move top with win over Grantham 2. RAB 2 complete the double over West Bridgford 2, doubling their League points tally. D3 Beeston 2 defeat leaders University 2, closing the gap between them. Gambit 4 score good win over Newark 2. D4 West Nottingam 2 […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 26 Review
D1. West Bridgford 1 comfortably beat Newark 1. Gambit 1 gain revenge on Ashfield 1. D3 University 2 move above Nomads 2, defeating them 4-0. D4 West Nottingham 2 stay third, held to a draw at RAB 4. D5 Gambit 7 move top with win over RAB 5. Central 3 defeat RAB 6. Ashfield 5 defeat struggling Central 2. […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 25 Review
D1 Grantham 1 stay 7 points clear with dominant win over University. Mansfield keep up the chase with win at Gambit 1. Beeston 1 win at RAB 1. Grantham 1 have 3 remaining games, including two away games. The biggest danger they have to overcome is the parlous state of roads in Nottinghamshire. D2 Nomads 1 lead the way with […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 24 Review
D1 West Bridgford 1 continue to climb up the table with win at University 1. D2 Grantham 2 and Ashfield 2 have hard-fought draw, 4 wins for White pieces. D3 Nomads 2 go top after defeat of Beeston 2. Gambit 5 defeat Newark 2. D4 Bottom club Gambit 6 land excellent draw with leaders Central 1. RAB 3 defeat Grantham […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 23 Review
D1 Grantham 1 extend lead to 7 points after defeat of Ashfield 1. West Bridgford draw with Gambit 1 to move out of the bottom two. D2 Gambit 2 lead pursuit of Nomads 1 after win over West Nottingham 1. The two sides relegated from D1 last season look set for an early return. D3 leaders University 2 slip up […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2024/25
Best Game 2024/25 (three entries) Winner – Benjamin Humphreys “This was an excellent game from White in a French Winawer structure. They built up the position very well and the tactics flowed nicely after 18.e6! The following sacrifices 24.Bxc4! and 29.Bb5! were the cherry on top of a dominating performance.” IM Jonah Willow (judge) Best U1800 Game 2024/25 (two entries) […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2023/24
Best Game 2023/24 (three entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “In a small set of unflinching, fighting games, in this one White introduces a neatly thought-out concept in a well trodden Ruy Lopez Breyer position, carrying a piece sacrifice to springboard the attack. Black defends well, and the first player has to generate a series of complex blows to break the […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2022/23
Best Game 2022/23 (two entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “With the centre of the board keenly contested and completely congested, Black’s clever knight sacrifice on move 16 launches an overwhelming attack on White’s unsuspecting defences.” Stuart Humphreys (judge) Best U1800 Game 2022/23(two entries) Winner Neil Graham. “A perfectly executed Blackmar-Diemar Gambit by White, with a rampant Garry the g-pawn delivering […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 22 Review
D1 Beeston 1 defeat Mansfield. Ashfield 1 pip Newark 1. D2 Leaders Nomads 1 pip West Bridgford 2. Gambit 3 defeat Grantham 2. D3 Leaders University 2 are beaten by heavily outrated Gambit 5. D4 West Nottingham 2 move into third with defeat of RAB 4. RAB 3 draw with Nomads 3. Ashfield 4 draw with Gambit 6 in a […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 21 Review
D1 Grantham 1 extend League lead with win over West Bridgford 1. Gambit 1 ‘s revival continues with win over University 1. D2 Gambit 3 defeat RAB 2. Ashfield 2 win at West Bridgford 2. D3 Newark 2 and Beeston 2 share the spoils. D4 Gabit 6 score first win of season at RAB 3. Gabit 7 defeat RAB 5. […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 20 Review
D1 Mansfield defeat RAB 1. D2 No games this week. D3 University 2 still lead after win over Grantham 3. Nomads 2 move into second with win over Newark 2. Ashfield 3 are well beaten by Gambit 5. D4 Leaders Central 1 paste Grantham 3. Ashfield 4 win at RAB 4 and move above them to second place. Gambit 6 […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 19 Review
D1 An excellent, fighting draw for West Bridgford 1 against Mansfield. Grantham 1 extend lead at the top repeating their 4-1 win against Newark in the first game of the season. Ashfield 1 narrowly defeat Beeston 1 to move level on points with Mansfield. University 1 defeat Newark 1. On this week’s showings, Newark 1 and RAB 1 will be […]
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Notts League 25-26 Week 18 Review
D1 Gambit 1 move up to mid-table after defeating RAB 1 with wins on the top 3 boards. D2 Nomads 1 fall to first defeat of the season against Grantham 2. Gambit 3’s defeat of West Bridgford 2 includes two wins with the Black pieces. D3 Newark 2 defeat Grantham 3. Gambit 5 pip Gambit 4. D4. Ashfield 4 defeat […]
We run various County Teams competing in the MCCU and National events at various levels.
We also run a team, or teams, in the County Correspondence Championship. This form of chess used to be played by post, but now has a very different format, being run on the internet and with computer assistance being allowed.
If you think you might be interested in this, please contact the team captain, Phil Morgan.
County Team News
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2024/25
Best Game 2024/25 (three entries) Winner – Benjamin Humphreys “This was an excellent game from White in a French Winawer structure. They built up the position very well and the tactics flowed nicely after 18.e6! The following sacrifices 24.Bxc4! and 29.Bb5! were the cherry on top of a dominating performance.” IM Jonah Willow (judge) Best U1800 Game 2024/25 (two entries) […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2023/24
Best Game 2023/24 (three entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “In a small set of unflinching, fighting games, in this one White introduces a neatly thought-out concept in a well trodden Ruy Lopez Breyer position, carrying a piece sacrifice to springboard the attack. Black defends well, and the first player has to generate a series of complex blows to break the […]
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games 2022/23
Best Game 2022/23 (two entries) Winner – Michael Naylor-Eade “With the centre of the board keenly contested and completely congested, Black’s clever knight sacrifice on move 16 launches an overwhelming attack on White’s unsuspecting defences.” Stuart Humphreys (judge) Best U1800 Game 2022/23(two entries) Winner Neil Graham. “A perfectly executed Blackmar-Diemar Gambit by White, with a rampant Garry the g-pawn delivering […]
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County Chess – Jan 26
County chess returned to Nottinghamshire this January with two matches played at Bramcote vs Staffordshire. U1850: Notts outrated the Staffordshire throughout; however over the board this wasn’t noticeable and Staffordshire after being behind by 31/2- 1/2 with the first four declarations, fought back and in fact held the home side on Boards 1-9. Notts won the lowest three boards which […]
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County Chess Returns
Notts entered the county arena for the first time in four seasons with a visit to Lincolnshire in the Under 1850 section. The venue was North Hykeham and we are indebted to our hosts for making the arrangements. Nottinghamshire outrated their opponents on every one of the 14 board played so it was little surprise that we ran out a […]
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County Correspondence Team
The Counties and Districts Correspondence Chess Competition started on 14/4/23. Our team is in the Ward-Higgs, Division 1 section. Nottinghamshire team. 1 SIM Jonathan Tait 2419 2 CCM Gordon Anderson 2378 3 CCM Richard Webster 2361 4 CCM John Shaw 2322 5 CCE Phil Morgan 2232 6 Kevin Williamson 2120 7 Glenn Halfpenny 1800p 8 Andrew Robins 1800p We have […]
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County Correspondence Team
Playing in the Second Division of the Counties Championship, our team had a successful 2022/23 season, finishing in second place and so gaining promotion to Division 1. A link to the results can be found here by clicking Continue Reading on the News page.
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County Teams | Games | Latest News | League | Tournaments
Best Games and Swindles
With the return of “over the board” chess also comes the chance to show off your best efforts. Any games played in NCA tournaments (Rapidplay or Congress) league or county teams in the past 12 months are eligible. There are prizes for best games (open and under 1800 sections) and also for your best swindles. Please send entries to me […]
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Nail-biter in NG9
On 26th February, our Notts u1450 juniors hosted Leicestershire u1450 for a winner takes all clash at Bramcote. A good natured and well fought match, prefaced with Leicestershire’s captain and a couple of their players kindly helping us with setting up some of the tables and boards. As the match started, it quickly looked like a lot of the games […]
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Correspondence Chess
Back in July we reported that our team captain, Phil Morgan, had been awarded the Welsh Correspondence Chess Expert title. We’re happy to add our congratulations now that he has earned the ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert title.
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Correspondence Chess
The 2021 season has now been completed. Nottinghamshire finished in third place in Division 2 of the Counties League competition behind, East Wales B and Yorkshire A. You can view the full Results here The 2022 season will begin in February. If you are interested in playing for Nottinghamshire in this competition, please contact Phil Morgan, County Correspondence Captain before […]
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Season 2021-22
Following the request for volunteers to captain teams, our thanks to David Levens, Mick Frings and Mike Swanwick, who will captain Notts U2050, U1450 and U1450 Juniors teams. The following details were supplied by Peter Sherlock, MCCU County Championship Controller… U2050 section – only Nottinghamshire have entered and will go through to the National Stages as MCCU1. Entries for this […]
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Volunteers Needed!
Following the recent online AGM there are three areas in particular where the association needs volunteers to step forward to help us get chess back on the board! Executive Committee – There are two vacancies for EC Members. If you have any ideas on how to develop chess in the county, this is the ideal place to put them forward. […]
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Correspondence Chess
Congratulations to our team captain, Phil Morgan, who has achieved the title of Welsh CC Expert. He provided an update on this year’s team, which is currently participating in Division 2 of the County Correspondence competition. The event started late, in February 2021, so will officially end in January 2022. At the end of June, we stood in first place […]
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County Teams Update
During the Coronavirus restrictions there have been no “over the board” county matches and there was little support for playing online team events.