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Lichfield's keenly anticiated club championship tournament, one of the highlights of the season, could not go ahead without risking infringement of the City Council's covid restrictions for the Guildroom. It would have involved too much moving around before and between rounds and would have been difficult for the controller to police. It has been postponed … Continue reading Tournament with a difference

Lichfield's Cannock League 2A team has been docked a point in the match with Oscott, turning a win into a 2-2 draw. The league decided that having played newcomer Steve Mcloughlin on board one the estimated grading should have been higher than the board two player and would therefore have resulted in the total rating … Continue reading Point Deducted

PANDEMIC WAS THE SPUR t is almost exactly 40 years since Lichfield secretary David Short wrote a book about the amazing chess achievements of his young son Nigel. Entitled "Chess Prodigy" it outlined his progress as far winning the TV Master Game title at 13 but despite being a talented and often amusing columnist who … Continue reading

  Raring to go A survey of Lichfield's members has shown that almost all Lichfield's top 12 players can barely wait to get back into league action but there is little chance of that happening until the beginning of October when the Birmingham League has announced it will restart. Website editor David Short said that … Continue reading

It is always nice when a newcomer starts to make an impression after a bad start. Ray Sawyer had played a lot of computer chess when he joined this season and it showed when he played his first game and rattled off 60 moves in an hour- and duly lost. Once he realised he needed … Continue reading Surprise leader

Most of the lower divisions of the Birmingham Chess League contain players considerably stronger than one might expect. This is particularly true in divisions three to six which may contain smaller clubs who run only a couple of teams, but have two or three strong players. It is a factor which is thought to have … Continue reading A more even tournament

Lichfield treasurer, John Fryer, was the top player with the black pieces in the Wolverhampton League last season. He won four matches, drew three and lost only one game. Overall he was the 12th most successful player in the league with both black and white. Three Lions 1, Lichfield CC 0 The euphoria surrounding England … Continue reading Snippets

With one match remaining, Lichfield's chances of retaining Staffordshire's Jackson Cup looked remote. Many lesser determined players than Mike Hoare would have resigned on the spot, particularly as time was running out. A Knight and King endgame, a draw was needed for a Lichfield win over Meir, but Mike was down three pawns to five, … Continue reading An epic finish

It is usually with a little trepidation that club treasurers propose an increase in subscriptions at an annual general meeting That was the case when John Fryer presented his annual treasurer's report to Lichfield Chess Club members,  showing a loss of 200 pounds on the year and proposing an increase of three pounds. To his … Continue reading A shock for treasurer