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Match reports

Burton win Lichfield & District Summer League with a round to spare

Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson

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Match Results: Lichfield '1' 3 - Norton Canes 1, Lichfield '2' 1.5 - Burton 2.5

Lichfield & District Summer League

Burton are the 2026 winners of the Lichfield & District Summer League after the penultimate round of matches played at Norton Canes on Wednesday.

Going into the round, Burton had a perfect record of three wins from three, and were leading second place Lichfield '2' by a point in the league table, with the two teams paired together for Round 4.

Burton were 2.5 - 1.5 winners on the night, with Phil Goater defeating Lichfield's Peter Rose on Board 2, and Terry Knight beating Ian Boddington on Board 3. David Pickering and Emilie Nastase played out a draw on Board 1, while Lichfield's only winner was Richard Ayres on Board 4. The victory means that Burton are now on 8 points in the table and out of reach of the other teams.

In the other matches, and despite an unexpected default on Board 4, Lichfield '1' defeated Norton Canes 3-1, with wins for Lichfield's Mick Horrigan, John Fryer and Connor Whetnall, and Tamworth edged to a 2.5 - 1.5 victory over Rugeley.

Congratulations to Burton, the 2026 winners of The Winterton Trophy; it heads north up the A38 for the first time.

Despite some tricky scheduling issues with the Summer League this year, including match postponements due to heatwaves and a traveller occupation of the grounds of Tamworth's venue at Tamworth Rugby Club, the league has again been a success in bringing together participating neighbouring clubs in the off-season, and in giving some new club members an opportunity for competitive chess before the full season starts in the Autumn. Huge thanks to all of the captains and players from Burton, Rugeley, Norton Canes and Tamworth.

The postponed fifth and final round of the Summer League is set to be scheduled over the next few weeks. It may be a 'dead rubber', but some exciting chess will still be on show. (Matches played: Wednesday 22nd July).

(Teams in the Lichfield & District Summer League are competing for The Winterton Trophy, sponsored by Richard Winterton Auctioneers)