The new chess season is nearly upon us, and it promises to be another exciting and busy one for all our teams competing in the Birmingham & District, Cannock & District, Wolverhampton & District and Derbyshire Chess Association leagues. The fixtures for the whole season are brought together into our League Chess section; remember, you can also use the 'subscribe' option for each division there to add all of the fixtures into the calendar app you use on your phone or PC.
Below are the fixtures for September 2026 alone, which, at the time of writing, don't even include Derbyshire Chess Association fixtures, as these are not finalised until early September. As you'll see, it's a particularly busy month for home fixtures, with seven matches at The Guildhall on Thursdays, and four at The King's Head on Mondays:
Questions and challenges for the new season
Here are just a few of the questions that will be answered over the course of this season!
1. Can the top teams compete for honours?
Our Cannock & District Division 1 side were league champions last year, but two of our other top division teams were also particularly competitive in 2025-26, with the Wolverhampton Division 1 side finishing joint second, and the Burton & Lichfield 'A' Derbyshire Chess Association Division 1 team near the top of the table for most the season. Could either of those teams mount a serious challenge for titles? It's a tough ask, given the strength of the likes of Belper 'A' and Derby 'A' in Derby Division 1, and of Halesowen 'A' and West Bromwich in Wolverhampton Division 1 ... time will tell.
Alongside that, our Birmingham & District Division 1 side face the challenge again of battling for survival in the very strong top division of the largest local league. Last year, we stayed clear of serious relegation concerns throughout the season; it would be wonderful if we could do the same this year.
2. How will newly promoted sides perform in higher divisions?
Two Lichfield / Burton & Lichfield sides had outstanding seasons last year, with our Birmingham & District Division 3 Lichfield side finishing second to secure promotion into Division 2, and the Burton and Lichfield 'B' side storming to promotion while winning Derby Division 2. Both sides now face the tougher challenge of higher level chess for the 2026-27 season. How will they do?
3. How will the development teams perform?
For 2026-27, we've added two new teams into Wolverhampton & District Division 3, with the idea that these teams can provide more opportunities for newer players to compete in over-the-board league chess. The teams have experienced captains in Mick Horrigan and Mike Hoare, and despite the 'development team' tags, the captains are both fired up to fight hard for league success. If you're a prospective Lichfield member looking to play league chess, find out more about joining us and get in touch. We'd love to see you at a chess evening soon.
We also have a number of newer developing players from last year who performed brilliantly in 2025-26. We're looking forward to seeing how they progress this season. Here were some of the top performers across the club from last year:
4. Who will win the League Ladder?
Adam Routledge was the convincing winner of the 2025-26 Lichfield League Ladder trophy, racking up an amazing 29 league victories over the course of the season. Who will win the trophy in 2026-27?
Here's to another great season!
As in every season, there will be ups and downs, glorious victories and horrific blunders, beautiful mates and wild time scrambles, opening traps and dramatic races between passed pawns. It's competitive amateur chess, and it's tense, thrilling ... and definitely far from Stockfish perfection! We can't wait to get started.