A step forward or a step back. Decision day for Lichfield Chess Club

In so many ways everything is going well for Lichfield Chess Club yet it is now faced with the prospect of its plans to expand the number of league teams it operates are now in jeopardy. Not only that but the number of teams may have to be reduced, not increased.

Unless more team captains come forward in the next few weeks there are likely to be fewer teams next season than planned. How has it happened? This, in a year when there has been an influx of very capable members who can challenge for places in the higher Midlands Leagues.

Web site Editor David Short said he had been at the club almost all this century and he had never before experienced a period in which so many had joined the club and were clearly worth league places.

When trophies are presented at the annual general meeting in the Kings Head of Monday, 11th May, no fewer than four of the newcomers will collect the club’s top trophies, including the Club Championship. And since they arrived at the club last summer they have been joined by others,equally skilled and very experienced.

As a result of the inevitable delays in launching them all into league chess it was planned to introduce at least one special development team to prevent the same thing happening again but it can’t happen unless more members are prepared to put their names forward to skipper teams.