Old Whitgiftians Chess Report

After many years of discussing at our Annual match v The School, we finally decided to take the plunge and enter a team in a local league. We entered the 4 boards in a team, Croydon District Chess League Division 2.

With a small squad of 7, we performed well winning 4 out of 5 matches played. Visiting teams enjoyed the excellent playing conditions/facilities of the Marlar room in the clubhouse.

It looked like we were going to finish 2nd in our first season. However, a surprise defeat for Crystal Palace B, our main rivals, away to Lewisham B, opened the door for us. We needed to win our last match away to West Wickham B to win the title and the Martin Cath Trophy.

After 2 hrs 30 mins of exciting chess, the match went down to the wire and we secured a 2.5-1.5 pts match win. So at the first attempt we are CDCL Div 2 champions.

Special mention must go to strong performances throughout the season by Tim Pelling and David Sedgwick. The outstanding performance was by Matt Hortin who remained unbeaten and secured an impressive 4.5/5 game points for the team.

We are going to get the 7 of us together for a curry night in early June to celebrate our success and plan for next season.

We are looking to bolster our squad with players between 120-150 BCF grading. If you are a lapsed or current player and an OW who would like to get involved, please email nigelwcallow@gmail.com