David Reynolds Cup Update

Andrew Wilson has slightly extended his lead in the David Reynolds Cup. Click on the link for the current scores or use the tab at the top of the page.

Ashby 1 & Ashby 3 Both Draw

There were 2 LRCA matches played at the Club last night, both of them ending in draws.

A much depleted Ashby 1, minus our two top boards, Gheorge Albu and Tom Dove, did well to hold 2nd placed Anstey 2 to a 2.5 - 2.5 draw. Josh Cherrington, home from his studies at Lancaster University, got a good draw on board 5, while wins for Andrew Wilson and Paul Gibson on boards 3 and 4 ensured that we got a share of the points. We now only have one match left to play - away against second from bottom Market Harborough 2.

Ashby 3 were outrated on every board in their match against Wigston 3, but a good all round performance, with draws on all 4 boards, gave us the draw, which virtually ensures that we have avoided relegation. We only have one match left to play, against Market Harborough 3. who we have already beaten this season and sit one place and 2 points below us, and with an inferior game points difference.

Elsewhere, the two outstanding matches in the 3rd round of the Club U1450 Championship were played, with Paul Mayer beating Neil Roberts and Jan Oldham swindling a stalemate draw out of Dan Vernon !! The draw for the 4th round has now been made and can be viewed here. All games to be played by Thursday 26th June. The current standings can be viewed here.

David Reynolds Cup Update

With just 11 matches to be played between now and the 8th May, the standings at the top of the David Reynolds Cup remain unchanged, with Andrew Wilson and Gheorge Albu still leading the way.

Double Defeat For Ashby

Ashby 2 and Ashby 5 were both beaten last night.

Ashby 2's slim hopes of avoiding relegation got even slimmer last night after they were beaten 3.5 - 1.5 by Melton Mowbray 1. A solitary win for Steve on board 5 and a draw for Chris on board 3 were all we had to show for our efforts.

Ashby 5 failed to make any impression on the score board as they were thumped 5-0 by Anstey 6, so the less said about that the better !!

Ashby 1 Season Review

Tom Dove has just written the following review of the Ashby 1 season:

In the 2017/18 season, Ashby won the Division 2 title after a hard-fought campaign that could easily have seen any of three teams promoted as champions. It was a particularly proud moment in our history, since it was the first time we'd ever had a team in the top division.

Ashby 1 (class of 2024/25) have repeated the feat by again becoming champions of the 2nd Division, only this time with two games to spare. 

In reality, this mathematical cushion doesn't nearly do justice to the overwhelming superiority of Ashby 1 throughout the season. There have been been four victories by a 4-1 margin, a 5-0 whitewash of Braunstone and four 3½-1½ wins so far. Only Thurnby managed to nick a point - although Ashby 2 came very close in a tight 3-2 win for the champions.

The five regular first team players (Tom, Gheorghe, Richard, Paddy and Andrew) have been well supported by Chris, Paul and Les who stepped up when needed, chipping in with much appreciated wins and draws.

In fact, such is the strength in depth of the Ashby Chess Club that we can be very optimistic of bettering our last Division 1 total (relegated with 11 points) and establishing ourselves in Division 1. Indeed, it's highly likely that some of our younger members will stake a claim to a place in the first team having performed very well in the lower leagues.

Special thanks must go to Paddy Buckley for his excellent lead-by-example attitude to 1st team captaincy (doubtless taking his inspiration from the legendary captain of the 2017/18 side, Mr Tom Dove) and to Gheorghe for taking on the strongest players Division 2 had to offer and (mostly) beating them all.

Onwards and upwards!

A Busy Thursday Evening

It was a busy night at the Club last night, with the back bar completely full and all tables taken. I think that this speaks volumes for the health of the Club.

Ashby 4 were due to be at home against Braunstone 2 but, unforrtunately, our opponents were unable to raise a team and defaulted the match.

However, there were a lot of games played in the 1st Round of the Club Championship. You can view all of the results here, I won't go through all of the results, but I suppose the biggest upset was Dominic Lennon holding Tom Dove to a draw. Paul Mayer also did very well to draw with Chris Tipper. There are only 3 matches outstanding in the 1st Round now and these should be completed by the 24th April.

Ashby 2 Off The Mark

Ashby 2 finally got off the mark on Tuesday with a 2.5 - 1.5 win at fellow strugglers Market Harborough. With both Chris and Steve missing from the usual Ashby 2 team, Tom and Nick stepped in to fill their places. And fill them they did, with both of them winning their games on boards 2 and 5 respectively. Paul had a great win on board 1 against Ashby old boy Andrew Faulds and Team Captain Larry chipped in with a good draw on board 3. With 3 matches left to play it is still mathematically possible for the team to avoid relegation. It's a big ask but with matches against Melton Mowbray (twice) and Braunstone, who are both just above us, still to play it's not impossible.

April Rating List

The April Rating List has now been published. You can view all of the Ashby ratings here, or from the tab at the top of the page.