Tom Gerrard Wins Reynolds Cup

Many congratulations to Tom Gerrard on winning the 2026 Reynolds Cup. At one point it looked like it was going to be a one horse race, with Tom running away with it. However, in the event it was a close run thing, with Larry finishing just behind in second place and Nick not far behind in 3rd place. In fact, in terms of % points won, Larry came out just in front. But when the % score was adjusted, taking in to  account their opponent's ratings, Tom just edged it by the closest of margins.

	Name	Games Played	% Points Won	% Points Adjusted
1	Tom Gerrard	23	56.52	58.22
2	Larry Hayden	18	58.33	57.01
3	Nick Wyld	18	52.78	51.43
4	Graham Bird	12	45.83	50.59
5	Paul Gibson	15	45.33	44.02
6	Peter Anderton	9	44.44	43.42
7	Chris Tipper	17	44,12	42.69
8	Steve Emmerton	23	41.30	40.73
9	Gheorghe Albu	10	35.00	39.36
10	Tyler Rowney	12	33.33	35.86
	Final Table - 23rd May 2026

Club Championship Results

There were 2 games played in the 2nd round of the Club Championship on Thursday evening, with the defending Champion, Tom Dove, beating Larry Hayden, and Ric Dawson beating Peter Anderton.

There was also a game played in the 3rd round of the U1450 Championship, where Paul Mayer beat Ollie Fordham.

Latest News

Our appeal against Syston in the Harrod Cup (see previous news post) has been rejected so the result stands.

Ian Maskery beat defending Champion Paul Mayer earlier this evening in the one outstanding game in the 2nd round of the U1450 Club Championship.

The draw for the 3rd round has now been made and can be viewed here. All 3rd round games to be completed by the 25th June. Ian, Neil and Tyler are currently leading the way, with all 3 of them on 2/2. The current standings can be viewed here.

Last Weeks News

Ashby 1 were beaten 3.5 - 2.5 at Syston in the first round of the Harrod Cup last Tuesday, However, we are in the process of an appeal as Syston appear to have contravened the rules regarding their board order.

Ashby 4 celebrated their Division 4 Wooden Spoon with a 2.5 - 1.5 defeat at Anstey 5 on Thursday,  with our points coming from a draw on board 1 by the Wyld Man and a win on board 2 for GM Mick Brown.

There was one match played in the U1450 Championship, with Tyler Rowney beating Ollie Fordham.

Awards Presentation Evening

Many congratulations to Ashby 1, 4 and 5 on winning the Wooden Spoon in their respective Divisions !! 

I understand that the LRCA are holding a special Awards Evening to present the Spoons to the Captains of the 3 teams, Patrick Buckley, Ric Dawson and Neil Roberts.

Season Ending With A Whimper

Yet another poor week for the Club results wise as the season closes with a whimper, not a bang, with 3 losses.

Ashby 4 were beaten 3-1 at Heathcote Arms 2 on Tuesday. Another good win for the Wyld Man on board 1, with GM Brown, IM Maskery and Team Captain Ric Dawson making their usual non-contributions on the other boards !!

Ashby 2 were heavily beaten by the Pork Pies of Melton Mowbray, on Wednesday, with only Dominic Lennon, making his first league appearance of the season, contributing to our score with a draw on board 4 in a 4.5 - 0.5 defeat. 

With 3rd place in Division 3 assured, and nothing left to play for, Ashby 3 were beaten 3-1 at Wigston 4 on Thursday, with just draws from Larry (naturally !!)  and Nick on boards 1 and 3.

Our final match of the season is next Thursday, when Ashby 4 are at home against Anstey 5.

Elsewhere, there were 2 games played in theClub Championship, with Richard Vann beating Patrick Buckley and GM Mick Brown beating Dan Vernon.

There were also 2 games played in the U1450 Championship, with Ric Dawson beating Gragam Bird and Ben McDermott beating Peter Anderton.

Last Night's Results

3 Matches played last night, resulting in one draw and two losses.

Ashby 1 were away against an unbeaten Wigston team, who have won Division 1 by a margin of 7 points. It was always going to be a difficult night and we were without Tom Dove and Reece Whittington so the 4.5 - 0.5 scoreline was no surprise. There was another good draw from Gheorge on board 1 against an opponent rated 245 points higher, but that was the highlight of our night.This was their last game of the season and the unwanted Wooden Spoon.

Ashby 3 were at home against Market Harborough 2 and, despite being outrated on all boards, drew 2-2. Steve's recent slump in form was reversed as he was the first to finish with a win on board 3, closely followed by a draw (how unusual !!) from Larry on board 2. Tom was up against Ashby Old Boy, Andrew Faulds, on board 1. Despite being up a Knight for a couple of pawns, the position was totally locked and he had to settle for a draw. GM Mick Brown was unable to bridge the near 200 point rating gap on board 4.With one match left to play they are guaranteed to finish 3rd.

Ashby 5 took 7 players to their match at Kirby Muxloe 2 and were narrowly beaten by 4 - 3. Once again we were outrated on 5 of the 7 boards and did well to draw all of the top 4. There was a good win from Ben McDermott on board 6, but losses on boards 5 and 7 condemned us to defeat in what was their last game of the season and  the Division 5 Wooden Spoon, to go with the Division 1 Wooden Spoon.

Elsewhere, Roy Evans beat Chris Tipper in the second round of the Club Championship and Paul Harrison beat Ivan Hallam in the second round of the U1450 Championship.

Last Week's Results

It was one win and one loss last week.

Ashby 2 were at home against top of the table Wigston 2 in Division 2 and went down by 3.5 - 1.5. There was another good win for Paul Gibson on board 2 and a draw for Patrick Buckley on board 3. Unfortunately the rest of us sunk without trace !!

It was better news for Ashby 4, winning 2.5 - 1.5 at Anstey 5 in Division 4. The Wyld Man and GM Brown won their games on boards 1 and 2, with a draw from inspirational Team Captain, Ric Dawson, on board 3 giving us the points. The less said about IM Maskery on board 4 the better !! With 2 matches still to play we can still avoid the Wooden Spoon if results go our way.

Elsewhere, Neil Roberts beat Dan Evans in the second round of the Club U1450 Championship.

Another bit of belated news, because I only found out on Thursday evening, is that Andrew Wilson played in the Wells (Somerset) Congress last month. Unfortunately he could only manage 2 draws and 3 losses from his 5 games, to finish on 1/5 and joint 25th out of 28 in the Major Section. He is hoping for better luck next month when he plans to enter the Leamington Congress.