Bragging Rights Shared

Ashby 4 held Ashby 3 to 2.5 - 2.5 draw in last night's Division 5 derby match, despite being significantly outrated on 4 of the 5 boards. Ashby 3, fielding 2 titled players in GM Brown and IM Maskery, were unable to make the rating difference count, with inspirational Captain Ric Dawson being the only player to score a full point on board 3, offsetting an Ashby 4 win on board 1 by Paul Mayer.

Ashby Calendar

All of the Ashby fixtures for 2026/2027 have now been added to the Club Calendar. You will need to be logged in to your Google account to view the Calendar and then add the Ashby Calendar to your own Google Calendar the first time you open it.

ECF September Newsletter

The ECF September Newsletter is now available and can be viewed here for mobile devices, or here for laptops and desktops.

Leicestershire v Derbyshire

Neil Roberts and Graham Bird both played for Leicestershire in their MCCU U1650 match against Derbyshire last weekend. Unfortunately the team lost by 10.5 - 5.5 and Neil and Graham both lost. Next up is an away match against Worcestershire on the 10th Ocober, with Steve, Graham and David Holmes all playing.

Club Championship Results

There were 4 matches played in the 5th round of the Club Championship on Thursday evening, with Chris Tipper beating Ollie Fordham, Paul Harrison beating Nick Wyld, Neil Roberts beating Ric Dawson and Dan Vernon beating Peter Anderton.

LRCA 2026/2027 Fixture Lists

The 20262027 Fixture Lists have now been published on the LRCA website. I will transpose these onto the Club Calendar as soon as possible.

Ashby 2 Fall Short In Harrod Cup

Despite a guest appearance from GM Mick Brown, Ashby 1 were beaten 5-3 in their final Harrod Cup match at Latimer on Wednesday evening, a result that sent Latimer into joint first place, along with Anstey, Ashby 2 and Market Harborough, However, after applying the first tie break rule - Game Point Difference - Market Harborough and Latimer were eliminated. With both Anstey and Ashby having identical GPD the second tie break - least number of defaulted boards - came into play. Once again, this could not separate the two teams so the third tie break - highest number of individual wins - came into play. This did produce a result, with Anstey having 22 and Ashby 17, so Anstey are this season's winners. Many congratulations to them.

It was a disappointing ending for Ashby 1, finishing third from bottom, with one win and one draw from their five matches.

Club Championship Results

There were 2 games played in the Club Championship this evening. Roy Evans beat Steve E., but the important top of the table game between Richard Vann and Tom Dove ended in a draw.

The Championship now hinges on the game beween Andrew Wilson and Tom Gerrard. If either of them win they will win the Championship by half a point. If they draw it will be a 3 way tie between Richard, Andrew and Tom G.

Harrod Cup In The Balance

A 4.5 - 3.5 defeat for Ashby 2 at the hands of Market Harborough 2 on Tuesday evening leaves the destination of the Harrod Cup in the balance. This result brings Market Harborough 2 level with us at the top of the table with 7 points, although we have a marginally better game point difference.

It now all hinges on the match between Syston and Anstey on Thursday evening. If Syston win they will leapfrog both Ashby 2 and Market Harborough 2 to take the Cup with 8 points. If that game is drawn then they will be level with us on 7 points for a 3 way tie. I'm unclear as to what the tie break rule is if 3 teams are level - I'm sure the LRCA will let us know soon enough.

IM Maskery Confirmed As U1450 Champion

IM Ian Maskery was confirmed as this years U1450 Champion following his draw against Paul Harrison last Thursday evening. Ric Dawson beat Neal Roberts to finish joint second, along with Paul Mayer, who won his game against Tyler Rowney by default. Ollie Fordham beat Peter Anderton to finish joint 4th.

There was also one game played in the 5th round of the Club Championship, with Paul Mayer beating Graham Bird.

Harrod Cup 5th Round Draw

The draw for the 5th round of the Harrod Cup has now been made and both Ashby teams will be playing away. Ashby 1 will be at Latimer and Ashby 2, needing only a draw to clinch first place, will be at Market Harborough 2. The Ashby 2 match will be played on the 8th September. Ashby 1 will play Latimer on the 16th September.

LRCA Teams Update

Further to a previous post, it has now been confirmed that our teams will be playing in the following Divisions this season:

Ashby 1  -  Division 2

Ashby 2  -  Division 3

Ashby 3  -  Division 5

Ashby 4  -  Division 5 

Club Championship 5th Round Draw

The draw for the 5th round of the Club Championship has now been made and can be viewed here.

With 3 players on 3.5 points, and 3 more lurking just behind on 3 points, it's all to play for. The standings going into the final round can be viewed here.

Unfortunately our two titled players, GM Brown and IM Maskery, are out of contention, but IM Maskery is still the favourite to take the U1450 crown, needing only a draw from his final game.

The Wanderer Returns

We are pleased to welcome one of our former players, David Holmes, back to the Club after several years of playing for Market Harborough. He will be a welcome addition to our playing squad.

ECF August Newsletter - Chess Moves

The August edition of the ECF Newsletter is now available and can be viewed here for tablets and smart phones, or here for laptops and desktops.

Club Championship Results

Andrew Wilson beat Roy Evans last night in the outstanding game in round 4 of the Club Championship, bringing him level with Richard Vann and Tom Gerrard at the top of the table with 3.5 points going in to the last round. 

There was also a 5th round U1450 Championship, with Dan Vernon beating Graham Bird. 

LRCA Teams Update

Following  a meeting of the Team Captains last week, it was decided that we did not have the numbers to run 5 teams this season so will only be running 4.

The Captains will be as follows;

Ashby 1  -  Tom Gerrard

Ashby 2  -  Patrick Buckley

Ashby 3  -  Ric Dawson

Ashby 4  -  Graham Bird

We aso appear to have lost one of our first team players, Reece Whittington, who has moved away to Exeter.

Ashby 1 Draw At Market Harborough 1

Ashby 1 were held to a 4-4 draw at Market Harborough in the Harrod Cup last night, the point taking them up one place to 6th in the table. Paul Mayer was the hero of the night, winning both of his games. Steve and Ben got one win each but Larry, unfortunately, lost both of his games.

U1450 Championship - 5th Round Draw

The draw for the 5th and final round of the U1450 Championship has now been made and can be viewed here.Tyler Rowney was unable to play his 4th round game so it was awarded to Neil by default.

I mistakenly said in an earlier post that Ian Maskery had won the competition with a round to spare. This was wrong. If he loses his 5th round match, and Neil win his, it will be a tie for first place. However, Ian still only needs a draw to win it outright.

Ashby Success In Lancaster Congress

Josh Cherrington won the U1800 Rating Prize in the Major Section of last weekend's Lancaster Congress, with a score of 3.5/5 and finishing joint 3rd.

His brother Joe, who has also attended Ashby on several occasions, won the U1200 Rating Prize in the Minor Section, with a score of 3/5 and finishing joint 7th.

Congratulations and well done to both of them.