191 matches have been played so far, with the halfway point of the season approaching. Grendel have snatched the lead in Division One, and will keep it even if Horfield were to beat them 6-0. [Not entirely true - Horfield have beaten Grendel 5.5-0.5 and are two points ahead at the halfway stage - JR] Meanwhile Clifton A are gathering pace and Downend are still maintaining their position among the leaders.
Nailsea A have pulled away in Division Two by inflicting a defeat on Bath University, and look favourites to gain a place in Division One next year. Divisions Three, Four and Five all have three teams bunched at the top so we could see a number of 'needle matches' later in the season.
Good performers so far are Paul Antill (Hanham, 3/5) and Tom Nitz (Bath University, 6½/8) who are more than 40 points ahead of their published ratings. But the stars of the League are at the top of Division One: Chris Beaumont has 8/8 with a rating performance of 229, and Dave Collier has 6½/7 and a performance of 217. Alan Warne (Clifton C) has managed fourteen games and leads the Alan Ashby competition with 10 points, but is being closely challenged by Richard Lobb (Yate) with 9½/16 and David Evans (Thornbury) on 9/10.
Defaults now total 48 from 191 matches - a big acceleration in the last month. Again, this is mainly down to University (17) and Grendel (13). I propose to present a new rule penalising defaults at the AGM, probably with a fine which will be credited back to the opposing club by way of compensation for the default. Further details will be available when the Management Committee have discussed the issue.
388 players have so far competed in at least one match, compared to 498 by the end of last season. The last month has seen 24 new players come in. In order to stimulate recruitment I have produced a new PlayChess leafletalong the lines of that created by John Richards when he was Publicity Officer. This has been stocked in the Central Library so make sure your club is prepared for the rush of new members!
The BCF are now bringing out gradings twice yearly. They have written to the League dictating their requirements but have not yet given details of how the grades will be calculated. League members will be kept informed once these are known. It has already been decided that League Grading Thresholds will not change in January, and that the eligibility to play down will continue to be based on grades published in the August 1998 grading list. Also the League Congress will use August grades.
The results of internal club tournaments can be sent for BCF grading (provided they are played to standard time limits). Simply notify the Grading Officer, and send him the crosstables after the event. The BCF has recently decided to charge 1/3 of the standard Game Fee for these matches, but the League will pay this fee if the tournament is held for the benefit of new and ungraded players. So you can give your players the chance to play matches even if they are not in a League team, and get them into the next grading list if they play sufficient games.
Apologies to South Bristol for getting the second round pairings wrong - they beat Hanham and therefore get to play Downend on 12th January.
The next set of tables and individual performances will be sent to clubs on 27th December (hangovers permitting).
Downend's annual Lightning (ten-second buzzer) competition will be on Wednesday 30th December (note that this is not on the usual club night). All welcome, along with any unwanted Christmas presents, bottles of wine etc for prizes. Entry fee £1 adults, 50p juniors, and a buffet dinner is provided at a extra £1 for those who want it.
Jerry Humphreys
16 December 1998