Watford Chess Club's venue is Herts Bowling Club, Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford, WD17 3BT

Club nights are on Mondays for both adults (7.30 onwards) and juniors (6.0 onwards).   The club is assessed as a 'Centre of Excellence' on the English Chess Federation's junior development pathway. Watford teams compete in the national league, local leagues and other over-the-board events, as well as online.

Details of adult chess are in the left hand column, junior chess in the right hand column below.  

 

Watford Chess Club was among the exhibitors at the Bucks Country Show in Penn, Amersham, on 4-5 May.  See the report in the right-hand column for more information and a link to numerous photos from the event. There's a separate report, with pics, in the May issue of the ECF's electronic magazine, Chess Moves.

CLUB INFORMATION

Club nights are held on Monday evenings at Herts Bowling Club in Watford, generally running from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM, with sessions occasionally extending to 10:45 PM during league matches. The venue provides a relaxed yet focused playing environment, with a spacious main area for both competitive and social chess. There's ample free parking on-site, and bike racks are available for those cycling in. While the bar is typically unstaffed, three cash-only vending machines offer coffee, cold drinks, and snacks.

We welcome new members of all playing levels and abilities, provided they understand the basic rules of chess and obtain ECF membership before participating in any rated games. Club policy offers newcomers a complimentary guest visit to experience the club’s atmosphere before deciding whether to apply for membership. As some evenings are reserved for league fixtures or other activities, we strongly recommend arranging your visit in advance by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure someone will be available to greet you and show you around.

This website offers detailed information about the club. If there's anything you can't find here, feel free to use the "Contact Us" page and a committee member will gladly help.
 

Adults and juniors play competitively.  League match programme for 2024-25 was as follows:

4 Nations Chess League (4NCL) - two teams, dates on fixtures list

Junior 4 Nations Chess League (J4NCL) - not participating 2024-25, will review in 2025-26

Hertfordshire League - two teams, dates on fixtures list 

Hillingdon League - two teams (juniors only), dates on fixture list

World Chess League.live - one junior team (Chess.com)

Online 4NCL - one team (Lichess), restarted January 2025

Online Junior 4NCL - one team (Lichess), restarted January 2025

The club was privileged to receive a visit from the Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, accompanied by Councillor Tim Williams, on 11 November.

"I was thrilled to hear the club is competing in the 4 Nations Chess League against other competitive clubs," he said.. "Watford Chess Club is seeking sponsorship to help fund future participations and provide even more opportunities for local talent."
 

Dear Club Members,

This message serves as formal notice of the club’s intention to hold the next AGM.

Following the recent Extraordinary General Meeting held on 26th May, we would like to inform you that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on 14th July, starting at approximately 7:15pm.

Agenda: 

  1. Receive apologies for absence
  2. To elect the committee and officers. Positions held as of EGM (26/05/25):
    • President, Ewan Davids/Hanisha Gurjar.
    • Secretary, (interim) Ushma Chadha.
    • Treasurer, Sagar Patel.
    • Juniors Secretary (interim), Ewan Davids.
    • Membership Secretary, Pete Turnbull.
    • Other committee members, Jaymini Ichharam, Sanjay Vig and Paul Littlefair
  3. Approve the Accounts for the 2024-2025 financial year and to appoint Guy Cain to examine the club’s accounts.
  4. Agree Club membership subscriptions for 2025-26. The Committee proposes:
    • Full Membership £90.
      • Discounted to £85 for payments by 1st Sept. 20% discount for 2nd and subsequent members of the same family
      • Full membership provides unlimited access to club nights whilst enabling the member to play competitively for the club where selected to do so. Full membership is subject to assessment and review, in which case a Temporary Membership will be offered.
    • Associate Membership £30 plus board fees if applicable
      • Where a member does not live locally and expects playing few, if any, OTB games. Board fees are £5.
    • Temporary Membership £30 (valid for 3 months) - to be offset against Full membership (if offered).
      • Provides new joiners and existing members under review with 3 months access to weekly club sessions including training and competitive games.
  5. Approve minutes of May 2025 EGM and AGM 2024. There is an assumption that attendees will have read these minutes ahead of the meeting.
  6. Receive report on the 2024-25 year
  7. Plans for 2025-26
  8. Any Other Business/Motions

All members are warmly invited to attend. Members aged 14 and over are also eligible to vote.

Kind regards,
Club Committee

 
MINUTES OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING ON 26 MAY 2025 
1.   Appointment of chair and minute-taker 
Sagar Patel appointed chair
Ushma Chadha appointed minute taker
 
2.   Apologies for absence
None received 
 
3.    To record the committee's appreciation and recognition of Roger Lancaster's contribution to the club and the wider chess community
Appreciation duly noted
 
4.    To agree changes (if any) to the club committee where the current position (changes since the last AGM are shown in italics) is:  President, vacant.  Secretary, Ushma Chadha.   Treasurer, Sagar Patel.   Membership Secretary, Ewan Davids.   Junior coach/organiser, Roger Lancaster (but standing down).  Other committee members, Amit Salvi (stood down 2024), Maya Saujani (stood down 2024), Jaymini Ichharam, Ishaan Chadha (but standing down), Peter Turnbull (committee appointment, 2025) and Hanisha Gurjar (committee appointment, 2025).   The club constitution permits four "other" committee members, that is, those not responsible for a defined function.
Ewan Davids and Hanisha Gurjar elected as joint President
Sanjay Vig and Paul Littlefair elected to the committee 
Roger Lancaster stood down from his committee position.
 
5.    To discuss and agree (decision open to review by committee if relevant circumstances change) how many teams to be entered into the Herts League for the 2025/2026 season, particularly as Watford's first team has been promoted to division 2.   
Two teams to be entered.  A discussion was had about the possibility of entering a third team for the south Herts league to encourage players to take part in competitive chess closer to home.   This will be reviewed at a later date.
 
6.    To authorise the committee to dispose of surplus chess equipment and, specifically, to authorise bids from club members (minimum £15) for working Saitek blue chess clocks and (minimum £1) for non-working clocks.   [In the absence of bids, these may be disposed of by other means].
Agreed as discussed date for sale/sales TBC. In the event equipment cannot be sold it will be given to schools in the interest of encouraging chess playing.
 
7.    To note the English Chess Federation's new (April 2025) safeguarding policy and instruct the committee to make any consequent changes to the club's own safeguarding policy.
Noted.  Revised Safeguarding policy under review with the committee
In addition to strengthen alignment with GDPR and Safeguarding obligations, the committee agreed that going forward only emails or communications authorised by or on behalf of the club from official club email addresses would be sent to club members only. The committee agreed that personal emails to generic mailing lists would not be permitted if they purported to be linked to the club in any way and no reference should be made to the club or its members in any emails that did not come from authorised official club email addresses.
 
8.    To note that, effective 1 April, the club is covered by the English Chess Federation's "Clubs and Congresses Insurance"
Noted 
 
Minutes of the all General Meetings, whether Annual or Extraordinary, held between 5 September 2022 and 16 September 2024 (both dates inclusive) have been moved to the 'Club Constitution' page of this website.
 
OLD PULLER CUP, 19 OCTOBER 2024
 
OPEN:   Watford 13.5, St Albans 10, Hertford 6.5
 
STARS BARRED (U1750):  Hemel Hempstead 15.5, St Albans 10.5, Watford 10, Enfield 8, Watford Juniors 6
 

 

 

 

 

 

 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE

In the 2023-24 season, Watford "A" finished 10th out of 27 teams (+5 =1 -5) in Division 4.   This was a disappointing result compared to previous years, largely attributable to the loss of several of the club's middle-ranking players although the playing locations (Warwick and, worse still, Telford) did not help.  Consequently we had difficulty raising a "B" team which took part in only one of the five weekends.  

For 2024-25, the venues are somewhat better - 9-10 November at Peterborough, 11-12 January at Coventry, 15-16 February and 12-13 April at Peterborough, and 3-5 May at Coventry.   As a result, the club will again run a "B" team.

One (long) game per day.  Time control in this event is first 40 moves in 90 minutes with another 30 minutes for all remaining moves plus 30-second increments per move starting at move 1. 

 

Above - the 4NCL scene before the action starts

 

4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE ONLINE 

See above.  Contact Paul Litttlefair if interested.

 

HERTFORDSHIRE CHESS LEAGUE

 

See above.   Use "Contact us" tab if interested.

JUNIOR CLUB NEWS, JUNE 2025

Watford Juniors 18-2 UK Parliamentary CC, 30 June

A huge thank-you to the UK Parliamentary Chess Club for welcoming our juniors to such a prestigious setting. We're grateful to Peter Hornsby for organising the match and inspiring tour—and to local MP Matt Turmaine for attending and supporting our players. A memorable day for Watford Chess Club Juniors!

Advait Keerthi Kumar wins North London UKCC u-12 megafinal, 28 June, with 6/6

Ramsey Dairi 2.5/4 at Milton Keynes Open against average ECF2140 opposition.

Three Watford juniors competed in Cambridge International - see Chess Results website for details

Harry Chan wins North London UKCC u-10 megafinal, 11 May, with 6/6 while Avy Dasgupta takes u-18 on tiebreak with 5.5/6.

Watford Juniors "A" beat their Harrow counterparts 4-1 (24 April) to win Division X of the Hillingdon League with a match to spare.  The "B" team beat Harrow Juniors "B" 4-3.

Six Watford juniors took part in the St Albans Congress, 5-6 April.  Pride of place goes to Advait with 3 wins, 1 draw, from 5 games in the 'open to all" section where he finished joint 4th in a field, almost all adults, of 31,.  In the "challengers", Ramsey and Gautam each scored 2.5/5 (including a last round draw against one another) although Jacob had two off days.  Finally, in the "minor", Leandro scored 3.5/5 to finish joint 7th of 71 competitors with brother Luis - also playing his first tournament - scoring 1.5.

 BUCKS COUNTRY SHOW

The Bucks Country Show, which took place on the Penn Estate near Amersham on 4-5 May, is a major event which attracts thousands of visitors - details are at https://www.buckscountryshow.co.uk/ - and is primarily agricultural although it has expanded into other areas to widen its appeal.

This year, Watford Chess Club was invited as a new exhibitor.  Club members, adults and juniors, led by club treasurer Sagar Patel, were there to talk about chess and take on allcomers in rapid/blitz games.   Afterwards, Sagar summarised as follows.

"We successfully participated in the Bucks Country Show even though the weather was far from ideal for an outdoor event. Despite the cold wind and the showers on Monday, we were able to attract multiple visitors to play games at our stand - see pics at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/141cOD98wERArXge1eKRWwzKoXwwwMlqX?usp=sharing from the show.
 
"Heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the incredible efforts and time from Pete, Amit, the Pang family (Jeffrey and Jeremy), the Saglik family (Akif) and the Tsai family (Harry and Marie). It would have been impossible to have any semblance of success at the show without their help with setting up, playing games, bearing with the cold, wind and rain and helping pack up and carry everything back to the car after finishing - incredible efforts. 
 
"The event in summary is that visitors were pleasantly surprised to see a chess club at the show. The younger show visitors were keen to play chess and gravitated to the playing boards wanting to sit and learn as well as play. The adults were happy to see their children so engaged at the chess boards and were eagerly conversing with us about the chess clubs at their school but they lacked information about their local chess clubs or access to them. The first day was virtually non-stop chess till late afternoon and the better weather helped. The second day although dampened by colder winds and some rain still proved a success with visitors dropping in throughout the day.
 
"Well done to all the volunteers that attended and a HUGE thank you for your support - I hope you also enjoyed your time at the show. Massive thanks to Ewan for lending us his gazebo without which we could not have participated and another HUGE thanks to Amit for the banner design work.
 
"Do engage with all the volunteers when you're next at the club - some nice insights to be shared from the show and how it all went.    Enjoy the pics.   Sagar"
 
    

Most Monday evening sessions start with group coaching (6.0 to 6.40) following which training games take place.  The length of playing sessions means that we can stage classical games (typically 45' + 15") as well as rapidplay.  Some evenings instead have matches against other clubs.  We aim to ensure that all rated training games at the club, whether rapidplay or classical, count towards juniors' ratings by the ECF within 7 days of being played. 

 

14 August 2023 (see above) saw a departure from normal club nights with WIM Natasha Regan and NI Matt Ball giving a presentation of "Zwischenzug - a comprehensive guide to intermediate moves" based on their Chessable course. Go to https://www.chessable.com/zwischenzug-a-comprehensive-guide-to-intermediate-moves/course/139623/ for an 18-minute preview video. The session was targeted at players in the 1200-1600 bracket as those below/above that range might find it too advanced/basic

Watford Juniors play over-the-board matches in the Hillingdon League and, together with adult members of the club, the main 4 Nations Chess League (4NCL) and the Hertfordshire League as well as online.  See details of these competitions below and past results by clicking 'Latest Results [OTB]' tab.

 

We strongly recommend juniors (under-18) join the English Chess Federation because ECF membership is mandatory for all competitive events..  Junior membership of the ECF is inexpensive - see https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-rates-and-joining-details/ for details - and sometimes free. 
 
Full junior membership (expiring 30 September 2025) of Watford Chess Club costs £85 and is subject, in the case of new members, to their already being able to play chess at a reasonable level, taking age into account.   New juniors may be offered an initial three-month membership (£25).   "Online only" membership will be £20.   Please use the "Contact Us" facility if wishing to enquire about joining the club.
 
Main competitive activities are described opposite with a fixture list on the separate 'Fixtures' page. 
 

Ramsey Dairi (below) became joint British u-12 champion (and sole English u-12 champion) with 6/7 at Leicester in July 2023                                                                                                                                             

 

 

 

 

4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE

See https://www.4nclresults.co.uk/2024-25/media/4ncl/prog-div4.html for standings after 6 rounds. 


JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE 

The over-the-board Junior 4NCL has not operated since the 2021-22 season, when Watford Juniors finished sixth in the top division.   If and when J4NCL restarts, the intention is that Watford Juniors will compete again.

 

Below - Advait Keerthi Kumar, London u-10 champion (+6 =1 -0, December 2022)       
                                                    

HILLINGDON & DISTRICT LEAGUE - JUNIOR DIVISION

 

Two Watford teams played in this competition in 2023-24, the second team aiming to give match experience to our newer and younger juniors  The "A" team finished as runners-up (+7 =0 -3) while the "B" team finished fifth of the six competing teams - Harrow and Uxbridge provided the opposition - with a record of +3 =0 -7..  

 
 We have to report the sad news that Keith Hylands has died. Keith's membership of Watford Chess Club goes back to at least 2005 and he last played in a club match on 29 April. Keith was never a star player but he was a thoroughly nice guy, genuinely well-liked by those who knew him. As well as club chess, he was a regular at weekend tournaments, most recently playing in the Isle of Wight Congress earlier in April. 

 

We also learn of the death of former club member Edwin Kalerwa.   Edwin last played for the club in 2015, having been granted asylum in the UK after fleeing oppression in his home country in Africa.   

 

And, giving credence to the notion that deaths happen in threes, we receive reports that former club member Simon Charles has also passed away.

 
 

Ernest club champion

Jennifer Hurrell presents Ernest Karumazondo, joint 2019 winner with Andrew Stone, with the Price Cup

 

CLUB PRIVACY POLICY - FORMAL NOTICE

If you are a member of Watford Chess Club (the "Club"), your personal data will be processed by the Club for the purposes of Club and membership administration and to facilitate your participation in club competitions and similar events.  For fuller information, click "Privacy Policy" link under "Policies and Procedures". 

 

Everyone is welcome (to access, click on pictorial below) at Geir Erik Nielsen's YouTube channel at

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Also embedded in the updated article is now a video of how to get the best of Arena and Leela at home.

  

USEFUL CONTACTS AND WEBSITES

 

Watford Chess Club email address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

(allow up to 2 days for reply)

English Chess Federation

www.englishchess.org.uk/ 

Hertfordshire Chess Association

http://www.hertschess.com/ 

Hertfordshire Chess League results

http://ccgi.stevelaw0.plus.com/chess-results/

Hertfordshire Schools Chess Association

http://hsca-chess.com/ 

4 Nations Chess League (incl. J4NCL)

http://www.4ncl.co.uk/ 

Tournament chess results (main site for this)

http://chess-results.com/Default.aspx?lan=1

 ARCHIVE:

Article in Watford Observer, 19 February: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/18247132. 

watford-chess-club-looking-sponsors-ahead-international-tournament

Club rapidplay, 30 December 2019, results at  http://chess-results.com/Tnr501649.aspx?lan=1

3rd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 29 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr457143.aspx?lan=1

Club rapidplay, 8 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.info/tnr453784.aspx?lan=1

Price Cup (2018-9 club championship), October 2018 to June 2019, results at  http://chess-results.com/tnr382758.aspx?lan=1

2nd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 27 May 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr435032.aspx?lan=1

Club rapidplay, 13 August 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr374277.aspx?lan=1

1st Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 30 July 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr373197.aspx?lan=1           

 
REPORT ON 2024-2025 ACTIVITIES
 
After an "annus horribilis" year, 2024-25 saw a definite recovery.  The banking difficulties are now history, the club having opened a new account with Metro Bank, and the adult membership has significantly increased with junior numbers broadly unchanged from 2023-2024.   Team performances have been generally good and the club has so far won three trophies this year, with hopes of a fourth.   Several of our juniors have won, or otherwise performed well in, significant tournaments.
 
4 Nations Chess League
 
This was the one disappointing feature of 2024-25 with both Watford teams in Division 4 finishing in similar positions to the 2023-2024 season.  Again, in three weekends out of five, it was impossible to raise a "B" team.   A significant proportion of the club's membership found travel - venues were Peterborough and Coventry - difficult despite this being easier than in 2023-24 when three of the five weekends were in Telford!
 
Hertfordshire League
 
A significant recovery from a series of poor seasons with Watford 1 managing, albeit only at the last gasp, to gain promotion back to Division 2 while, at time of writing, Watford 2 look to have a decent chance of heading Division 5 and thereby regaining Division 4 status, which they lost the previous year.   Unlike 2023-2024, there was little difficulty raising teams and a key issue for the committee will be whether to enter a Watford 3 team in 2025-2026.
 
Puller Cup / Bucks Country Show / ECF Centre of Excellence
 
The Puller Cup team rapidplay event was reincarnated by the Herts Chess Association - it took place in October at ASDA in north Watford - and Watford were successful.  In a totally new departure, the club also exhibited at the Bucks Country Show over a May Bank holiday weekend.   The club was also successful in obtaining "Centre of Excellence" status from the English Chess Federation for its junior activities - and is currently the only English club to have attained this award.
 
Hillingdon League
 
Watford Juniors A and B again competed in all-junior Division X against counterparts from Harrow, Uxbridge and Willesden & Brent.  Watford Juniors A won a straight 11 matches to win the division with a match in hand while Watford Juniors B will finish fifth (or just possibly fourth) of the seven competing teams. 
 
Junior Friendly Matches
 
Watford Juniors were annihilated by their St Albans counterparts in a September pre-season match and also had limited success in a jamboree played against Maidenhead, Oxford and Reading.   This was partly explained through many of our leading juniors preferring to play against adult opposition rather than their peers.   A bright note here is that the match against the UK Parliamentary Chess Club is now rescheduled for late June.
 
Online
 
One Watford team competed in the Online 4NCL and one Watford Juniors team in the Online Junior 4NCL, neither with conspicuous success.   Also Watford Juniors again took part in the World Chess League.live - an international event featuring a total mix of teams with the most successful including grandmasters and international masters.
 
Venue / General
 
The club played at Herts Bowling Club on Monday evenings throughout the year.  Periodically, ASDA in north Watford was used as a satellite junior venue.  The AGMs of both the Hertfordshire League and the Hillingdon League, at which the club should be represented, take place in July.
 
 
REPORT ON 2023-2024 ACTIVITIES
 
The past year, starting 1 October 2023, was one of the most unsettling in the club's recent history.   It began with an abrupt reduction in the number of adult members, a group of whom had decided to play elsewhere, which created some uncertainty over the club's ability to meet its league commitments.   Fortunately, others have more than adequately filled the gaps and Watford's first team was noticeably stronger in 2023-24 than it had been in 2022-23.   Then came the totally unexpected news that Barclays Bank were closing the club's bank account - this was not unique to Watford Chess Club but an experience shared by a number of non-profit organisations.   It took some three months to set up a new account elsewhere and, naturally, the fact that the club had no bank account during this period created further difficulties.   Fortunately, the club has now moved on and the committee can report as follows.
 
At date of writing, and subject to recount, the club has 11 adult and 45 junior members although this disregards several persons who have not paid 2023-24 subscriptions but may yet do so.   There's an obvious imbalance but this report is probably not the place to discuss it.
 
4 Nations Chess League
 
In 2022-23 Watford "A" had finished 10th of 12 teams in Division 3 and thus avoided automatic relegation.   However, the subsequent loss of several adults meant that the club could not assemble, in sufficient time, a 2023-24 team capable of performing well in a Division 3.   It was also foreseen that 4NCL weekends taking place in Warwick and Telford rather than Daventry and Milton Keynes would act as a deterrent to some players.   Watford "A" therefore opted for voluntary demotion to Division 4 where it won five and drew one of its 11 matches, finishing in mid-table.   In retrospect, it was a mistake to re-enter Watford "B" as it was possible to assemble a second team for only one of the five weekends.
 
Hertfordshire League
 
Watford's decline in the Hertfordshire League - not so long ago, it regularly had two teams in the top division - has been remarkable.   Its second team now languishes in one of the lowest divisions and the past two years have seen Watford 1 suffer successive relegations to Division 3.    In 2023-24, as a result of the departures mentioned earlier, the Watford 1 team was reconstituted and easily stemmed (+6 =2 -4) the relegation process.   In fact, at full strength, Watford 1 was almost certainly the strongest team in its division and it's a matter of conjecture why it managed to lose four matches and so didn't finish higher than third.   * 
 
The club had some difficulty assembling a Watford 2 team for away matches in Division 4, two of which it defaulted.   Its record (+4 =1 -9) left it tied on match-points with three other teams but the defaulted matches meant that it lost out in the game-point tie-break and was relegated.   If the team had played and drawn just one of those two defaulted matches, it would have survived in Division 4.
 
Hillingdon League
 
Watford Juniors "A" and "B" competed in all-junior Division X against their counterparts from Harrow and Uxbridge.   The "A" team finished runners-up (+7 =0 -3) while the "B" team finished fifth (+3 =0 -7) of the six teams.    Again here, it was often difficult to raise "B" teams for away fixtures.    Our youngest players were just 6 years old.
 
Junior Friendly Matches
 
Playing in matches against Harrow, Uxbridge and St Albans - sometimes over as many as 20+ boards - Watford Juniors generally more than held their own over the top dozen boards but tended to be appreciably weaker than their opponents below the top 12.   Consequently we lost most of these matches, most by quite narrow margins.
 
Watford Juniors were due to play an over-the-board friendly against the UK Parliamentary Chess Club, having played them earlier in an online match, in June but this had to be postponed due to the small matter of a General Election.    It is hoped to revive this after the election is over and it becomes clear which of the UKPCC team are still present in Parliament.
 
Online
 
One Watford team competed in the Online 4NCL, variously two or three Watford Juniors teams played in the Online Junior 4NCL, and one Watford Juniors team took part in the World Chess League.live - an international event featuring a total mix of teams with the most successful including grandmasters and international masters.
 
Venue
 
The club played at Herts Bowling Club on Monday evenings throughout the year.   Facilities there were regarded as very good and often commented on favourably by visiting clubs.  Having said that, it was under-used by the adult membership, many of whom appeared only for inter-club matches.   Juniors, on the other hand, were much in evidence.   In the past few months, we have begun to experiment with a satellite venue in North Watford and it is hoped to expand this.
 
General
 
In 2023-24, the club did not have an abundance of committee members or team captains.   Any shortage in team captains, in particular, impacts on the number of competitions in which the club can take part.  It also diverts committee members from considering longer-term matters.  This issue will doubtless be discussed on 22 July.
 
At time of writing, 4NCL venues for 2024-25 are still unknown.   Also, the Hertfordshire Chess Association - responsible for running the Hertfordshire League - has its Annual General Meeting on 19 July while the Hillingdon League has its Annual General Meeting on 17 July.    Assuming Watford Chess Club is represented at these meetings, it should be possible to report back to the 22 July AGM any relevant developments at those meetings.   However, this report is a historical record which is unlikely to be affected by those meetings.
 
Within the past few days, the club has made an application to the English Chess Federation to be recognised as a "Centre of Excellence" under the ECF's junior development pathway.   If successful, Watford would appear to be on course to be the first club to attain this status.
 
IN THE NEWS: 
 
London u-10 champion Advait Keerthi Kumar (in both pics below, along with BBC presenter Farzana Choudry and Watford coach Roger Lancaster) interviewed at BBC 3 Counties Radio on 26 February.   On 15 April,  Advait went on to beat international grandmaster Keith Arkell while scoring 6/11 in the British rapidplay - see also April issue of 'Chess Moves' 
 
 
Watford Juniors receive intermittent coverage in the local media.  As well as BBC 3CR, they were also mentioned in two pieces about the West London Chess Academy in ECF magazine 'Chess Moves' and at https://www.hillingdontimes.co.uk/news/19998200.check-mates-young-players-come-together-uxbridge-chess-academy/
 

 

WATFORD v UXBRIDGE, JUNE 2021.   WATFORD  JUNIORS WHOLLY OR PARTLY VISIBLE ARE [L TO R] DENIS, AARAV, SEB, LEO, DHAIRYA, ISHAAN, JOEL

 
AWARD:  Watford Juniors were 2021 recipients of a British Chess Educational Trust award, having been nominated by the Southern Counties Chess Union.  Each such award, derived through the generosity of the late Sir George Thomas, comprises an engraved board, a wooden set and a DGT3000 digital chess clock.

                                                                                                                                       

ONLINE CHESS:
 
4 NATIONS LEAGUE - Season 6, which has just ended, was a difficult experience as most of our stronger juniors seemed to have had their fill of online chess and elected not to take part.   As a result, the 'A' team in Division 3 scored +0 =2 -5 (and 8.5 game-points from a maximum possible of 28) with the 'B' team in Division 5 faring even worse.   Interest in online chess having diminished somewhat, we've entered just one team (Division 3) in season 7 where we've won one and lost five of the first six matches..
 
JUNIOR 4 NATIONS LEAGUE - Season 6 has ended here too with the 'A' team, although again without most of our stronger players, managed +3 =2 -2 (28 game points out of a possible 56) in Division 2 but the 'B' team, which unluckiIy also played in Division 2, suffered seven straight losses.   As with the main 4NCL, we've reduced our entry to a single team (Division 2) in season 7 where we've started with two matches won and four lost.
 
 
WORLD CHESS LEAGUE LIVE :  The 2022-23 international event attracted 108 teams, mainly adults including top grandmasters, chasing a $5000 prize fund.  Joint winners were the two teams from Chess Club Politika from Belgrade, Serbia. Watford Juniors finished in 77th place.
 
For 2023-24, the teams have been divided into 12 groups.   Watford Juniors' group contains Warwick University, two teams from China and one each from Fiji, Mexico, Phillippines and South Africa.