Adult over-the-board activity suspended [but not juniors OTB - see below] with online chess taking place - main club communities ["Watford Chess Club" and, for junior members and others known to us, "Watford Juniors"] are on Lichess but there are corresponding communities on Chess.com - teams compete in 4NCL and other events
With suspension of over-the-board play, Watford is currently playing online only with its most active communities being on Lichess - see main heading.
Both groups took part in the 4 Nations Chess League Online [and, in normal circumstances, the over-the-board version] and current Watford Juniors activities are shown in the right-hand column.The club normally meets throughout the year on Monday evenings (6.0 - 10.45, usually ample free parking on Mondays) at West Herts Sports Club, 8 Park Avenue, Watford WD18 7HP. Juniors have priority during the first 90 minutes.
Chess is played in the Function Room although members and visitors have access to the separate and comfortable lounge bar area - as well as alcoholic beverages, the bar serves tea, coffee and soft drinks. The club plays in the 4 Nations Chess League and the Hertfordshire League with junior teams playing in the Junior 4 Nations Chess League.
Intending new members of all levels and abilities (with the obvious proviso that they know how to play chess) are welcome. Club policy is that newcomers are allowed three visits as guests to sample the atmosphere and decide whether they wish to apply to join the club. This website aims to give full information about the club but, if you find there is anything not covered here, please use the "Contact Us" facility and a committee member will get in touch.
4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE ONLINE
Five Watford teams, including two junior teams, compete in the main 4NCL online. Watford results/pairings as follows:
ROUND 1, DIVISION 1: ChessPlus Alpha 3-1 Watford A DIVISION 3: Wessex Stars B 2.5-1.5 Watford B DIVISION 5: Watford Juniors A 0.5-3.5 Kent Kestrels D, Watford C 1-2 Battersea Pawnbreakers, Watford Juniors B 1-3 Uxbridge Knights.
ROUND 2, DIVISION 1: Watford A 2.5-1.5 Spirit of Atticus DIVISION 3: Watford B 3-0 Railsport, DIVISION 5: Grangemouth 1-3 Watford C, Bishop Auckland Knights 2-2 Watford Juniors A, Streatham C 2-2 Watford Juniors B
ROUND 3 [21 April], DIVISION 1: Watford A 3-1 Sussex SI, DIVISION 3: CSC C 4-0 Watford B, DIVISION 5: Watford C 1-3 Darnell & Handsworth, Watford Juniors A 4-0 BBC Foxes, Watford Juniors B 1-3 Bishop Auckland Knights
ROUND 4 [28 April], DIVISION 1: Sussex Auguries v Watford A, DIVISION 3: Watford B v Shropshire B, DIVISION 5: Manchester Juniors B v Watford Juniors A, East Kilbride v Watford C, Sheffield Deaf v Watford Juniors B.
Division 1 has four groups of eight teams each, with the top teams in each group clashing in the final rounds
| DIVISION 1, GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GP | Pts | |
| 1 | Guildford Young Guns | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8½ | 6 |
| 2 | Northumbria Vikings | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8½ | 6 |
| 3 | Watford A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6½ | 4 |
| 4 | ChessPlus Alpha | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | Spirit of Atticus [L'pool] | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 6 | Sussex Social Isolators | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | Sussex Auguries | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4½ | 1 |
| 8 | Alba [Scotland] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE - DIVISION 4
Rounds 7-11 of this year's 4NCL will no longer take place on the original dates in April and May due to the present pandemic. Tentative plan at present is reschedule these for later in the year with a knock-on effect on the 2020-21 4NCL which will accordingly not get under way until early 2021. That could change - up-to-date information should be available on the 4NCL website although it is planned to summarise this here.
Main points to note are that 4NCL entails one round each day, with the rate of play 40 moves in 100 minutes (plus 30 second increments from move 1) followed by the rest of the game in 50 minutes (again with 30 second increments). That means a 60-move game could conceivably take as long as 6 hours, far longer than local league chess. All games are ECF-graded and, subject to meeting the usual conditions, FIDE-rated.
Division 4 [34 teams] summary after round 6:
| P | W | D | L | GP | MPts | ||||||
| 1 | Sussex Martlets 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 12 | ||||
| 2 | Fischer's Catch | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21½ | 10 | ||||
| 3 | Wood Green Youth | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 10 | ||||
| 4 | Watford A | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 23½ | 9 | ||||
| 5-20 | |||||||||||
| 21 | Watford B | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14½ | 6 | ||||
| 22-34 | |||||||||||
HERTFORDSHIRE CHESS LEAGUE
The 2019-20 competition, which began on 30 September, has been suspended as a result of the present pandemic. See 'Fixtures' page for a list of fixtures and 'Results' page for reported results. No recent results reported here for Watford 1.
Watford 2 are well-placed in Division 2 and promotion back to Division 1 is not out of the question.
| P | W | D | L | MPs | For | Agst | |||||
| 1 | Watford 2 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 26.5 | 13.5 | |||
| 2 | B Stortford 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 24.5 | 15.5 | |||
| 3 | H Hempstead 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 19.5 | 20.5 | |||
| 4 | Borehamwood 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 23 | |||
| 5 | Stevenage 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 19 | |||
| 6 | Welwyn H'f'd 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14.5 | 21.5 | |||
| 7 | St Albans 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 23 |
In Division 3, Watford 3 is also doing well with four wins, three draws and one defeat, from its first eight completed matches. Watford 4, in the next division, is in mid-table with three wins, two draws and four losses from its nine matches to date. In the separate under-120 league, the Watford u-120 team has won five, drawn one and lost two of its first eight matches.
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/
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
JUNIOR CLUB NEWS - MID-SEPTEMBER 2021:
NEWSFLASH: Watford has two teams competing in the Junior 4NCL over the 25-26 September weekend in Leamington Spa
NEWSFLASH: Match against St Albans on 27 September postponed.
OVER-THE-BOARD CHESS:
Watford juniors have been meeting over-the-board since 29 March. Indoor meetings are from 6 until 9 on Monday evenings. Some evenings are training sessions, typically including rated games against other club members, while others feature matches against visiting teams.
The club's usual venue, West Herts Sports & Social Club, is currently unavailable due to ongoing rebuilding work which is due to complete "towards the end of the year" so junior meetings are currently taking place at a temporary venue off St Albans Road in north Watford. Adult members of the club [coaches excepted] attend by invitation only.
"Junior" normally means under 18, although 18-year-olds are eligible [depending on which date defines 'age'] for some junior events, while those aged 18-21 will be considered for 'open' events where Watford Juniors compete.
In all events, our teams consist of bona fide members of Watford Chess Club. Full junior membership for 2021-22 [ie. expiring 30 September 2022] costs £35 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. Fresh enquiries for membership may be made direct and in person to the juniors organiser or electronically, using the 'Contact us' facility on this website.
The nature of Monday evening sessions [£5 charge to cover temporary venue costs] varies from week to week but, in a typical training session, the first 45 minutes [6.0 - 6.45] are usually allocated to group coaching. Starting 6.45, those juniors who are members of the English Chess Federation typically have the choice of one classical game [approximate playing time, 60 minutes per player] or two/three rapidplay games [15-20 minutes] where the results will in each case be rated by the ECF. However, this pattern changes when Watford Juniors have matches - see further down this text - against other clubs.
[ECF membership is requested because the ECF charges clubs a fee for games, played by non-members, submitted by clubs for rating purposes. Junior membership of the ECF is inexpensive and, in many cases, totally free - see https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-rates-and-joining-details/ for full details].
On 14 June, Watford Juniors played Uxbridge Juniors in what is believed to be among the first over-the-board club matches in England in 2021. There's a pic further down this column with a second to be found at https://www.hillingdontimes.co.uk/news/19377956.uxbridge-young-chess-players-make-first-move/.
This was followed by matches against Hatch End Chess Club on 2 August, the return against Uxbridge Juniors on 16 August and a match against Watford adults on 30 August. Ahead there's the annual fixture against St Albans juniors on 27 September followed by matches in the new Hillingdon Junior League. However, perhaps the main team events in the club's calendar are the first weekend of the Junior 4 Nations Chess League, taking place in Leamington Spa over the weekend of 25-26 September, and weekend 1 of the main 4 Nations Chess League in late November - the list of known fixtures may be viewed by clicking on 'Fixtures' in the main menu,
We have also resumed the series of open-to-all under-12 rapidplays, held in 2018 and 2019 but a victim of the pandemic in 2020. This July, the 4th Watford Junior [u-12] rapidplay was won by 8-year-old Advait Keerthi Kumar with 5.5/6 ahead of runner-up Daniel Shek [Crowthorne] on 4.5 and Jai Aggarval, Varish Tarigopula [both Uxbridge] and Jacob Liu [Herts Jnrs] all on 4 points. Advait took home £150, Daniel £70 and the others £15 each.
Full results of this event appear at https://chess-results.com/tnr571134.aspx?lan=1
WATFORD v UXBRIDGE, JUNE 2021. WATFORD JUNIORS WHOLLY OR PARTLY VISIBLE ARE [L TO R] DENIS, AARAV, SEB, LEO, DHAIRYA, ISHAAN, JOEL
At an individual level, Advait, Aarav, Akshata and Avy have all qualified for the UKCC terafinals. Advait also won the u-8 version of the variant event and finished runner-up in the blitz while Avy, competing in the July 4NCL Major against average 1900 opposition [equal to 160 on the old grading scale] scored +2 =2 -1 to take home a £50 prize. As already noted, Advait managed to eclipse this figure on 24 July. The same pair qualified for the British Online Championships, with Advait runner-up in the u-8 section while Avy compensated for 10th place in the u-12s by recording a 'plus' score in the Major Open.
AWARD: Watford Juniors are confirmed as 2021 recipients of a British Chess Educational Trust award, having been nominated by the Southern Counties Chess. 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.
JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE
The 2020-21 events were cancelled due to Covid but the 2021-22 season begins with the first weekend to be held at Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa, over the weekend of 25-26 September. The two later weekends are on 29-30 January [Holiday Inn, South Normanton] and 9-10 April [Mercury Daventry Court Hotel].
Each weekend consists of 5 rounds [3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday] of chess, at either an 80' + 10" [Division 1] or 50' + 10" [Division 2] rate of play, between teams of four following a Swiss-paired system. For the first [September] weekend, Watford Juniors will enter two teams with 12 juniors making the trip to Leamington Spa with the 'A' team contesting Division 1 and the 'B' team in Division 2.
Known opposition at Leamington Spa comprises Manchester [2 teams], Oldham 3Cs, Oxfordshire [2], Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire [4] and Wales along with three clubs local to us - Barnet Knights [3], Edgware Gambits [2] and Uxbridge. Along with our two teams, that's 19 known entries so far.
For this event, juniors must be born 2004 or later. As an approximate guide, the Watford teams typically consist of juniors rated 1100 or higher although there should be one or two reserve places for lower-rated juniors who it is believed will benefit from the experience.
Unlike the 4NCL next described, which is a single event spread over five weekends, each J4NCL weekend is a separate self-contained event.
4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE
In common with its junior equivalent, the 2020-21 main 4NCL was cancelled due to Covid but the 2021-22 season is expected to go ahead. For this particular event, Watford Juniors would expect to combine with the adult section of the club with two or more teams competing in Division 3 South.
Dates for the five weekends, along with the Division 3 South venues, are as follows.
Rounds 1-2: 20-21 November 2021 - Kents Hill Park, Milton Keynes
Rounds 3-4: 15-16 January 2022 - Holiday Inn Maidenhead
Rounds 5-6: 12-13 February 2022 - Maidenhead again
Rounds 7-8: 26-27 March 2022 - Milton Keynes again
Rounds 9-11: 30 April-2 May 2022 - Milton Keynes again
Format for Division 3 South will be an 11-round team Swiss-paired event, one round taking place each day with Saturday's games normally starting at 2 and Sunday's games at 11. Exact time control yet to be confirmed but players will each have approximately 2 hours for their first 40 moves with a further hour to complete the remaining moves in a game. ECF 'gold' membership required for English players.
HILLINGDON & DISTRICT LEAGUE
It is intended that a new junior division will shortly be created with matches starting in November. Likely format is teams of four playing 45' + 15" sessions, on home and away basis, starting 6.30
HERTFORDSHIRE LEAGUE
Juniors are eligible to play for Watford teams in the Hertfordshire League which is likely to start in mid-November. Likely format is teams of five playing 70' + 10" sessions or something similar, on home and away basis, starting 7.30. Mainly adult opposition in this league.
Watford Chess Club
Annual General Meeting
held at
West Herts Sports Club, Park Avenue, Watford WD18 7HP
on Monday 16th September 2019 at 7:30pm
AGENDA
1. Receive apologies for absence
2. Approve minutes of September 2018 AGM (copies are attached)
3. Receive report from the President on the 2018-19 year, and to approve the Accounts for the financial year ending 31st July 2019
4. Agree Club membership subscriptions for 2019-20. The Committee proposes:
Adults Full £60, Associate £40 and Social £20.
Juniors and students Full £35 Social £20.
Full membership entitles a member to participate in all Club activity.
Associate membership: a member can take part in the Club’s inter-club competitive activities (but not the Price Cup) but not otherwise use the club’s facilities on club nights, except for designated special events.
Social membership entitles a member to full use of the Club’s facilities on club nights but not to participate in any of the club’s competitive activities (including the Price Cup), except for designated special events.
The subscriptions represent an increase on last year because the club will pay next year for all (adult and junior) 4NCL fees. There will be a £2 discount in all categories for everyone who pays by bank transfer, with the member’s name as a reference, before 1 October 2019.
5. Present trophies to winning individuals
6. Elect Officers, Secretaries and Committee for 2019-20:
|
post (** = committee) |
2018-19 post holder |
Elected/appointed 2019-20 |
|
** President/**Treasurer (joint) |
Hanisha Gurjar, Jennifer Hurrell |
Hanisha Gurjar, Jennifer Hurrell |
|
** Club Secretary |
Paul Littlefair |
Paul Littlefair |
|
** Membership Secretary |
vacant |
Sandesh Tathare |
|
** Juniors Secretary |
Roger Lancaster |
Roger Lancaster |
|
Tournament Secretary |
Andrew Stone |
Andrew Stone |
|
Match Captains |
Andrew Stone (Herts 1st, Russell) Ernest Karumazondo (Herts 2nd) Cecil Sloan (Herts 3rd) Paul Littlefair (Sharp) Geir Erik Nielsen/Pete Edwards (u140,u140ko) Roger Lancaster (4NCL 1st) Sanjay Vig (u120,u120ko, 4NCL 2nd) Christian Bland (H&D) |
Andrew Stone (Herts 1st, Russell) Ernest Karumazondo (Herts 2nd) Cecil Sloan (Herts 3rd) Paul Littlefair (Sharp) Sanjay Vig (4th , U140 ko, 4NCL 2nd) Roger Lancaster (4NCL 1st) Keith Hylands and Karthik Ramesh [joint] (u120,u120ko) No H&D entry this year |
|
Webmaster |
Geir Erik Nielsen |
Geir Erik Nielsen |
|
Equipment Curator |
Bradley Mead-Herbert |
Bradley Mead-Herbert |
|
** Other Committee members (up to 4 additional positions) |
Simon Charles Bradley Mead-Herbert Cecil Sloan Sanjay Vig |
Simon Charles Cecil Sloan Sanjay Vig Ernest Karumazondo |
|
Auditor |
Philip Abbott |
Philip Abbott |
7. Any Other Business
Paul Littlefair
Secretary
Jennifer Hurrell presents Ernest Karumazondo, joint winner with Andrew Stone, with the Price Cup
Watford players celebrate after beating St Albans in the season-opening Cheshire Cup match on 23 September. Above, from left, David Shaw, Chris Russell, Alistair Taylor, Omowale Nelson, Barry David, Neil Dunlop, Paul Littlefair (non-playing captain), Sandesh Tathare, Sanjay Vig.
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
PLAY AN AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)
Tired of playing the boring old computers that always beat you or play so weirdly you can't understand what is going on, asks webmaster Geir Erik Nielsen? Read our article on Artificial Intelligence and how you can install it at home
Also embedded in the updated article is now a video of how to get the best of Arena and Leela at home.
As a teaser for it all, and as an incredibly instructive game, here is how Leela deals with the Benoni
|
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 |
|
|
Hertfordshire Chess Association |
|
|
Hertfordshire Chess League results |
|
|
Hertfordshire Schools Chess Association |
|
|
4 Nations Chess League (incl. J4NCL) |
|
|
Tournament chess results (main site for this) |
http://chess-results.com/Default.aspx?lan=1 |
ONLINE CHESS:
Ongoing/imminent online events:
JUNIOR 4 NATIONS LEAGUE [SEASON 4]: This started 19 August [matches fortnightly thereafter] with four Watford Juniors teams taking part. Anyone interested in taking part, but who hasn't notified his/her interest to the club's juniors manager, is asked to do so without further delay.
After 3 rounds in Division 1, the 'A' team have 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. In Division 2, Watford 'B' commenced with 2 wins and 1 loss, Watford 'C' with 2 losses and a draw. In Division 4, the 'D' team has 2 losses and a bye
4 NATIONS LEAGUE [SEASON 4] - This started 24 August [matches fortnightly thereafter] with two Watford Juniors teams taking part. Anyone interested in taking part, but who hasn't notified his/her interest to the club's juniors manager, is asked to do so without further delay.
After 2 rounds in Division 3, the 'A' team has a loss and a win while the 'B' team in Division 5 has two losses.
WORLD 2020 LEAGUE: Watford Juniors lost 9-5 against Bocconi University in round 1 on 19 September. [This match was not among those being screened live on https://www.twitch.tv/
Matches also shown at https://www.chess.com/blog/
FIVE COUNTIES LEAGUE: Expected to restart on Thursday evenings shortly.
OTHER: The juniors also play occasional 'friendly' matches against other junior sides, most recently losing 6.5-7.5 to Eton College on 5 August. That's in contrast to the league competitions where, J4NCL excepted, they mainly face adult opponents.
Recently-completed online events:
HILLINGDON & DISTRICT LEAGUE: This competition ended with the 'A' team, after drawing with league winners Harrow 'A' in the last round, finishing sixth [+3 =1 -2] of 20 competing teams - nine adult and 11 junior -while the 'B' team [+1 =2 -3] took 17th place and our 'C' team [+0 =1 -5] 20th.
WORLD 2020 LEAGUE: This was won by Chess Club Politika [Belgrade, Serbia] whose team of 4 grandmasters took the $2000 first prize ahead of runners-up Kiev [Ukraine], whose team included 2 GMs and 2 IMs, and 125 other teams. Watford Juniors' final tally was three wins and one draw from 10 matches. which meant they finished in 100th place.
4 NATIONS LEAGUE [SEASON 3] - Arguably the toughest competition in which Watford Juniors compete, this ended in May. Matches were almost invariably against strong adult teams including players of master strength.
The 'A' team, in Division 4, won just one and drew one of its 7 matches. Although it won as many individual games as two of the higher-placed teams, it won fewer matches and was accordingly placed 7th out of 8 teams and is likely to be relegated. The 'B' and 'C' teams, in Division 5, found life even tougher with the former managing to win just one match and the latter losing all eight.
JUNIOR 4 NATIONS LEAGUE [SEASON 3]: This, the premier UK online junior league with five divisions, ended its third season with Watford Juniors 'A' finishing 5th of eight teams in its Division 1 group. In Division 2, the 'B' team came 4th out of eight teams but the 'C' team lost all seven matches despite many being close affairs. Next division down, the 'D' team finished 7th and was also relegated while the 'E' team had to withdraw due to a player shortage.
FIVE COUNTIES LEAGUE: After the full 9 rounds, the "A" team had won four and drawn one of its matches against opposing [mainly adult] teams, finishing mid-table in Division 2. The "B" team had a torrid time in Division 3 and finished last-but one.
CLUB POLO SHIRTS: Club polo shirts can be bought, in various adult and j