Report for 2008-9 Season

1. Summer Cups 2008

The total number of teams entered into the Cups was 34, 17 in the Chapman and Birstall Cups, 7 in the Wylie Cup and 11 in the Harrod Cup.  Again some clubs which played in the League did not enter any of the Cup competitions.

The Chapman Cup was won by Market Harborough, with an eventful win over Littlethorpe in the final.

The nine teams losing in the preliminary and first rounds of the Chapman Cup competed for the Birstall Cup.  This event was won by Spinney Hill 1, who beat Wigston 1 in another very close final.  These two finals were, as is now usual, played on the same evening at the Heathcote Arms in Croft.

The Wylie Cup, again with 7 entries but with a grading cap that was subsequently thought to be too severe, was played as an all-play-all event.  Braunstone were the winners with 12 points out of 14; Wigston were runners up a point behind.

The Harrod Cup was played as a 5-round Swiss event and was won outright by Ashby, who won all five of their matches.  Spinney Hill 2 were runners-up with four wins and one loss.

For 2009 entries are Chapman/Birstall Cup 13; Wylie and Harrod Cups 9 each.

2. League

At the time of preparing this report almost 50 League matches remain to be played.  The use of larger Divisions, and the postponement due to bad weather of all the matches scheduled for the first week in February, means that the League season will continue into May, though all the results should be known by the time of the AGM.  However Wigston 1 are already declared the winners of Division 1; Melton 1 and Braunstone 2 are in hot competition to come top of Division 2; Ashby 2, Spinney Hill 2 and Red Admiral 1 are all in contention for the Division 3 title; and Ashby 3 seem certain to win Division 4.

Relatively few problem have arisen in the running of the Leagues, though sadly Division 1 was reduced to 7 teams after the early withdrawal of Littlethorpe 2.  Disputes and problems have been few and far between, especially given the total numbers of fixtures and games played.

3. League Cups

These events were a new feature of the 2008-9 season, and were introduced with the agreement of the clubs (following the informal meeting of 17 July 2008) to provide more matches at every level.  There are two League Cups, D12 and D34, aimed at teams from the upper two and lower two Divisions respectively.  A handicap system is used, though it is not the same as the Chapman/Birstall Cup system, as drawn matches are allowed in the League Cups, which are 5-round Swiss events.  The Cups may have had some success in filling the gaps in the League fixture lists of individual teams; but equally for some teams they have simply added to fixture congestion problems.  Littlethorpe A have won all their 5 matches to win the inaugural D12 Cup; the runners-up spot is still be decided.  The outcome of the D34 Cup is far from clear, with three teams all in with a chance of winning it.

Once again I thank the members of the League Management Committee, for their help during the season.  Thanks too to the team captains, secretaries and players of all our clubs, who have contributed much voluntary effort to ensure that we all enjoy our chess.

JNM – 25 April 2009