Chess WITH THE KNIGHT
THE Northumbria League season is nearly finished – and what a good competition it has been.
Starting with Division 3, the outstanding team has been Tynedale Reivers and they have deservedly secured the league title with a game to spare.
Their team is based around a core of very experienced players, Peter Crichton, Derek Blair, Dave Foster, Bruce Reed, Alex Ashworth and captain Steve Larkin. But they have also introduced Dave Humphreys, a new player to league chess. The second promotion spot is between Tynemouth C and Gosforth E With each team having one more game to play. Gosforth E must win their last game, and hope that Tynemouth C lose, for them to gain automatic promotion to Division 2.
In Division 2, the promotion spots are between Forest Hall Brigadeers, Newcastle University and Jesmond Rookies, with Gosforth Salters an outside possibility too. The Brigadeers play tonight against Morpeth C, where a win will guarantee them the Second Division title and promotion. Morpeth C are no pushover and will provide tough opposition.
This has been a hard-fought division with a lot of competitive matches so it is no surprise that it has come down to the last couple of rounds. The University team at full strength are formidable but exams and holidays have weakened the team on occasions.
In Division 1, the championship is now between last year’s winners, Gosforth Empire, and Forest Hall Admirals. The Gosforth team got off to a poor start to the season, by their high standards, and did not seem to be in contention. But recently they have strung together a series of big wins and have made up some lost ground. They have just one game to play, against their own B team, the Regents, which you would expect them to win comfortably.
However, it is the Regents who have created some of the uncertainty at the top of the table by beating Durham City , many people’s favourites, in the last round of matches. This was a brilliant win for them as they were heavily outgraded. The Forest Hall Admirals have two games to play and need two points to clinch a first ever title.
Both are against strong teams, Morpeth A and Durham, both of whom had realistic ambitions themselves of winning the league, but have faltered towards the end of the season. However, neither can be underestimated and are well capable of creating the results which would hand the title to Gosforth.
Forest Hall’s last game was against Jesmond Knights, where they won an exciting match 3.51.5. This included an amazing win for nine-yearold Yichen Han for Forest Hall against threetimes county individual champion John Turnock. John is an excellent player with a tremendous record so it was a great win for the junior. This league has been more open this year with more close games and more clubs in with realistic chances of winning the title. All good news as it has led to a better competition.
The other encouraging feature of the league programme this year has been the marked increase in the numbers of juniors involved. There are practical problems, especially with midweek matches, which can finish after 10pm, and then there may be a long journey home.
Not ideal for the younger children. Only two clubs, Jesmond and Forest Hall play their home matches on Friday nights which are less of a problem. The inclusion of juniors into teams has been a success nevertheless and it is hoped that it can be expanded.