Staffordshire Congress Results

 Congratulations to Neil Hankey and his team of organisers who ran a great Staffordshire Congress at Kidsgrove Town Hall on the last weekend of March. A great effort to hold the event so soon after the August 2025 Congress.

Alsager’s Jonathon Blackburn won the Open Section winning all five of his matches with former Cheddleton player, Jacob Connor Boswell in second place with 4 wins.

The Higher Section (Under 1850) was another Welsh triumph as Janie Roberts of Crewe took first place with 4 points. Also, with 4 out of 5 were Chris Hankey of Gables and David Hulme of Crewe. Just to prove that running a chess club needs not affect a player’s form.

The Standard Section (Under 1550) was won by U. Kachak, with 4.5 points ahead of Crewe’s Nigel Gardener who scored 4 points.

Thanks to the Arbiter team of Matthew Carr, David Price and Colin Abell.

Excellent Photos of the event by Lilija Bekisa may be seen here, and the full results may be viewed.

Gables Chess Club & Potteries Juniors Venue Changes

Gables and Potteries Juniors Chess Clubs are no longer using the Gables venue with immediate effect.

Potteries Juniors will meet at the New Finney Gardens, Bucknall Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 6AJ on Saturdays.

The Gables A team already play league matches at the New Finney Gardens on a Tuesday and now the B, C and D teams will play their home games on Monday at the “Gardens”.

For further information please contact Chis Hankey whose details may be found here.

January 22nd 2026

Ian Bates RIP

 Holmes Chapel Chess Club have announced that Ian Bates who served the club as captain, secretary and chairman passed away on December 17^th, 2025. Ian was also an International Arbiter. Ian’s funeral will be held at Birches Crematorium, Lach Dennis, on Friday 23 January 2026 at 2:00 pm.

A fuller tribute may be seen on the Holmes Chapel Website.

Staffordshire Congress Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March

Following success of the Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Chess congress last summer, the organising team  have prepared to run the Staffordshire Congress at Kidsgrove Town Hall on Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March. The entry is now open;  see here.

If you wish to help with preparation for the Congress please contact Neil.

Staffordshire Under 1850 Team

 The Staffordshire Under 1850 Team has two matches in the new year. Firstly against Nottinghamshire on Saturday 24th January at Bramcote Memorial Hall, Church Street, Bramcote, Nottingham NG9 3HD. In February the team will play Lincolnshire on Saturday February 21st at a neutral venue, St Hilda's C of E Church, Ling Dale, East Goscote Leicestershire England, LE7 3XW.

Qualified Players who represent a Staffordshire Club or who were born in the county and are of a suitable rating are invited to contact Peter Evans.

Latest Member Clubs Information

 Macclesfield have a new Secretary, Chris Riley and he may be contacted by email. Meir Chess Club have created a new website that may be viewed here.

Staffordshire Junior Championship Saturday 22nd November

 This year’s championship will be held at Painsley Catholic College, Cheadle, Staffordshire, ST10 1LH on Saturday 22^nd November. The event will be a six round rapid play with sections from Under 8 to Under 18.

For further information please see the website and entry form here or contact Jonathon for further details.

Clubs Opening New Venues

Thanks to the hard work of Colin Abel the fixtures for the coming 2025-26 season are all available on the LMS. 

Three NSDCA Clubs are opening additional venues. Alsager are playing matches on both Tuesday at Alsager Cricket Club and on Thursdays at the 13 Club. Gables are still meeting at the the Gables pub, but their first team will play on Tuesdays at the New Finney Gardens.

Holmes Chapel's A & B teams will continue to play at the Victoria Club on a Thursday Evening. They will be holding a club night on Wednesday at the Kings Lock Inn, Middlewich. The Holmes Chapel C team will host their home games at the Kings Lock on a Thursday.

For full address and post codes of the new venues please see either the LMS or the Member Clubs Page.

Staffordshire Revival Congress

 The Staffordshire - Stoke Centenary Congress was held in August and was enjoyed by most entrants. Thanks are due to the City of Stoke-on-Trent who provided the excellent Kings Hall free of charge as part of the Centenary celebrations. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Watkins opened the event.

Fittingly the congress winner, Jonathon Blackburn and two of the section winners Alan Thomason of Alsager Chess Club and Mark Hughes of Kidsgrove all play in the NSDCA.

For a fuller description of the event and details of the organising committee please see the Staffordshire Chess Association website. Andrew Crosby (Kidsgrove Chess Club) has written a full report from the ECF magazine, Chess Moves.

Busy Summer for Crewe Chess Club

These days chess no longer stops for the summer months and at Crewe Chess Club it is certainly the case. Apart from the popular Crewe Congress which sees most members as either participants or organisers; the club played their annual WC challenge against Wallasey  over 32 boards.

This gave Crewe two mentions in the July Edition of Chess News on Pages 20 and 43.