South Sweep The Board In County Cup Finals

It was a full house at Stafford Chess Club last night as all 4 Finals were played simultaneously for the first time in several years. The clubs from the South of the County dominated proceedings, winning all 4 matches. Stafford beat Cheddleton by 3.5-2.5 in the Hickman Cup, Fenton were whitewashed 5-0 by Sutton Coldfield in the Gothard Cup, Lichfield beat Newcastle by 3-2 in the Jackson Cup and Walsall Kipping beat Meir by 3-2 in the Withnall Trophy.

You can click here to view all of the match score cards.

It was a very successful evening and I now hope that we are going to see a resurgence of these competitions. Next season will see a change, with the Cups reverting to a knock-out format, with all teams in the Wolverhampton League, Cannock League and the NSDCA eligible to enter - not just the ones within the County boundaries. For the NSDCA this will mean that Alsager, Crewe, Holmes Chapel and Macclesfield will, once again, be eligible to enter.

A special vote of thanks goes to Matt Carr, who did his usual ultra efficient job of arbiting the matches.