Chairman's report January 2024

It’s been a very busy month for Wimborne Chess club overall . The end of 2023 ended on a high note where a Christmas Meal was held at the Kings Head Pub on 14th December where 26 people attended . Guest of honour was Alan Tyler who had recently decided to stop playing competitive Chess and had spent many years playing at a good level for Wimborne CC in various teams. Thanks very much Alan.

1- League activity The last day of the January saw Wimborne” A” team register their 1st win of the Season against League leaders and current champions Poole A - Well done Ian and the team WImborne C&D currently top their respective divisions and remain in a strong position to win their respective Divisions
John Bowley's Dorset B team are currently leading their Division B with a clean sheet ! . Keep up the good work John
2- Dorset closed competition The 2024 Dorset Closed Chess Championships were held in the Merlot Suite at the West Cliff Hotel in Bournemouth, from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st January see link for details , organized by our own Ian Clark , it was a well attended and successful event
3- Junior Chess We are regularly attracting 20+ Juniors to the Saturday morning event at Wimborne Library 10-12 am . This activity is jointly organized by Simon Young and myself. It's proving very popular and we are pretty much maxed out and cannot accept any new recruits. We could also do with a bit of help on an occasional basis  Please note also : February 18th sees the Dorset Junior Chess Championship’s held at the Merley Club . Organised by Nikki Foster, the details can be found here. https://www.dorsetchess.co.uk/2024-djcc/See also details below
4- Kings Head weekly meet up’s The group of seniors has now grown somewhat and attracts 12-15 people who meet regularly on a Friday morning at the Kings Head Pub/Hotel in Wimborne Square . Many of them stay on afterwards to enjoy Lunch and the odd glass of Merlot ! Players bring their own sets and boards but usually don't play with clocks or record moves. It's a very informal event where humor and socializing is to the fore
5- Internal club Knock out competition This event begins in earnest from February 7th . The time control is 1 hour + 10 second increment . In the event of a draw a 15 minute quick play is then undertaken and if still no result the weaker player is deemed to be the victor.
1 Kristian Beclwski -v- Mark Littleton
2 Stuart Mallon -v- Simon Young
3 Andy Hewitt  -v- Ian Clark
4 John Bowley -v-  Jim Newman
5 Mike Jackson -v-  Andre Mills
6 Steve Pollyn -v-  Graham Hillman
7 Eddie Barker -v-  Ken Leonard
8 Peter Wilcox -v- William Adawa
Please try to play the game in February and send the results to myself.