News

15 October 2024

Six more games were played in the qualifying tournament for the club championship upstairs at the Herdsman this evening.  In Group A Henry Spedding moved to 3 wins from 3 games with a win over Alex Adarski.  Henry was joined at 3 from 3 by Paul Barker who won his game against Jack Clark.  Jack seemed to have a big advantage but rushed a move and dropped a rook.  Jack holds third place in the group which will qualify him for the full championship group after Christmas if he can hold that position.

In Group B new rookie memeber Harry Taylor moved to 3 wins from 3 games with a win over the experienced Roger Aris, whilst  Chris Tremayne enhanced his qualification chances by beating Kieran Lappin with a 'nasty' bishop scarifice which forced a pawn promotion.  Peter Davies got his first win in this group by beating Evelina Racheva with the black pieces.

Results and standings can be found here.

8 October 2024

There was 'blood on the floor' again this evening at the Herdsman as eight games were played in the qualifying groups of the club championship with only the all-Leominster pairing of John Preece versus Nick Hanne ending peacefully.  Jack Clark is once again excelling in the qualifying competition with an impressive victory over the reigning county champion: Stephen Priestley.  Jack now leads  Group A with 3 wins from his 3 games.  Henry Spedding was given a scare by Blake Newman but survived to tell the tale and stands in second place with 2 wins from 2 games alongside Paul Barker who won his game with black against Alex Adarski.

Group B nearly featured the upset of the season when Peter Davies had a winning position on the board against top seed Lee Davis but didn't find the killer blow and Lee was able to take the full point, but only after a further couple of errors from Peter.  new member Harry Taylor holds first place in this group after beating Evelina Racheva.  Chris Tremayne won his game against Roger Aris to move into second place in the standings alongside Roger and also alongside Tim Peters who lost to Nick Twedell by blundering into a knight fork.

Results and standings can be found here.

1 October 2024

Six games from the Leslie Baker Swiss took centre stage upstairs at the Herdsman piub this evening.  Stephen Priestley's somewhat speculative knight sacrifice was efficiently refuted by Pete Hughes on his debut in the competition, whilst fellow debutant Billy Edwards had an encouraging victory over the experienced Roger Aris.  Peter Davies won what would have been a decisive advantage in material in his match vs. Nick Hanne but was unable to continue due to health concerns and offered Nick the full point. On second board Henry Spedding got in an early blow with a victory over John Preece, and Tim Peters won with the black pieces against Richard Morrison.  Mark Calderwood appeared to have sufficient advantage to cause an upset in his game with Paul Barker, but Paul fought back to secure the draw.

1 October 2024

The new ratings are out today and can be found on this website.  There are some new names on the list and some old names removed whose membership has lapsed.  Congratulations to Henry Spedding for reaching the 1900 mark and to Jack Clark for being this month's most improved player.  Lee Davis has once again dropped below 2000.

24 September 2024

The club championship got into full swing this evening with seven games being played and two potential new members coming aloing to play social chess.

All the games in Qualifying Group B were victories for the player with the white pieces.  Tim Peters and Roger Aris share the early lead with wins over Peter Davies and Richard Morrison respectively, whilst Kieran Lappin and Harry Taylor both opened their accounts with wins over Nick Tweddell and Chris Tremayne.

In Group A Henry Speddding opened the defence of his title with a victory over Leanne Balsdon and Paul Barker beat Blake Newman in his first game in this year's compettition.  The solitary win for black was the last game to finish where Jack Clark won a study-like king and pawn ending against Nick Hanne, where later analysis with an engine shaowed remarkable resources for both sides which would have been very difficult for players to find on the night given that both players were under time pressure.

With 16 players in the room and a few of non-playing spectators the evening did get a little too noisy on occasions.  Club members are reminded of the need to keep good order when competitive games remain in play.

17 September 2024

The new season kicked off with a win for club champion Henry Spedding over new member; Billy Edwards in the first round of the club knockout

Five games in the club championship were played .  In group A Stephen Priestly beat Blake Newman with the black pieces whilst Jack Clark found a very nice tactic to beat John Preece.  The three games played in Group B were all won by the player with the black pieces:  Chris Tremayne beat Richard Morrison, Tim Peters beat Evelina Racheva and, in the last game to finish, Roger Aris beat Nick Tweddell.

A new member joined the club on the night and has been allocated competitive places in each of the three tournaments.  Results and standings have been published on the relevant pages of this website.

10 September 2024

The now traditional 'season opener' club blitz was held upstatirs at the Herdsman this evening.  Eight players entered and the tournament was won by Lee Davis with six wins and one draw from his seven games.  The only player to deny him a win was promising newcomer; Billy Edwards who claimed a share of 3rd place with four points from seven games.  Paul Barker's five points from seven was enough to secure second spot.

Final standings and performance data can be found on the Tournaments pages of this website.

3 September 2024

It was announced at the AGM that competitive games at the club will commence on 10 September with the, now traditional, Hereford Blitz Championship; delivered as a  a 7-round Swiss Tournament.

The season's schedule, and pairings for the various club comepetitions can now be found on the relevant pages of this website.

3 September 2024

The Hereford Chess Club AGM was held upstairs at the Herdsman this evening signalling the start of the 2025-26 season.  The following awards were made for the season 2024-25:

Club Champion                                                               Henry Spedding

Winner of Club Major Championship                    Roger Aris

Winner of Club Minor Championship                    Alex Adarski

Winner of Leslie Baker Swiss                                      Lee Davis

Club Kock-Out Champion                                            Lee Davis

Club KO Plate Champion                                       Chris Tremayne

Challenge Champion                                                   Henry Spedding

Highest Finishing Junior                                          Aidan Jelf

Best Rating Increase since 1 September 2024            Henry Spedding 135

Hereford Early Season Blitz (2024 Delayed)             Dillan Duke

Hereford Summer Blitz 2025                                       Dillan Duke

Hereford Xmas Lightning Buzzer                               Paul Barker

Hereford Summer Lightning Buzzer                         Paul Barker

GM Simul

Winners                                                                             Henry Spedding

                                                                                          Perry Walker

Drawers                                                                             Tim Peters

                                                                                          Richard Morrison

All news items and tournament results for 2024-25 have now been moved to the archive pages of this website