SCCU County Championship 2019/20
Preliminary Fixtures
This is the 'first-cut' for the fixtures (published 23 August 2019). Where captains have difficulty in booking venues on the specified dates, it is permissible to change dates with the agreement of the opposing captain.
In the u180 section, two matches (Kent vs Essex, Surrey vs Middlesex) unfortunately clash with the first weekend of the London Chess Classic. The controller hasn't been able to identify another date without playing on two consecutive weekends, and has left to the captains to agree a more suitable date.
Please, keep the County Match Controller informed of any changes.
Key: B= Berkshire, E= Essex, H=Hertfordshire, K=Kent, M=Middlesex, Sx=Sussex, Sy=Surrey
| Date | Other Events | Open | u180 | u160 | u140 | u120 | u100 |
| 28 Sep 2019 | Sy.SX, K.M | K.Sy, M.E | |||||
| 05 Oct 2019 | J4NCL wk1 & Surrey Congress | ||||||
| 12 Oct 2019 | ECF AGM (London) | ||||||
| 19 Oct 2019 | M.E, K.Sy | E.M, K.Sy | E.B | ||||
| 26 Oct 2019 | |||||||
| 02 Nov 2019 | M.Sy, Sx.E | E.Sy, K.M | M.H, E.K | ||||
| 09 Nov 2019 | 4NCL wk1a (div 3 & 4) | ||||||
| 16 Nov 2019 | E.Sy, M.K | Sy.E, M.H | |||||
| 23 Nov 2019 | E.M, Sy.K | Sy.M, E.K | H.E, Sy.M | ||||
| 30 Nov 2019 | London Chess Classic | K.E, Sy.M | |||||
| 07 Dec 2019 | London Chess Classic | ||||||
| 14 Dec 2019 | |||||||
| 21 Dec 2019 | |||||||
| 28 Dec 2019 | Caplin Hastings International | ||||||
| 04 Jan 2020 | Caplin Hastings International | ||||||
| 11 Jan 2020 | 4NCL wk2 | ||||||
| 18 Jan 2020 | J4NCL wk2 | ||||||
| 25 Jan 2020 | E.M, Sy.K | K.H, Sy.M | B.E | ||||
| 01 Feb 2020 | K.E, M.Sx | Sy.E, M.K | Sy.K, M.E | ||||
| 08 Feb 2020 | 4NCL wk3 | ||||||
| 15 Feb 2020 | J4NCL wk3 | Sx.K, E.Sy | Sy.K, E.M | E.Sy, K.H | |||
| 22 Feb 2020 | Sy.E, K.M | M.K, H.E | |||||
| 29 Feb 2020 | 4NCL wk1b (div 1 & 2) | M.Sy, K.E | K.M, H.Sy | ||||
| 07 Mar 2020 | |||||||
| 14 Mar 2020 | E.K, M.Sy | H.Sy, E.K | |||||
| 21 Mar 2020 | SCCU submits nominations to ECF | ||||||
| 28 Mar 2020 | 4NCL wk4 |
SCCU County Championship 2019/20
Closing Date for Entries
The closing date for entry to the County Championship is 15th August. Fixtures are expected to be released soon after 18th August.
Please, send all entries and related equiries to The County Match Controller (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) so that fixtures can be made.
The SCCU competition rules can be found at County Match Rules. Rules and information on the ECF national stages are available at ECF National Stages (2019).
Provisional Match Dates
Provisional match dates are shown below:
- Dates have been selected to avoid clashing with 4NCL, J4NCL (except 15th Feb), Surrey Congress, London Chess Classic, and Caplin Hastings International Congress,
- Open and u180 play on different days.
| Division | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 |
| Open, u160, u120 | 28th Sep[1] | 2nd Nov | 23rd Nov | 1st Feb | 15th Feb[1] | 29th Feb[7] |
| u180, u140, u100 | 19th Oct | 16th Nov | 30th Nov | 25th Jan | 22nd Feb | 14th Mar |
Teams Entered
Key:
Yes - confirmed
? - expected, based on last season.
tba - to be advised
| County | Open | u180 | u160 | u140 | u120 | u100 |
| Berkshire | Yes | |||||
| Essex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hertfordshire | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Kent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Middlesex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Surrey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Sussex | Yes |
Revisions
[1] 30 Jul 19. Open - dates revised. (28th Sept, 15th Feb added; 5th Oct, 7th Dec deletedl).
[2] 31 Jul 19. Teams Entered - table updated
[3] 06 Aug 19. Teams Entered - table updated
[4] 08 Aug 19. Closing date of 15th August and links to rules added.
[5] 08 Aug 19. Teams Entered - table updated.
[6] 10 Aug 19. Teams Entered - table updated. Fixtures expected to be released soon after 18th August.
[7] 17 Aug 19. Date corrected 29th Feb (Sat) was 2nd Mar (Mon).
Addition to Online Archive: SCCU News Bulletin
First published in October 1958, the Bulletin provides a digest of chess related activities occurring in the Union over a span of 41 years. Averaging 6 issues each season, it ran to a total of 248 issues, plus annual grading lists and occasional supplements.
The late Richard Haddrell was the Bulletin's editor for its final 21 years and he developed and operated the website which took over from it.
He had wanted to digitise the Bulletin and make it available online, but the demands of his many other duties (SCCU Secretary, ECF Grading Administrator, Kent Juniors) contributed to the project not being completed.
The digitisation has now been accomplished, thanks to Anthony Fulton, SCCU Archivist, who arranged for the cache of paper copies left by Richard to be catalogued and digitised by the British Library.
The collection can be found on the following pages:
- Archive > SCCU News Bulletin (1958-1978)
- Archive > SCCU News Bulletin (1978-1999)
The digitisation project was funded from Richard Haddrell's bequest to the SCCU.
ECF County Championship Centenary Finals Day
This year's County Championship held its 100th event on Saturday, 13th July at Kettering Conference Centre.
All seven matches being played fitted comfortably into a single playing room on the first floor. There would have been space for Minor competition had that been played too. There was a separate analysis room and refreshments (drinks, sanwiches and snacks) were available from a kiosk in the foyer.
Proceedings began with an introduction by Adrian Elwin, Director of Home Chess, and Sean Hewitt, Chief Arbiter.
Play began following the one minute silence to remember Marcus Mission (Cambridgeshire) and Bryan Fewell (Hertfordshire), two well known players who had past away earlier this year. In his time as BCF Home Director Bryan did much to support and enhance the County Championships, including the creation of the separate grade limited sections in 1992.
The ECF website hosted Live Boards (Open section), which were managed by Matt Carr. Mark Murrell also posted a Blog commenting on the matches.
The match results given below contain hyperlinks to the match cards maintained on the ECF League Management Results website.
- Open: Yorkshire 11 v 5 Surrey
- Minor Countes: Lincolnshire 16 - 0 Devon
- u180: Essex 8½ - 7½ Lancashire
- u160: Middlesex 8½ - 7½ Suffolk
- u140: Yorkshire 9½ - 6½ Worcestershire
- u120: Yorkshire 4 - 8 Essex
- u100: Staffordshire 7 - 5 Nottinghamshire
Congratulations to the four SCCU teams that made the Final:
- Surrey Open - Runners up
- Essex u180 - Winners
- Middlesex u160 - Winners
- Essex u120 - Winners
Trophies were awarded by Adrian Elwin, ECF Director of Home Chess. All players that took part on the day received individual trophies.
SCCU / London Club Championships
The inaugural SCCU/London Club Championships took place on Saturday, 29 June 2019 at St Lukes Church, Kidderpore Avenue, London NW3 7SU.
- Major (180 ECF) - 7 teams entered
- Intermediate (150 ECF) - 9 teams entered
- Minor (120 ECF) - 10 teams entered
Although it had been intended to run all sections as Swiss tournaments, on the day some adjustments were made to the pairing of Major and Intermediate.
- In the Major a seventh round was squeezed in so that it ran as an all-play-all.
- In the Intermediate teams were grouped together in one of three triangular matches (played over two rounds with jamboree pairings) to avoid giving a bye to any team in the conventional Swiss. An unfortunate weakness of the hybrid pairing was that the two highest scoring teams (Hatch End and Pimlico) never got to play each other. The two teams finished equal on match points (11/12) with Hatch End prevailing on tiebreak by a single game point.
The winning teams (left to right) are:
- Major (180 ECF) - Muswell Hill
- Intermediate (150 ECF) - Hatch End
- Minor (120 ECF) - DHSS 2
Clicking on names of the winning teams will link to the respective tournament results.
SCCU County Championships
With all matches, apart from u120 Hertfordshire v Kent (to be played Saturday 23rd March), the winners of each division can now be announced.
| SCCU Division | Grade | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Shannon | Open | Surrey |
| Montague Jones | u180 | Middlesex (on tie-break with Essex) |
| Amboyna | u160 | Middlesex |
| Ebony | u140 | Kent |
| Harry Woolverton | u120 | Essex |
| David Smith | u100 | Essex |
The provisional nominations, subject to completion of the u120 division, and confirmation of acceptance by county secretaries are given below; these nominations need to be confirmed by the SCCU to the ECF National Controller by Sunday 24th March.
| ECF Division | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Surrey | Middlesex | Sussex |
| Minor Counties | Essex | - | - |
| u180 | Middlesex | Essex | - |
| u160 | Middlesex | Essex | - |
| u140 | Kent | Hertfordshire | Essex |
| u120 | Essex | Kent | Hertfordshire |
| u100 | Essex | Berkshire | - |
Note: Teams that have accepted ECF nomination are shown in BOLD.
SCCU Junior Jamboree 2019
- Under 18 Major
- Under 18 Minor (restricted to ECF grade u130)
- Under 14 Major
- Under 14 Minor (restricted to ECF grade u110)
FM Steve Berry - An Appreciation
posted: 19th January 2019
At today's county championship encounter between Surrey and Essex Open teams, the Surrey match captain reports:
"The Match started with fine words said by Russell (Granat) about our recently deceased friend, FM Steve Berry. The much appreciated Words were followed by a well observed minute of silence. Steve will be much missed by all who knew him."
Surrey Congress, Incorporating SCCU Individual Championship
updated: 2nd December 2018
Surrey Congress took place at Kingston University on Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October.
The Surrey Prizes were sponsored by Kingston Chess Club.
Frank Winter FIDE OPEN (42 players)
1st= IM Richard Bates, FM Adam Taylor, Ben Ogunshola (4/5)
Grading prize (U1980): Nasir Rizvi (3.5/5)
Surrey Prize: Jovica Radovanovic (3.5/5)
SCCU Individual Championship
SCCU Champion (joint): IM Richard Bates, FM Adam Taylor, Ben Ogunshola
Congratulations to all three winners, each of whom has qualified for the British Championships to be held at the International Centre in Torquay, 26th July to the 4th August 2019. This is Richard's record-breaking fourth consecutive SCCU title!
Eric Weimann FIDE Major (35 players)
1st= Nick Grey, Oliver Finnegan (4.5/5); 3rd Alexandros Pappas (4/5)
Grading Prize (U1600): Boris Stoyanov (3/5)
Surrey Prize: Graham Alcock (3.5/5)
Bill Waterton Minor (19 players)
1st Soham Kumar (4.5/5); 2nd James McKenna (4/5); Tim Cutter (3.5/5)
Grading Prize (U100): Diego Cordova (3/5)
Surrey Prize: Tom Usharovsky (3/5)
Full Results
These are available on chess-results.com through the following links:
ECF County Team Championship
updated: 31st October 2018
This is the 100th contest for the title of National County Champions, providing good cause for celebration.
Please, note the following dates in your diary:
| Saturday, 27th April 2019 | Preliminary Round | |
| Saturday, 11th May 2019 | Quarter Finals (Open, Minor, Under 160, Under 120) | |
| Saturday, 18th May 2019 | Quarter Finals (Under 180, Under 140, Under 100) | |
| Saturday, 8th June 2019 | Semi-Finals | |
| Saturday, 13th July 2019 | Finals | |
Nominations by the Unions need to be submitted to the National Controller by 24th March so that the draw can be published on or before 1st April.
Essex Retains SCCU Under-14 Fleming Board in 2018
updated: 3rd October 2018
There were three Finalists in the under-14 Championship comprising Essex, Richmond and Oxford each of whom had qualified from the East, South and West Leagues, respectively.
The outstanding match between Essex and Oxford, which had been postponed from last season, was contested yesterday (30th September). Essex won 15-9, which enabled them to claim the Fleming Trophy, for the second year running, by vitue of having the greatest total of game points.
Individual match results and final standings are available via the link: Fleming Trophy Final
An excellent report on the Final from the Essex Match Captain is available via the link: Report on the Final
Essex Juniors website: www.ejca.co.uk/
SCCU Individual Championship 2018/19
Posted: 15th September 2018
The SCCU Championship will be hosted by the 38th Surrey Congress, which takes place at Kingston University from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October 2018.
The SCCU Champion is presented with Glenroy Trophy, which is held for one year, awarded a prize of £100 and qualified to enter the British Chess Championships 2019.
The Entry Form for Surrey Congress can be downloaded from: Surrey Congress website: Entry Form
Online Entry is available at: Surrey Congress website: Online Entry
The British Championships 2019 will be held at Riviera International Centre, Torquay, from Friday 26th July to 4th August.
Special General Meeting: 28th September 2018
Posted: 8 September 2018
The discussion and proposed amendments to SCCU County Match Rules arose from concerns that the Rules and Appeals sub-committee had regarding what they considered the large number and the nature of the disputes that went to appeal last season (2017-18).
It is normal practice that there is no arbiter present at matches between SCCU counties and any dispute that cannot be resolved by the two captains acting together is referred to the County Match Controller (CMC).
Last season three such disputes arose and on each occasion the ruling made by the CMC was appealed. These cases relate to:
(i) registration of an ungraded player
(ii) conclusion of a quick play finish
(iii) the use of a mobile phone
The decision regarding whether the proposed amendments will be adopted and whether they will apply for the new season will be determined at the Special General Meeting to be held on 28th September 2018.
Any player who wish to express a view should contact their SCCU representative. See: SCCU Who's Who
Stop Press (30th Sept): All the proposed rule changes were adopted and will come into force on 1st September 2019.
SCCU County Championship 2019: Fixture List
Updated: 13 October 2018
The table below gives a summary of county match fixtures for the new season. Fixture dates have been updated to accommodate captain's requests, as follows:
- Open: Essex vs Kent moved to 16th Feb (was 2nd Feb)
- Open: Kent vs Surrey moved to 29th Sep (was 6th Oct)
- Surrey Congress added on 27th October. Dates of Surrey's rescheduled matches (Open, U160, U120) are still to be determined.
- U160: M.Sy moved to 8th Dec (was 27th Oct)
U120: M.Sy moved to 8th Dec (was 27th Oct) - Open: Sy.M moved to 8th Dec (was 27th Oct)
- U120: H.M moved to 13th Oct (was 6th Oct)
- Open: Sx.Sy moved to 23rd Feb (was 24th Nov)
- U140: E.Sy moved to 2nd Mar (was 3rd Nov)
- U160: Sy.K moved to 9th Mar (was 24th Nov)
U120: Sy.E moved to 9th Mar (was 24th Nov) - U120: Sy.H moved to 9th Feb (was 2nd Feb)
U100: E.Sy moved to 3rd Nov (was 26th Jan)
U100: Sy.E moved to 16th Feb (was 3rd Nov) - U120: H.K moved to 23rd Mar (was 24th Nov)
- Open: Sx.Sy moved to 2nd Mar (was 23rd Frb)
The official list of fixtures (from which the summary is taken) is given by the link: SCCU Fixture List
Please, contact County Match Controller (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to request changes to fixture dates or report errors.
Stop Press (30th Sept): All the proposed rule changes were adopted, and will apply from 1st September 2019.
| Date | Event | Open | U180 | U160 | U140 | U120 | U100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep '18 | 1 | |||||||
| 8 | ||||||||
| 15 | ||||||||
| 22 | ||||||||
| 29 | K.Syb | |||||||
| Oct '18 | 6 | M.E (K.Sy) | Sy.E M.K | (H.M) K.E | ||||
| 13 | ECF AGM | H.Mf | ||||||
| 20 | Sy.E | M.E Sy.K | ||||||
| 27 | Surreyc | (Sy.M) E.Sx | (M.Sy) K.E | E.H (M.Sy) | ||||
| Nov '18 | 3 | M.Sy | (E.Sy) H.M | (Sy.E) E.Syj | ||||
| 10 | 4NCL 1a | |||||||
| 17 | 4NCL 1b | |||||||
| 24 | (Sx.Sy) M.K | (Sy.K) E.M | (Sy.E) (H.K) | |||||
| Dec '18 | 1 | E.M | Sy.H K.E | |||||
| 8 | Sy.Me | M.Syd | M.Syd | |||||
| 15 | Classic | |||||||
| 22 | ||||||||
| 29 | Hastings | |||||||
| Jan '18 | 5 | Hastings | ||||||
| 12 | 4NCL 2 | |||||||
| 19 | K.Sx Sy.E | E.Sy K.M | K.Sy E.M | |||||
| 26 | E.Sy | H.K M.Sy | (E.Sy) | |||||
| Feb '19 | 2 | (E.K) Sx.M | Sy.M E.K | M.K (Sy.H) | ||||
| 9 | 4NCL 3 | Sy.Hj | ||||||
| 16 | E.Ka | Sy.M | K.M E.H | Sy.Ej | ||||
| 23 | (Sx.Syg) | K.Sy | ||||||
| Mar '19 | 2 | Sx.Syl | M.E | E.Syh | ||||
| 9 | M.E Sy.Ki | Sy.Ei | ||||||
| 16 | 4NCL 4a | |||||||
| 23 | H.Kk | |||||||
| 30 |
SCCU County Championship 2019: Entry Deadline Extended
Posted: 15 August 2018
In preparing SCCU county match fixtures for next season it has become apparent that some counties who have entered teams in previous years are experiencing difficulties in finding volunteers to take over from those captains that have retired or are temporarily unavailable.
Although today is supposed to be the last day on which the County Match Controller can accept entries I will extend the deadline by one week to Wednesday 22nd August so that the initial fixtures can be published on the SCCU website the next day (Thursday 23rd).
As in previous years, Open and U180 fixtures will not occur on the same date and clashes with the 4NCL, London Chess Classic and Hastings International congress will be avoided, where dates are known.
Provisionally, I propose to make use of the following dates:
Open, U160, U120:- 6th Oct, 27th Oct, 24th Nov, 19th Jan, 2nd Feb, 23rd Feb
U180, U140, U100:- 20th Oct, 3rd Nov, 1st Dec, 26th Jan, 16th Feb, 2nd Mar
SCCU County Championship 2019
Updated: 21 August 2018
Counties are invited to submit their entry to next season's County Championship. Please submit details of all teams to the County Match Controller, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Wednesday 22nd August (deadline extended by one week).
It is intended that the fixtures will be finalised by 31st August.
| County | Open | U180 | U160 | U140 | U120 | U100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckinghamshire | ||||||
| Essex | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hertfordshire | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Kent | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Middlesex | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Surrey | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sussex | ✓ |
Rules Relating to Entry into SCCU Competitions
Posted: 9 August 2018
Acting on the resolution agreed by Council at the AGM held on 1st July 2018, the Executive Committee has adopted the following documents: