An internal poll sees the club opting for an internal club championship over the team summer cups…

The Season

With one game to go for any Anstey Chess Club, tonight will be the official end of the 2023-24 league season for four Anstey teams. As expected, each team had to face challenging opposition and tough venues but no surprise there – our competitors rose to the challenge and went toe-to-toe with the strong opponents they had to face.

Anstey 1 had their debut in Division 1 this season with a slightly underwhelming in terms of rating squad for the elite in Leicestershire. Nevertheless, great performances from Julian, Matt, Boris, Mick and Ben saw our top team clinching the sixth place in the first half of the season, standing just above the relegation zone. Some amazing wins against Thurnby and Loughborough 1 in the beginning of the calendar year meant that our team had practical chances to stay in the top division in the county if they manage to hold off the strong Braunstone 1 and Market Harborough 1 teams. With the end of the season in sight, our top team was joined by an outstanding player in Sooraj who scored a couple of crucial wins to help Anstey 1 not only stay in the league but also finish in fifth place among the eight strongest teams in Leicestershire. It has been a surreal experience for our top team who were competing (with pretty much the same players) two divisions below only two years ago.

Anstey 2 competed in Division 3 where they looked to be one of the strongest teams on the field. However, a few hiccups in games where our team on paper had a slight edge meant that it was not going to be dream championship season for the second team and with one game to go (against the already crowned division champions Market Harborough 2) they sit in fifth position which is still a decent performance among some strong teams.

Anstey 3 also had a decent season in Division 4, finishing sixth out of eight teams. Consistently outrated on most boards on the evening, our third team players did not shy away from playing for the win and frequently gave their opponents difficult problems to solve. The team can also take pride in the two wins against Latimer, a team that has been considered a “boggey team” for Anstey for a long time.

Arguably the hardest task was in front of Anstey 4 in Division 5 where our youngest players (probably fair to call it Anstey Juniors) had to frequently compete against significantly higher opposition in the 1400s and 1500s (sometimes even 1700s). After many bouts closer than the results suggested, our fourth team was unlucky to finish seventh and on the other hand provided many opportunities for many players to compete and even get their debuts in competitive chess.

After a long and gruelling season, our club would like to thank all of our competitors for their commitment and we hope that everyone had an overall positive experience.

The Summer

For our longstanding members and supporters the summer is generally an opportunity for some faster time controls and different competition formats with the variety of summer cups organised by the LRCA. This year, however, El Presidente provided our patrons with the democratic opportunity to decide on the direction the club will take in the upcoming months. In a surprising turn of events, the Anstey Chess Club community settled upon missing out on the LRCA competitions and organising our own Club Championship where both regular competitors and casual players will have the opportunity to try and win the Anstey Chess Club Trophy.

In addition, our spacious venue will host again the Challengers and the Minor divisions in the Individual County Championships, which would be a relief for the 27 competitors in the U1550 race who would be looking avoid tight spaces in the presumably hot sunny weather.

Finally, the Monthly Knockabout will return and the club will host a few other events for fun (as in having fun playing chess, not Mud Race or watching the Euro 2024), starting with the Junior Club Championship in two days’ time. More information on those to follow this week unless our Website Maintenance Guy, The Toaster, decides to abandon his duties again.

Does all of this sound exciting, invigorating and makes you jump from your chair with an enthusiastic shout? Don’t think twice and pop over to the Anstey Methodist Church every Thursday from 7.30pm. All abilities welcome!