Puller Cup
Sat 19th Oct 2024
Report by Roger Lancaster (Watford Chess Club)
Clubs from across Hertfordshire met up to fight for Hertfordshire Chess Association’s oldest trophy, the Old Puller Cup. This year the competition (teams of four, playing five rapid-play games) took place at ASDA in north Watford, with the event divided into two sections: an open-to all section, which attracted some of the county’s top players; and a separate under-1750 competition.
Watford (13.5 points) emerged as winners of the top section, ahead of St Albans (10) and Hertford (6.5). While rival teams were all-adult, Watford owed much to the three juniors in its squad including 15-year old Avy Dasgupta who won all his five games.
The “stars barred” event attracted five teams – Enfield, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Watford and Watford Juniors. Hemel Hempstead (15.5 points) won convincingly with St Albans scoring 10.5, Watford (10), Enfield (8) and Watford Juniors (6). The last-mentioned, although facing much higher-rated opposition, were not overawed and caused several upsets – including a win by the youngest player present, 6-year old Harry Chan, against a 1700-rated opponent.
Puller Cup – a history
A further report on this year’s competition together with information about the history of the Puller Cup can be found on Andrew Smith’s Blog here:
https://www.chess.com/blog/ThePawnSlayer/the-return-of-the-puller-cup
Counties Championship
Sat 6th July 2024
The Final: Hertfordshire v Greater Manchester
Rooms H0.02 and H0.03 Ground Floor of Humanities Building at the junction of Library Road and London Road on the University of Warwick, Coventry Campus, CV4 7AL
1.30pm start. Time control 135m+15s.
This is a 16 board match and Hert’s captain is Matt Ball.
EACU AGM – Sunday 30th June 2024
Millennium Room, Whittlesford Memorial Hall, Duxford Road/Mill Lane, Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 4NE (close to Junction 10 of the M11), starting at 10.00 a.m.
The EACU (East Anglian Chess Union) runs county championships each season. For several years Herts have entered a team in the U1850 section.
HCA AGM – Friday 19th July 2024
Details to follow
Herts beat Kent 11 – 5 in U1850
Herts have now qualified for the ECF Counties Championship Semi-Final on June 8th when we will be playing Yorkshire away. Our match result is here. 10/05/24
HCA Evening – 7.45pm Friday 10th May
Allen Room, Allenburys Sports and Social Club
Harris’s Lane, Ware, Herts, SG12 0DJ
An opportunity open to all Herts chess players to discuss the future of the HCA, the ECF League Management System, HCA competitions and anything relevant to chess in the county.
EACU – Herts CA U1850 Team
On March 3rd our 16 board team, captained by Matt Ball, first defeated Cambridge CCA 10 – 6 then went on to beat Norfolk CCA 10.5 – 5.5. These results, our best of the season, put us through to the ECF County Championships Final Stages 2024. In the Quarter Finals we play Kent on Saturday 11th May starting 12:30pm.
Venue: Our Lady of Crays, Blundell Close, St Mary Cray, Orpington BR5 4FA, Kent.
The final EACU league table is here:
U1850 County Championship Table
Our top scorers this season are:
Paul Walton: 5 points – Paul wins the Tom Wright trophy.
Matt Ball: 4.5 points
Roger Gordonsmith 4 points
Andrew Roderick 4 points
Andrew Maclaren 4 points
Louis Cowell 4 points
HCA Executive Meeting –
Fri 26th Sep 2023 from 19:30
Allen Room, Allenburys Sports and Social Club
Harris’s Lane, Ware, Herts, SG12 0DJ
Agenda
| 1. | Apologies for Absence |
| 2. | Minutes of previous meeting |
| 3. | Matters arising |
| 4. | Officers Reports |
| 5. | 2023 – 24 HCA Competitions |
| 6. | Rules changes |
| 7. | Any Other Business |
Alan Brewis
Secretary
Hertfordshire Chess Association