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The club meets every Wednesday in the back room of the Coronation Club on Bannermann Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield from around 19:30. Anyone interested in joining the club should contact the Club Secretary or simply turn up at the club. You can play casual games in a friendly atmosphere or join one of our teams in the Nottinghamshire League. Members who play in league matches are required to be (at least) Bronze members of the English Chess Federation |
| The club was formed in 1965 and is still going strong, we are members of the Nottinghamshire Chess Association and currently have four teams playing in the NCA League. We also hold other events such as Club Championship and rapid-play tournaments. Directions can be found on the Find Us page. We have excellent seating and tables and enjoy the full benefits of the facilities at the Venue. | |
| Upcoming Fixtures & Events. View All Fixtures. | |
| Wed 11/06/25- Club Night | Mon 16/06/25- Radcliffe Rascals v Ashfield Allegro |
| Wed 18/06/25- Ashfield Avengers v Nomads | Wed 18/07/25- Ashfield Crazy Horses v White Knights |
| Wed 25/06/25- Club AGM | Wed 02/07/25- Club Night |
Latest Club News
| 06/06/25. Summer Rapidplay League 2025
Our next scheduled fixtures for the Notts Summer Rapidplay are as follows- Mon 16/06/25- Radcliffe Rascals v Ashfield Allegro (U1500) Wed 18/06/25- Ashfield Avengers v Nomads (U1800) Wed 18/06/25- Ashfield Crazy Horses v White Knights (U1500) |
| 05/06/25. Report by Phil Morgan
Ashfield Allegro hit the ground running against the visiting Gambit team. Confident performances from Nigel and Malcolm, who each won both games. Menaka made a welcome return to club action. He seemed rusty in the first game, but scored a smooth win in the second. Andy While shone for the visitors. Eight games played. No draws. Players are enjoying the two game Rapid Play format of this new competition. View Scorecard :- Ashfield Allegro 5 - 3 C.A.L.M. |
| 04/06/25. Report by Phil Morgan
A very tight and hard-fought encounter between two closely matched teams. The first round of games were tied. Dan and Neil held their games as Black. Jerry put us ahead, but Phil, a piece down for 2 pawns, was unable to create any drawing chances. With colours reversed, Neil put us ahead with a dominant White win. Dan scored his second draw. Jerry, short on time, lost a very-double edged game. With the match all square, Phil was again under positional and time pressure. His opponent dropped his guard. Out of the blue, Phil sprung a powerful mating threat. Nikolai had to give up his Queen, leaving Phil with sufficient time to mop up the team win. View Scorecard :- Dark Horses 3½-4½ Ashfield Avengers |
| 04/06/25. Nottinghamshire County Championship
This is a reminder about the Nottinghamshire County Championship taking place this summer. Entries are warmly invited to an event that, this year, is taking place on two separate Sundays - 15th June and 20th July. Deadline for entries is Friday 13th June, so you still have time! Link to the page on the NCA website |
| 03/06/25. Summer Rapidplay League Kicks Off
Ashfield Crazy Horses, a newly formed team primarily composed of players from Ashfield 4, traveled to Radcliffe & Bingham chess club last night to compete against Radcliffe Rascals. Teams made up of four players played two games against their opponent with alternating colours, and a Time Limit for each game of 25 minutes with a 10 second increment. Unfortunately, despite wins for John, Andrew & Ben, the match ended with a draw. View Scorecard :- Radcliffe Rascals 4 - 4 Ashfield Crazy Horses |
| 31/05/25. Summer Rapidplay League 2025
Ashfield Chess Club has three scheduled fixtures to kick off the Notts Summer Rapidplay this week. - Mon 02/06/25- Radcliffe Rascals v Ashfield Crazy Horses (U1500) Tue 03/06/25- Dark Horses v Ashfield Avengers (U1800) Wed 04/06/25- Ashfield Allegro v C.A.L.M. (U1500) Captains can familiarise themselves with the rules Here! |
| 28/05/25. News Post. Stewart Swift.
Several former club members have had wider creative talents. David Levens had published a number of books on chess and in the field of children's literature. Alan Robinson has written and produced many songs and CD's and published literary works. Stewart Swift, who played for the club over two decades ago, has just published his first book, a volume of poetry, “The Unfolding Of The Sky”. Stewart is an enthusiastic attender of poetry groups in Sutton and Mansfield. His book is available for £10, published by Ric Dawson, another club alumnus. Copies can be ordered through Phil. |
| 27/05/25. Club Annual General Meeting 2025
This year's Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 25th June at the Coronation Club. |
| 09/05/25. 4NCL Weekend 5: Rounds 9-11 Report added
A report by Neil Graham has been added to the 4NCL Fixtures webpage pertaining to Weekend 5: Division 4, played 3rd-5th May 2025. View Report & Results. |
| 08/05/25. 48th Nottingham Congress
The 48th Nottingham Congress will take place Saturday 10th - Sunday 11th May, a 5-Round standard play Congress - ECF rated Open, Major, Intermediate, Minor, Improvers. The deadline for online entries is May 9th, Please note that the late entry fee of £5 applies. Currently, a small contingent of 5 players from Ashfield Chess club will be competing. Online entry :- Here! |
| 24/04/25. Report by Phil Morgan
A tense final game of the season for Ashfield 4, who started the match in the knowledge that a team draw would be enough to secure a promotion spot. There was no margin for error, with four hard fought and decisive games, which all went in favour of the player with White pieces. John and Alan were able to keep up the pressure on their opponents to induce the break though, make material gains and calmly convert their advantages. Bob and Andrew had to give best to two of the visitors' rapidly improving youngsters. The team goal was achieved. Ashfield 4 finished as divisional runners-up, ahead of Ashfield 3 by the narrowest margin. A notable achievement for Alan and his team. This was their second successive promotion, which makes it highly likely that they will be locking horns with Ashfield 2 next season. (Andy Flint and Malcolm from the third team were present to cheer on tonight's gallant visitors.) View Scorecard :- Ashfield '4' 2 - 2 West Nottingham '3' |
| 24/04/25. 4NCL Online Round 7 Updated
Neil Graham has provided a comprehensive overview of our recent Round 7 Online 4NCL fixtures. View Update. |
| 17/04/25. Report by Phil Morgan
We knew we had to win this game to have any chance of staying up. Normally as Black, I'm happy to secure a draw, but in this game, because of the League situation and the passive play of my opponent, a must-win attitude caused me to lose my sense of reality. The games looked comfortable for us. Neil had a dominant attack. Bob was a piece up for a while Jerry's game looked drawish. Grantham resisted well, and turned the tables on Neil's board. We found ourselves behind. The feeling that I had to win my game intensified. I felt that my position should be winning. This was a mis-evaluation. I had an edge, which was a long way from winning. I used up a lot of time trying to break through. My opponent offered a drew. I felt I had to play on, stupidly did so and lost on time. Focussing so much on my game, I thought I had heard Jerry behind me agree a draw. After my loss, I found out that Jerry had won his game, as Bob did soon after. I hate chess. Congratulations to Grantham for their battling draw, which keeps alive their hopes of staying up. View Scorecard :- Ashfield '2' 2 - 2 Grantham '2' |
| 15/04/25. 4NCL Weekend 4: Rounds 7-8 Report added
A report by Neil Graham has been added to the 4NCL Fixtures webpage pertaining to the Weekend 4: Division 4, played 12th-13th April 2025. View Report & Results. |
| 15/04/25. 4NCL Online Round 7
Round 7 of the 11th Online 4ncl will take place from 7.30pm tonight, anyone interested in following the action/results please visit 11th 4NCL Online Results & Pairings Scheduled Fixtures are as follows- Division 1- Ashfield Anonymous 'A' 2 - 2 Spirit of Atticus Division 2- Ashfield Anonymous 'B' 3 - 1 Trelawny's Army Division 2- Ashfield Anonymous 'C' 1½-2½ Salopians & Friends '2' |
| 11/04/25. 1st Huddersfield Congress - Minor- Ashfield Prizewinner!
Rob Jarvis played in the recent 1st Huddersfield Congress, April 5th-6th, and finished the event on top, playing in the Minor with an impressive score of 4pts out of 5. Minor-Final Ranking crosstable |
| 10/04/25. Match Report by Phil Morgan
Our first team signed off the season in good style with a thumping victory. Wins for John, Dan and Oliver while captain, Steve completed the notable feat of drawing all his games this season. We move back into first place, but it remains unclear if this will be enough to clinch promotion. We could yet be overtaken by the teams in second and third places. We face a nervous wait. The team has played very well in the second half of the season, after an indifferent start. View Scorecard :- Grantham '2' ½-3½ Ashfield '1' |
| 08/04/25. 4NCL Weekend 4: Rounds 7-8 Report added
A report by Mike Naylor-Eade has been added to the 4NCL Fixtures webpage pertaining to the Weekend 4: Division 3 Bishops, played on the 5th-6th April. View Report & Results. |
| 04/04/25. 4NCL Online Round 6 Updated
Neil Graham has provided a comprehensive overview of our recent Round 6 Online 4NCL fixtures. View Update. |
| 03/04/25. Match Report by Phil Morgan
Ashfield 3 in third place in the division faced a tough challenge from Grantham 3, placed fourth, whose own promotion hopes were still alive. As expected each game was hard-fought and tense. Grantham applied a lot of pressure on the top two boards from the start. Our team though found the first wins. Rob confidently scored the first and the second followed as Malcolm's opponent's position suddenly collapsed. Grantham's team held firm and continued to apply nagging pressure on the top boards. Nigel could never quite equalise from his opening disadvantage and succumbed to defeat. It came down to Andy's game. His opponent's two rooks found their way to the seventh rank. Very short on time, Andy was unable to find the correct defence. Grantham equalised, and the match was drawn. We consulted our abacus. Ashfield 3 having completed their games now stand in second position. Only one team can now deny them promotion. This is Ashfield 4. A draw in their final game will clinch the runners-up spot. Whatever the outcome, our two teams in Division 4 have had fine seasons. Phil View Scorecard :- Ashfield '3' 2 - 2 Grantham '3' |
| 02/04/25. Ashfield '1' Promotion Hopes Suffer a Setback
Automatic promotion hopes suffered a setback last night, held to a 2 - 2 draw with just one fixture remaining, both Radcliffe & Bingham '1' and Beeston '1' are currently 2 points behind but with a game in hand. It seems quite likely that the three teams could all finish on 19 points, and that board points difference, presently very close, could decide which teams will be promoted. View Scorecard :- Beeston '1' 2 - 2 Ashfield '1' * Finally – Alex Combie beat GM Keith Arkell in last night’s 4NCL On-Line match only to find that the game was voided as they had played at the wrong time limit (45+5 instead of 45+15). (*Update from Neil Graham) |
| 01/04/25. 4NCL Online Round 6
Round 6 of the 11th Online 4ncl will take place from 7.30pm tonight, anyone interested in following the action/results please visit 11th 4NCL Online Results & Pairings Scheduled Fixtures are as follows- Division 1- Salopians & Friends '1' 2 - 1 Ashfield Anonymous 'A' Board 1 result voided for using wrong time control. Division 2- Guildford '1' 3 - 1 Ashfield Anonymous 'B' Division 2- Wessex 'C' 1½-2½ Ashfield Anonymous 'C' |
| 27/03/25. Match Report by Phil Morgan
Ashfield 1 scored an important win which takes the team to the top of Division 2, for the first time this season, with two matches left to play. Dan was able to turn round an unpromising position out of the opening. The exchanges of the heavy pieces helped him. He was able to secure and quickly convert into a winning minor piece endgame with two dominant knights. John on Board 4 outplayed his opponent in the middle game and showed good control and technique to convert his advantage. The visitors hit back on Board 3. Neil misplayed the opening, lost a pawn and was given no chance to get back into the contest. The outcome always looked likely to come down to the top board. This seemed in hand when Steve went a piece up, but his opponent had a lot of compensation and built up a stong attack. Frank regained his piece, and it became a desperately hard fought battle. Steve just about clung on by his fingernails to draw his game and clinch the match win. View Scorecard :- Ashfield 1 2½-1½ West Bridgford 2 Up-date. Ashfield 2's win on Monday has been amended to 4-0. Nomads were penalised for playing an ineligible player. This improves the team's Points Difference score in our tight relegation battle. . |
| 27/03/25. Match Report by Phil Morgan
Ashfield Rapids, including debutant players on the top two boards, recorded their first victory in a very convincing manner. Top board Ben had a win and a loss. Adam on Board 2 and Ruthvik each scored two dominant wins. Ciaran and Cristina each had a win followed by a loss and Andrei had a draw followed by a win. Each player contibuted towards the 8.5-3.5 win. The 6 game League started with a 10-0 loss in November. This result shows the progress and learning of players in the team over this period. The Minor League has given several players their first opportunity to play team chess, with clocks and time controls. Hopefully they have enjoyed this, and will continue to play and enjoy chess. View Scorecard :- Ashfield Rapids 8½-3½ West Bridgford Bishops |
| 25/03/25. Match Reports by Phil Morgan
A very good night against Nomads for our teams at the Embankment Pub, Nottingham. Neil kept faith with the team who had lost a few nights ago, and the players grasped at the chance of redemption. Phil, after missing a quicker win, converted a winning ending. Neil neutralised a dangerous attack and secured a draw. The remaining two games went to the wire. Bob was pressing from the opening against stout defence from Maurice. The game became double-edged. As the clocks ran down. Bob missed a mate in two, shortly before Maurice lost on time. Bob clinched the match win with 38 seconds left on his own clock. The top board position had looked very blocked with little piece activity. As this moved into a Quick-Play finish, Jerry blundered an exchange, but activated his pieces and went on to outplay Dave. This gave us our second win of the season. This was heartening against a team fielding two regular first team players. One game left, relegation still seems likely, but our coffin has yet to be nailed down. Our captain echoes Jon Laurie, ' We're doomed.' Bob goes with U.S. baseball legend, Yogi Berra, 'It ain't over till it's over. View Scorecard :- Nomads '2' 0 - 4 Ashfield '2' (Result amended to 0-4) A convincing team win. Rob scored an early win to put us on the front foot. Malcolm quickly added to this. Nigel offered a draw to seal the match win. Trevor added another victory to round things off. For now, Ashfield 4 and Ashfield 3 sit at the top of Division 4 with 1 game each to play. West Bridgford 3, two points behind with a game in hand, offer the main threat to a double team promotion. View Scorecard :- Nomads '3' ½-3½ Ashfield '3' |
| 22/03/25. Match Reports by Phil Morgan
Ship's log - Our craft has well and truly hit the rocks. Phil's wretched run of results continues. Other members of the crew are now showing signs of catching his condition. Only Captain Neil seems unaffected. The end to this season's voyage can't come quick enough. To cope with the losses, Phil has retreated into a delirious state of alliteration. View Scorecard :- Ashfield '2' ½-3½ West Bridgford '2' Our team cruised to a 4-0 victory and reclaimed top spot in the division. Journeys back from Grantham can seem a long way after defeats. These seem much more enjoyable after rare, comprehensive team wins like this, against higher-rated opponents. With one game remaining, there's now a good chance that Ashfield 2 and Ashfield 4 will be fishing in the same waters next season. View Scorecard :- Grantham '3' 0 - 4 Ashfield '4' |
| 20/03/25. 4NCL Online Round 5 Updated
Neil Graham has provided a comprehensive summary of our most recent Round 5 Online 4NCL fixtures. View Update. |
| 20/03/25. A Tale of Two Teams (Edited)
Last night's fixtures ended with mixed fortunes, Ashfield '2' playing host to West Bridgford lost any hope of avoiding relegation with just two games left, four points behind our closest rivals and a vastly inferior board average i can confirm that Ashfield '2' are relegated. Neil playing on board 2 ended his game with a draw and prevented a whitewash. View Scorecard :- Ashfield '2' ½-3½ West Bridgford '2' Meanwhile, Ashfield '4' made the long trip to Grantham, anticipating a very tough match against a team that had beaten our third team 4-0 in November. Outgraded on almost every board the match didn't go as we expected, Andrew playing on board 2 was first to finish, managing to escape what looked like a commanding attack he turned to offence and steered the game to victory. John playing board one with a pretty equal position spotted a tactic to win a bishop. Several moves later his opponent resigned, within minutes Alan playing on board 4 with one of his best performances of the year ended his game with a win and to top off what was already an amazing match Joe a piece up finished his game with a win. Ashfield '4' are now top with just one fixture remaining. View Scorecard :- Grantham '3' 0 - 4 Ashfield '4' |
| 18/03/25. 4NCL Online Round 5
Round 5 of the 11th Online 4ncl will take place from 7.30pm tonight, anyone interested in following the action/results please visit 11th 4NCL Online Results & Pairings Scheduled Fixtures are as follows- Division 1- Ashfield Anonymous 'A' 1½-2½ Hebden Bridge '1' Division 2- Ashfield Anonymous 'B' ½-3½ Wells Hartbreakers '1' Division 2- Ashfield Anonymous 'C' 2 - 2 Hebden Bridge '2' |
| 13/03/25. West Nottingham 1 put dent in Ashfield 1 promotion hopes
A night to forget, as Ashfield 1 fielding a slightly weaker side ended the night with draws for Steve and Neil. With just 3 fixtures remaining we're still in the fight for promotion however after last nights defeat we need other results to go our way. View Scorecard :- Ashfield '1' 1 - 3 West Nottingham '1' |
| 13/03/25. Minor League-Ashfield Rapids
Ashfield Rapids played their penultimate match in the Minor League last night, Radcliffe Rockets ran out reasonably comfortable winners, but it was by no means a walkover and Ashfield Rapids fought hard despite some large rating differences. We ended the match with 3 excellent wins thanks to Andrew, Ciaran and Ruthvik. View Scorecard :- Ashfield Rapids 3 - 7 Radcliffe Rockets |
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