Thursday 17 October 2019



Tuesday the 15th of October I had contacted Heathcote 2 players to confirm the boards to be played. I knew Syston was a club with many strong players so I checked the strength of the Syston 5 team's previous line up. They had put out a very strong team with gradings exceeding those of Heathcote 2 . I was however, hoping to see our old friends Nando Morelli and Rob Mundy who we have always met in previous years.

However, Syston 5 put out nearly the same team that they put out against Ashby 5 on October 1st. My first thoughts were that on paper we will struggle against such strength. As the evening progressed the results came in, Board 1 Drew Harbidge 94 against Tony Robinson 119 a draw. Shortly afterwards Ray Beach 76 against Robert Stone 102 a draw. I had my head down concentrating on giving Mick Adams the best game I could summon up. My grade of 41 against Mick's of 81 with Mick eventually winning. The last game to finish was Richard Maconnachie 93 against Stuart Hollingworth 105 a win for Richard. Needless to say I was more than pleased with the result of a draw.

Wednesday 16 October 2019

Well played team last night v Syston

Tuesday 15 October 2019





Our next game against Ashby 5 at home, Neil Roberts asked me if we could play 5 boards. This is not an unusual request however, with having a maximum of eight players and one of those classed as an 'A' player I sometimes struggle to make up four boards due to players having other commitments. On this occasion everyone rallied round and I was able to accommodate Neil's request.

08      Oct            Heathcote Arms 2      v         Ashby 5

1         B   129       John Manger               ½   -   ½  Mick Brown    100

2        W     94       Drew Harbidge            1   -    0   Paul Warwick   80

3         B     93       Richard Maconnachie  0  -    1   Neil Roberts     79

4         W    67       Bill Roberts                  0  -    1   Neil Lassetter   77

5         B     41       Gordon Milner              1   -   0  David Holmes   60


Monday 14 October 2019


The venue of Blaby District Chess Club at the Heathcote Arms has now been refurbished to a very high standard, one of the best chess venues in the Leicester area.

The skittle alley has new windows and doors, there is new flooring as well as improvements to the seating areas. For those of you who remember freezing on a cold winters evening there are new radiators installed so that we can play chess in comfort.

We look forward to seeing you all during the season.

26 Sept 2019 Market Harborough 3 v Heathcote 2

1  B   95  Robert King                        0 - 1  John Manger                  129

2  W  65  Robert Gibbison                  1 - 0  Richard Maconnachie     93

3  B  60  Rene Butler                          0 - 1  Ray Beach                       76

4  W 60  Shay Kennedy                      0 - 1  Bill Roberts                     67

                                                            1 - 3