Winter League Registration and October Blitz

In a radical change of plan, we’ve decided to hold our October blitz in October 😉 It will therefore take place this Thursday: Thursday 25 October, at the Bridge Centre, St Mary’s Road. 7.45 p.m. start. As usual, late-comers can take half-point byes for rounds they miss (up to two).

For those who haven’t been before, it consists of games in which each player has ten minutes to make all their moves. The tournament normally finishes about 11. All standard of players are welcome. If you have any queries (about the event itself, or directions on how to get to it), please respond to this email.

The following week, Thursday 1 November, is the first round of the Winter League, which is what we call our club championship. Please note that there are a couple of minor (but important) changes from the practice in the past. One is that we have responded to requests to make the scheduled starting time earlier: it is now 7.30. However, if you and your opponent find that time inconvenient, we will allow you to vary it, to any time between 7 and 8, by mutual agreement. But if you arrive after 7.30, please be quiet, as games will have already started.

As before, players can also decide to play on different dates from those scheduled, at their convenience – up to 7 days after the scheduled date. However, we have added a new rule that such arrangements must be made at least 48 hours before the game is due to be played.

Another change is that entries this year should be in at least a week before the scheduled date for the first round – that is, they should be in by 25 October. This is to allow the Controller to do the draw for the first round in advance, precisely so that players have time to inform their first round opponents if they will not be able to make the scheduled time. To encourage this, and signify its importance, the entry fee for entries received before midnight on 25 October will be €15; for those received after that, it will be €25. So get your entries in early! Entries should be sent to the Tournament Controller, Paul Ward, at:

You can also enter at the club on October blitz night. You do not need to pay by Thursday 25th, only enter. Payment will be taken in round 1, or when mutually convenient. Late entries will still be accepted, even after the tournament has started; but if a draw for a round has been made, it won’t be redone to accommodate a late entry.

Finally, everyone’s email address and contact phone number will be circulated to all entrants, so that they can contact their opponent should it be necessary. If you do not want your contact details so circulated, please inform the Controller when entering. If you change your email address or phone number during the tournament, please tell the Controller when you do so.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.