4th SCCU/London Club Championships

[David Gilbert]

Here we go again! The 4th SCCU/London Club Championships take place on Saturday, 21 June 2025 at St Luke's Church, Kidderpore Avenue, London NW3 7SU. Details and the entry form can be found on the Southern Counties Chess Union website. https://www.sccu-chess.com/index.php/en ... lub-champs

Previous Winners

Average 2100
2004 Richmond & Twickenham
2023 Richmond & Twickenham
2019 Muswell Hill

Average 1850
2024 Wanstead & Woodford (Dynamos)
2023 Wanstead & Woodford (Dynamos)
2019 Hatch End

Average 1600
2024 Epsom
2023 Wanstead & Woodford (All Stars)
2019 DHSS 2

There's room for 38 teams of four players (+ one reserve if you wish) playing in three sections with average rating bands of 2100, 1850 and 1600. We'll use the April original (blue) A or K rapidplay ratings first, then standard play second, Players must have played at least two rated games for their Club in the 2024/5 season to qualify. The time control is a generous 25 minutes + 5 seconds increment. Don't delay too long, last year the event was full before the end of April with eleven teams on the waiting list eventually having to be turned away.

[David Gilbert]

Blimey! Talk about 'hot cakes'. The entry is now full, bar one place in the Major (Average 2100) and subject to our local Bank Manager confirming payments received. The last seven places were snapped up in the last 48 hours and we're still more than two months away from the first moves. The entry list goes like this:

Major: (7)
Barnet Juniors 1
Beckenham & Bromley 1
British Bangla 1
Epsom 1
Kingston (addendum)
Pimlico
Richmond & Twickenham 1
Streatham & Brixton 1

Inter: (14)
Beckenham & Bromley 2
British Bangla 2
Crowborough 1
DHSS 1
*Epsom 2
Greater London 1
Hatch End
HMRC Croydon
London Deaf
Medway
Richmond & Twickenham 2
Streatham & Brixton 2
Wanstead & Woodford1
Wanstead & Woodford2

Minor: (17)
Barnet Juniors 2
Barnet Juniors 3
British Bangla 3
Crowborough 2
DHSS 2
Epsom 3
Greater London 2
Hall School
London Women
Medway Juniors
She Plays to Win
Southend 1
Southend 2
Streatham & Brixton 3
Treasury
Wanstead & Woodford 3
Wanstead & Woodford 4

[David Gilbert]

And finally (perhaps) Kingston Chess Club has entered the fray in the Major. We’ve called for a table audit. Counters are being dispatched to St Luke’s to do what they do best - count. If the slide rules and logarithms match=up we’ll take one more entry into the Minor (average 1600) group to even out the odds. To be decided ……

[David Gilbert]

From our SCCU Correspondent

It's all over for another year. The 4th SCCU/London Club Championships took place on Saturday, 21 June 2025. 39 Teams from London and the Southern Counties had entered and we had had a full-house since mid-April. It had to be, for the 4th successive time we had chosen the hottest day of the year (so far). It was Factor-50 weather - unfortunately that inspired a full show of masculine legs of various shapes and sizes. During the interval before round four we were entertained by a police arrest of a local resident. He was marched-off in cuffs by the bobbies who looked to have recovered a shopping bag of mobile-phones! From our perspective he should have been instantly defaulted!

Over at the chess. Richmond and Twickenham had won the Major (Avg 2100) for the last two years, but this time they were toppled in the sixth round by Kingston who won the deciding duel 2½-1½. Kingston's Vladimir Li picked up the Silver Pieces award for scoring a remarkable 6/6.

In the Intermediate (Avg 1850) Hatch End, who had won the section back in the pre-Covid 2019 year, returned to take it again, scoring five wins and a draw. On their victorious run they took to beating runners-up Greater London 2½-1½ in the fourth round. Four Hatch End players had amazing individual scores of 5/6.

Meanwhile in the Minor (Avg 1600) there was no stopping the all conquering Streatham & Brixton 3. They won all six of their matches scoring 18/24 in games. Austin Sopocko and Tom Mayers both scored 5½/6. HM Treasury finished runners-up. Sadly it was a Chancellor no show. Perhaps next year?

I’m David Gilbert, and from all of us at SCCU/London News, it's good night.

[Brendan O'Gorman]

Photos: https://brendanogorman.smugmug.com/Ches ... dplay-2025

[IM Jack Rudd]

Sounds like a fun day. Maybe WECU should do one of these.