Archive
| 2010–11 | Fixtures | Results | Tables | Adjudications |
| 2009–10 | Fixtures | Results | Tables | Adjudications |
| 2008–09 | Fixtures | Results | Tables | Adjudications |
| 2007–08 | Fixtures | Results | Tables | Adjudications |
15 April 2011
Congratulations to Home Office & Justice, wno beat Metropolitan Police 5–3 in the final of the Bonar Law Trophy last night. It was an exciting match, with fluctuating fortunes on a number of boards.
13 April 2011
Congratulations to UNATS 2, who won the Post Annual Cup last night by defeating DHSS 2 in the final.
9 April 2011
Home Office & Justice will be moving to a new venue, in Pimlico, at the end of April. It is about two minutes walk from Pimlico tube station. The venue is not a government building, so the current security restrictions will no longer apply. More details to follow.
8 April 2011
News from another League. Last night Home Office & Justice beat Railways in the final of the John Lewis Cup (this is the premier cup competition for the London Commercial League). The final score was 5–1.
28 March 2011
Added a game from the London League match between Streatham and Richmond (J.Toon v M.Williams). Black plays the Scandinavian Defence – and ends up pining for the fjords. See Games.
25 March 2011
Congratulations to Revenue & Customs 3, who are promoted to Division 3.
24 March 2011
Unfortunately, PHSO have had to withdraw from the League. Their two outstanding matches count as wins on default for the opposing teams.
22 March 2011
Metropolitan Police won last night's relegation battle against Treasury by a big enough margin to ensure that they stay up in Division 1. Treasury are relegated to Division 2.
21 March 2011
Information Sheet 7 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
19 March 2011
Added the game J.Toon–M.Prizant (Surrey League, 2011) to the Games page. Another Sicilian.
10 March 2011
Congratulations to Home Office & Justice, who are League Champions with one match to spare.
27 February 2011
Congratulations also to Revenue & Customs 2, who are promoted to Division 2 with one match in hand.
24 February 2011
Congratulations to GLCC, who are promoted to Division 1 with three matches in hand.
18 February 2011
Information Sheet 6 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
12 February 2011
Added the game Pelling–Ashby to the Games page. This was not GLCC v Home Office & Justice in the Civil Service League; it was Mushrooms v Battersea in the London League. And it was about the 100th time they've played each other.
6 February 2011
I recently carried out a survey of league chess in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I was looking for information on the following:
• the starting time of matches
• how colours are decided
• the period of time before absent players are defaulted
• how games are concluded (e.g. quickplay, adjudication)
• what time controls are used.
I obtained details of 107 leagues, i.e. almost all of them (there are 4 leagues outstanding). The analysis is on the new League survey page. This also provides downloads of the information on individual leagues in various formats.
I think this is the first time information on these issues has been gathered together in this way. The results make for interesting reading…
5 February 2011
Added the game Carter–Klausch [C30] to the Games page. This is short and tactical.
4 February 2011
The last 100% record in all competitions disappeared last night as Home Office & Justice were held to a draw by UNATS. Both sides were slightly under strength. Elsewhere, Metropolitan Police took a valuable half point off DHSS. Treasury lost to Revenue & Customs so, with only three matches left, the relegation battle should go down to the wire. Treasury and Metropolitan Police face each other in their last league match of the season. The winner is likely to stay up and the loser to go down. No pressure…
28 January 2011
There was an exciting finish to Round 2 of the Team Blitz Grand Prix last night. Home Office & Justice and Metropolitan Police tied for 1st place with an equal number of match points and game points. Six teams took part (GLCC were a late entry) in a 10-round double all-play-all. The final scores were:
| Match Pts | Game Pts | |
| Home Office & Justice | 8.5 | 30 |
| Metropolitan Police | 8.5 | 30 |
| UNATS | 4.5 | 17 |
| GLCC | 3.5 | 16 |
| DHSS | 2.5 | 13 |
| Revenue & Customs | 2.5 | 13 |
Full details are on the Documents page.
26 January 2011
There are no more entries for the Team Blitz so it will be contested by just the five teams mentioned below. The format will be a double-round all-play-all, with two sets of five rounds and a half-time break. One team will sit out each round. Teams are asked to arrive by 6.45pm.
25 January 2011
The Team Blitz entries as of Tuesday morning are: DHSS, Home Office & Justice, Metropolitan Police, Revenue & Customs, UNATS. No 2nd teams.
22 January 2011
As of today, only three teams have entered the second round of the Team Blitz event on
Thursday 27 January: Home Office & Justice; Metropolitan Police; and Revenue & Customs. Tuesday 25 January is the deadline for any further entries.
21 January 2011
Information Sheet 5 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page. Among other things, please note that Richard Taylor is the new captain of UNATS 3. His email address is: richard.301@hotmail.co.uk.
16 January 2011
I have added another game to the website – R Johnson v MJ Baker from the recent Division 1 match between Treasury and Home Office & Justice. It was a very exciting game and shows why the Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most popular opening variations. See Games.
11 January 2011
Round 2 of the Team Blitz competition for the Barford Trophy will take place on Thursday 27 January from 6.45pm in the Westminster Room at the Civil Service Recreation Centre in Chadwick Street. We hope to see as many teams of four players as possible. It doesn't matter if you didn't compete in Round 1 – come along anyway for an enjoyable evening of blitz chess.
The League will provide eight digital clocks for use in the event. We hope that participating clubs will bring along some extra clocks so that all boards will have digital clocks on the night (I won't know how many are needed until the entries are received).
As before, I need to receive team entries two days in advance (i.e. by Tuesday 25 January). Captains should bring a team list with them on the night.
11 January 2011
Alex Bowhill has resigned as captain of UNATS 3. The acting captain is Martin Cowley – contact details on the UNATS club page.
7 January 2011
Ian Pheby has found some details of the number of clubs and teams in the first 30 years of the League's existence (i.e. the period 1905–1935). These are incomplete, but tell us more about the growth of the League in that period. It seems that the League expanded rapidly in the years after the First World War, before stabilising in the mid-1920s and remaining steady until the Second World War (after which it expanded again). The updated records are here.
24 December 2010
Here are some facts and figures on the season to date, now that we've reached the halfway point.
• 3 teams are on 100% – GLCC, GLCC 2, and Home Office & Justice.
• The most active player is Mike Rose (UNATS), with 9 games so far, followed by Gary Smith (also UNATS) with 8 games.
• 170 players have taken part in league activities. Although we're only halfway through, this is significantly down on the whole-season figure of 200 in recent years.
• The average grade of the participants is 135 (this includes some with estimated grades).
• The most successful player is Michael Keane (Home Office & Justice), with 100% from 5 games, followed by Alistair Compton (also Home Office & Justice) with 100% from 4 games.
• DHSS have used more players – 32 – than any other club.
• There have only been 4 adjudications, none of which have been declared frivolous (1 result is still outstanding).
18 December 2010
The following is in the Information Sheet, but deserves a special mention.
Options for future League activities
Further to discussions at the 2009 Annual General Meeting, the Executive Committee has considered various options for future League activities for which the opinions of Clubs and their members would be appreciated. These options are as follows.
1. Introduction of a Rapidplay League (likely to be held during summer months)
• It is envisaged that such a League would consist of teams of four players from the same Club not governed by the "barring" Rules of normal League play.
• Two matches to be played on the same night with 30 minutes allocated to each player for all of his moves in each game.
• Matches would be played at Club premises.
• Would Clubs/members wish to see a grading limit either on individual participation or total team grade?
• Would players want the games to be graded and hence obtain a Rapidplay grade? If so, an appropriate fee would need to be levied in order to pay for the ECF Game Fee for Rapidplay games.
2. Introduction of a Minor League (likely to be held alongside the current League programme)
• It is envisaged that such a League would consist of teams of three or four players from the same Club not governed by the "barring" Rules of normal League play.
• This League would be grading restricted e.g. all players less than ECF120.
• Games would be graded. ECF Game Fee at the appropriate rate would need to be levied.
3. Correspondence event – individual championship
Correspondence chess has been popular for many years. It provides an opportunity to play chess at a higher level than 'over the board' games and enables a better understanding of all phases of the game.
• Each player would play two games against each other, one with each colour over a period of approximately ten months. Format i.e. qualifying groups of six or less participants, or immediate final, would depend upon number of entries.
• Games would be played by post or email.
4. Correspondence event – team championship
• It is envisaged that teams would consist of four players from the same Club.
• Each player would play two games against each other, one with each colour against the same opponent, over a period of approximately ten months. Format i.e. qualifying groups or immediate final would depend upon number of entries.
• Games would be played by post or email.
5. Individual Tournaments
• These events would be run in up to three different sections depending upon the number and playing strength of entries.
• Rules for these tournaments are given on page 8 of the Handbook.
Please note that it is unlikely that all of these options would be introduced at the same time.
It would be appreciated if Clubs and individual members could consider these options and inform the Chairman at ian.pheby@tiscali.co.uk of their opinions, preferential order of implementation, and possible interest by 18 February 2011.
The Executive Committee will carefully consider all replies and will report their findings to the 2011 Annual General Meeting.
18 December 2010
Information Sheet 4 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
14 December 2010
Added the game J.Toon–K.Coates to the Games page. An exciting contest, arising from a Najdorf Sicilian.
3 December 2010
It was Cup Competitions 2, Arctic Weather 6, as the quarter-finals were devastated by the kind of adverse weather usually seen in January. Most have now been re-arranged. Meanwhile, congratulations to Metropolitan Police and GLCC 2, who made it to the semis in the only matches to go ahead.
23 November 2010
As reported below, Tony Ashby recently took part in the World Seniors in Arco. Tony has now sent this detailed and entertaining report, together with some games from the event.
23 November 2010
Information Sheet 3 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
9 November 2010
Added some information about League officers for 1938 to the Records pages. Updated Length of Service table.
8 November 2010
Tony Ashby was the only English competitor in the 20th World Open Seniors Championship, which was held this year in the town of Arco in northern Italy. He finished on 5.5/11, in the process playing six opponents rated over 2300 and beating one IM. Four GMs tied for 1st place on 8.5/11. The winner on tie-break was Anatoly Vaisser, who plays for France.
6 November 2010
Treasury v UNATS, Division 1: I haven't received a match result sheet from the captains but the current score is Treasury 2.5–3.5 UNATS with two games unfinished.
5 November 2010
Added a profile of Derek Hadley, of GLCC.
30 October 2010
For a little bit of fun, see this short game played on the internet last night.
28 October 2010
From the archives: R.Haldane–J.Toon, Civil Service League 1996 (but could have been 150 years earlier). This was an incredible game. White sacrificed his queen to set up a mating attack – Black sacrificed his queen to escape from it.
26 October 2010
Many thanks to Brendan O'Gorman for sending his photos of the Team Blitz event on 21 October. Visit this link to see them.
23 October 2010
Added a profile of Roland Smith, of Revenue & Customs.
22 October 2010
Information Sheet 2 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
22 October 2010
More details added to the Team Blitz results document, including grading information for the six teams. Now easier to check the results of individual matches. See Documents.
22 October 2010
Added a profile of Tim Pelling, of GLCC. Tim has supplied a profile in autobiographical format, as an alternative to answering the questionnaire.
21 October 2010
Round 1 of the Team Blitz Grand Prix took place at the Civil Service Recreation Centre this evening. Six teams took part in a 10-round double all-play-all. The final scores were:
| Match Pts | Game Pts | |
| Home Office & Justice | 10 | 28.5 |
| Metropolitan Police | 5 | 20 |
| UNATS | 4 | 20 |
| DHSS | 4 | 17.5 |
| Treasury | 4 | 16 |
| Revenue & Customs | 3 | 18 |
Full details are on the Documents page. Many thanks to the captains and players for their co-operation in an enjoyable evening.
20 October 2010
UNATS are a late entry for the Team Blitz, so we now have six teams. That means 10 rounds and no byes.
19 October 2010
The following five clubs have each entered one team for the Team Blitz:
• DHSS
• Home Office & Justice
• Metropolitan Police
• Revenue & Customs
• Treasury.
The event will be an all-play-all double header: each team will play every other team twice in a 10-round event, with eight games and two byes.
This is only half the number of teams that entered previous events. I have my own views on why this has happened, but I'd like to hear from those who missed out: the clubs with no 2nd team (e.g. Home Office & Justice) and the clubs with no team at all (UNATS, PHSO, SPARTA, Business & Innovation, GLCC). What can we do to ensure that everyone who wants to play chess can do so?
18 October 2010
With one day to go before the deadline, the following clubs have entered teams for the Team Blitz on 21 October.
• DHSS – 1 team
• Home Office & Justice – 1 team + 3 extra players
• Metropolitan Police – 1 team
• Treasury – 1 team + maybe more.
All clubs: please ensure your entries are submitted by the deadline (6.45pm on 19 October).
17 October 2010
All the way from South Korea: a profile of Martin Walker, of Revenue & Customs. Martin has settled in Andong and is teaching English. He will be returning briefly to the UK in February 2011.
16 October 2010
Added the game M.Adams v B.O'Gorman from the simul at Paignton in September. Brendan seems to have had no problem holding the draw. In fact he may even have had a winning opportunity at one point. A stupendous achievement. Notes are by Brendan, with additions from me. Go to Games.
15 October 2010
Chess profiles – people enjoy reading them, but there are hardly any on the site. Only seven out of a pool of about 200. So I am inviting all of you to consider submitting a profile of yourself. It's very simple. Just send me your answers to the 10 questions below, along with a photograph of yourself.
- What are your earliest chess memories?
- How long have you been playing chess?
- How active are you in the chess world? (e.g. number of games a year)
- What was your best chess experience?
- And what was your worst?
- Which historical (i.e. dead) chess player do you most admire and why?
- Who is your current chess hero / heroine, if any?
- Which part of the game do you enjoy the most?
- What piece of advice would you give to a young player who was just starting out?
- You are going to be marooned on a desert island with only a chess set for company. Which chess book would you take with you?
Treat these as starting-posts and feel free to range widely. What matters is that your personality should come through – that's what makes the profile interesting. If you need inspiration, go to Profiles and see what others have done.
14 October 2010
A complete set of adjudication results for the last three seasons has been added to the Archive page. Collating the results (see the Documents page) makes interesting reading:
• There were 59 adjudications, consisting of 118 claims, of which 58 were successful and 60 were not. Yes, in one case, the result was different from what both sides claimed, and both their claims were declared frivolous.
• There were seven frivolous claims, comprising two each for GLCC and Metropolitan Police, and one each for three other clubs.
• There was one appeal, which was successful.
• UNATS submitted more claims (28) than any other club. But their claims were successful in two-thirds of cases, suggesting that they were generally pushed into adjudications by their opponents.
• Home Office & Justice were the most successful club, with six of their seven claims (86%) going their way. UNATS (see above), Revenue & Customs and SPARTA were all at 67% to 69%.
• Of those who put in more than one claim over this period, Metropolitan Police were the least successful, with only three claims out of 16 upheld (19%). GLCC were next, scoring only 39% from their 18 claims.
• Over half the adjudications (63%) are from matches played in Division 1.
13 October 2010
The League's Executive Committee has authorised the purchase of 8 digital clocks for use in League blitz events. They should be available in time for Round 1 of the Team Blitz on Thursday 21 October. The chosen model is the DGT Easy Game Timer.
Obviously, more than 8 boards will be contested in the Team Blitz. Analogue clocks will be used on other boards. Players who have their own digital clock may want to bring it with them for this event.
8 October 2010
Just to clarify – when you fill out the online result form, the Result options are the same as for the traditional paper form. "1–0" is a Home Win, "0–1" is an Away Win, and "0.5–0.5" is a Draw.
3 October 2010
This season we have the first Team Blitz Grand Prix. This is a 5-minute blitz event for teams of four players, held over three rounds spread out over the season. Round 1 is on Thursday 21 October in the Westminster and Victoria Rooms at the Civil Service Recreation Centre in Chadwick Street, starting at 6.45pm.
Clubs must give at least two days' notice of the number of teams they are entering (i.e. the deadline for Round 1 is 6.45pm on Tuesday 19 October). Entries should be sent to webmanager@cscl.org.uk. Team captains should bring a team list on the night with the names and grades of their players.
Please see the Rules for the Team Blitz Grand Prix, which are in this season's handbook and also on the website here.
3 October 2010
I have added to the Documents page a note on how to programme and use the Saitek Competition Game Pro digital clock. This clock is used by Home Office & Justice and Treasury for home matches.
1 October 2010
Congratulations to Derek Hadley, who came 1st equal in the Intermediate (under-140) section of the Thanet Congress at Broadstairs in August. That made him the official Kent Intermediate Chess Champion, because he lives in Kent, unlike his co-winner who lives in Cornwall.
1 October 2010
A total of 458 different people visited the website in September. That's not bad – it's more than twice the number of people who played in the League last year, for example. So it's maybe surprising that so few people have voted in our monthly poll – only 22 votes have been cast. I can't believe that the subject of White's opening move is of so little interest. So if you haven't voted yet, why not follow the link and make your views known?
28 September 2010
It's a big bad world out there. The new online match result form has been attacked by spammers. So I have inserted an anti-spam device to stop this happening in future. Match captains will need to insert a random security code which is accessible to humans but not to spam robots.
25 September 2010
Home Office & Justice have a new home venue. This is:
• Clive House, 70 Petty France, London SW1H 9HD.
The nearest tube station is St James's Park. Clive House is next to the Adam & Eve pub and opposite the army barracks. Visiting players need to bring some ID (doesn't have to be photo-ID). The playing venue is in the ground floor conference suite, very close to reception.
24 September 2010
Some more adjustments to the website.
1. Each match result now includes the average grade for each team (excluding ungraded players). For example in the recent Home Office & Justice v Treasury match, the home team had an average grade of 166 and the away team had an average grade of 162. This is not about who has the bragging rights (my average grade is bigger than your average grade). Experience in the London League has shown that the average grade of the two teams is an accurate predictor of the overall result. It is very rare for a team with a lower average grade to beat a team with a higher average grade.
2. League tables have been added for the cup competitions, and one mega-table created to show the performance of every team in all competitions combined. There are no prizes for finishing on top of the mega-table but it might provide some interesting comparisons all the same.
3. A table has been added to the Adjudications page to summarise the performance of all teams and clubs in adjudication claims: how many claims each team submitted and what percentage were successful. Captains, the spotlight is on you!
These tables will of course be more interesting when more matches have been played.
17 September 2010
The Individual Blitz Tournament took place on 16 September. 25 people entered, 16 in the Open, which was run in two sections with a play-off, and 9 in the new under-150 section.
Jim Robinson (GLCC) won the Open, defeating Arne Eilers (Met Police) over two games in the final of the play-off. This was the strongest individual blitz event in recent memory. Peter Biggs (Home Office & Justice) won the under-150 section.
Our thanks to Nigel Blades, who not only managed the event in his usual efficient way, but also took part himself.
Detailed results here.
13 September 2010
We're pleased to announce that two Civil Service League players have been striking terror into the hearts of the general public and other chess players.
Dan Staples came joint 1st in the e2e4 Sunningdale Major last weekend. He scored 4½/5 with a tournament performance rating of 200.
Brendan O'Gorman played in the Paignton Diamond Jubilee Congress last week and came 2nd in the under-180 event. Sensationally, he managed to get a draw against none other than Mickey Adams in a simul at the event.
Congratulations to both of them.
8 September 2010
Added nominations for GLCC. All nominations now received.
6 September 2010
Removed 10 inactive players from the DHSS list, on advice from the club. It would be very helpful if other clubs could also look at their list of players and indicate which of them have moved on – last season, about 30% of the players listed on the website did not play any games for their club.
Also added nominations for Treasury 2.
5 September 2010
Added nominations for Business & Innovation. Only two clubs outstanding now. Also made some minor corrections in various places.
4 September 2010
Added two more games from last season to the Games page:
• Baker,MG v Baker,MJ
• Baker,MJ v Pheby,IM
4 September 2010
Information Sheet 1 for 2010/11 is on the Documents page.
The Individual Blitz Tournament will be held at 6.45pm in the Greycoat Room at the Civil Service Recreation Centre, Chadwick Street, London SW1P 2EP, on 16 September 2010. It will be a 5-minute blitz.
This year, for the first time, there will be two separate tournaments – Open, and under-150. The winner of the Open tournament will hold the Bond Trophy for one year, and will also receive an engraved pewter tankard. The winner of the under–150 tournament will receive a prize which has kindly been donated by Roland Smith.
Entries by 13 September 2010 to the Tournament Controller, Nigel Blades, at nigelblades@blueyonder.co.uk or on 020 8580 5872 (home). There is a flyer on the Documents page with more details.
Changes to the site
Generally speaking, the site looks different (obviously), the navigation menu is twice as long, there's a lot more content than before, and, for the first time, some of it is interactive. See below for a guide to the main changes.
Home
A chess position, which will change probably once a week. Do send in any interesting positions from your own games – you don't have to be a GM to play a combination.
Fixtures
Includes a list of all fixtures and other events in date order, as well as fixtures for each division and cup competition separately.
Match result form
Includes an option to complete the form online, i.e. within your browser, and submit it direct to the Senior Recorder. No printing, posting or emailing needed (but these traditional methods are still available if you want them).
Players
A list of all Civil Service League players in alphabetical order, showing their clubs, and their grades for the past three years (2010, 2009, 2008).
Clubs
Individual club pages will include nominations for this season (some still awaited), and a list of players for that club with grades for the past three years.
Handbook
Guidance to match captains is expanded and brought into one place. See also the new guidance on adjudications: read this before you consider sending off a claim.
Documents
All documents, such as AGM minutes, proposals for rule changes etc, will be kept together on this page for ease of reference. They will be saved as PDF files.
Records
A huge database of records about league and cup competition winners, league officials and more, going back as far as 1905 in some cases. There is a commentary which may help to make sense of all this information.
Archive
News items going back to May 2009, and a complete set of fixtures, results and tables for the past three seasons – 2009/10, 2008/09, 2007/08.
Polls
A monthly poll on a chess issue. September's poll asks for your choice of opening move as White. At the end of the month I will add a comparison with opening move data from ChessBase.
Book reviews
A small but growing collection of detailed reviews of chess books, written from a club player's point of view. Guest reviews are welcome – please make contact if you would like to contribute one.
Profiles
Short chess autobiographies of a range of players in the Civil Service League. If you would like to propose someone to be profiled, please let me know and I will ask the player concerned.
Games
A collection of recent games involving Civil Service League players, mostly from League competitions. You can either play through the moves and variations online, or print off a PDF copy of the game to play through away from the computer.
Please feel free to send me a copy of any interesting games you play this season. PGN format is ideal, CBH is also OK, but I can use text in any format. Annotations are welcome, but I will in any case check the game with a chess engine myself before uploading it.
Resources
Links, FAQs and more, on a range of chess subjects. If there's something else you'd like to see covered, please let me know.
14 May 2010
Updated the summary of responses to the website survey to take account of a further response received.
14 May 2010
The League AGM took place on 13 May. The minutes will appear on the website in due course. Here are the main points:
• The meeting remembered Roy Greenfield (Revenue & Customs) and John Rowe (GLCC), who had both passed away since the last AGM.
• The player fixture fee was increased from £0.60 to £0.65, to reflect an increase in the Game Fee charged by the ECF.
• The GLCC proposal to deduct a match point when teams defaulted a whole match was defeated.
• Club practice in defaulting boards was clarified to the satisfaction of PHSO, who had raised the issue.
• The meeting agreed the proposed rules for the Team Blitz Grand Prix to take place in 2010/11.
• The meeting also agreed to a large number of minor improvements to the League Rules.
• A proposal to increase the fee for frivolous adjudications from £15.00 to £22.50 narrowly failed to secure the required two-thirds majority.
• All current League officers were re-elected. James Toon joined the Executive Committee as joint Blitz Tournament Organiser.
• Next season there will be four divisions, for the first time since 2002. This is possible because there will be 22 teams, in two divisions of six teams and two divisions of five teams. There will continue to be just the two cup competitions.
8 May 2010
Some information, in advance of the League AGM on 13 May.
• A total of 200 players took part in League and Cup activities this season. This includes one player who was nominated for a team but did not play in any matches.
• Of these, 159 were graded and 41 were ungraded.
• A further 58 players are inactive – they are listed on club pages but were not nominated for a team and did not play in any matches.
• Of the graded players who took part, the average grade was 139.
• DHSS have the highest number of active members (33), followed by UNATS and Treasury (27 each).
• The smallest club is PHSO (8 active members).
8 May 2010
Many thanks to Nigel Blades for running the Team Blitz event on 6 May. HOJCC 1 won the event, just ahead of Metropolitan Police 1 and DHSS. HOJCC therefore retain the Barford Trophy having won it last year also. Report and table here.
26 April 2010
Many thanks to those who took part in the survey on the website. The responses are summarised here. There's quite a lot to think about. I will implement as many of the suggestions as I can, but it won't be possible to do everything. The changes will go online in September.
24 April 2010
Congratulations to:
• UNATS 1, who won Division 1
• DHSS 1, who won Division 2
• HOJCC 2, who won Division 3
• HOJCC 1, who won the Bonar Law Trophy
• UNATS 2, who won the Post Annual Cup
3 March 2010
The Executive Committee have carried out a complete review of the League and Cup Rules. They are proposing some changes to the text of the Rules. These are for discussion at the League AGM on 13 May. Clubs need an opportunity to discuss these in advance. Please see the proposed new Rules and a commentary.
30 January 2010
Digital clocks again. This time, the Garde Digital Chess Clock goes under the spotlight. It scores highly on presentation but falls down on content – the clock is entirely unsuitable for use in the League. One might have hoped for more, since it's so expensive.
8 January 2010
The Senior Recorder agrees that matches may be postponed due to the bad weather if the captains agree. Postponements should be played by the end of March 2010 if possible. Captains should inform the Senior Recorder and the webmaster of the postponement and the date of the rearranged match as soon as possible.
6 January 2010
The League's Executive Committee have drawn up plans for a Team Blitz Grand Prix for next season. Clubs are invited to consider this note and draft Rules in advance of the AGM on 13 May.
28 November 2009
Back to digital clocks. Laboratory tests on the BHB Digital Chess Clock have confirmed that it is suitable for use in the Civil Service Chess League. It is particularly suitable for clubs who play in two or more leagues with different time controls.
27 November 2009
The Home Office and Justice Chess Club have entered a team in the Major section of the National Club Championships. A total of 17 teams have entered the Major this year, about half of them from the London area. This is a knockout competition, and HOJCC have been drawn against Wanstead & Woodford (who are the defending champions) in the 1st round.
Is this the first time that a club from the Civil Service Chess League has entered a team in the National Club Championships?
9 November 2009
I have added a new page on digital chess clocks. This is intended as a resource for any club thinking of investing in a set of digital clocks for use in the League.
17 September 2008
A total of 14 players took part in the CSCL Individual Blitz Tournament on 17 September. Arne Eilers (Metropolitan Police) won the event with the impressive score of 9/9. Robin Haldane (UNATS) was 2nd and James Toon (Home Office & Justice) was 3rd. Arne's victory makes him the only person in recent times to win this event two years running. Many thanks to Nigel Blades for organising the tournament (and competing in it at the same time).
Pos |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Eilers | 174 | 9 |
| 2 | R Haldane | 188 | 7 |
| 3 | J Toon | 179 | 6 |
| 4 | R Johnson | 155 | 5.5 |
| 5 | P Haddock | 109 | 5 |
| 6= | MG Baker | 162 | 4 |
| 6= | R Cannon | 184 | 4 |
| 6= | D Gleave | 166 | 4 |
| 9 | N Blades | 176 | 3.5 * |
| 10= | D Lacey | 129 | 3 |
| 10= | T Packham | 157 | 3 |
| 12 | J Robinson | 161 | 2 * |
| 13 | G Gibson | 136 | 1.5 |
| 14 | J McDonnell | 174 | 1 |
* did not play in all rounds
26 July 2009
Fixtures for the 2009/10 season have been put on the website.
7 June 2009
For detailed results from the Annual Team Blitz, see this cross-table.
13 May 2009
Some pictures from the Annual Team Blitz event have been posted here. Many thanks to John Saunders for these.
9 May 2009
All the stats pages and charts on the website have been updated to show results up to 2009.
Congratulations to the winners of this year's competitions (prizes will be awarded at the AGM on 14 May).
| • Division 1 | Revenue & Customs |
| • Division 2 | Treasury |
| • Division 3 | Treasury 2 |
| • Bonar Law | Revenue & Customs |
| • Post Annual | Treasury 2 |
| • Bond Trophy | Arne Eilers (Metropolitan Police) |
| • Barford Trophy | Home Office & Justice |
7 May 2009
The annual Team Blitz event took place on 7 May at the Civil Service Recreation Centre. A total of nine teams competed for the Barford Trophy. Home Office and Justice 1 came first with 7.5 points from their nine matches. Treasury 1 were second with 6 points followed by DHSS with 5.5 points. Thanks to Nigel Blades for his efficient organisation of the event.