2023 - 24 Season

Doncaster entered a team back in the Yorkshire League this season following a longer than anticipated three-year break, largely due to Covid. The league had got up and running the previous season following the pandemic but Doncaster was unable to re-enter because captain Peter Catt was out of action following a couple of knee operations and there was no-one to take over in the interim. When the virus brought the 2019-20 season to a premature end Doncaster were unbeaten and were leading the IM Brown league (Yorkshire Second Division) with only three games left to play. But, because they failed to return along with the other clubs in 2021, they had to start back in the Silver Rook competition - the Yorkshire Third Division. It probably made the Doncaster players especially determined to win promotion back to the IM Brown and they stamped their authority in convincing style by winning all their matches to finish four points clear at the top of the table.

Because there were 13 teams in the Silver Rook competition they were split into two sections with the top three in each group then playing off against each other. Doncaster were never in danger of losing any of their matches and won by at least three points in every game, apart from a 3 1/2-2 1/2 victory against closest rivals Ilkley Knights who finished second overall and also qualified for promotion.

The team was ably led by Sean McDonald (Dons) who was unbeaten on board 1 with four wins and two draws while board 2 Neil Lowther (Barnby Dun) also impressed finishing undefeated with 4/5. Rotherham-based Steve Mann, who has a long history of playing for Doncaster, made a successful comeback after not playing competitive chess for more than three years with four wins and a draw on board three. Captain Peter Catt (Barnby Dun) also led by example, scoring more points than anyone with 6/7 - five wins and two draws.  

Doncaster used 12 players throughout the season with four of them - John Gibbs (Barnsley), Shay Topping (Three Horseshoes), Rico Bradley-Ellis (Barnby Dun) and Andrew Butterworth (Barnsley) - winning all their games. The other four team members also made valuable contributions with Martin Simmonds (3HS) and Zak Tomlinson (Barnby Dun) both scoring 3/4, Ismet Berisha (Barnby Dun) 2/3 and Richard Desmedt (Barnsley) 4/7. The team was indebted as always to Sean, Richard, Zak and Andrew who drove to the away venues.

Next season in the IM Brown will be much tougher but Doncaster will be aiming for a top four finish, and maybe even attempting to challenge for a second successive promotion. 

By Club Captain Peter Catt

 Doncaster arrived at Dewsbury for their final match without their top two players, both unavailable, but still eager to finish the season on a winning note. Although promotion to the IM Brown (the Yorkshire League Second Division) had already been secured the Doncaster players were keen to maintain their 100% record and make it ten wins out of ten. All the games were quite close for some time before Doncaster asserted themselves to eventually win convincingly. Dewsbury had played their usual number one player Anthony Gilpin on board three and although Richard Desmedt applied pressure with a kingside attack he was unable to break through and the Dewsbury man held on for a draw in the first game to finish. Neil Lowther moved up to board one and was as solid as ever despite feeling under the weather leading up to the match. Neil just waited for his opponent to make a mistake and pounced to clinch Doncaster's first win. Martin Simmonds put his opponent under pressure from the start on board four but eventually had to settle for a draw in a rook and pawn ending. Zak Tomlinson also drew after playing most of the game a pawn down on board six. His opponent had tried to sacrifice a bishop to win the pawn but Zak wisely declined as, had he taken it, it would have left him in a possible losing position. He then demonstrated his endgame strength to ensure he shared the point. Peter Catt seemed to develop a dominant position out of the opening on board five but his opponent defended stubbornly until cracking up towards the end of the game, first losing a pawn before resigning with mate in four on the board. That sealed victory for Doncaster and Steve Mann rubbed salt in Deswbury's wounds with a clever endgame display to force victory in what had previously been a close game on board two. 

Doncaster win 4.5 to 1.5!

Doncaster were on the road again this weekend to play the rearranged game against promotion rivals Saltaire. Arriving in a bright, relaxing function room, the team were warmly greeted by Saltaire’s charismatic captain before settling down for the important game. Doncaster were aware that a win today could seal first place in the Silver Rook, providing nothing unexpected happens in the final game. 

Board one was the first game to be decided by Sean McDonald, who broke through the kingside of his opponent in the game featured here. Twenty minutes later, an equal game on board four ended in an agreed draw between Saltaire’s John Holliday and Doncaster stalwart Richard Desmedt. Andrew Butterworth was next to score a win for Doncaster, in a game which had looked level for a long time. Only moments later, Doncaster moved onto the crucial three points with two games to play as Zak Tomlinson agreed a draw on board six. His closed position had been formed from a game with a lot of tension and pressure, but ultimately had become too tight to advance without risk. 

Needing only half a point more to secure a team victory, the attention turned to board five’s Peter Catt, who was a piece up against Elinor Gorrell. Elinor was defending creatively and trying to break through her position seemed to be a frustrating task, but one that was ultimately achieved by the Doncaster captain to secure another point. Finally, an interesting endgame on board three went to the wire before a draw was agreed by Steve Mann with Saltaire’s Robert Pells.

Doncaster win 4.5 to 1.5!

Regrettably, this match has been forfeited by West Leeds. Doncaster earn another win by 6 points to nil.

The atmosphere was buoyant at Doncaster’s venue with the club’s many Doncaster Rovers fans preparing for what was sure to be a successful game of football for them (don’t google the score). Inside the function room, the atmosphere was slightly more tense as the team awaited the arrival of Leeds B, their main promotion rivals. 

The match began at 14:30 and there was little quarter given as each game lasted an age before the first breakthrough occurred. After a series of personal setbacks, Doncaster were delighted to be able to welcome back stalwart Martin Simmonds on board 6, who scored the first point against Mariana Ferreira. After a tense battle on board 3, Neil Lowther was able to pick up another point for the Doncaster team, making the score 2-0.  The board 2 game had been tense, and was balanced on knife-edge, though was at a point where there was the option for Sean McDonald to earn a draw through perpetual check. With plenty of time left on the clock, the players waited to see how the rest of the games would turn out.

On board 5, Richard Desmedt was attacking fiercely at his opponent’s king, though the position was not clear cut, and his opponent was defending well. On board 4, the endgame seemed to favour Steve Mann, though his opponent was also refusing to surrender and battling admirably hard. On board 1, Andy Butterworth was fighting a tense draw in his season debut against Kateryna Huk. Suddenly, perhaps with Kateryna seeing the team position and feeling like she had no choice but to play for the win, the game on board 1 finished with a victory for Doncaster. Board 2 quickly resumed with the perpetual check earning the draw and putting Doncaster over the 3-point mark. 

With the evening coming to a close, Steve Mann was able to win his endgame against his opponent’s staunch defence. Finally, after somehow turning the tables, Stephen Firth was able to take the win against Richard leaving the final score at 4 ½ - 1 ½ to Doncaster. A solid win on the scoreline, though Leeds B will know that the match was much tighter in reality. 

As icy and snow began to gather around the district of Doncaster, York's team made the trip south for the final game of the calendar year.  Impressively, York Chess is able to field five teams in the Yorkshire League and it was the E-Team who were representing their city in the third division. In the Christmas-y room in the Hyde Park WMC, the two sides clashed.

The first points scored came from board 5 where Shay Toppings (who only debuted in the previous game) proved again why many in the league see this up-and-coming youngster as undergraded. A second win came from board 1, where I played a thematic rook sacrifice in the Sicilian Dragon and felt pretty good about my performance until later, computer analysis showed me up! Another point was then earned by the returning Richard Desmedt, whose winning move (without the continuation due to his opponent's resignation) features in the puzzle below. Finally, captain Peter Catt and Steve Mann both won their games in addition to debutant Rico-Bradley Ellis - another promising young player. 

The team will now enjoy their Christmas break before an exciting game against Leeds B. After this game, the torunament will enter its second stage where the Doncaster team will once again feel the pressure to win each of their games to secure promotion.

On the 18th of November, Doncaster travelled to Alwoodley Community Centre for their latest match against Alwoodley B. As the home to the outstanding Leeds Junior Chess Club (ECF Club of the Year) it was no surprise to meet a team that contained several young players, including a potential future star in 8-year-old in Sofia. For their part, Doncaster had brought a strong team and were proudly debuting Shay Topping, who has impressed on higher boards for the Three Horseshoes this season. 

The match begun and the players locked horns for an hour before the deadlock was finally broken on the sixth board. Shay had achieved a debut win and was soon to be followed by captain Peter Catt, who was using a pin from his rooks and black-squared bishop to slowly overwhelm his opponent. On board 4, Zak was able to get the better of his opponent in a game hard-fought battle, before the win was sealed with returning Steve Mann. As the evening drew to a close, Sean sidestepped some stalemate traps to deliver a win on board 1 and Neil (who had been locked in a closed, attacking game) was able to manoeuvre his queen and pawn to deliver checkmate against a fianchettoed king without the protection of its white-squared bishop. 

The 6-0 win was welcome for Doncaster, and possibly to be expected given the differences in grade, though Alwoodley B played well, refused to roll-over, and will no doubt be pleased with their individual efforts. For Doncaster, two more home games await them in this stage of the tournament. The visit of York E followed by Leeds B, who currently sit just one point them in the table.

With the first chilly Saturday of the year, the Doncaster Team arrived at their venue amidst a group of Rovers fans, who were desperately cheering and trying to enjoy their weekend before they made the short walk to the Eco Power Stadium to suffer through yet another loss. For their part, the Doncaster Team were aware that the visiting side had the potential to cause them an upset to their promotion hopes and perfect start to the season. Although the Doncaster players outgraded their opponents - with the exception of the top board - this difference was not by much in some areas and Ilkley had brought along two highly talented (arguably undergraded) juniors. The scene was set for a mighty battle!

Doncaster drew the first blood early with Richard Desmedt able to win his sharp match on board four. Ilkley’s junior talent helped them to draw level on board six with their Charlie Wainwright capturing a win, before Doncaster’s Zak Tomlinson won a tight game on board three. Admittedly, although writing this report, the demands of my own match meant that I was unable to see much of these initial games. 

Next to me was the whirlwind of a board two game being navigated by the skilled Neil Lowther, and Ilkley’s other junior player, Shriaansh Ganti. The two competitors had castled on opposite sides and were both unleashing their attacks on each other. With the win see-sawing between adversaries throughout the next three hours, it was a surprise to find the game ending in a draw, though certainly not a boring one! This left the score at 2.5 – 1.5 in Doncaster’s favour and all four remaining players were well aware of the results needed to secure a team result. 

The remaining games continued deep into the afternoon with board five looking balanced, though with a tough battle to see out the draw. For my part, I had defended well against Andrew Wainwright’s build-up and whilst we had battled hard in a positional sense, he had begun to squash my pieces. With my attempts at a counterattack, our game was now opening into a tactical, semi-open game. Andrew and I were watching board five very carefully and for my part, I was very relieved when Doncaster captain (Peter Catt) succeeded in taking a draw and securing at least a point for the team. With Andrew needing a win to rescue his sides chances, I was able to exploit a tactic and create a perpetual check to secure a draw and the game in Doncaster’s favour. A great, hard-fought team win for Doncaster!

Doncaster's first home match of the season was against Harrogate's C-Team. Doncaster were without their usual top board, the incredbily handsome author of this post, but pulled out a top class performance to win 5-1 without losing a board. Harrogate C were outgraded across every board, but put up a strong fight and held Doncaster's top two boards to draws.

Reported by S.McDonald

With the Doncaster team reformed, thanks to the tireless efforts of captain Peter Catt, Doncaster were once again represented in the Yorkshire League. Starting in the third tier (named the Silver Rook) the team began their campaign with a trip into the hilly countryside and to the small town of Holmfirth - famed for being the location of Last of the Summer Wine. The match was hosted at the lovely Stumble Inn (pictured) and contained not only a fantastic set of screens downstairs to watch the end of Liverpool vs Wolves, but one of the nicest rooms upstairs for our game.

Led by their friendly, charismatic captain Steve Westmoreland, Holmfirth had prepared a strong team including an up-and-coming junior player in Alex Burke, who went on to win a victory over Doncaster’s second board (an experienced player who I personally have always struggled against). However, as a large city, Doncaster are keen to win promotion and had brought a team who out-graded Holmfirth on each board. The games were hard-fought throughout the day culminating in a fascinating endgame struggle between Colin Frank and Peter Catt, which ultimately ended in a draw. The final score was a 4.5 – 1.5 win for Doncaster and the perfect start to the season. 

Reported by S.McDonald