PRE-SEASON QUICKPLAY TOURNAMENT - 16/09/24
It was a night for the youngsters to show their mettle as teenagers Shay Topping and Daniel Wilson led going into the last round of the competition. It was 19-year-old Shay, who plays for Three Horseshoes, who emerged victorious to take first prize outright remaining unbeaten with four and a half points from the five rounds. Dons player Daniel, aged 16, was unlucky not to finish in the top three as his last round loss to Shay – the only defeat he suffered – left him on three and a half points after taking some notable scalps in earlier rounds. He beat fourth and fifth seeds Denis Georgiou (Appleby Frodingham) and Richard Desmedt (Barnsley) as well as drawing with previous multiple winner Sean McDonald (Dons).
The popular event, held at Barnby Dun Club, attracted 24 players including one from Rotherham and a contingent from the Scunthorpe League. Richard won all his other games and came equal second with Martin Presley (Three Horseshoes) on four points. Grading prizes were won by rapidly improving 10-year-old Seth Woozeer (Dons) and Scunthorpe youngster Michal Trafas, who both scored 3/5. Seth, only ranked 16th highest among the competitors, also pulled off the shock result of the night by beating top seed Joe Kilshaw, from Grimsby.
Barnsley sweep 2023/24 Season Titles
Barnsley Chess Club (https://barnsleychessclub.org/) continued their fine form in the Doncaster League and were congratulated as winners of the league for the 2023/24 season at the AGM. Martin Sheard led the way for the impressive side, earning 4 points in the Doncaster League, and was well supported by his teammates, including Tom Edwards, who managed an impressive 87.5% score percentage. In all, 15 players took part in their campaign this season, reflecting the growing nature of the club.
The newly renamed Maurice Kent Trophy was also won by Barnsley. Named for former player Maurice Kent, whose legacy funds were generously given to promote Doncaster Chess, the trophy is a rapidplay competition in which each set of players face each other twice in the same night. Peter Micklethwaite and Richard Hall both earned 7 points each for their team, whilst Andrew Butterworth (who represented Doncaster in the Yorkshire League) scored 6.5 points.
Pictured: Doncaster Treasurer Alan Bramell presents Barnsley’s Rob Vincent with the League Trophy.
Doncaster AGm MEeting Date Set for Early September
The Annual General Meeting for the Doncaster and District Chess Associaition has been set for Wednesday 4th September at 7:30pm. The event will be hosted at Bentley West End club with all members invited to attend. Agenda to be distributed by club captains.
Doncaster Crowned Champions of the SIlver Rook - 29/04/24
Doncaster win the third division of the Yorkshire Chess League and earn promotion back to the IM Brown. Read the season report by using the button below!
Rapidplay Concludes 23/24 Season
Twenty-five players, aged from ten to nearly eighty, took part in the final event of the season and it proved a triumph for the number one seed Sean McDonald who won every game to finish a point ahead of the rest.
The top rated Dons player never looked back after beating Mick Henshaw (Three Horseshoes) in the first round and completed victories over players from Ravenfield, Appleby Frodingham and 3HS, before sealing first place with a win over second seed Shay Topping in the last round.
No fewer than six players were sharing second place going into the final round but it was Barnby Dun's Zak Tomlinson who emerged as the outright runner up with a victory over Alan Smith (3HS).
Tomlinson, who had a couple of draws in earlier rounds, was the only other player to finish unbeaten on 4/5.
Guest players from the Lincolnshire League - Jo Hutchinson and John Mainwaring - finished joint third along with Martin Presley (3HS) and Daniel Wilson (Dons) on three and a half points.
There was a four way tie for the Under 1645 grading prizes in what was a very competitive event held at Barnby Dun Social Club.
They were Mick Henshaw, Rico Bradley-Ellis (Barnby Dun, Alan Smith and Phil Battye (3HS).
The tournament was played over five rounds with each player allowed just ten minutes on the clock for all their moves.
Promising junior Seth Woozeer won a book prize after playing well against some tough opposition and was unlucky not to win his last round game when his time ran out with his opponent having only seven seconds remaining on his own clock.
- Written by Peter Catt
- Website Note: We would all to thank Peter Catt for running this tournament once again. It is always a great night!
Pictured: Tournament Winner Sean McDonald
Doncaster Beat Saltaire - 23/03/24
Doncaster win on the road to Saltaire, to potentially seal the Silver Rook title.
Click below for the match details.
Mid-Season Rapidplay - 08/01/23
The mid-season rapidplay was won by Barnsley veteran Richard Desmedt who finished half a point ahead of three players tied for second place.
Richard was unbeaten on four and a half points after beating Dave Hatfield, Alan Smith, Martin Simmonds and Phil Batttye before drawing an eventful last round match against number one seed Sean McDonald. Both players missed chances to win the match in a tricky endgame with little time left on the clocks before the draw was agreed. Sean was also unbeaten but drew an earlier game against Zak Tominson to finish on four points along with Shay Topping and Phil Battye.
Twenty-one players took part in the tournament which was held at Barnby Dun Social Club. Grading prizes were awarded to Barnby Dun's Rico-Bradley Ellis and Daniel Wilson (Dons) who were the joint highest scores with three points among players graded below 1650. Ten-year-old Seth Woozeer was the youngest player taking part and was awarded a special book prize after showing immense promise to finish on two points. Seth had a tough draw and played four of the top ranked 11 players but battled all the way and showed tremendous determination to finish with a victory over number two seed Benjamin Nunns in the last round.
by Peter Catt
Website Note: On Behalf of all who took part, I would like to thank Peter Catt for running this successful tournament again. It is very appreciated!
Doncaster Junior Christmas Event - 21/12/23
To celebrate both Christmas and the first year of the new Doncaster Junior Chess Club, a Junior Vs Adult competition was hosted on Thursday evening. The new juniors battled hard against experienced players from the Doncaster League to try and win ownership of the new trophy for its first year.
A huge thank you to everybody who took part in the event. If you'd like to read more, follow the button below to a report on our Doncaster Junior Website.
Doncaster see off York E to maintain best Start - 02/12/23
The final game of the calendar year for Doncaster resulted in their second 6-0 win of the campaign. The team will face a final match in January before the league enters its second phase.
Click below for the match details.
Four out of Four for Doncaster - 18/11/23
A trip to Alwoodley ended in another victory for the Doncaster Chess Team, who are now outright leaders in the third division of the Yorkshire League. Click below for the match details.
Doncaster's Seth Represents at The Yorkshire U18 Grand Prix
Local Junior Chess Club player Seth Woozeer has become the first under-18 player to represent Doncaster at the Yorkshire Junior Grand Prix in over a decade. The talented youngster, who has been a core member of the new Doncaster Junior Chess Club, travelled to Bradford this weekend for the first event in the prestigious Yorkshire Junior Grand Prix, and his first ever chess tournament. Despite his inexperience, Seth did exceptionally well, finishing up in 5th in his section and winning the U10 medal.
Speaking about Seth, his coach at the Doncaster Junior Chess Club commented, “Seth is an extremely passionate, gentlemanly, young man who focuses very well and puts in the hard work. He undoubtably deserves this success and I can’t wait to see what else he will accomplish. One day, we may all be celebrating him as a Grandmaster, British Champion, and maybe more!”
Seth will undoubtably be continuing his studies ready for the second event, in Hull, in February and may even be looking to challenge himself further by moving up a section. Everyone here at Doncaster Chess is extremely proud of Seth not just for his achievements at the weekend, but for the positive attitude he shows. Congratulations, Seth!
Doncaster Players travel to Scarborough Congress - 23/10/23
Well-known for its wonderful congress, Scarborough hosted its 46th chess congress last weekend. Several Doncaster players took part in the three day event and special congratulations must go to our own David Smart, who picked up a grading prize in the Minor section.
Doncaster Fight to a Third Win! - 13/10/23
Doncaster's promotion campaign continued with the team navigating a tricky fixture against Ilkley Knights. Follow the Match Report button to find out more and view analysis from one of the games.
The Doncaster League Begins - 09/10/23
The Doncaster League’s first match of the new season took place on the 9th of October with Barnby Dun hosting Barnsley for a tightly contested game. With the new additions of Alan Bramell and Ismet Berisha, Barnby Dun were able to put out a side whose first four boards were all above 1700. Barnsley had also brought a strong team with their first two boards over 1900, and the following two at 1800 and 1700 respectively. The two sides battled out the season opener with Barnsley taking the win 3-2 in the end. To keep up to date with the Doncaster League, follow the LMS website.
Harrogate C beaten in DOncaster's 2nd Game - 30/09/23
Doncaster's first home game of the season saw them play well to beat a determined Harrogate C team. Read about the match by following the link below:
New Trophy to honour the Late Maurice Kent - 19/09/23
Following the passing of former player Maurice Kent, and as way of thanks for his generous legacy funds to support Doncaster chess, the league's Rapidplay trophy has been officially renamed to the Maurice Kent Trophy. The decision, which was passed unanimously in the recent Annual General Meeting, means that teams this year will partake in the 30-minute Rapidplay League for the prize of being the first to have their team’s name engraved on the new trophy. Follow the progress of this new competition on the LMS website.
Doncaster rejoin the Yorkshire League - 16/09/23
After a brief absence, Doncaster are once again represented in the Yorkshire League. Starting out on the third tier, they will be hopeful of a strong campaign to earn promotion to the higher leagues. Read more about their first match by clicking the button below.