SUSSEX

AROUND THE CLUBS
Uckfield
Juniors helping move
club in right direction
WE are a young club in more ways than one,
having only competed in the Mid-Sussex League
(MSL) since 2007.
Over those years, we have been boosted by the
involvement and encouragement of senior players
from other clubs still active, but throughout we
owe an absolute debt of gratitude to Ken
Swanton and his daughter, Sue Carter, who have
been the backbone of the club and always there.
We meet on the second and fourth Wednesday
of every month at
the Luxford
Centre in
We are looking
forward to the
future with
greater
optimism
Uckfield (just
round the
corner from
The Picture
House), with
Ken there from
around 6.30pm
and we close
often around
10.30pm.
Our teams
have moved up
and down the divisions of the MSL, and though
we have never made division 1 (yet !), we have
won an MSL Knockout tournament.
These last two seasons have been a rebuild,
having lost several senior players and had a
couple of seasons where our teams regularly
defaulted on boards.
However, we have used the coaching work I
have been doing in schools as the local Sussex
Junior Chess Academy director to encourage more
young players into longplay adult competition and
we are very satisfied with the last two seasons’
results.
Last year, our first team went to the last match
of the season in contention for promotion to
division 3 of the MSL and this year won that
division, our second team mainly comprises junior
players and magnificently achieved second place
and promotion last year from division 4 and this
year has fought hard in managing to stabilise in
division 3.
Better still, we did not lose one board by default
throughout the last two years! In addition, last year
we re-entered the Paul Watson Cup and travelled
to Woodpushers in Hove and Bognor and Arun
with a team lower in ratings only needing to draw,
but achieved for us spectacular 2.5/1.5 wins; sadly
when we hosted the final that result was reversed
to deserved winners Lewes, though they will for
sure agree it was a thrilling match! This season,
unfortunately, due to organisational changes, our
planned entry fell by the wayside.
We are looking forward to the future with
greater optimism. As a club, we are keen on results
on the night and exciting chess, rather than players
sitting on a position in the hope that their computer
will save them in an adjournment.
For that reason, we always challenge opponents
to quickplay finishes, and the culture may be
changing as last year only 7% took up the
challenge, whereas this year 11% have done so.
This year, we have also run season-long allplay-all
tournaments on club nights - standard
play, rapidplay; blitz; handicap split and knockout,
as well as having ever popular seasonal party
nights with fun chess games. If you want to join
us and the fun, please do not hesitate to come
along!
Brian Stockham,
club captain
26