Author name: Steve Westmoreland

I will confess that I did something rather horrible to the opposition by unleashing the most terrifying sight any adult chess player can face: small juniors. Kavin Sudegar, Adamjeet and Amandeep Singh all featured, drawing some understandably nervous looks from the Suffolk players. The boys played magnificently too, scoring 2.5 out of 3 and making […]

Steve Westmoreland ‘Who is the Captain?’ asked a stern looking Bernie Hare. Rupert and I glanced at each other. It was a little confusing, as I had taken the team during the NCCU stages, winning the section and organised the day. Especially as Rupert was late to the match. Guessing this may be a negative,

Steve Westmoreland This month we have a double header, with the u1850s facing Lincolnshire and the u2050s against Surrey. I was fortunate to play for both teams this round, so we now have a double match report! U2050s Surrey 7.5 – 8.5 Yorkshire Another humdinger of an event, almost echoing the tense draw with Cumbria

Congratulations to Huddersfield in securing promotion to the Woodhouse Cup in the Yorkshire League. At Holmfirth we have close and historic ties with Huddersfield and although they soundly beat us this season, we wish them all the best in Division 1. Pending AGM votes we may be joining forces from September to take on the

‘Cleveland have absolutely outdone themselves here’, I remarked to Will Peacock. Will had a slightly glazed look in his eye as he murmured that he should have worn a suit. Typical of players from my teams, we were both wearing our blue Yorkshire Hoodies and looking forwards to playing a tier up in the u2050s.

A massive congratulations to Alex Burke (Holmfirth), Aaron Rich (York), Seth Woozeer (SASCA – Sheffield) and Charlie Wainwright (Ilkley Chess Centre) on their England selection for the 14th ChessMates International event in Monaco from the 19th March. These boys have been at the forefront and centre of the huge junior push within Yorkshire, since the

We had really got this wrong. Why didn’t we do this indoors in front of a roaring fire? Chess indoors could actually be a thing! It was a moment of epiphany. Ian was right, what kind of maniac sits outside for 4 hours in temperatures of -2 at the Halifax Piece Hall to play chess?

Held in memory of David, who was a keen player and friend to us all. The final round was held in Holmfirth tonight, near the anniversary of his Birthday. David was a lovely guy, superb player and friend to us all. The event commenced with a thank you from Louise for coming together in David’s

Greater Manchester CCA U1850 V Yorkshire CA U1850 08/11/2025 Here we go. On paper the strongest teams in the Northern Counties Chess Union and always top contenders for the County Championship. For this match, stalwart Captain Rupert Jones has stepped aside, in favour of myself. This was pending a trip to Australia to see the

For all those not finding a summer league or playing at the death of the County Season, it has been a long lay off since the KO final on the 18th June. Many finished at the end of May. So, kids can lay down their cricket bats (u15s ends Monday and u17s Wednesday) and parents