Stroud Chess Club Teams 2025-2026

Division 1

Division 1 comprises six teams.  Each team has five players and plays a home and away match against all the other teams.
The seven teams are:  Cheltenham Knights, Cheltenham Rooks, Stroud Badgers,  Stroud Hedgehogs, Wotton Hall Leopards and Wotton Hall Lions.
The away team will have the white pieces on boards 1, 3 and 5.
Time Control: 75 minutes + 10 seconds per move.
+ Indicates a player who may be ineligible to play in a lower division.

Division 2

Maximum rating 2000*.
Division 2 comprises seven teams and each team has five players.  Each team has five players and plays a home and away match against all the other teams. 
The seven teams are: Cheltenham Bishops, Cirencester, Forest of Dean Oaks, Gloucester Dragons, Stroud Buzzards, Wotton Hall Cheetahs and Wotton Hall Rhinos.
The away team will have the white pieces on boards 1, 3 and 5.
Time Control: 75 minutes + 10 seconds per move.
+ Indicates a player who may be ineligible to play in a lower division.

Division 4

Maximum rating 1550*
Division 4 comprises eight teams.  Each team has four  players**  and plays a home and away match against all the other teams.
The eight teams are: Cheltenham Chessers, Cirencester, Forest of Dean Acorns, Gloucester Gargoyles, Stroud Cubs, Wotton Hall Giraffes and Wotton Hall Zebras.
** A team may field 5 players but only the first 4 players' games count towards the final match score.
Time Control: 50 minutes + 10 seconds per move.

Stroud Cubs - Division 4

From:
Vince Southcott (captain)
Agatha Moore,  
Bede Moore, 
Darren Leonard,
David Horton,  
Dexter Wimpress, 
Evan Punshon,
Greta Bullman,  
Joe Feeley,
Laurence Medcalf,
Lorcan McCarthy,  
Zandi Gillespie.

Notes

* Rating limits are based on a player's September A or K rating as published by the English Chess Federation. Players who start the season either unrated or with a P rating are eligible to compete in any division, but if they achieve a K or A rating during the course of the season then that rating should be used to determine their eligibility for the rest of the season. In cases where this causes issues in fielding a full team the league secretary may sanction dispensation for a player to continue playing in a division.
In divisions 2 and 3, clubs may also field a higher rated player where they don't have a team in a higher division. 
+ Indicates a player who is ineligible to play in a lower division.
** In Division 4, a team may field 5 players but only the first 4 players' games count towards the final match score.

Peter Harrison Cup

A handicap knockout tournament. Over the three rounds in 2024, our team was captained by non-playing captain, Duncan Dicks and comprised:
Agatha Moore,   Bede Moore,   Jacob Edwards,   Jeremy Morton,   Kirill Shcherbyna,   Lorcan McCarthy,   Richard West.

Summer League

A handicap rapid-play competition for teams of four players. There are 2 pools (A & B) with six teams in each pool.  The matches are played from June to July. 

4NCL (Online - Four Nations Chess League - Division 2)

From:  Adrian Walker,   Alex Carey,   Agatha Moore,   Duncan Dicks,   Greta Bullman,   Joe Feeley,   John Jenkins,   Kevin Markey,   Matthew Reekie-Black. 

Junior 4NCL (Online - Four Nations Chess League - Division 1)

Stroud Cubs

From:  Agatha Moore,   Alex Carey,   Bede Moore,   Cian Arkell,   Dexter Wimpress,   Greta Bullman,   Harry Davison,   Lorcan McCarthy,  
Plum Moore,   Zandi Gillespie.

South West Counties Online Tournament 

We (Gloucestershire) traditionally enter an online counties tournament each spring. It is a Sunday evening event at 7.30 with a 60/15 standard time and played on Lichess. There are five counties who play and in 2025 we made it through to the final but lost against Wotton Hall n the final on Sunday April 7 but lost a close-fought match by 1 point (8.5-7.5). 

From:  A minimum of 16 chess players from our area.