Dawn Williamson has won the Candidates E Section becomes the first qualifier for next season’s Final. The finished crosstable can be seen here
Keith Kitson finished in 2nd place. The 4 Candidate Master points thus awarded to Keith take him over the 20 point barrier & he is now awarded the BCCA Candidate Master Title.
Congratulations to both Dawn & Keith!
Brian Thompson has won the webserver Gold Medal tournament for the 2nd season in succession. The final crosstable can be seen here: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=57632 Brian wins an engraved BCCA Gold Medal & earns 8 BCCA Master points. Eugenio Spagnoli played well above his rating to finish in 2nd place & earn 4 BCCA Master points.
Congratulations to BCCA member John Brasier who has been awarded the ICCF Title “Correspondence Chess Expert”! The Title Norms were obtained in a German Masters strong event: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=58315 and the North Atlantic Team Tournament playing for England: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=58361 Given John’s rating is now well over 2400 I hope that other higher ICCF Titles will soon be in his grasp. Well played John!
The 2nd Welsh Member Organisations Team Tournament, which began in December 2015, has a very exciting finish in store. With only 5 games remaining (out of 105 initially), there are still three teams in with a shout at victory: BCCA Cougars, SCCA “A” and BCCA Wildcats. The tournament crosstable can be seen here: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=56581 This tournament, provided free by the Welsh CC Federation, has provided some excellent chess and there is no reason why this event should not get stronger every year. There are six BCCA teams (24 players) in the 2016 event which started last month.
If your name is not down to represent BCCA in tournaments or matches, you are missing some excellent opportunities. Contact the Match Captain, Neil Limbert, to add your name to the list.
BCCA has only just learned that Life member John Rogers passed away in late 2015 – very sad news. John was responsible for writing two Histories of the BCCA and many members will still have these books. He was also Editor of the BCCA magazine during the 1970’s & member of the Executive Committee in the 1990’s. RIP.
Alex Relyea has become the first BCCA member in 2017 to earn the BCCA Candidate Master Title. He accumulated the necessary 20 points from 2nd place in a 2016 Silver Medal tournament; 3rd place in a 2015 Silver Medal tournament; Winner of a BCCA Candidates Tournament & a Class 2 Trio. Well played Alex!
The full list of BCCA Title holders can be found here: http://www.bccachess.org/members/bcca-titles-within-reach-of-every-player/current-title-holders-and-year-awarded/
The full list of Points Awarded for players who do not yet have a BCCA Title can be found here: http://www.bccachess.org/members/bcca-titles-within-reach-of-every-player/title-points-awarded/
We have 3 Matches in the pipeline: 1 by webserver & 2 by post:-
1/ NATCOR (Webserver): I need around 15 players rated 2200 or below in a webserver Friendly Match. Each player will face one opponent over two games.
2/ NATCOR (Postal): I need 6-10 players for a Postal Match on the same basis as above.
3/ SWEDEN (Postal): International postal matches are a rarity these days so this is a good opportunity for postal players. I need 10-12 players.
If you are interested in any (or all!) of these Matches, please contact Neil Limbert before January 26. Thank you!
The 2017 Medal tournaments will start late February or early March 2017. Entries are now being taken & you can enter online at our Payment Page: http://www.bccachess.org/paypal-checkout/ or you wait for the paper Entry form (which should arrive with the 2016 Yearbook shortly) if you wish to pay by cheque. Half-price entry cost has been maintained yet again for another year so the entry fee for webserver is £3.00, and £2.00 for postal.
I look forward to receiving your entries!