This was a tough season for Edinburgh 2.

There were a number of close matches throughout the season, which went against us.

We started off with a heavy defeat to Edinburgh 1 – indeed the games were closer than the result.  Draws against Badgers Brook and University, along with narrow defeats by Edinburgh West and Dragons A, meant that we reached the halfway mark with only 2 points.

The second half of the season got underway with a tight defeat against Edinburgh 1, giving them a bit of a fright.  We followed this up with a win against Badgers Brook, our seasons highlight!

We then claimed a default win against University, when they failed to turn up at Alva Street.  Edinburgh West and Dragons A both beat us leaving us to wait for the final two games between Edinburgh 1 and University, with University needing to win one to overtake us.  Edinburgh 1 won one and claimed one by default. This ensured that Edinburgh 2 remained in the playoff place.

The playoff match was against Bank of Scotland which was closely contested with Edinburgh 2 winning narrowly.  Hence we will be in the Premier League next season.

Thanks to all who played this season.

Team:

Keith Aitchison (Captain),  Colin J Hutchison,  Lindsay A McGregor,  A David Archibald,  Neil Irving,  Michael Ridge,  Calum McGillivray,  Siddharth Berera,  Robert Kane,  Benjamin Ridge,  Raj Bhopal,  Lukah Connolly Sams,  Dietah Connolly Sams,  Ioannis Dabos-Doukas,  Snorri Kristjansson.

Full Premier Division results available here.

[Report by team captain Keith Aitchison]

The new season is not far away now. We begin with the Club AGM this Tuesday, followed by a simultaneous display on September the 24th. Unfortunately our club champion Paul Roberts is unable to give the simul, so runner up Andre Antunes will take on the club members. Good luck Andre!

Full details of our Tuesday programme will be available soon in the Club Events section of the website. The Edinburgh League beings in October, and our internal tournaments in November.

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The 2nd Northumbria Masters took place in the Novotel Hotel in Newcastle on August 22-27. 9 games in 5 days over the bank holiday weekend was a demanding schedule, but the venue was excellent and the Masters featured 6 GMs and 7 IMs. I managed to finish 5th= on 6/9, having played 4 GMs – my best tournament result in a while. TRaj Bhopal and Robert Kane played in the Challengers event.

The event will be held on the same weekend next year. Definitely worth a visit!

We were contacted by a neighbour before the weekend about some flooding in a flat two floors above that had made its way all the way down to the basement.

Within the club itself the carpet in the hall and the caretaker’s bedroom was pretty wet and there was also water in the kitchen.  The plumber advises that the problem has been fixed and the carpets etc are being dried out.

 

In the ChessBase.com Scottish Grand Prix (2018-19) club members were top in three out of the four categories winning the Challengers, Major and Minor sections!  The Grand Prix’s purpose is to boost the Scottish tournament circuit and to provide another benefit for Chess Scotland members who play chess regularly.

In the Challengers, which had a grading limit of 1701-1900, Robert Kane (1866) came first with 47.0 points wining £100 plus ChessBase software, book, magazine and a trophy.  Mike Ridge scored 32.0 coming in 6th.

Robert Kane

In the Major, for players graded 1451-1700, first was Keith Aitchison (1664) with a score of 52.0 also winning £100 plus ChessBase software, book, magazine(s) and a trophy.  Calum McGillivray (1612) came in 3rd winning ChessBase playing program (e.g. latest version of Fritz), a book and a magazine.  Martin Brejterr, Ian Whittaker and Ben Ridge also appeared in the tables at 11th, 12th and 20th respectively.

Keith Aitchison

Alan Buchan (1252) not only came first in the Minor (for players graded under 1450) with 62.0 points, winning not just £100 plus software, book, magazine(s) and a trophy but also won a further £200 bonus award having the highest total accumulated by any player in all four grand prix sections.  David Cubitt and Mark Smith also appeared in the rankings at 14th and 15th respectively.

Allan Buchan

Not forgetting the Candidates section (for players graded 1901 to 2150), where Andrew Green (2076) was the highest scoring member with 20.0 points making 15th in the table followed by Willie Rutherford (20th), Paul Roberts (25th) and David Robertson (30th).

Well done everyone!