Buckinghamshire Chess

They came, they saw, and inflicted a nasty but not yet fatal blow to the title challenge of Wycombe & Hazlemere 1. Well played Aylesbury 1! And things look a bit clearer at the bottom as well, and bleaker for Bourne End 2. Slough 1 finally field a half decent first team and defeat Bourne End 2, whilst Gerrards Cross 1 and a full strength Berkhamsted draw, edging Berkhamsted a vital half point towards safety.

And last but not least Bourne End 3 beat Berkhamsted 2. As I'm usually quick to comment about defaults, it's worth remarkng that Berkhamsted managed to put out different teams on two consecutive nights.

A spreadsheet of top performing players in the Bucks League is now available.

The snow having finally melted, the league season has picked up a pace, though most fixtures have been largely unremarkable.

In Division 1 Wycombe & Hazlemere completed their first cycle of fixtures with a 100% record, but remain second as Aylesbury playing a round ahead dispatched a weakened Berkhamsted team 6-0 at Berkhamsted. Bourne End 1 had a narrow win over Bourne End 2 to consolidate their third spot. There is a worrying gulf emerging between the top three and the bottom four. In fourteen matches between them,the bottom four have managed just 17 game points. Monday 8th February sees the top two meet at Wycombe, with the League Controller reluctantly being called into action.

In Division 2 the inclement weather forced a postponement of Aylesbury 2 v Wycombe & Hazlemere 2 so both sides have continue into February with 100% records, Aylesbury 2 only just scraping past their third team. Gerrards Cross have beaten just about everybody else, and have firmly established themselves in third, whilst Slough 2 are starting to pick up points, including completing the double over Bourne End 3.

Happy Christmas to all my readers.

The league tables are now settling down, and certain trends are emerging, happily for some, a bit concerning for others. Aylesbury sit like the Christmas fairy atop both divisions, and will stay there for the festive period. An impressive achievement but we all know what happens to the decorations after Twelfth Night.

In Division 1 Wycombe & Hazlemere 1 are adrift only on game points, and have a match in hand. Bourne End 1 have awoken from their rusty start and have opened up a gap in third spot, ready to pounce should the top two falter in the New Year. The rest separated by a mere half point have a relegation battle to focus the minds, so we can expect a few twists and turns over the coming months. The first division resumes on 14 January with Gerrards Cross hosting Bourne End, and Slough having an intriguing clash at home to Berkhamsted.

Division 2 is a long campaign of fourteen matches but Aylesbury 2 and Wycombe & Hazlemere 2 have 100% records at present and are threatening to brush aside all challengers and bring the outcome down to the fixtures between them. The decision of the League Controller to schedule a fixture in late December was sensible in terms of available players, but having endured a prolonged return journey from Slough through the snow laden and largely ungritted roads of South Bucks, he is considering registering Bear Grylls for next season. There are no prizes for finishing third (or indeed second), so the rest just have personal pride at stake. Division 2 always seems keen to get on with things - the fixtures resume on 5 January.

2/11 Wycombe & Hazlemere 1 field their strongest team in recent history and retain their 100% record in Division 1, beating an understrength Berkhamsted 5.5-0.5.

3/11 Aylesbury's strength in depth sees a narrow win over Wycombe & Hazlemere in the clash of third teams.

4/11 Bourne End 3 are held at home by Gerrards Cross 2.

5/11 Gerrards Cross 1 playing the first home fixture of any Gerrards Cross side this season defeat Bourne End 2 to climb of the bottom of the table.

9/11 - a degree of chaos breaks out at Wycombe & Hazlemere with a match taking place with 2 versus 5. Aylesbury 2 win to maintain early lead in division 2. The League Controller has relinquished his temporary responsibility for the Wycombe & Hazlemere 3 team and apologised to those affected.

11/11. Wycombe & Hazlemere 2 win 5-1 away to Berkhamsted 2, leaving them just behind Aylesbury 2 on game points. Bourne End 3 notch up first win of the season against Aylesbury 3.

12/11 Win for Gerrards Cross 2 over Slough 2.

16/11 Wycombe & Hazlemere 3 continue to struggle and lose at home to Bourne End 3, but on the lower boards the Klyne brothers show rich potential for the future.

17/11 Aylesbury 1 show no mercy to four man Slough 1 and win 6-0.

18/11 Bourne End 2 gain away draw at Berkhamsted 1 to go ahead of their first team.

23/11 Having lost the corresponding fixture 5-1 exactly a year earlier Wycombe & Hazlemere 1 tweak their team further, and defeat Bourne End 1 4.5-1.5, Steven Cox and David Saunders maintaining their 100% individual records. Division 1 is headed by Aylesbury on game difference, Wycombe & Hazlemere have a game in hand both sides having tricky away fixtures in early December. One Wycombe & Hazlemere player prematurely rehearses for the end of season, by spraying the adjacent board with champagne, or more probably a sticky fruit drink.

30/11 As well as captaining the first team the league controller puts in a shift for Wycombe & Hazlemere 2. The team manage a hard fought win over Gerrards Cross, and lead the second division going into December.

26 October Wycombe and Hazlemere 2 have two from two with a comfortable win over Bourne End 3, including a nine move win on top board. Is this the quickest win in the Bucks League? And does anybody lay claim to the shortest draw?

27 October Aylesbury 2 crush Gerrards Cross 2 to maintain their 100% start and lead the race for top spot from Wycombe and Hazlemere 2 on game points.

28 October The title race looks wide open as reigning league champions Bourne End go down to what appears to be their biggest home defeat since October 2002. On that occasion they lost 4-1 to Aylesbury, this time Aylesbury 4.5-1.5. A full report from the Aylesbury perspective can be found at their club site, which is an excellent example of how the BucksInfonet service can be used to publicise the club to prospective members, and to inform the existing membership of activity.

29 October Slough 2 v Berkhamsted : match postponed by mutual agreement.

Default watch: three this week - the League Controller is aware of the reason for one of them, as his club was involved in the match. It would be helpful if clubs defaulting a board for unforeseen circumstance could establish what happened and advise me and the opposing side as a courtesy afterwards.