CLUB NEWS
19/10/2015
DIVISION 1
Tonight we saw our 'A' and 'B' teams play round 3 of the Calderdale D1. The 'A' team beat arch rivals Hebden Bridge 'A' by 4-1. A comprehensive win, although on the night the result could have been reversed. Most games went over the 3 hour mark, which shows how even they were.

Our 'B' team put up a good fight, but were comprehensively beaten 5-0 by last year's champions Todmorden A.

17/10/2015
DIVISIONS 1 and 2
It has been a while since we last updated our news feed, so we thought we would bring you all up to date with the latest news

Our 'A' team (2013/14 champions) finished 2nd in the league (Todmorden A won). The team finished with the same number of points achieved in the previous season when they were crowned champions, but Todmorden A were just a better side in the 2014/15 season.

Our 'B' team won last season's division 2 and secured promotion to division 1. This means that for the first time in memory, the Halifax club will have two teams playing in the top flight.

With the significant number of new members joining over the last two seasons, the club decided to enter a new team in division 2. This will allow all club members to play competitively, in the 4 teams now available.

The 2015/16 has now started. The first fixture saw our 'A' and 'B' teams face each other. The 'A' team won as expected but the surprise came on board 4, where V. Webster secured a win against the 'A' team captain C. Velosa.

The second round saw the 'A' team lose 4-1 against last year's champions. The 'B' team match was postponed.

Meanwhile, in division 2, the 'C' team beat the 'D' team by 3.5 - 1.5 in the first round. Our 'C' team proceeded to beat Todmorden 'C' in the second round, whilst our 'D' team lost against Hebden Bridge 'B' but only by a single board. 3-2 was the final result.

17/03/2015
DIVISION 1
Another exciting Monday night for the Calderdale Chess League. Before the first chess clock was pressed, three team shared the top of Division 1 - Todmorden A, Hebden Bridge A and Halifax A. All had the same number of points, but were split by board count (Todmorden A had 1 more than Hebden Bridge A who in turn had 1 more than Halifax A). On paper, the three teams were favorites to win their respective matches on the night (Todmorden vs Courier, Halifax vs Belgrave and Hebden Bridge A vs Tod B). The big question was "Which team will drop board points and how many?".

As expected, the three teams beat their opponents. Todmorden A and Halifax A sailed through with 4.5 - 0.5 wins, but Hebden Bridge A was less fortuitous and won by 3.5 - 1.5. This means that positions at the top of the league table remain the same, but now Hebden Bridge A and Halifax A are 2 boards behind Todmorden A.

With only 2 more fixtures to be played, the season has reached it's critical stage. On March 30, Hebden Bridge A will host Halifax A, on a titanic clash that may ultimately lead to glory. Victory for Halifax A will put them on the driving seat for retaining the title as their last match will be at home to league bottom Todmorden B. A draw will leave things wide open as Todmorden A are playing against Hebden Bridge A on the last fixture. Halifax would rely on Todmorden A to lose or draw. A loss for Halifax A against Hebden Bridge A would rule them out of title contention..

10/03/2015
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP (TIMEFORM CUP)
Yesterday saw the conclusion of this season's individual championship competition. Halifax player Richard Porter was in with a chance to grab the title on his debut season in the Calderdale league, but in form Matthew Parsons (from Huddersfield A) stood in his way. Richard had a tall order - Matthew had a 20 point grade advantage and was playing with white pieces. The battle ended with a win for Matthew, which allowed him to clinch this year's Individual Championship title with 4.5 points out of a possible 5. Richard Porter ended the tournament in a very respectable joint 4th place.

The game between Matthew Parsons and Richard Porter can be seen below:

Other results (Halifax players only - in bold)
S Gornall 1 - 0 T Webster
A Dawson 0 - 1 A Gonzalez
M Barnett 0 - 1 B Wadsworth
A Leatherbarrow 1 - 0 J Nicholson
M Randhawa 1 - 0 C Greaves

Final table
1st - Matthew Parsons 4.5 points
2nd - JM Morgan & P Leonard - 4 points
4th - Richard Porter, PR Cook & P Mulleady - 3.5 points

Other Halifax players
7th - S Gornall & B Wadsworth - 3 points
14th - M Randhawa - 2.5 points
16th - A Dawson - 2 points
22nd - J Nicholson & V Webster - 1 point

02/03/2015
DIVISION 2
HALIFAX B TEAM WINS PROMOTION TO DIVISION 1

The Halifax B team beat Hebden Bridge C by 5-0. This win guarantees promotion to division 1. It also means that one win out of their 3 remaining matches will be enough to clinch the division 2 title. Even a draw may be enough as the Halifax team currently has a 10 board lead which is virtually impossible to cancel out.

The champagne is already on ice and the bottles ready to be popped. We are very much looking forward to see Halifax A and B teams both playing in division 1.

DIVISION 1
The Halifax A team won their match against Todmorden B. The result on the night was 4-1. This allowed the Halifax team to catch Hebden Bridge A and Todmorden A teams at the top of the league table. Only 2 boards now split the three teams, so each and every single board point on the remaining 3 matches is crucial. It may prove to be the difference between winning the title or finishing just behind.

23/02/2015
DIVISION 1
The Halifax A team won their away match against Courier.

Match scorecard:
Courier A 1½ - 3½ Halifax A
1 AJ Slinger W 0 - 1 W Somerset
2 DA Patrick W 1 - 0 D Ursal
3 JM Morgan W 0 - 1 W Williams
4 R Clegg W ½ - ½ R Porter
5 S Harrington W 0 - 1 C Velosa

Other results included a somewhat surprising 4½ - ½ win for Hebden Bridge A against Huddersfield.  This result allowed Halifax A to catch Huddersfield and Todmorden B in the League table.

League leaders are now Hebden Bridge A, who for the time being are 2 points ahead of the other 3 title contenders, two of which will be playing against each other on February 25th (Huddersfield at home to Todmoreden A). Halifax A has a game in hand as they are yet to play Todmorden B, who sit at the bottom of the league with only a win and a draw in 10 matches played..

16/02/2015
DIVISION 2
The Halifax B home match against Hebden Bridge B has been postponed. New date yet to be decided.

12/02/2015
DIVISION 2
The Halifax C away match against Todmorden C has been postponed. New date yet to be decided.

DIVISION 1
The Halifax A away match against Todmorden B will be played on March 2nd.

09/02/2015
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP (TIMEFORM CUP) - Halifax team newcomer Richard Porter has won his round 4 match against Scott Gornall (also a Halifax player). This win meant that Richard is now joint leader in the competition. Matthew Parsons from Huddersfield and John Morgan from Courier are the other joint leaders.

Richard will play either Matt or John on the final round being played on March 9th. A win will guarantee his name on the trophy.

Other results (Halifax players only - in bold)

Adrian Dawson 1-0 R Deravairere
A Gonzales 1-0 V Webster
J Nicholson 0-1 B Wadsworth
M Randhawa ½ - ½ A Brown

ABOUT US

Welcome to the Halifax Chess Club website. We have four teams playing in the Calderdale Chess League.

The Halifax 'A' and 'B' teams play in division 1

The Halifax 'C' and 'D' teams play in division 2.

If you wish to play for the Club please contact us using the form available on this page.

Alternatively you can contact Mac Randhawa (club secretary) on 01422 363641.

VENUE

The Halifax Chess Club teams play on Mondays after 7.30pm at the Lee Mount Working Mens Club in Halifax.Address:

Lee Mount Road
Halifax
West Yorkshire
HX3 5EQ
ENGLAND