Basingstoke ObserverBASINGSTOKE Chess Club recently dedicated a club evening to help raise funds for Demetia UK.
The event was initiated and organised by Adam Matthews and attracted 15 entrants into a Rapid Play tournament.
The winner of the Main event was Steven Jones and the beaten finalist was Mo Negargar. In the Plate competition Shaams Dally won a replay against Adam Matthews Steven received a bottle of wine and Shaams a box of chocolates. However the real winner was Dementia UK with a total of £52 being donated.
Steven Jones was a joint winner of the Blackpool Open Chess Congress held last month. Jones shared the first prize with several chess masters.
Basingstoke Chess Club has competed in various chess leagues with some success. A reduced schedule of fixtures was introduced due to Covid. In the tough Borders League, the Basingstoke team finished third with 3 points out of 5. In the last match, wins from Ivan Stipcevic, Raja Pentakota and David Graham brought up a 3-1 win against Reading A. In the Berkshire League Basingstoke A finished with 3 ½ points out of 6 and a third place. In the last match a narrow win was recorded against Bracknell A by 2 ½ to 1 ½ . Jamie Chilton scored a win and there were draws from Malcolm Cooper, John Shaddick and Peter Beldaus.
In Division 3 the B team shared the spoils against Sandhurst with a 2-2 draw and look set for a mid table finish. The points came from wins by Megan Birch and Adam Matthews.
In the Southampton League Basingstoke A have won Division 3. The success was secured with a 3 ½ - 0 ½ win over Salisbury B. The points came from wins by Mike Singleton, Jamie Chilton and Mo Negargar plus a draw from Tim Chapman. The B team recorded a good win over a strong Southampton University B team and could finish second. The points against Southampton Univ. came from wind by Philip Ware, Andrew Birch and Megan Birch.
However it is the C team which is providing much cheer at the club. The team comprises of the clubs Junior players and they are having a good season in Division 5. Their recent matches saw a 2-2 draw at Chandlers Ford C thanks to wins by Harry Smith and Liam Durangparang. The trip to Winchester saw a narrow 2 ½ - 1 ½ win with the points coming from wins by Megan Birch and Ralph Morley plus a draw from Saksham Rana.
