Len Hammond Memorial match

From left to right, Ian Watson (Maidstone) seen receiving the shield from Bob Fenn (Chairman of Snodland Chess Club).
Maidstone triumphed in this year's Len Hammond Memorial Match, winning 3-2. The annual match, contested between Snodland and Maidstone in honour of Len's contribution to both clubs, was held at the cricket pavilion on 25 August.

After suffering heavy defeats in 2009 and 2010, the 2011 match was a much closer affair. Despite being heavily out-graded on all of the five boards, George, David Lettington, Pete and Neil all came away with draws, but Maidstone clinched the match with a win on board 1, where Matt Bunn lost to Ian Watson.

Len was a longstanding member of both Snodland and Maidstone chess clubs. He joined Snodland shortly after we formed in 2005 and was a solid supporter of the club in those early days.

KCCA Finals Day - Dartford

Snodland - 2011 Winners of Stevenson Cup

Snodland add their name to the long list of winners of the
Stevenson Cup in the Kent League Championships by
beating Phoenix from Gravesend 3.5 - 2.5 in the final.

Excellent wins by Zibby Koncki and Matt Bunn, combined
with draws by Ben Spink, Chris Marshall, and David Fowler
secured Snodlands win in their second year playing in the
Stevenson League.

In an incredible run from mid March 2011 Snodland won
their last five matches to lift the trophy. By early February
2011 the team had played four matches, winning 1, drawing
two, and losing one.  The road to Dartford and glory was as follows:

14 Oct 10   Rainham       Home     Won  4.5 - 1.5
04 Nov 10  Sevenoaks   Home      Draw   3-3
14 Dec 10   Folkestone  Home      Draw   3-3
09 Feb 11   Tonbridge   Away       Lost  4.5 - 1.5
15 Mar 11   Sitt'bourne  Home      Won  4.5 - 1.5
17 Mar 11   Maidstone  Home      Won  3.5 - 2.5
26 Mar 11   Hastings     Away      Won  1.5 - 4.5
17 Apr 11   Lewisham   Away      Won    1- 5   (S-F)
15 May 11  Phoenix                      Won  3.5-2.5  (F)

Players who appeared for the team during the course of
the  2010/11 campaign were:

Ben Spink
Zibby Koncki
Matt Bunn
Chris Marshall
David Fowler
Tyrone Jefferies
Rob Thompson
Pete Turner
David Lettington
David Nicholls
James Hart-Dyke
Pete Hickey

Thanks to all in playing their part in this historical
win for the Club.

Critical and amusing  moments of the season.

The Sittingbourne match where each team travelled
to each other's venue on 3rd February 2011.
Match was later postponed to 15 March 2011.

Tyrone (C) travelling to Snodland by bus after 6.00pm.
reorganizing the team on his mobile for the home match
against Sittingbourne that evening due to train delays
preventing Matt from reaching Snodland in time.
Tyrone managed to get Pete H to play at last minute.
Good job it was a home match and Pete lives so close.
The team then went on to punish Sittingbourne.

David F's dramatic draw against Maidstone to clinch
a very close match.

The away match against Hastings was sweet revenge
due to the losses incurred against Hastings in the Lewis Cup
paving the way for a semi-final match.

The semi-final away match against Lewisham was by far
the best performance of the season up to the final.  The
team beating the previously unbeaten Lewisham club 5-1
to  book their place in the Dartford Finals.
*** 

KCCA Finals Day 15 May 2011 Update

Our Stevenson Team will play
Phoenix in next week-ends Final.

Stevenson Cup Semi-Final

Snodland triumph in South London, beating Lewisham 5-1 and will
be at Kent Finals Day on Sunday 15th May 2011.

The match score sheet confirms an overwhelming performance

Lewisham 3 Snodland 2

162 Peter Wood 0-1 Ben Spink 191
160 Syd Jacob 0-1 Zibby Koncki 170
156 Rod Wigbout 0-1 Matt Bunn 160
146 Chris Brown 0.5-0.5 Chris Marshall 148
144 Dave Helsby 0-1 David Fowler 136
137 Mike Wood 0.5-0.5 Tyrone Jefferies 117
1-5

An exciting Sicilian scrap...

The game below was played in the B-League this week, an exciting affair with a nice finish.

Snodland Club Championship

Below are the latest positions in the Snodland Club Championship 2010-11.

Snodland Most Improved Player Award

The top five players in the running for Snodland's Most Improved Player Award are below.
The table is based on the difference between the average grading performance during the Club Championship and the players actual grade, taken in percentage terms.