Carse of Gowrie Chess Club 

Newsletter - August 2006

The Chess Club will be shortly commencing its third season, meeting again in the spacious and comfortable facilities provided at Inchture Hotel.

·        The AGM will take place on Thursday 7^th September at 7.00pm, followed by an informal “blitz” (quick chess) tournament. 

·        Junior coaching and training sessions will be arranged every Thursday (starting on 14^th September) between 6.30pm -7.15 pm, followed by our normal club nights for both adult players and youngsters.

·        To celebrate the start of the new season, Grandmaster Colin McNab of Dundee will be giving a simultaneous exhibition on 21st September starting at 7.00 pm.  All club players and prospective members are invited to participate.  Entries to be made by 14^th September.

Club Championships

There will be Club Championship tournaments for stronger players and one for primary school juniors, a chess ladder and several other special events will be organised throughout the season.   

Tayside and Fife League

The club will participate again in the Tayside and Fife League (TAFCA) this season, with the "A" team in the strong First Division, where they performed creditably last season, and a “B” team in the Second Division, from where it can look to seek promotion as one of the stronger teams last season.   The club will also enter one or more further teams, depending on membership numbers.

·        Last season, Karen Ramsay won TAFCA's award for the Most Improved Junior in the League.  This was the second year in succession that a Carse of Gowrie CC member has won this award (following Ewan Taylor's success in 2004-05) and pressure will be on to make it a hat-trick!

National Competitions

The club performed commendably in the Scottish National Chess League (SNCL) despite two of our top players being unavailable for the first weekend and valuable points being conceded.  For the new season, the competition has been moved to the North Queensferry Hotel, and it is to be hoped the nearer and nicer surroundings, will aid the Club's promotion effort towards Division 2.

In last season's national knock-out competitions, the Club played opposition from both ends of Scotland, hosting a close-fought match against Peterhead and being exceptionally well-entertained in Dumfries. We look forward to playing interesting opposition again in these prestigious events. 

WFM Amy Officer

·        Those of you who have been following the Club’s Website over the summer months will be aware that Amy Officer performed outstandingly for the Scottish Ladies team in the FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Turin in July.  She scored 6/9 and thus the required 66% to be awarded the Women's FIDE Master (WFM) title.  She was only 14 at the time, making her the youngest ever internationally titled chess player in Scottish history!

Interested in Joining the Club?

The Club is always looking for new members and all standards of chess player, from beginners to experts (spectators and visitors!) are welcome to come along to the Club on any Thursday evening.

For more information about the Club, matches and tournaments, please contact Alan Borwell

(Tel 01828-686556 or Email - alanpborwell@dsl.pipex.com)   Website:- www.carsechess.org.uk