Newcastle emerge as favourites for Division 1 title

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 12 January 2024)

January is traditionally the month for rueing New Year’s resolutions, counting the cost of that Christmas spending splurge – and working out who’s going up and down in the sporting world.

So it is with chess leagues. At the halfway point in the 2023-24 Northumbria League season, candidates for titles, promotion and relegation are becoming clearer.

Newcastle A have surged into a clear lead in Division 1, with 10/10 match points, ahead of their nearest rivals South Shields A on 6/10.
In the top-table clash this week, Newcastle A beat South Shields A 3-1 thanks to wins by Tim Wall, Andy Burnett and Nathan Ekanem.
At the lower end of Division 1, Tynemouth A on 3/10 and Jesmond on 1/10 have a tough battle to avoid the drop.

In Division 2, Gosforth Salters are on top with 11/12 after defeating Gosforth Regents 4-0 this week. There’s a close fight between Newcastle University A (8/10) and the Regents (7/12) for the playoff spot.
At the foot of Division 2, it’s a dogfight between South Shields B (1/8) and Forest Hall Foxes (1/10) to avoid the wooden spoon.

The Division 3 leaders are Tynemouth B on 9/10, followed by Gosforth Centurions on 8/10. The relegation candidates are Morpeth B (2/10) and Forest Hall Woodpeckers (0/10).

Leam Lane Bullets are favourites to win Division 4 with 10/12, with Gateshead in second on 8/12.
Forest Hall Squirrels and Morpeth C (both on 2/10) are in danger of going down.

Newcastle University B are ruling Division 5 with 10/10, followed by Gosforth Jedis on 8/12.
Alnwick B (3/12) and Leam Lane Comets (2/10) are in the relegation zone.

The Division 6 runaway leaders are Newcastle B on 10/10, followed by Alnwick C (5/10) and Gosforth Otterburns (5/12).

Individual Leaderboards:

Division 1: Andy Burnett (Newcastle A) 4.5/5, Tim Wall (Newcastle A), Graeme Oswald (Leam Lane Aces) 3.5/5.
Division 2: Shakti Sood 5.5/6, Shakh Saliev (both Gosforth Salters) 4/5.
Division 3: George Ellames (Alnwick A), Mark McKay (Gosforth Centurions), Paul Edwards & John Clarke (Tynemouth B) 3.5/5.
Division 4: Dave Stewardson (Leam Lane Bullets) 5/6, Bob Heyman & Michael Owen (Gosforth Hawthorns) 4/5.
Division 5: Paul Castledine (Alnwick B) & Varun Padikal (Newcastle University B) 3.5/4.
Division 6: Alan Johnson (South Shields D) 5/6; Danny Atcheson & Didrik Leivdal (both Newcastle B) 4/4.

This week’s puzzles are taken from UK events in December.

Puzzle A: Raj Mohindra (Black) to play & win:

Puzzle B: Oscar Pollack (White) to play & win:

Puzzle C: Danny Gormally (White) to play & win:

Puzzle D: Andy Horton (Black) to play & win:

Answers:
A: 1…R8b2! & Black won. If 2 Nxb2 Rxe1 checkmate, or 2 Qxb2 Rxb2 3 Nxb2 Qxa3.
B: 1 Bf6! gxf6 2 exf6 Nf5 3 Re4 1-0.
C: 1 Bf8+! Kxf8 2 Qe8+ Kg7 3 Re7+ Kh6 4 Qf8+ Bg7 5 Qxg7+ Kg5 6 Re5+ Kg4 7 Kg2 1-0.
D: 1…Ng3+! 2 hxg3 Qh5+ 3 Bh2 fxg3 0-1.