by Saul Marks
Only a few weeks ago, we were in the depths of winter but now suddenly the clocks have gone forward and we find ourselves hurtling towards the end of the season. The talk is increasingly of titles, promotion and relegation hopes and who might be in which division next season. So, with just seven club nights left of the winter season, let’s have a look at how things stand.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Christmas, Ed Taylor & Chris Latham were setting a strong pace, with Mike Coffey and Dave Clark in pursuit, with games in hand. Sadly, Dave dialled back his campaign in the run-up to and following a bereavement, for which he has received condolences from many at the club. That left Mike to reel in the leaders and that’s exactly what he’s done. Although they both beat him in their first encounters, he returned the favour in their second games as part of an 8-game winning streak. He now sits atop the peak on 65 points, 11 clear of Ed who, with only two games left to play, can’t catch him.
Mathematically, only two players can stop Mike from securing the title for the 13th time. Chris needs to put together a string of wins in the final month and hope Mike slips up in the last few yards. Meantime, Titas Vdovycia, who only played 6 games before Christmas, got stuck in in the New Year and soared up the table. As things stand, Mike needs one more win to eliminate Titas from the race, and a maximum of three to do the same to Chris; perhaps only a fool would bet against him now!
The bottom end of the table remains very unpredictable, apart from Jon Booth’s almost certain relegation. The three heavyweights of Rick Purcell, Luke Maher and Paul Evans remain in the mix. Paul, frustrated by the fact he can’t attend often enough to mount a serious title challenge, is on only 14 points, while Luke is just above on 15. Above, the relegation threshold is straddled by Rick, Ken Jones & Graham Carr, all on 18 points. Based on tie break criteria, Graham sits in the one remaining relegation spot, but anything could happen in the final few weeks to re-sort these three. Rick has finally found some form late in the season, and a couple more wins for any of these three should see them safe. But who will it be? And will the super-strong players play enough games to save themselves?
It has been suggested that, if any of the super-strong players were to be “relegated”, that they may choose to bow out of the internal league system, rather than compete in the Premiership next season. This is a personal decision for anyone who might find themselves in that position, but it would affect the strength of, and numbers in, the Premiership in 2025/26.
A number of Championship players have expressed the desire to reduce the numbers in the top division to something like 15, 12 or even less, and we can look forward (?!) to this topic being raised at the AGM. If a significant reduction is made, by way of more relegation places in 2026, then the decisions made this summer by any super-strong players relegated from the Championship could have interesting & complex consequences for the top end of the club, and a ripple effect on everyone below.
PREMIERSHIP
The second division remains dominated by Paul Jesse, who’s 16 points clear and sure to see his name on the trophy come July.
Behind him, Alan Jackson is poised to take second place and return to the top flight at the first time of asking, but he has Adam Miller just five points behind, so he can’t afford more than the slightest of hiccups. Jeff Povall & Brian Wiggett have maintained their strong showings and round out the top five. The division has been worse for the loss of young Harry McLeod in February, to the pressures of GCSEs and other things, but we hope he’ll return next season. Just outside the playoff places is Chinenye Basil-Nwachuku, who has sailed up the table since beginning to play more regularly, and who should secure a playoff place. There are therefore likely to be four players rated over 1600 in the playoffs, which will make for a very exciting knockout competition!
At the other end, attendance has played a big part in deciding who will probably go down to the Major. Uvindu Adimali has only played a handful of games and will be relegated, along with Leon Wolszczak. Phil Taylor, who has been unable to attend regularly due to evening work commitments, has also resigned himself to the drop, although Tony Roberts will be given immunity, having played just the one game all season. Neil Maher had to cut short his season for personal reasons and Mark Burgess was forced to give up chess for now due to international travel for work. Both complete the relegation zone at this time, securing narrow survivals for Ron champion, Martin Hargreaves & Graham Heath, who have all had torrid seasons.
The number of players in the Premiership next season will largely depend on who genuinely comes down from the Championship, with the number of relegation places depending on whether the top flight is severely shorn.
MAJOR
Joe Ledgerton has continued to lead the Major by some distance, to the extent that he’s been able to play a host of representative matches for the club in recent months, knowing the title is virtually certain to be his for the second time in three years. He has been the club’s most improved player in the second half of the season and his rating in April is likely to be 1750 or higher.
Behind him has been one of the most exciting battles of the seasons, with five players jostling for position and constantly leapfrogging each other: Thomas Moran, Terrence Jiang, Paul Greenway, Lee Whitford-Stark & Felix Lefeuvre. Youngsters Thomas & Terrence have been racing for the second automatic promotion spot in recent weeks and Thomas has pulled ahead by 15 points, although he’s due to go away for a week at Easter, so that might become a factor. Terrence, Paul & Lee are separated by just three points, with Lee planning to come both nights per week for the last few weeks, to give himself the best chance of getting out of the division. If he and Terrence face off in the playoff final, it would be tragic that one of them wouldn’t have Premiership chess next season.
Again, most of the relegation places are filled with relatively inactive players, such as Amanda Adimali, Steve Prendergast, Connor Washington, Liam Davies and Will Madeley, who suspended his campaign some time ago. Sam Clark looked doomed to join them but, after a few weeks away from the club, he’s returned in form and has now caught Viv Oldham and has pushed him into the relegation zone by beating him on Monday this week. Split only by tiebreak criteria, this new relegation battle could add some spice to the end of the season in this division.
Again, how many of the less active players will rejoin next season, especially in the bottom tier, remains to be seen.
FIRST CLASS
The fourth division has been dominated by runaway leader Kirsten Rowe for most of the season, although the strongest players in the division were the least active. In recent weeks, Lucas Farrell has changed that, as he & Charlie Ren have booked in games and stormed up the table to turn what was effectively a foregone conclusion into a genuinely exciting title race!
Along with Stuart Rowe, these three are 26 points ahead of the rest of the division. Lucas has overtaken Stuart for second place and his late-season charge has spurred Kirsten back into action, having taken her foot off the gas for while. She remains top, with 111 points from an incredible 55 games, while Lucas is ten points behind from 40 games. Both are scrambling to book games as the days tick by, so this one is worth keeping a close eye on, right down to the wire!
KNOCKOUTS
The Dave Camm final will be a mouth-watering affair between Paul Evans and Dave Clark, while the Open Major is a little further behind. Terrence Jiang and Brian Wiggett have secured semi-final spots, to be joined by the winners of Alan Jackson v Adam Miller and Phil Taylor v Alan Kelly. Who’s favourite amongst that lot is anyone’s guess!
It proves to be another exciting season run-in, so keep your eyes on the club website over the next few weeks to see how everything pans out!