Sun set

The sun sets over Stirling Chess Club - figuratively, but not literally. Our outdoor sessions continue, although won't last much longer as it's getting dark at 7pm, and our weekly online competition on lichess.org, with our friends from Stirling University, continue. It's still unclear when we might be allowed back into the Church, but it's unlikely to be anytime soon.
 

Outdoor Chess and a Beautiful Sunset

 The outdoor chess continues. We're a serious lot - not easily distracted by beautiful sunsets...

Outdoor Chess

The outdoor chess continues. After one of the worst storms in living memory (and it seems Stirling may only have got the edge of it), it was a beautiful warm night in Kings Park. Thanks to all who turned out.

The New Normal

The club 'met' for the first time in four months earlier tonight for some outdoor games at Kings Park. Thanks to those who came along, and those who provided the sets, to make it an enjoyable evening.

We look forward to welcoming the other clubs from the Central League here to complete the fixtures from the 2019/2020 season on a wet, windy Monday night in November </joke>

Chess Club Suspended

In line with current government advice to limit social contact to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, the chess club has been suspended until further notice.

2 March 2020 - Richardson Cup

I'm a bit late posting this, but it's worth it. Thanks to John for providing this game where he had White against Kabir in the Richardson Cup last Monday.

[Event "Richardson Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2020.03.02"] [Round ""] [White "Blake, J"] [Black "Pandit, K"] [Result "0-1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. e3 O-O 6. Be2 c6 7. O-O Qc7 8. h3 e5 9. d5 a5 10. e4 Na6 11. Be3 h6 12. Qd2 Kh7 13. Rac1 c5 14. a3 Qe7 15. Nh2 Nc7 16. Ng4 Ng8 17. Rfd1 f5 18. Nh2 f4 19. Bxc5 Ra6 20. Bxd6 Rxd6 21. c5 Rdd8 22. Nb5 Nxb5 23. Bxb5 f3 24. d6 Qf6 25. c6 bxc6 26. Rxc6 Bb7 27. Ng4 Qh4 28. Rc7 Bxe4 29. g3 Qxh3 30. Ne3 Nf6 31. Bf1 Qh5 32. Qxa5 Nd7 33. Qa4 Bf5 34. Qa7 Be6 35. Qa5 Qg5 36. Qb4 Rb8 37. Qd2 Qh5 38. b4 Bh3 39. Qd3 Nf6 40. Bxh3 Qxh3 41. Qf1 Qh5 42. d7 Ne4 43. d8=Q Rbxd8 44. Rxd8 Rxd8 45. Qc4 Qh3 46. Qf7 Rd1+ 0-1

9 March 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling B		v		Stirling E
Dave Hewitt Brad Duthie Richard Warcup Craig Manson Godon Allcock	1547 1494 1463 1448 1284	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0	1398   1389 1326 1158	Aaron Nobile Kris Dimitrov Tom Wallace Kenny MacPherson Mick Bloor
		4 - 1

9 March 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling Juniors(D)		v		Cumbernauld B
Glen Wilson Alex Brimlow Douglas Pringle Gordon Bowie Nadzieja Lu-Czartoryjska	406	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	869 563	Euan Wallace Ibrahim Khan Chrysa Mitraka Rayhan Hussein Mark Bellamy-Collins
		½ - 4½

Thanks to Cumbernauld for travelling through. The two youngest teams to compete in the Central League for many a year...possibly ever. Well done all!

27 February 2020 - Central League Division 2

Cumbernauld B		v		Stirling B
Liam Heron Mark Heron Sophie Heron Emma Heron Arran Wallace	1225 1085 760 616 u/g	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	1640 1494 1567 1547 1463	William Spiers Brad Duthie David McAlister Dave Hewitt Richard Warcup
		0 - 5

Stirling B extended their 100% record this season to 10 matches. There are two matches left to play but with this victory the team has already retained the Division 2 title

24 February 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling C		v		Grangemouth B
Craig Manson Kris Dimitrov Tony Pitson Kenny MacPherson Gordon Allcock	1448   1413 1326 1284	0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0	1572   1319 1289 1035	Ian Mason Bill Gray Hugh Hanlon Crawford Welsh Scott Dickson
		2½ - 2½

24 February 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling Juniors(D)		v		Badgers Brook B
Glen Wilson Ross Warcup Alex Brimlow Gordon Bowie Nadzieja Lu-Czartoryjska	592 406	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	1644   1445 1267 877	John Smith Graham Kerr Kenny Aiston Gordon Walker Peter Woollven
		0 - 5

19 February 2020 - Central Allegro League

Grangemouth Tiger 9-7 Stirling Bruce
Round 1
Alan Bell	1 - 0	Brad Duthie
Dougie Will	1 - 0	John Blake
Ian Mason	1 - 0	Dave Hewitt
Alasdair Sandham	½ - ½	Graham Anderson
Round 2
Alan Bell	1 - 0	John Blake
Dougie Will	0 - 1	Bill Cook
Ian Mason	0 - 1	Graham Anderson
Alasdair Sandham	½ - ½	Brad Duthie
Round 3
Alan Bell	1 - 0	Bill Cook
Dougie Will	1 - 0	Graham Anderson
Ian Mason	1 - 0	Brad Duthie
Alasdair Sandham	0 - 1	John Blake
Round 4
Alan Bell	0 - 1	Graham Anderson
Dougie Will	1 - 0	Brad Duthie
Ian Mason	0 - 1	John Blake
Alasdair Sandham	0 - 1	Bill Cook

17 February 2020 - Lindsay Cup

Thanks to Glen for providing the game below, where he had Black against Richard in a Lindsay Cup group game.

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2020.02.17"] [Round "-"] [White "Warcup, Richard"] [Black "Wilson, G"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg4 6. Be3 Nf6 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Bg5 e6 10. a3 Be7 11. Qd2 Qb6 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Nb1 Ne4 14. Qxa5 Nxa5 15. Bd3 Rc8 16. Be3 O-O 17. Ne5 Nb3# 0-1

Nice mate!

10 February 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling C		v		Stirling B
Craig Manson Kris Dimitrov Tony Pitson Gordon Allcock Craig Thomson	1448   1413 1284 824	0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1	1494 1567 1547 1531 1463	Brad Duthie David McAlister Dave Hewitt John Blake Richard Warcup
		1 - 4

10 February 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling E		v		Stirling Juniors (D)
Tom Wallace Kenny MacPherson Mick Bloor Martin Pringle Tom McKay	1389 1376 1158 990 770	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	592 406	Glen Wilson Ross Warcup Alex Brimlow Gordon Bowie Douglas Pringle
		5 - 0

Game of this match was definitely the bottom board clash between Tom and Douglas. It turned into a slug-fest, lasting well over two hours. Douglas missed an opportunity when the Queen exchange was offered to win Tom's Queen for a Rook, and finally resigned when Tom threatened an indefensible mate. Alex did well to force his way back into the game against Mick, before falling to a back rank mate. Thanks to Tom for providing the game below from board 1.

[Event "Stirling E v Stirling Juniors(D)"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2020.02.10"] [Round ""] [White "Wallace, T"] [Black "Wilson, G"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Bd3 Bxd3 5. Qxd3 Nd7 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O g6 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Bxe7 Nxe7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. g4 Qb6 12. Qe3 Rfc8 13. Qh6 c5 14. Ng5 Nf8 15. Kh1 cxd4 16. Rg1 Rxc2 17. Rg3 Rac8 18. Rf3 { After 17 Rg3, Stockfish started shouting that 17 ... Qxb2 was the move, giving it +2. 17 ... Qxb2 18 Rb1 Rc1+ 19 Rxc1 Qxc1+ 20 Kg2 Qxd2. As soon as the Knight on g5 moves, the Queens can be exchanged and White's mate threat is pretty much gone. Given some more time, though, it settled on 17 ... Nc6 as the best move, presumably going next to e5 to protect f7. Either way, Stockfish is happy with Black's position after either of these options. Unfortunately, Rac8 doesn't really help Black. } 18... Nf5 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Nb3 Qb4 21. Nxh7 d3 22. Nf6# 1-0

Robert Togneri

Stirling chess club – and the Central Scotland Chess League – lost its longest-serving member with the death on 25 January 2020 of Robert Togneri, aged 81. Both club and league have many pleasant people among their memberships, but no one was more liked, over the half-century-plus of his involvement, than Robert. He was the most thoughtful, committed and diligent member any club could wish to have – and it helped that he was a very handy player, too.

His first appearance in a league match for Stirling appears to have been a draw against J M Allan of Dunfermline on 1 April 1964, and his first win – likewise against Dunfermline, R Roxburgh this time – came on 18 November that same year. Robert also played (and won) for Stirling C earlier this season, so he appeared in 57 of the league’s 62 seasons to date, an unrivalled achievement.

During his time at the Stirling club, Robert served in a variety of roles: secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, league secretary, first-team regular and then long-time captain of the Stirling B team. He also captained the under-1500 team during the early years of the period when it won that particular trophy nine times in 11 seasons, and was a member of the Stirling team that won the Spens Cup in 1967-68, recording a draw on board seven in the 5-2 final win against Benarty.

Robert was never club champion, as his best playing years coincided with the club having greater top-end strength than it does today, but he was runner-up at least twice, in 1967-68 and 1968-69 (behind Rainer Bartsch and Maxwell Thornton respectively), and he won the Lindsay Cup – the reserve section of the championship – three times, in 1964-65, 1983-84 and 1993-94. Robert also won the Keddie Cup – when it was played as a traditional knockout rather than the handicap tournament of modern times – in 1970-71, and he was runner-up in the club lightning tournament (what would now be called blitz) in 1970-71 and 1971-72. The club used to have something called a matchplay champion – which appears to have been determined by a season-long cumulative tally of overall results – and Robert was runner-up in this three times in a row: 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1967-68. His prowess at fast chess remained into his senior years, and as late as November 2007 he was joint-winner of the twice-yearly club allegro tournament – the five-round Swiss which from 2015 was happily played for the Robert Togneri Trophy, instituted to mark his half-century of involvement with the club.

Almost certainly, however, Robert’s finest tournament achievement was winning the Scottish Open, with a score of 5½/7 (and an extraordinary final-round stalemate to clinch the title – see below) in Dundee in 1967, and he went on to play in the main Scottish championship in the summers of 1968 (Ayr) and 1969 (Glasgow). In those days the Scottish was a closed event, and this gives some indication of Robert’s strength during that time. Grading lists dating back to 1981 show a highest grade of 1715 in 1989-90, and a steady presence in the 1600s during the earlier years of that decade. This in itself represents a very respectable standard of play, but it’s reasonable to assume Robert was quite a bit stronger than that in the pre-grading days, particularly from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s.

He had a sound and quietly effective technique, with a notable ability in the endgame – for many years he was regarded as the best endgame player at the club, and stories abound of his turning lost endgames into draws and drawn ones into wins. The present writer can recall embarking on a double-knights with pawns endgame against Robert that initially seemed a near-trivial win but gradually became a desperate struggle for survival, with considerable relief when a draw was eventually achieved. Dougie Will of Grangemouth similarly notes that “sometime, possibly in the late 1990s, I went into a rook and pawns endgame against Robert two pawns up, and despite being 400 points higher graded lost dismally…”. There were countless such pieces of endgame magic, and Robert retained this ability well into old age. He was often to be seen studying endgame positions alone in a corner of the club room (or demonstrating some subtlety to other club members), in much the same way that many players opt to study opening theory.

Robert appeared to have a natural aptitude in endgames, but it’s worth remembering that he grew up in the days when games were regularly adjourned – rather than thrashed out in quickplay finishes – and players would take the unfinished scoresheet home with them, study it over the course of several evenings (no computers in those days), before returning to bring the game to a conclusion a week or so later. It was in adjournment analysis that strong endgame players such as Robert honed their ability, and this was something he brought with him into the more frantic modern era.

Another notable feature of Robert’s play was how rarely he found himself in time trouble. Some people – John Blake is another with this ability at the Stirling club – seem able to play simple but strong chess at a steady rate that sees them keep comfortably on the right side of the clock. Robert for many years was Stirling’s prime exponent of this, as his various fast-chess tournament wins demonstrate. At some point in his final year or so he did actually lose a game on time – and he believed that this was the first time it had ever happened to him.

All this tournament and league detail provides only part of the picture of Robert, however. He would play friendlies with anyone, regardless of strength or age – indeed he was a great encourager of junior chess, and the recent upturn in junior enthusiasm at the club, along with the increase in membership generally, is part of his legacy. He was also a notable welcomer of new people: since his death, several of the current club members have commented that Robert was the first person they played at the Stirling club – but there is nothing surprising about this, because that kind of meet-and-greet, fancy a game? thing was what he did, year after year.

Above all, he was almost always there, a near-permanent benevolent presence at the club. There were occasional absences due to ill-health – a heart bypass at one stage and a partial withdrawal from playing, in league matches at least, for a while after his beloved Marie died in 2012 – but he would be back as soon as he was able, as the chess club, and the game itself, meant so much to him. In terms of his chess longevity – and the Stirling club’s habit of producing such people – it’s worth noting that on his 1964 league debut, Robert played on board four (of five), and sitting alongside him on board three was James Keddie – who became club champion for the sixth and final time that same 1963-64 season, having first won it in 1924-25, so the overlap with Robert covers pretty much 100 years of the club.

There is so much more that could be said about Robert – for instance his unwillingness to raise his voice even when he had a strong opinion, and his being the most neatly turned-out person at the club, with his cardigans, his old-fashioned hat and his umbrella. In his final few months he even started sporting a rather natty beard. He had exemplary manners, would always find time for a chat, and numerous of his friends from this club and beyond have described him as “a gentleman” – which is exactly what he was.

Others, elsewhere, will be able to tell of his family life, his work as a teacher, his religious faith; but in chess terms he was an absolute stalwart who gave hugely to the chess scene in central Scotland over half a century, and he will be missed greatly. Condolences to his family, and to his friends elsewhere.

[Event "Scottish Open"] [Site "Dundee"] [Date "1967"] [Round "7"] [White "Wilkie, H"] [Black "Togneri, R"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Qc2 a6 11. a4 Nbd7 12. Bf4 Nb6 13. Nd2 Bg4 14. Bd3 Nh5 15. Be3 Qe7 16. h3 Bd7 17. a5 Nc8 18. Nc4 Rb8 19. Qd2 Nf6 20. Bf4 Nh5 21. Bh2 Qf8 22. Rfe1 Bh6 23. Qc2 Nf4 24. Bf1 f5 25. e5 dxe5 26. Nxe5 Qd6 27. Nd3 Ne7 28. Kh1 Nexd5 29. Nxd5 g5 30. N5xf4 gxf4 31. Qc4+ Be6 32. Bxf4 Qc6 33. Rxe6 Qxe6 34. Qxe6+ Rxe6 35. Bxb8 c4 36. Nc5 Re8 37. Bxc4+ Kg7 38. Ne6+ Kf6 39. Bf4 Bxf4 40. Nxf4 Re4 41. Nd5+ Ke5 42. Ne3 h5 43. Re1 f4 44. Nc2 Rxe1+ 45. Nxe1 Kd4 46. Be2 h4 47. Nf3+ Kc5 48. Nxh4 Kb4 49. Bf3 Kxa5 50. Bxb7 Kb6 51. Be4 a5 52. Bc2 Kb5 53. Nf3 a4 54. h4 Kb4 55. h5 a3 56. bxa3+ Kxa3 57. h6 Kb2 58. Bf5 Kc3 59. h7 Kc4 60. h8=Q Kd5 61. Qe5+ Kc6 62. Qxf4 Kd5 63. g4 Kc6 64. g5 Kd5 65. g6 Kc6 66. g7 Kc5 67. Qe4 Kd6 68. Nd4 Kc5 69. Be6 Kd6 70. f4 Kc5 71. f5 Kd6 72. f6 Kc5 73. f7 Kd6 74. f8=Q+ Kc7 75. Qc8+ Kd6 76. Qd7+ Kc5 77. g8=Q Kb4 78. Qec6 Ka3 79. Qdb7 1/2-1/2

Robert's last win for the club is presented below.

[Event "Stirling C v Badgers Brook B"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2019.10.14"] [Round ""] [White "Togneri, R"] [Black "van der Heever, C"] [Result "1-0"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bd2 g6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bd3 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O b5 9. c5 a5 10. b3 Qc7 11. a3 Na6 12. Re1 b4 13. axb4 Nxb4 14. Bf1 Ba6 15. Bxa6 Rxa6 16. Ne5 Ne4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxb4 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Qd4 Qb8 21. Rxa5 e5 22. Qc3 Rxa5 23. Bxa5 f5 24. Qb4 Rc8 25. Qc4+ Kg7 26. Bc3 Re8 27. Rd1 h5 28. h4 Kh6 29. Rd6 f4 30. Qf7 Rg8 31. Bxe5 f3 32. Bf4# 1-0

3 February 2020 - Central League Division 1

Stirling A		v		Grangemouth A
Kabir Pandit Steve Smith Graham Anderson Bill Cook John Blake	1753 1662 1592 1531	0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0	2146 1970 1816 1735 1319	Uby Archibong Alan Bell Dougie Will David Wallace Hugh Hanlon
		2 - 3

Uby and Kabir were first finished, in a game which seemed to me to consist of swapping off pieces. Both promoted pawns in the end game, but with Uby's pawn being further advanced he triumphed. David got Bill into a right guddle in the corner, and Bill then resigned. John beat Hugh in a game I saw nothing of. Both Steve and my games went right down to the last minutes. Alan dropped a rook in time trouble, and my game - well, it's below.

[Event "Stirling A v Grangemouth A"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2020.02.03"] [Round ""] [White "Anderson, G"] [Black "Will, D"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. c3 d6 6. Be3 g5 7. Qc2 { Stockfish recommends 0-0 but there's no way I'm castling into those pawns. } 7... Bg7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. O-O-O Na5 10. d4 Qe8 11. Bd3 { I was happy enough with this move, trying to keep my pieces on the board, until about a minute later I saw 11 dxe5 dxe5 12 Bc5. } 11... Ng4 12. Nf1 b6 13. h4 { An attempt to break up the g and h pawns and get some play towards the King. } 13... Nxe3 14. Nxe3 g4 15. Nh2 h5 { I had initially intended f3 to this but I've only just spotted Bh6 as the reply. } 16. d5 { To close the game off. Black's white squared Bishop and Knight on a5 aren't going far. } 16... Nb7 17. g3 { Still hoping to get f3 in at some point. } 17... Nc5 18. Be2 Bh6 19. Nf1 f5 { I'd missed this, forgetting that the Knight on e3 is pinned. } 20. Kb1 fxe4 { Where I'd been quite comfortable up until now, I'm feeling the game slipping away from me here. } 21. b4 Na4 22. Rh2 a5 23. b5 Nc5 24. Nd2 Bxe3 25. fxe3 Bf5 { Really stuck for a move here } 26. Nb3 Nd3 27. a4 Bg6 28. Nc1 Nc5 29. Rhh1 Qe7 30. Rde1 Rf6 31. Qd1 Raf8 { I'm pretty much resigned to losing here, so let's get rid of the two pawns preventing me from getting near Black's King. } 32. Bxg4 hxg4 33. Qxg4 Kh8 34. h5 Bh7 35. Qh4 Nxa4 { I hadn't even considered this, but if I let him, this allows Black to get the Knight back to d5 and protect the Queen. } 36. Ne2 R6f7 37. Qxe7 { I don't really have a choice about this. } 37... Rxe7 38. g4 Rf2 39. Kc2 Ref7 40. g5 R7f3 41. Kd1 Rxe3 42. g6 Nxc3+ 43. Nxc3 Rd3+ 44. Kc1 Rxc3+ { It's the gaining of the tempo capturing the Knight back that Dougie is really good at - and I am not. } 45. Kb1 Bg8 46. h6 Ra3 47. g7+ Kh7 48. Rc1 Bxd5 49. Rxc7 Bg8 50. Rc8 Rb3+ 51. Kc1 Ra3 52. Kb1 Ba2+ 53. Kc1 Be6 54. Rh8+ Kg6 55. Rg1+ Kf6 56. Rf8+ Bf7 57. g8=Q Ra1# { In fairness, we're both down to seconds here. In my excitement, and having been behind for so long, I was that excited at getting to promote the pawn that I completely forgot to look at the whole board. The winning move for White is 56 Rxf7+. If 56 ... Kxf7 57 g8=Q+ (getting the tempo that I need) and if 56 ... Ke6 57 Rxf2 Ra1+ 58 Kc2 Rxg1 59 h7 and one of the pawns will promote. } 0-1

Thanks to John Blake for providing the game below, where he had Black against Hugh Hanlon.

[Event "Stirling A v Grangemouth A"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2020.02.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Hanlon, H"] [Black "Blake, J"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 b6 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. d3 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Be3 Bxb2 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Bd4 Bxd4 9. Nxd4 a6 10. f4 c5 11. N4f3 Ne7 12. d4 d5 13. exd5 exd5 14. Be2 Nf5 15. Rf2 O-O 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. Nb3 c4 18. Nbd4 Nxd4 19. Qxd4 Nc6 20. Qc3 f6 21. Nh4 f5 22. Qg3 Qf6 23. Rb1 Na5 24. Bf3 Rab8 25. Re2 Ba8 26. Rd1 Rbe8 27. Re5 Rxe5 28. fxe5 Qe6 29. Bh5 Kg7 30. Re1 d4 31. Qa3 gxh5 32. Qxa5 d3 33. cxd3 cxd3 34. Nf3 Bxf3 35. gxf3 Re8 36. Kf2 Kf7 37. f4 Rc8 38. Ke3 Kg7 39. Rd1 Qc4 40. Rxd3 Qe4+ 41. Kd2 Qxf4+ 42. Ke2 Qxh2+ 43. Ke3 Qg3+ 44. Kd4 Qf4+ 0-1

30 January 2020 - Central League Division 2

Cumbernauld B		v		Stirling Juniors (D)
Liam Heron Mark Heron George Ford Emma Heron Arran Wallace	1225 1085 683 616	½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0	592	Glen Wilson Ross Warcup Douglas Pringle Gordon Bowie Nadzieja Lu-Czartoryjska
		2½ - 2½

Well done to all participants - credits to their clubs and the game!

29 January 2020 - Central League Division 2

Grangemouth B		v		Stirling B
Ian Mason Bill Gray Alasdair Sandham Hugh Hanlon Crawford Welsh	1572 1547 1341 1319 1281	½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	1567 1547 1531 1463 1413	David McAlister Dave Hewitt John Blake Richard Warcup Tony Pitson
		2 - 3

27 January 2020 - Central League Division 2

Badgers Brook B		v		Stirling E
Dave McGilvray Mark Brown Derek Raffan Dylan Gillies Peter Woollven	1497 1485 1386 1378 877	½ - ½ 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1	1398 1389 1326 1158	Aaron Nobile Tom Wallace Kenny MacPherson Mick Bloor Ross Coupland
		3 - 2

20 January 2020 - Central League Division 1

Badgers Brook A		v		Stirling A
Suzy Cooke Kenny McGeoch Mark Cooke Andrew Newton	2041 1994 1943 1896	0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 0d - 1d	1793 1753 1662 1592	Kabir Pandit Jim Shemilt Steve Smith Graham Anderson Bill Cook
		2½ - 2½

13 January 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling E		v		Stirling C
Aaron Nobile Tom Wallace Kenny McPherson Mick Bloor Craig Thomson	1398 1389 1326 1158 824	1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1	1448 1425 1413 1284	Craig Manson Martyn Roe Tony Pitson Gordon Allcock Dave Gendall
		2 - 3

13 January 2020 - Central League Division 2

Stirling Juniors		v		Stirling B
Glen Wilson Ross Warcup Alex Brimlow Douglas Pringle Gordon Bowie	592 406	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	1494 1567 1547 1463 990	Brad Duthie David McAlister Dave Hewitt Richard Warcup Martin Pringle
		0 - 5

6 January 2020 - New Years Blitz

Congratulations to Bill Cook, who won the first competition of the decade with 5½/7. Well done Bill. A good close competition with everybody getting at least one win. The full cross-table of results is here - it's too wide to fit on this page.

In addition to the main event, Jim ran a similar competition for the young juniors. All participants did well, but particularly well done to Nadzieja and Kalina who came out on top with 7 points out of 9. Well done girls!