2025-2026 Season Review

Our 2025-2026 season ended with a meeting at the Cowane Centre on Monday 1st June, which included the final of the Lindsay Cup.

The Club had been in a state of shock last November following the sudden death of Dave Hewitt who had done so much for the Club. Such was Dave's contribution that this required considerable reorganisation. Thanks to all members who rallied round to help - in particular Steve who took over as Competition Secretary and kept everything to schedule as well as continuing all his other work for the Club.

Despite everything, the season turned out to be one of the most successful in the Club's history.

Stirling won the quadruple of Divisions 1 and 2 of the Central League, the Neil Giffen Cup and the Allegro League; the A, Cup and Allegro teams captained by Isaac and the C team by Nathanael.

At the recent Central League AGM, Ian Robertson presented two of the trophies to Bill (Neil Giffen Cup) and Steve (Division 1 Trophy).

Unusually, for the first time for many years, the Under 1500 Cup was not won by Stirling, the honours going to Grangemouth who beat Dunfermline in the final.

Individual competitions

The final standings in the Richardson Cup (the Club Championship) were John 5.0; Isaac and Sean 4.0; Bill and William 2.5; Brad and Richard 1.5

Toby won the Thornton Cup by beating Gordon in the Final. Richard presented the trophy to Toby and took this photograph of him with it.

Ross won against Nathanael in the final of the Lindsay Cup. After a fluctuating encounter, though with no strong winning chances either way, Nathanael was pressing in a major-piece endgame, but missed a trap which would have resulted in at least losing Queen for Rook, so he resigned.

[Event "Lindsay Cup Final"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.06.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Warcup, Ross"] [Black "Loch, Nathanael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2318716860829728"] [EventDate "2025.11.28"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Bd3 Nge7 8. b4 Bb6 9. b5 Nb8 10. O-O a6 11. Na3 Qc7 12. Bd2 Ng6 13. Qe2 Bc5 14. Nc2 axb5 15. Ncd4 b4 16. Nb5 Bxb5 17. Bxb5+ Nc6 18. cxb4 Be7 19. a3 O-O 20. Rfe1 Rfc8 21. Bd3 Ra7 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. Qd3 Rca8 24. Qb3 Ra4 25. Bc3 Qb6 26. Bb2 Bc5 27. Rf1 Nd4 28. Nxd4 Bxd4 29. Bxd4 Qxd4 30. Rfe1 b5 31. g3 Rc8 32. Qe3 Qc3 33. Rec1 1-0

2026-02-16 Lindsay Cup game

There were no Central League matches at home on Monday night, but there was action in the club tournaments. Graham sent in a game from from the Lindsay Cup where young Victor Liu beat Douglas Heatlie, despite a grading difference of over 600 points.

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.02.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Liu, V.."] [Black "Heatlie, D.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C46"] [WhiteElo "928"] [BlackElo "1563"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2279677609537610"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. Bb5 Nge7 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 a6 7. Ba4 b5 8. Bb3 Bb7 9. Bg5 Kh8 10. Bd5 f6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 d6 14. a3 Ne7 15. Nxe7 Qxe7 16. b4 Ba7 17. c3 Rf7 18. Re1 Raf8 19. d4 h5 20. h3 h4 21. Bh2 Qd8 22. d5 f5 23. Nxe5 dxe5 24. Qh5+ Kg7 25. Bxe5+ Rf6 26. Qxg5+ Kf7 27. exf5 Rg8 28. Qh5+ Kf8 29. Bxf6 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qxd5+ 31. Kf1 Qg2+ 32. Ke2 Qxf2+ 33. Kd3 Qg3+ 34. Kc2 Qg2+ 35. Re2 Be4+ 36. Kd2 {Black resigns.} 1-0

2026-02-02 A busy Monday night, home and away

At the first club meeting of the month, our A team were in action against the Grangemouth B team.

Here are Isaacs's comments on the match:

A well-fought match ultimately went the way of the visitors despite Stirling being able to put out our strongest team so far this season.

Boards 3,4, and 5 all came to a conclusion in quick succession. Dougie broke through with a queenside attack against Leo, William steered things and wore down Nicolas. The battle of the two Seans saw an interesting piece sacrifice that didn't immediately break through but the resulting pressure proved too much for Stirling's Sean.

John and Daniel also played out a very interesting game with significant complications. Eventually Daniel's passed d-pawn and kingside initiative outshone John's two queenside passers.

This result clinched the match and, despite my best efforts I was unable to overcome Alan's resistance and had to settle for a draw.

Congratulations to Grangemouth B, a fine win against the grading deficit!

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling A          1½-3½ Grangemouth B

1. Isaac Browning 2054  ½-½  Alan Bell      1948
2. John Iwuozor   2020  0-1  Daniel Kitaev  1927
3. Leo Gardner    1889  0-1  Dougie Will    1839
4. William Spiers 1758  1-0  Nicolas Kitaev 1121
5. Sean Flanagan  1698  0-1  Sean Gray      u/g

Stirling A had white on boards 1 and 4.

There were also games in the internal Lindsay Club. Graham sent in the moves from two games, both wins by our ever-improving juniors.

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.02.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Woodhouse, Chris"] [Black "Pardhi, Rudra"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B23"] [BlackElo "930"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "30"] [GameId "2273968022925344"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. O-O Nf6 6. h3 Bh5 7. d3 a6 8. Nd5 Nd4 9. c3 Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 Qc8 11. Nb6 Qxh3 12. Qa4+ Kd8 13. Re1 Bxf3 14. Qd7+ Nxd7 15. Nxa8 Qg2# 0-1

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.02.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Liu, Elsa"] [Black "MacPherson, Kenny"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [BlackElo "1506"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "33"] [GameId "2273968221392932"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. O-O e6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nb5 e5 8. Ng5 Nh6 9. Nd6+ Ke7 10. Ngxf7 Qg8 11. Nxh8 Qf8 12. Nhf7 Nxf7 13. Nxf7 h6 14. c3 d6 15. b3 Be6 16. Nxd6 Kxd6 17. Ba3+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

Meanwhile, in Broxburn, two Stirling teams had travelled there to face two from the Badgers Brook club. The out-graded Stirling B team came through some late drama to clinch a win in their match so that the night ended with a match honours even between the clubs.

   Central League Division 1
   Badgers Brook A     2-3  Stirling B

1. Kenny McGeoch 2014  1-0  Brad Duthie	   1552	
2. Stuart Ward   1868  ½-½  Richard Warcup 1637		
3. David James   1517  ½-½  Ross Warcup	   1494	
4. Mark	Brown    1456  0-1  Bill Cook      1544
5. Corey Dolan	 1198* 0-1  Steve Smith	   1549	

* Live Rating		 
Badgers Brook A had white on boards 1 and 4

   Central League Division 2
   Badgers Brook B       4-1  Stirling D 

1. Graham Kerr     1482  1-0  Harry Feather   1461
2. Collin Matthews 1394  ½-½  Tom Wallace     1313
3. Kevin Brown     1318  ½-½  Kai Austin      978
4. David Lawrence  1180  1-0  Victor Liu      951
5. Peter Woollven  907   1-0  William Feather 905

21-10-24 Lindsay Cup

Two of our promising juniors, Victor and Rudra, played out the following game on Monday night - a fine open game in which a mistake by Victor saw him lose the exchange, but he battled on and, with Rudra's King wide open and being chased around the board, the pair settled on a draw. The club is really proud of both players, and special mention must be made of the fact that I could read and follow the scoresheets!

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2024.10.21"] [Round "-"] [White "Victor"] [Black "Rudra"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5 Bg7 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. d5 c6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nge2 e5 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 cxd5 12. Nxd5 Nc6 13. Rfe1 Nd4 14. Qd1 Bg7 15. c3 Nc6 16. b4 Ne7 17. Ne3 Qd7 18. a4 f5 19. Bb5 Qc7 20. exf5 Nxf5 21. Nxf5 Rxf5 22. Qd2 e4 23. Rac1 a6 24. Bf1 d5 25. a5 Rc8 26. Re3 Bh6 27. g4 Bxe3 28. Qxe3 Rf3 29. Qd4 Rxc3 30. Qxd5+ Qf7 31. Rxc3 Rxc3 32. Qd8+ Kg7 33. Qd4+ Qf6 34. Qd7+ Kh6 35. Qd2+ g5 36. h4 Kg6 37. hxg5 Qc6 38. f3 exf3 39. Bd3+ Kg7 40. Bf5 b6 41. axb6 Qxb6+ 42. Kh2 Qe3 43. Qd7+ Kf8 44. Qd8+ Kf7 45. Qf6+ Ke8 46. Qh8+ Ke7 47. Qxh7+ Kd6 48. Qd7+ { Draw agreed. } 1/2-1/2

21-06-24 Lindsay Cup Final

The Lindsay Cup Final was played between Sean and Nathanael. Thanks to Dave for transcribing the game below.

Congratulations to Nathanael, seen below receiving the trophy from last year's winner Kenny MacPherson.

07-06-2023 Lindsay Cup Final

On Wednesday night, Kenny MacPherson played Dave Hewitt in the final of the Lindsay Cup. This was hosted by Grangemouth CC - thanks to them for facilitating this.

This was the game.

[Event "Lindsay Cup Final"] [Site "https://lichess.org/smTsVfin"] [Date "2023.06.07"] [White "Kenny MacPherson"] [Black "Dave Hewitt"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1418"] [BlackElo "1562"] [ECO "A15"] [Opening "English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. d4 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nf3 O-O 8. O-O Bf5 9. Nh4 Be6 10. Qd3 Qc8 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 f5 14. Bf3 Bxh4 15. gxh4 f4 16. d5 Qd7 17. d6 Na6 18. b3 Nb4 19. Qd2 Nd5 20. Ba3 Rad8 21. Rfe1 Rf6 22. Re5 Qf7 23. Rae1 Qg6+ 24. Kh1 Qf7 25. R1e2 Kh8 26. Qe1 Bd7 27. Bg4 h6 28. Bxd7 Rxd7 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. R2e6 Rxe6 31. Rxe6 f3 32. Qe4+ g6 33. h5 Qf5 34. hxg6+ Kg7 35. Qxf5 1-0

Congratulations to Kenny, seen here with the trophy

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!

27 May 2019 - Lindsay Cup Final

On Monday night, the Lindsay Cup Final was played between Tom Wallace (left) and Kenny MacPherson. The game played out as follows, with Tom as White.

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2019.05.27"] [Round "F"] [White "Wallace, T"] [Black "MacPherson, K"] [Result "1-0"] 1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 d6 5. e3 e5 6. dxe6 Bxe6 7. Be2 Be7 8. Bf3 Qb6 9. Rb1 O-O 10. Nge2 Nbd7 11. Nf4 Bf7 12. Bd5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Bxf7+ Rxf7 15. Ncd5 Qa5+ 16. c3 Qxa2 17. O-O Ne5 18. b3 Qa6 19. Qh5 Bd8 20. Ne6 Qc6 21. Rfd1 Qd7 22. Nxc5 Qe8 23. Nxb7 Bc7 24. Nxc7 Rxc7 25. Qxe8+ Rxe8 26. Nxd6 Rd8 27. Nxf5 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Rxc3 29. Nd4 Nc6 30. Nxc6 Rxc6 31. g3 Rb6 32. Rb1 a5 33. Kf1 a4 34. Ra1 Rxb3 35. Rxa4 Kf7 36. Ra6 Rb4 37. Ke2 g6 38. Kf3 Rb7 39. h4 Kg7 40. g4 g5 41. h5 Rf7+ 42. Kg3 Re7 43. Ra3 Kf7 44. f4 gxf4+ 45. exf4 { Black resigns } 1-0

Bill Cook (right) presents Tom with the trophy.

21 May 2018 - Lindsay Cup

Congratulations to Brad Duthie, winner of this season's Lindsay Cup, after defeating Robert Togneri in the final. Well done Brad!

Brad,left, receives the trophy from last year's winner Tom Wallace

30 May 2016 - Finals night on the final night

Two finals were contested on the final night of this season. On the far board, Bill Cook (left) had White against Tony Pitson for the Lindsay Cup. On the near board, Craig Manson had White against Robert Togneri for the Thornton Cup. This game played out as follows...

Togneri - Manson

Congratulations to Craig! I did take a photo of him being presented the trophy, but it's too blurry to use.

In the other game, Tony triumphed over Bill. I don't have a note of that game, but I do have a photo of Tony presented his trophy. Well done Tony!

The club is now closed for the summer - we reconvene with the AGM on the first Monday in September.

3 June 2015 - Gordon Allcock wins the Lindsay Cup!

The Lindsay Cup Final was played on 3 June, when John Blake had White against Gordon Allcock.

John and Gordon before the game

Blake - Allcock

Congratulations to Gordon on winning the trophy!

21 May 2015 - Lindsay Cup

Thanks to John Blake for providing this Lindsay Cup semi-final game, where he had Black against Dave Hewitt. This victory puts John in the Final, where he plays the winner of Robert Leckie - Gordon Allcock tie.

Hewitt - Blake

2 February 2015 - Lindsay Cup

In a night of entertaining club games, Mick Bloor met John Blake in the Lindsay Cup. John declined the opportunity to claim the game after Mick's phone went off during the opening exchanges, saying that Mick's unparliamentary exclamation at the time made it worth it.

Bloor - Blake

Lindsay Cup winner - Tony Pitson

Dave Hewitt writes:- The 2013-14 Lindsay Cup final was played on Wednesday afternoon, between Tony Pitson and Gordon Allcock, both of whom had won the fine old trophy once before. Tony won the toss and went on to win what was an interesting and well-fought game. He thus acquires not only the trophy itself but also one of the qualifying slots for the 2014-15 Richardson Cup.

Congratulations to Tony for a fine victory, and commiserations to Gordon for putting in a good effort only to end as runner-up. Thanks also to the other eight players who made this an enjoyable event.

The two players before the game...

...and Tony Pitson with the Lindsay Cup afterwards.