Welcome to the League
In the Central London League, all games of chess finish on the night.
No adjudications. No adjournments.
Recent results
07 May 2013: Battersea 2.5–2.5 Pimlico Guardians
02 May 2013: HMC 1.5–3.5 Pimlico Guardians
02 May 2013: Battersea 3.5–1.5 Metropolitan Police
News
03 May 2013
The race for 2nd place is still very close with three teams still in contention (Battersea, Pimlico Guardians, Pimlico Wanderers). Next week's match between Battersea and Pimlico Guardians could be decisive.
Current placings in the Grand Prix are as follows:
Name |
Club |
Played |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
A Hill |
Battersea |
10 |
75 |
S Spivack |
Pimlico Rangers |
9 |
67 |
P Jaszkiwskyj |
HMC |
9 |
67 |
29 April 2013
Last week, as expected, a team of quality players managed by a grumpy Scotsman took the league title. This was a fair reflection of their consistent performance over the whole season. Yes, Pimlico Rangers are this year's CLL champions – their 1st title in as many seasons. This means the league title goes to a team from the city of Pimlico for the second successive year.
Conceding defeat in the title race, an ashen-faced Ron Martini said that his team were as good as Rangers but criticised the attitude of his players in conceding too many short draws. He recognised that the Rangers team were probably more up for it as they didn't win the title last season, partly because they didn't enter the competition last season but mainly because Martini's team played better. He also blamed the club's inactivity during the transfer window when they failed to sign proven finishers on the night such as SVS (Simon van Spivack).
Afterwards, one member of the Rangers squad criticised the media coverage of his own performance during the campaign in a "Why Always Me?" tweet, asking why the own goals he had conceded were being shown on a video loop on Martini's club website. The Rangers manager refused to comment beyond saying that the player in question would be "dealt with".
19 April 2013
In the Grand Prix, 9 of the 58 players have now managed the minimum 8 games to qualify for the prize. The top placings are:
Name |
Club |
Played |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
A Hill |
Battersea |
9 |
73 |
S Spivack |
Pimlico Rangers |
8 |
68 |
P Jaszkiwskyj |
HMC |
9 |
67 |
10 April 2013
Advance notice of two tournaments coming up at Pimlico.
1. The 3rd Pimlico Summer Chess Tournament, which is a 5-round Swiss running on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm in Pimlico from 30 May to 27 June. Three sections (Open, Under-150, Under-120), prizes in each section 1st £100, 2nd £50. Entry fee £20 for ECF Silver, Gold or Platinum members, otherwise £26 (extra for grading). All games graded for July 2013 list. More details on the entry form below.
2. The 1st Pimlico Blitz Tournament, which takes place in Pimlico from 6.45pm on Thursday 11 July. Open to all. Probably 10 rounds. Entry fee £10. Prizes depend on the number of entries but there will be a minimum 1st £60, 2nd £30, Grading prize £30. Deadline for entries Tuesday 9 July, pay on the night.
To enter the event, email James Toon with your name, current ECF grade or an estimate, and contact phone number.
4 April 2013
With a quarter of the fixtures still to be played, the League is still wide open with a number of teams still in contention.
In the Grand Prix, 7 players have now managed the minimum 8 games to qualify for the prize. The top placings are:
Name |
Club |
Played |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
A Hill |
Battersea |
8 |
73 |
P Jaszkiwskyj |
HMC |
8 |
68 |
V Sara |
Battersea |
8 |
63 |
19 March 2013
Pimlico Guardians are experiencing continuing problems with fixture congestion and are unable to field a team for the match against Railsport on 21 March. In this case there was no prospect of rearranging the match for another date. Apologies to Pimlico Guardians' opponents and the other teams in the League. Pimlico Guardians do not expect there to be any problem with their remaining matches this season.
8 March 2013
This is a reminder about the CLL Grand Prix. This is a competition for the best individual performance from a minimum of 8 games over the season. The winner will receive a cash prize of £200 which is currently financed by anonymous donations from philanthropic members of the CLL playing community.
No-one has yet played 8 games but this is surely just a matter of time. Because of fixture congestion, we still have nearly 40% of the fixtures to play between now and the end of May.
Based on a minimum of 6 games played so far, and 15 of the 58 players in the CLL have managed that, the top placings look like this…
Name |
Club |
Played |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
P Jaszkiwskyj |
HMC |
6 |
85 |
A Hill |
Battersea |
7 |
76 |
P Thorarinsson |
Pimlico Rangers |
6 |
72 |
18 December 2012
The Rodney Barking chess blog has moved home. Please redirect your browsers to http://rodneybarking.com.
18 December 2012
We've reached the midseason break, so here is a summary of the season so far.
• Pimlico Rangers clearly have the strongest squad – in their last match, the team had an average grade of 200.
• HMC are leading the chasing pack with a 100% record from their 3 matches so far.
• 58 players have taken part, 8 per squad on average. The squads range from 5 (Battersea) to 12 (Railsport).
• 53 of the 58 players (91%) are ECF members.
• The 124 player-games have included 2 defaults, which is 1.6% of the total.
All results have been submitted for inclusion in the January 2013 grading list. Grading is free for ECF members, but will be charged at £2 per game for non-members. I'm not sure of the ECF timing for this but I think it's at the end of the season.
Please see the Grand Prix page for a summary of individual results so far. No-one has yet managed the minimum 8 games to qualify for the prize, but that will come in the second half of the season. The most active player so far is Andy Waters of Metropolitan Police with 6 games. A total of 11 players are still on 100%.
16 November 2012
Please note that Railsport are operating from a different address this season. Their address is 1 Eversholt Street, London NW1 2DN, and not as previously shown on the website. There is an entrance to their venue close to the Marks and Spencer food store at Euston Station.
27 September 2012
Here is a match result form in Word format. Feel free to record the results on this and email back to me.
15 September 2012
Fixtures for the new season are now online on the Fixtures page.
5 August 2012
A total of seven teams will take part in the League in the 2012–13 season:
• Battersea
• HMC
• Metropolitan Police
• Pimlico Guardians
• Pimlico Rangers
• Pimlico Wanderers
• Railsport
We welcome Pimlico Rangers who are making their debut in the League this season. Their captain is Jim Stevenson.
Each team will play each other team twice, home and away, for a total of 12 matches. Teams will consist of 5 boards, the same as last season.
All games will be submitted for grading by the ECF. We expect that most of those playing in the League will have joined the ECF and will be eligible to have their games graded free of charge. In respect of games played by ECF non-members, the ECF will invoice us at the rate of £2 per player per game. We will pass this cost on to the clubs.
The season's fixtures will be published as soon as possible after the London League fixtures are published.