Suffolk Chess

The following has been received from Patrick Ribbands:

The EACU Team Championships will take place at Moreton Hall Community Centre, Bury St. Edmunds, on Sunday 9 April.

There will be four sections: Open, Team 600, Team 500 and Team 400.

Teams consist of four players from the EACU but not necessarily from the same club.   EACU players are those living in or from clubs located in or affiliated to Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk or Suffolk.   Also eligible are people born in the county, or with five years' residence in the county at any time, or currently attending a school college or university in the county.

The Team 600 section is for teams with an aggregate grade of 600 or less in the January list though for this calculation anyone with a grade under 100 will be taken as 100.

The Team 500 section is a team with an aggregate grade of 500 or less though for this calculation anyone with a grade under 75 will be taken as 75.

The Team 400 section is for teams with an aggregate grade of 400 or less though for this calculation anyone with a grade under 50 will be taken as 50.

There will be a cash prize for the team with the most game points in each section but the number and value of prizes will depend on the number of entries.

The event uses the county match format of two rounds starting at 10.00 and 14.30.   If digital clocks are available for all boards of a match, the time control will be 36 moves in 80 minutes, followed by 10 minutes to finish the game, with an increment of 15 seconds per move from move one.   Results will be submitted for grading

The exact format of the competition will depend on the number of entries.   The entry fee is £20 per team payable on the day.   Any player who is not a member of the ECF will need to pay an extra £5.   The clubs that won the top division of the six EACU county leagues (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the Bury League) in 2015/16 are entitled to enter a team of entirely their club players at half price into the Open.

Tea and coffee will be provided free of charge.   Enquiries and entries should be made to or to 01223 842197.   Entries by 28 March if possible please, though an early indication that you might raise a team would also be much appreciated.   Later entries will be at the organiser's discretion.

If you do not have four players for a team Patrick should be able to put you in touch with others who would like to play.

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Let's see plenty of entries from Suffolk!