With the VMS League season over and a short break before the South Cheshire Shield League kicks off, attention turns to our internal tournaments. The internal divisions 1,2 and 3 all started back in September and complete their marathons on 30th June.
In division 1, the top players have just 3 games to go, with Harry Gardiner adding to his lead this week. Harry has moved to 10.5/13 with only one defeat this season, and has already won the 2021 Summer and Time & Point Handicap tournaments. He is the hot favourite to win division 1, and stands one point off the two leaders in the Swiss Rapidplay. His nearest rival in division 1 is Martin Burns who was pegged back this week in a draw with Neville Layhe, to drop behind on 9/13. David Lambton sits in 3rd with 7/11 so has five more game to play if he can squeeze them all in.
Division 2 has seen little activity since the start of 2022, with Nigel Gardner still leading on 6/7, one point ahead of Lee Tilton on 5/7. While Nigel and Lee have other commitments, George Bulbeck is reeling them in and sits in 3rd place on 4.5/8. If George can arrange enough of his remaining games then he has every chance of overtaking the leaders.
Division 3 has become a two horse race with Mike Keenan in the ascendancy. Mike has a 100% record with 5/5, and beat his key rival recently – our 10 year old rising star, Oskar Jarzynski (5/6). Mike is favourite if he can complete the remaining games with the biggest obstacle being availability of other players.
Finally, please note that the final night of our Swiss Rapidplay for Rounds 7 & 8 will take place on Wednesday 18th May, where so far we have had 36 members take part in our largest ever internal event.