Season 2022/23
30 June
The season came to an end on Monday and we had our traditional 'fun night', involving senior and junior members.
Organised by Tom our junior coach we played a variety of chess variants including 'must take', 'partner chess'
and normal chess, all played with a time limit of five minutes for each player to make all the moves in the game.
The winner, having won all his games, was club champion Alexander Bond.
29 May
At the AGM yesterday evening Alexander Bond was presented with the club championship trophy by President
Harry Prentice.
24 May
Congratulations to Alexander Bond, who has won the 2022/23 club championship. He beat Ian McLachlan in
a close and complicated game. This is the fourth time Alexander has been club champion - and it won't
be the last!
24 March
For our final match we visited East Kilbride to play their 'B' team. We won the match 2½ - 1½.
On board one Ian McLachlan was under serious pressure for much of the game but survived and his opponent
ultimately made a mistake and lost his queen and the game. On board two Ben Saunders and his opponent quickly
exchanged almost all of their pieces and the knight and pawn ending was drawn. Dave Stephens made a mistake,
lost a piece and eventually the game. Jim Wands played well on board four and won quickly.
Our results for the season are won 7, drew 1, lost 0 and we won the division by a large margin.
6 March
Our penultimate match this season was at home to Stepps 'B' and we won 3 - 1, with wins for Alexander Bond,
Jim Smalls and Ben Saunders and a loss for David Edwards. This win gives us an unassailable lead in the league.
13 February
Tonight we had the return match with Hamilton 'B', who came with a stronger team than the one we played at
Hamilton in October. Nevertheless we won, although not without a few problems! Ian McLachlan was in some
difficulty but his opponent missed a strong move and then blundered his queen and lost. Jim Smalls also
had a difficult game but also survived to win. Ben Saunders won quite quickly and Richard Smart drew to
give us the win by 3½ - ½.
24 January 2023
After the recent default win against Stepps, who couldn't get a full team together on a night of atrocious
weather, it was back to normal business last night, a reasonably strong team from East Kilbride were our
visitors.
After some close games we ended up 3-1 winners, Alexander Bond, Ian McLachlan and Ben Saunders won and
Jim Wands lost. We are now comfortably leading Lanarkshire League division two.
05 December 2022
Tonight we hosted a visit from Salsburgh. We fielded a team consisting largely of our less experienced
players and it turned out to be a close fought match that ended in a 2-2 draw. Ben Saunders won comfortably,
Dave Stephens won a close game, Richard Smart lost rather quickly and David Edwards eventually lost a hard fought
game.
27 October 2022
We visited Hamilton Chess Club for our second league match and again won 3-1. Alexander Bond, Richard Smart
and Michael Chekanskyj all won and Ian McLachlan lost.
18 October 2022
We played our first league match of the season tonight, visiting Salsburgh. The
home team wasn't strong and we won quite quickly with wins for Ian McLachlan, Jim Smalls
and Ben Saunders. Dave Stephens let a won game slip and lost, so the final result was a 3-1 win
for us.
03 October 2022
The new season is underway and the AGM was held on 3 October. A management committee
was appointed (details are in the Contacts section).
It was decided that one team will be entered in Lanarkshire League Division 2.
End of season 2021/22
The club has had a good year, with a number of new, enthusiastic adults joining.
Several of the new members played in league matches and all played in the club
championship, which was excellent experience for them. We had mixed results in
Lanarksksire League division two, but nevertheless finished in mid table.
As a consequence of a late start the format for the club championship wasn't ideal,
but we managed to finish by the end of the season. One of our new members, Ben
Saunders, reached the final and came close to winning!
Season 2021/2022
7 March - A relatively strong Hamilton 'B' team were the visitors to Lanark tonight. Their board one player
didn't turn up and that board was defaulted. Unfortunately the remainder of our team, Dave Stephens, David Edwards and James
Wands all lost, resulting in a 1-3 result. It was a good experience of competitive chess for our new members David and James.
27 January - The first match for the team involved what looked like a difficult visit to Stepps, one of the
League's stronger clubs. However we had an excellent result. Wins for Jim Smalls, Ben Saunders (playing his first match for
the club), and Dave Stephens, and a draw for Bill Strachan saw us winning comfortably.
Season 2019/2020
16 March - Because of the coronavirus problem it has been decided that no further Lanarkshire League matches
will be played this season.
Lanark had two matches remaining, both against Bellshill 'B', and both teams will be given a point for each match. This means
that Lanark has won the division and will be promoted to division 1 next season.
10 March - A good result by the team last night, winning against Hamilton 'C' and putting us within touching
distance of winning the division and promotion back to the top flight. A positive result in one of our last two matches, both
against Bellshill 'B, will be sufficient.
Wins for Jim Smalls, Ian Brownlee and Scott Main and a draw for Ian McLachlan saw us comfortably across the line.
3 February - It was a tough match against Salsburgh tonight, although we won 4-0! Ian Brownlee and Scott
Main both won quickly, but the games of Jim Smalls and Ian McLachlan were close and difficult. Jim Smalls lost a piece, his
opponent later sacrificed his extra piece to obtain a passed pawn and he should have won. Jim was in time trouble and although
his opponent wasn't he played unnecessarily quickly and blundered a piece and the game. Ian McLachlan's game was nip and tuck
but he eventually got an advantage that should probably have won. Both players got into serious time trouble and were playing
moves instantly, which caused the visitor to miss a draw by perpetual check and he lost on time.
27 January - We had a good win tonight against Hamilton 'B', our major competitiors in the Lanarkshire
League. This result takes us back to the top of the division two points ahead of Hamilton 'B'.
Jim Smalls won quickly, followed shortly by a win for Ian McLachlan. The games of Ian Brownlee and Scott Main more or
less went the distance. Scott drew to secure the match win. Ian's game was a topy turvy affair (as many of his are!)
and it could have gone either way, but he eventually won to make the final score 3½-½.
19 December - A win after our string of draws! And a result that takes us to the top of the Division. Unfortunately Jim Smalls lost, but Ian Brownlee, Ian McLachlan and Scott Main all won to give us the 3-1 score.
5 December - Looking for a win against Hamilton B to get our promotion efforts back on track, we failed yet again! Wins for Ian Brownlee and Ian McLachlan and losses for Jim Smalls and Scott Main saw us draw yet another match. We haven't lost a match yet, but draws aren't going to be good enough to get us out of this division.
2 December - Another less than ideal result for us this week, a draw against Paisley B. It could have been worse and it could have been better! Jim Smalls scraped a draw from what seemed to be a lost position; Ian McLachlan won when his opponent made a mistake in a position that was probably lost for him anyway; Ian Brownlee fought an uphill battle after losing material and ultimately lost. The final result hinged on Scott Main's game. Scott's position was difficult and he was a pawn down as the game went into the ending. When both players began to run short of time Scott won a piece, after which he had a simple win, but in his time trouble he missed it and the game petered out to a draw.
21 November - A bad result for the team this week, managing only a draw against Salsburgh despite outgrading our opponents on all boards. Wins for Scott Main and Ian McLachlan got us off to a good start but Jim Smalls and Ian Brownlee both lost. Not the best result in our efforts to win promotion to Division One!
15 October - The team played their first match in the League last night, away at Paisley, a match that was thought likely to be one of the toughest of the season. We were a bit fortunate; after a loss for Jim Smalls, a win for Ian McLachlan and a draw for Scott Main the result hinged on Ian Brownlee's game, whose opponent was ahead in material, but short of time. The time trouble proved decisive and Ian won when his opponent's flag fell. The final match score was 2½ - 1½ to Lanark.
19 September - Following a fixtures meeting this week the club's Lanarkshire League programme has been arranged. See the Fixtures page for details.
09 September - The new season has begun and the club is looking forward to another year of a mixture of competitive and friendly games in both the club and in the Lanarkshire League. In the case of the League the club is committed to winning promotion back to Division 1.
As ever the club welcomes new members whether beginners or experienced players.
End of Season 2018/2019
We are at the end of the chess season and the club held it's traditional 'fun night' before the summer break, when the adults and juniors come together to play
five minute handicap chess and five minute 'must take'. It's an evening that's enjoyed by all and the club's thanks
go to Tom Donohue for organising it.
The club will resume on Monday 9 September.
The club's AGM has been held. Scott Main was elected President, David Stephens Secretary and Alistair McLelland Treasurer.
Club Championship
The 2019 club championship has been decided - see the Club Competitions page.
Division 2 Match Result
Lanark's B team lost their postponed match against Division 2 leaders Stepps B, with Dave Stephens, Alastair McLelland,
Bill Strachan and Declan McLelland all losing to strong opponents. The team finished in fifth place in the division.
Division 1 Match Result
Lanark's A team were away to East Kilbride A this week (Thursday 4th April). Ian Brownlee, Jim Smalls, and Chris
Donkin lost and Scott Main drew. The defeat means Lanark A end the season at the bottom of the division and they
will be relegated to division 2 next year.
Division 2 Match Result
Lanark's B team - Alistair McLelland, Bill Strachan, Declan McLelland and Harry Prentice played the penultimate
match of the season on 1 April, coming up against a good Paisley team. There were some good games, but ultimately
the team lost on all boards.
Club Championship 2018
The much delayed final game in the 2017-2018 club championship has been played between Scott Main and Dave Stephens.
It was a close contest and it was very even as the game went into a Rook and Pawn endgame, but then a mistake by Dave
saw Scott taking the win, becoming club champion for the first time.