League chess in England

One of the problems of being a full-time coach is that you don't actually get around to playing that much chess! Not that I'm complaining - I really do enjoy coaching - but it is nice to pick up the pieces in anger from time to time.

As it happens I'll be playing some serious FIDE Rated chess over the winter, starting with the London Classic Open in December and then the Hastings Masters in January. Still, for most of the year the majority of my chess playing happens in league matches. Living in London there are plenty of Leagues to choose from. 

In the London League I play for Drunken Knights "a drinking club with a chess problem", who, despite the name, are actually the second strongest team in the league (behind professional outfit Wood Green). In the middlesex league I play for West London and in fact I have a match for them tonight.

I'm trying to play in more of these matches, mainly to warm-up for the FIDE Rated events that are coming up. This weekend is the start of the new 4NCL (4NationsChessLeague) season and I'll be back in the top division with the Sambuca Sharks. The league is always very strong so I expect we'll be battling against relegation - I'll keep you updated as to how we get on.

Anyway, I'll leave you with the finish to my most recent London League game, played on Monday night.