Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 7th July 2009
at the Navigation Hotel, Altrincham

Minutes of Meeting

1. Attended by: Lou Dyba, Reyer Gerlagh, Wayne Kranz, Les Hebb, Tony Lane, Richard White, Karl Lockett, Nick Lowe, David Merrifield, Denis Osborne, Marjorie Rhodes, John Roff, Tom Tomkins, Chris McCoy, Pete Arland, and Stephen Ward.

2. There were apologies for absence from Jane Brophy, David Hughes, Bill McCartney, Thomas Hague and Graham Bird.

3. The minutes of the annual general meeting held on 22nd July 2008 were accepted as being a correct record.

4. There were no matters arising not covered under the Agenda.

5. The Secretary’s written report was accepted as follows:

There are currently a total of 36 members on our database, of whom about 30 are regularly or occasionally involved in the club (including Junior members). This compares with 31 members when I wrote my report last year and 23 when I took over the records three years ago. So, there continues to be slow but steady growth, which is also apparent from the healthy number of players at the club every Tuesday. It is important that we record our appreciation of continuing good relations with The Navigation, which is a major factor in the continued success of the club - and in particular in keeping our subscription levels low compared with most (if not all) similar clubs locally.

Our website at http://altrinchamchess.blogspot.com/ continues to build up as an archive/diary of the Club while maintaining links and other information for members on an ongoing basis. There are still only two other members who have signed up as 'Contributors' which enables you to contribute or add content to our Blog. Maybe a few others will do so and add some of their annotated games; The blog does show a free and relatively easy way to record and post games/annotation.

I have valid e-mail addresses for all except eight of our members and am therefore able to communicate promptly about matches, congresses, etc. But I do also seek to ensure that non internet users are also kept up to date through the old fashioned noticeboard and work of mouth, etc! We now also have our own dedicated e-mail; altrinchamchess@yahoo.com which is the Club's rather than my own and will transfer to the eventual new Secretary.

We even have a group for our Club on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tomtomkins#/group.php?gid=5628036094&ref=ts [or see our Blog for the link] - again only one other actual Club member has joined this group, but it does keep us visible within the world's largest 'community'. We are also listed on Trafford's community group's directory (having finally beaten the bureaucracy to get our details correct and available!) and this has generated several enquiries.

But we are certainly not a virtual chess club! The club is still all about real people playing chess and enjoying it. We maintained the same four teams during the Winter season and one in the South East Lancashire Summer league; As always, thanks to Tony, David, Karl and Steve for making this happen - I know that a team captain's job can be a time consuming and frustrating one at times. Our level of league team participation has tended to take precedence over the internal competitions again, this year.

Last year, we moved our home match night to Thursday's following a full discussion at the AGM. While this has had some of the intended benefits in terms of a quieter evening form matches, it has not been entirely successful; Thursday has proved less convenient for some regular team players and, in my view, it has perhaps widened the 'divide' between the "match players" and the "social players". I think we should reconsider our home match night and, the weight of informal comment to me would point in the direction of returning to Tuesday's - but it is important that all members express their views, so that we can be sure we have come to the outcome which really does suit the club as a whole.

Reyer and David again successfully organised the Junior competition, within the UK chess challenge, early in 2009. However, apart from this, I feel that we have not really delivered on our objective of actively growing Junior chess (on which, arguably, the long term future of the club depends). While we had a good discussion at the 2008 AGM and some good ideas were put forward, I would suggest that there may be a need for a specific club position dedicated to Junior chess; probably leading a small team, if we are to move beyond good intentions towards real success in this area.

Since this has been my third year as club Secretary, I would be happy to encourage nominations (or volunteers) to take this role over at our 2009 AGM. If anyone is interested, I would of course provide a good handover, especially as regards managing the Blog, etc. - although encouraging them to develop the role further in their own way. If someone new does take this over, I would also be very interested in putting my name forward to focus on leading Junior chess instead, if such a role was agreed


6 The Treasurer reported as follows:

The accounts are in a different format this year as I have included a balance sheet to take into account outstanding membership fees and also the fact I am still owed £28 for the clocks purchased this year! Allowing for 5 outstanding subscriptions, there are 18 full paying members and 7 paying the reduced rate, with one subscription relating to 2007/08.

The Club underwrote the UK Chess Challenge for the second time and broke even. Thanks again to the work by Reyer and David. The only costs still to be incurred are for engraving the trophies for 2008/09, as the winners of both Club Championships remain undecided! The deficit is only £5.44, with us having funded 6 new clocks. Consideration may need to be made on replacing some boards in due course.

I would recommend keeping the subscriptions unchanged for 2009/10.
.
The meeting formally agreed to leave membership rates unchanged:

• £20.00 for ordinary members.
• £10.00 for retired and student members.
• Free for junior members.

Members to be reminded that the subscription year runs from 1 September to 31 August and prompt payment is expected; we would expect all subscriptions to be paid by Christmas.

The accounts were formally adopted by the meeting.

7 Team captains’ reports

Manchester league first team captains report

As reported last year, this was our 10th anniversary in Division B of the Manchester League since we joined in 1993/94. This followed our promotion last season, and brought a welcome return to playing 10 different teams rather than 5 teams on a home and away basis. Unfortunately, promotion to the B Division meant that we were now the rabbits of the Reyner Shield rather than participants of the Wahltuch Trophy which we had gloriously won the previous year. The first round of the Reyner Shield found us drawn against Bolton 2. It could have been worse, as it could have been their first team, but their second team was good enough to beat us 6:1, helped by the fact that we were 2 players short on the night. Defaults also played a part in the final game of the league where we were 2 short at Stockport, and we were also unable to play a 7th board at both Bolton and Urmston.

The league started somewhat better, with a draw against Three Cs 3 followed by an emphatic 5:2 win over Worsley. Our first defeat at Bury was a narrow 4:3. The season then deteriorated rapidly with heavy defeats to Bolton 3 and Heywood 2 followed by narrower defeats to Urmston 2 and Chorlton 3. We then managed a run of good form with 2 significant victories over Great Lever and Atherton 2 and Rochdale by the margin of 5:2 which was enough to secure us another season in Division B next year. Our final defeat at Stockport 2 by 6:1 left us with a better board count than Three Cs 3 and a point clear of Urmston 2 to preserve our position in B Division for next year.

We again utilised the services of 12 of our players. Nick again provided sterling service on the top board. On the top boards we are often outgraded, and Nick is to be congratulated on holding the opposition 7 times out of the 9 games he played. Karl played on board 2 and won his first 3 games, yet sadly could only manage a ½ from the last 6 to finish with the same points score as Nick. Myself and Bill generally followed on boards 3 and 4, and we were eventually rewarded for our persistence. I had only managed 1 point from the first 7 games and Bill ½ from his first 6. However, I gained 2 wins from the last 4 and Bill 3 took points from his last 4. In the middle order, Kurt scored 70%, and both Tom and David, who were regular players during the season, scored 50%. A feature of the lower boards was the introduction of juniors from the Gerlagh family. Both scored impressively, with Peter gaining his 2½ points from 4 matches and Joris gaining the same from just 3 matches. Graham Bates made a welcome return to the Club for the game at Urmston where he won his game. Other members of the team were David Merrifield and Callum McNulty who also chipped in with useful points.

We therefore ended the season pleased to maintain our position in B division, our natural habitat of the Manchester league, and look forward to the season ahead.


Stockport league first team

I have been captain for what seems like many years, however last season was the most stressful season as captain I have ever had. The main problems were 1, getting members to play, particularly the away games and 2, a packed fixture list 3, a clash between Stockport and Manchester League fixtures.

At the last Stockport league fixture meeting Altrincham were the only club that voted fo have less teams in the 2nd division so that meant the A team had 16 fixtures to compete in. Although the club had decided to have their match night on a Thursday, which had seemed like a good idea at the time, this actually meant we had fewer players available It would appear that some members did not declare their difficulties making Thursdays until the season began.

At the above fixtures meeting, we had not been informed of the Manchester League and therefore had to arrange our fixtures in the dark so to speak. Once the Manchester League fixtures were revealed it meant several Stockport fixtures needed to be aranged, though with very few spare weeks to do this. Thanks to Tony Lane for re-arranging certain Manchester League games which helped.

So with more fixtures and less available players than previous seasons we struggled to complete several matches. I therefore took the unilateral decision to withdraw from the Charnley cup, though with an away match at Marple A, it is difficult to imagine that we would have progressed anyway.

Also there were a number of away games (eg. away to Macclesfield Reds) where I had only two or three players available (including myself). As captain I decided it was not worth playing and so reluctantly conceded these games. Four league games (3 away and one at home) were conceded in all.

We therefore ended the season in Division 2 in 5th (place out of 6) and so were relegated. I believe if we had competed in every match (certainly with our best players participating) we should have survived. Thanks to the regular players, home and away, such as Nick Lowe, David Merrifield and Richard Hughes.

My recomendations for next season would be to:-

1, Have one team competing in the Stockpot League, to be reviewed after one season depending on the number of future members/players we have. As I cannot be captain next year ,due to work commitments ,it is unlikely anyone else would volunteer for the job anyway. The main disadvantage with this is fewer competitive graded games , particularly for the lower graded players. However as Im sure we would easily win this league next year hopefully all those players who want to play a few games do so. An advantage is that the club would be able to concentrate on more internal club competitions, this will benefit Nick who hopefully can continue to be creative in this area.

2, To have sight of the Manchester League fixtures prior to the Stockport League meeting.

3, A review of whether Thursday should continue to be our match night. My own thoughts are that we should support the team captains and allow them to select the match day for their own particular team, after all they know their players availability best.

Karl Lockett
Stockport League A Team Captain.
July 2009


Stockport league second team

As in the previous season the 'B' team played in Division 3 of the Stockport League. The team won 8 matches, lost 6, and finished in fourth place with 16 points out of 28. Ahead of us in Division 3 were Bramhall (21 points), Macclesfield C (19 points) and Stockport D (16 points).

The season began with a home win over Wilmslow B, but this was followed by three successive away defeats against Bramhall, Stockport D and Marple C. In the next two matches we were victorious at home against Urmston and Macclesfield C, but then suffered an away defeat against East Cheshire C. A home win against Marple C was followed by our first away win against Urmston. We then won at home against Stockport D, lost away against Bramhall, and won away against Wilmslow B. In the penultimate match of the season I was unable to get a team together for the away fixture against Macclesfield C and this match was defaulted. The final match was a home win against East Cheshire C.

The pattern that emerged from the season was that we won all but one of our home matches, but fared worse in away matches with only two wins from seven. This difference in performance home and away is likely due to the difficulty I had getting a full team together for several away matches and we defaulted 14 boards in away matches over the season.

Altogether 15 club members played for the ‘B’ team in the league this season. These were: Edwin Brophy, Lou Dyba, Joris Gerlagh, Peter Gerlagh, Reyer Gerlagh, Thomas Hague, David Hughes, Wayne Kranz, Kurt Linke, Chris McCoy, Callum McNulty, David Merrifield, Tom Tomkins, Steve Ward and Richard White. I would like to mention two players, at either end of the age range, who made exceptional contributions to the team this season! David Merrifield scored a remarkable 10.5/11, using playing board 1. Junior member Joris Gerlagh scored 3/3 and was awarded the Eric Harrison Memorial Trophy for the most promising junior player in the Stockport League. Finally, my thanks to all the players for their efforts throughout the season and I am especially grateful to those who helped with transport to away matches.

David Hughes Stockport League ‘B’ Team Captain 30 June 2009


Trafford league

There were 5 teams competing in the league and Altrincham & Hale came fourth after 3 teams tied for first place. Of the 8 matches we played three were won, one by virtue of the opposition failing to turn up and one benefited from only 2 players turning up for the opposition. w.o. was our best scorer and second most active competitor. Apart from w.o. games, 7 in total, 25 individual games were played by 11 people. 8 individual games were won with 3 drawn and 14 lost. The best player for the team was Thomas Hague with 2 wins out of 3 matches, one of the wins was against a player graded higher than 75 , the normal limit for the competition

Steve Ward


Summer league team captain’s report

We started our fourth successive year in Division B of the Summer League with the customary opening cup match. As often reported in prior years, the result once again saw us concentrating early on the league. Although last year’s Round 1 elimination was a close affair with elimination to Eccles on board count, the same cannot be said this time around. We were well and truly hammered by a team from Oldham that massively outgraded us, and it was left to Steve Ward on the bottom board to prevent the whitewash with a fine win.

Our league fixtures were once again very close affairs, indicating that the B Division is an ideal league for us in the summer. Indeed, the first two matches against Stockport and Bury 2 were both even affairs, and it was only an unusual lapse by our bottom three boards at Chorlton 3 that resulted in our first defeat 4½:1½. This was followed by a further draw to the eventual champions Rochdale and the season ended with a flourish with a fine win at Oldham 2 3½:2½.

Again the number of participants in the 2008 summer league season reached double figures. Our strategy is to try and hold out on the top boards, and leave it up to the middle and lower order to carry us through to victory. As expected, Nick and I therefore had a torrid time on the top boards. I managed to draw 3 of my 5 games, whereas Nick drew one of his 4, but sadly neither of us tasted victory all summer long. The middle of the team proved more solid with Karl unbeaten in his two matches and Bill and Tom both gaining 50% from 5 and 4 matches respectively. In the lower order, David Merrifield was our top points scorer and most successful player with 3 wins out of 4 games, and Steve Ward had a very creditable performance with 2 wins from 4. The other people to play during the summer were Kurt Linke, Callum McNulty and Tom Hague with 4, 3 and 1 appearance respectively.

The 2009 season is now under way and with Rochdale opting out of promotion and Stockport 2 and Oldham 2 escaping relegation in the absence of any teams willing to be promoted from Division C, we find ourselves competing with the same teams again in the current campaign.


The meeting gave a big vote of thanks to all team captains


8 The club events organiser reported: 

The league matches have played havoc in having arranging the Events and have fallen way behind, with only one competition having been resolved.

Christmas and New Year caused problems in arranging the traditional 5-minute tournament until June!

Tom stormed away to victory winning all his six games and defeating all the lending contenders. Edwin came second with five victories and only losing to Tom with four people finishing with four points.

The Club Championship is currently ongoing, with the Major having completed just the first round to date.

The Premier is being played in a different format this year, being an all play all. This has an adverse affect in that a couple of players decided to not participate due to the number of games that were required to be played. It left nine people, of which only Wayne has managed to so far play over 50% of his games, although Tom and I have played four out of eight.

I am looking to complete both tournaments by the end of August.

This will leave the Handicap, which will follow before the end of September, as a fun event, prior to the winter season.

Due to the few number of results, the Grand Prix trophy is up for grabs, but not surprisingly Tom is currently leading this with 47.5.


9. Arrangements for 2009-10

After some discussion, it was agreed that we would only run one team in the Stockport league. Club Home matches will now revert to Tuesdays for all teams, except for the Manchester League team, which will remain Thursdays. Tom subsequently confirmed with The Navigation that this is OK – although they requested that we confirm dates (specifically our Manchester league fixtures) in advance to ensure we have access.

Steve suggested correspondence and/or internet chess amongst members and anyone interested should contact Steve in the first place.

It as agreed that we should remind members of the need for a quite environment through:
• Laminated “Quiet please” boards
• Noticeboard reminders

Tom to check whether the notice in the Sale & Altrincham Messenger was still in place.

It was suggested that we seek to build links with Sale Chess Club – Tom to contact Bert Thomas.

Since only one of the internal competitions was complete, it was agreed that a Trophy evening be schedule, probably in September, to include food, etc.



10. Election of officers:

The following were elected as club officers:-

President: Tony Lane

Secretary: Tom Tomkins

Treasurer: Nick Lowe

Manchester League team captain: Tony Lane

Stockport League team captain: David Hughes

SE Lancashire Summer League captain: Tony Lane

Trafford League captain: Stephen Ward

Club events organiser: Karl Lockett