Chess Harbord Diggers

We have been playing bowls at Manly Bowling Club (known as "Diggers on the Park") since February 2016 during the re-building of Harbord Diggers.

Return to Harbord Diggers/Mounties Club at Freshwater

At the end of November 2018 our Club returned to very comfortable accommodation at the new Harbord Diggers/ Mounties Club at 80 Evans Street, Freshwater. We should acknowledge the assistance of the Harbord Scouts Group in enabling us to rent their Scout Hall during the Club reconstruction period.

Spring Tournament 2018

Our Spring Tournament concluded at the end of November 2018 and the winner of the event was George Winter. In equal second place was Ivan Case and Chris Dimock. The Upset Prize was won by Hugh Allen and Hugh Allen, Shane Dibley, Norman Greenwood and Hans Schwandl shared the Handicap Prize.

Centenary Shield Match – HD Chess Club v norths chess club

On 12 November 2018, the second leg of the Little Board Match against norths chess club for the Centenary Shield was played. HDCC won on the night 6 to 5, but the overall result was a win to norths 10.5 to 9.5, so they retained the trophy. The first leg for 2019 was played on 23 April 2019 and the result was a drawn position of 6 points each. The second leg for 2019 will be played in November 2019. This competition has been played since 2005 and HDCC has won it once only in 2008.

Blitz Tournament

The 2019 year commenced with our Blitz Tournament (5 minutes per player games). The event was won by George Winter with a score of 9 out of a possible 10 points. In second and third places were Norman Greenwood and James Burt with scores of 7.5 and 7 points respectively.

Simultaneous Exhibitions

A Simul was conducted on 25 February 2019 by our Club Champion, George Winter who took on 12 Club Members at the one time. George had 3 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses. A second Simul was conducted on 12 August 2019 by Danny Dwyer, a member of the St George Chess Club, he is taking on 10 HDCC members. Danny won 8 games and had losses to Michael Courtney and Rex Simmonds.

Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting was held on 18 February 2019 and the previous Office-Bearers were re-elected. Vicki Cogan from the Harbord Advisory Council/Mounties chaired the Meeting and presented the awards and trophies for the 2018 tournaments.

Club Championship 2019

The 2019 Club Championship was conducted in two divisions. The “A” Championship Division resulted in a tie between James Burt and Norman Greenwood on 6.5 points each out of a possible 9. A play off for the trophy saw James Burt the winner. In third place was Rex Simmonds on 6 points The clear winner of the “B” Division was Jozsef Gonda on 8.5 points from a possible 10 with second and third places going to Tom Accola and Arno Vogelmann on 6 and 5.5 points respectively.

Junior Chess Group

The Junior Chess Group is not operating in 2019 as our coach declined to conduct the sessions owing to other commitments. NSW Chess Association’s Inter-Club Competition The Inter-Club Chess Competition between Sydney based chess clubs organized by the NSW Chess Association was not held during May to July 2019 owing to insufficient clubs entering to make the event viable.

Rapid Winter Tournament

Our Winter Rapid Tournament, 30 minutes per player per game, concluded in July and the winner was Shane Dibley on 9.5 points from 10 games played out of a possible 12. In second place was Michael Courtney on 7.5 points from 8 games played out of a possible 12 and in third place was Hans Schwandl on 7.5 points from 12 games played.

Allegro Tournament 2019

The Allegro Tournament (15 minutes per player per game) was conducted in August and the winner was Michael Courtney with Hans Schwandl and Norman Greenwood taking second and third places respectively.

Spring Tournament 2019

Our Spring Tournament commenced on 2 September and will run through to the end of November/early December.

Website

Our Webmaster, Hugh Allen has been updating our website and it is well worth a visit at www.harborddiggerschessclub.org.au Enquiries are welcome. Call in at 7.30pm on Monday nights at the Community Room, Harbord Diggers/Mounties Club, 80 Evans Street, Freshwater or contact our President, Chris Dimock on 02 9905 3036 (H), 02 9221 8390 (W), 0412 052 399 (M) or email him at cjd@dimockslaw.com.au.

TOM ACCOLA Club Secretary