Local News!

Hurrah! We've finished 2008 with a bang, with our first team in London League Division One beating Cavendish Seconds 6½ to 4½ with one game still to finish. Not bad considering we defaulted our bottom board, and special mention should go to Gary Smith who effortlessly held board 11 against an opponent graded 39 points higher than he.

Now, I'm sure the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed the usual 'Club News' has been replaced by 'Local News'. That's in order to congratulate two local players who normally sit opposite the board from us Streatham and Brixton Chess Clubbers: Yang-Fan Zhou of Coulsdon and Surrey, and Rawle Allicock of Beckenham & Charlton and Kent. Because at the latest International Tournament in Coulsdon, each achieved an IM Norm. Something tells me it won't be the last for either. That one's via here, btw.

Finally, a note of thanks to our friendly neighbours Streatham Chess Club who on Thursday last week at their venue Streatham Library held a fun and entertaining quiz, that they also invited us to. I'd guess around 40 or 50 people attended, and fun was certainly had by all. The only thing to add is a note to Stan the quiz master, just to say that Darth Vader is not a Jedi. Oh, and here's a question from the quiz for our readers to enjoy. How many tube stops on the London Underground contain the name of a chess piece? And which are they? No looking at a map first now.

Happy holidays!