Paul May
5 Jun 2025
A Season of Tactics, Triumphs, and Tough Breaks!
As another thrilling season comes to a close, it’s time to dust off the score sheets, pack away the clocks (temporarily!) and reflect on the ups, downs, and en passant moments of the year. Here's how the season played out for our merry band of chess warriors...
♟️ A Team – Flying Start, Wobbly Landing
Our A team burst out of the gates like Magnus on espresso, topping Division 1 for much of the first half of the season. Unfortunately, the second half wasn’t quite the fairy tale ending we hoped for – a few critical results didn’t go our way, and we ultimately slipped to a respectable 3rd place.
Congratulations to Harrogate A, who claimed the Division 1 crown for the first time since joining the Leeds league a few years back – a well-earned victory! Hats off to last years champions Leeds A too, who grabbed 2nd spot and proved once again they’re never far from the top.
🧩 B Team – So Close You Could Smell It
Over in Division 2, we had another classic showdown between our B team and Leeds B, with both sides finishing on the exact same points. But in a twist worthy of a grandmaster-level plot, Leeds edged us out by just two board wins! Déjà vu anyone? A couple of seasons ago we pipped them by the slimmest of margins.
The silver lining? Both teams get promoted! So, we’re back in Division 1 next season, and ready to rumble.
😬 C Team – A Tough Season
Our C team found the going a bit rough in Division 2, finishing 7th out of 8. With the bottom two teams relegated, it's time to regroup, rethink, and come back stronger next season. Every team has its rebuilding year – we’ve just had ours!
🔄 D & E Teams – Division 3 Drama
Division 3 wasn’t kind to our D and E teams this year, with both ending up in the bottom two spots. It was a season of hard-fought games, near misses, and valuable experience for newer and returning players alike. You win some, you learn some!
⚡ Rapid & Mini Leagues – A Little Too Rapid?
Our results in the Rapid league weren’t quite what we’d hoped for – maybe we blinked and missed a few checkmates! That said, Mini Team 1 brought home some glory with a solid joint 2nd place finish. Well played!
🏆 Arjay Knockout – A Near Repeat
The trophy slipped from our grasp this year. Our top teams were knocked out of the Arjay Trophy earlier than hoped, but Boston Spa 3 did us proud by making it all the way to the final. Sadly, they couldn’t hold on against a strong Rose Forgrove 5 side. Still, a fantastic run – and we were last year’s champions, after all!
👏 Thanks to All!
A massive thank you to every player, team captain, organiser, and opponent who made this season so enjoyable. Whether you were chasing trophies, making your league debut, or just playing for the love of the game, you were part of something special.
Let’s take a breather, enjoy the summer (and maybe some casual blitz games), and come back ready to castle, fork and pin our way to glory in the new season.
Onwards and upwards! 🏁♟️