Yes its that time of the year again. When, as predictably as the swallows returning to Capistrano, the Club Organiser pens his bi-annual summary of members' grading changes ….. and directs his ire at some poor soul for cheating him out of a few valuable grading points! This time last year I was robbed of about 8 points (some of which were never found) when the Leamington League results were mistakenly included twice. I had not had a good 6 months in the Leamington League. This time around the Coventry League results have been completely omitted. And of course I have just had a very good 6 months in the Coventry League. Joshua has also been badly affected by this administrative blunder, and we both have our fingers crossed that the February update will put this egregious wrong to rights.
But in the meantime, I can only mark everyone's report card on the basis of the list as published in January. So here we go, as we see who is top of the form, and who needs to go and stand in the corner of the classroom with a hat with the letter D on.
Yet again youth is firmly in the driving seat, with both of our England Internationals registering double digit increases in the last 6 months. This time around Billy has zoomed to the top of the list adding a massive 25 points in the blink of an eye and, just for good measure adding 16 points to his rapidplay grade. Even Jude couldn't live with this scorching pace, though his 12 point standard play gain is still miles ahead of anything any of us oldies have been able to manage. Making it 57 points gained in the last 18 months. Just think about that rate of improvement - its absolutely awesome.
Both Billy and Jude now rank as number two in the English rankings in their age groups (Under 8 and Under 10 respectively) and Jude is actually number 1 in the rapidplay rankings. This is truly extraordinary. Our two young stars are right up, there with the very best in the whole country. We are all massively proud of their achievements. And hats off to Paul, who seems to be quite good at that coaching malarkey!
Top of the Form
Billy +25
Jude +12
Andy W + 7
Algis + 5
Drago + 5
William + 2
Andy B + 1
Ben + 1
Chris + 1
Ed + 1
The Club Organiser + 1
Roy + 1
Steve + 1
Tony + 1
No change
Andrew
Dave
Matt
Phil
New Kids in Town
Lionel
Noah
On the Naughty Step
Bruce - 1
David - 1
Rod - 1
Joshua - 2
Bernard C - 3
Bernard R - 3
Paul - 3
Mike - 6
Stuart - 6
Nick - 9
Thanks largely to the stellar performances of our two mighty atoms, the club has collectively gained 64 points, while losing 35, for a nett gain of 29. We now have 28 people on the active grading list (though some are more active than others - anyone remember Stuart for instance? or Matt??) and there should be two more come the July list, as Lionel and Noah are in line to get their first ever ECF grades. Indeed, Lionel would have his already were it not for the Coventry League administrative fiasco.
Leading the way for the more senior members of the club, its congratulations to Andy W, Algis and Drago for logging very respectable gains. And a shout out too to William, despite being a virtual veteran compared to Billy and Jude, whose modest 2 point gain belies the fact that he has scored an absolutely splendid 100% for the D team on Board 1 so far this season.
Paul has just retained his place as Club Top Dog, but now has to share the title with the currently inactive Andrew P. The fact that we can field strong and competitive teams in both the Leamington and Coventry League is all the more remarkable when you think that our only two 190+ players have managed just one game between them this season!
Doctor Nick has not distinguished himself in the first half of the season, and tops the list of grading falls - though thankfully he just about managed to limit the decline to single figures! That's what happens when you stop coming along on a Thursday night! Mike also saw a painful loss of points, as did Stuart. But whereas Mike played oodles of games, Stuart managed it without coming within several miles of a chessboard. Ah, the ECF Grading System - dontcha just love it?!
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