Worcester & District Chess League

About the league

Purpose of the league

According to the general rules Worcester and District sought to promote:

• the playing, teaching, and development of the game of chess in Worcester and district
• competitions between clubs and individual players

W&D Chess League in brief

The league was started in 1932. It promoted team and individual chess competition in the district surrounding Worcester. At the time of merging with Worcestershire Chess Association, there were seven clubs and fifteen 4-board teams competing in the league, which were organised in two divisions. The league ran two individual tournaments: the Bennett Cup (open) and the Ball Cup (under-150, a rating of about 1825), which were open to registered players of affiliated clubs. The league lives on as one of the team competitions and the two individual competitions are organised by Worcestershire Chess Association

Matches and time controls

Teams have four boards and games are played with an incremental time control: 80 minutes and a 10s increment from move 1 as the default position. If digital clocks are not available players should complete all their moves in 90 minutes. Teams play a single match against other teams in the same division. For the League Rules please click here (opens in new window). Rules for competition play, recording moves and quick-play finishes are available from the FIDE website (opens in new window, but please note that in most league games the captains act as arbiters in the event of a dispute and players are allowed to arrive late).

The league website

The webmaster worked very closely with the league, but is independent from it. If you have news items, corrections or comments, please contact the webmaster.