Wednesday 25 September 2019

John Loughnane Obituary

I know this will come as a shock. I have to report with deep regret that John Loughnane has tragically died in a motorbike accident in June of this Year.

I have spoken to Myton Hospice today, who John worked for, and they confirmed what we suspected last night, that John has been killed.

Apparently one of John's aspirations was to own a motorbike and go touring around Ireland so he recently purchased a motorbike and was on a trip down to Portsmouth, to try out his new purchase, where he unfortunately lost control and was hit by another vehicle. Here is a newspaper cutting from the Coventry Telegraph recording the accident John Loughnane 

John was an extremely popular member of the Club and had been a member for many years. He loved playing chess and was always enthusiastic about his games that he played. John had a great sense of humour and and I know it is a cliche, but he really was "a gentle giant" 

Many of you will have played John over the Years either in League or friendly matches and he always played hard but fair and he just loved playing Chess whenever he could. His kindness and generosity also extended to his workplace where he was very highly regarded and well liked. 

I know he will be sorely missed by us all and the Club will be poorer without John. 

Sadly, his funeral was held a few weeks ago which as a Club we were unaware of, therefore no-one from the Club attended.The details are here Funeral . 

Finally, I have attached a few photo's which I think nicely reflect John's personality and sense of fun.

Simon
Club Secretary
RIP John Loughnane




Tuesday 24 September 2019

Coventry v Leamington Match



 The Coventry and District Chess League marks its 100th anniversary this year. After a successful Season and Centenary Tournament, the League continues to celebrate - this time, challenging the Leamington League (LDCL) for an inter-league match.

Spearheaded by, Chairman Colin Green leading the Coventry & District side, and Ben Graff (LDCL Chairman) leading the Leamington side - two teams of fourteen players each, came together to celebrate the occasion.

This eventful match was held at Sprinkles Gelato on Hales Street, who very generously provided an excellent venue for all the players - supporting local chess.

From Coventry & District, the players represented clubs of Coventry, the city's two universities (Coventry, and Warwick), and the surrounding towns of Nuneaton, Rugby, and Kenilworth - which has formed the backbone of this League for the last 100 years.

There were two rounds played - every player with 30 minutes each. Round 1 saw the Leamington League take a significant lead with 9-5. This was enough for Coventry & District to manage expectations about chances of winning. Never-the-less, the players came back in earnest for Round 2 - would there be a huge upset, or would Leamington prevail?

As win came after win, it was clear that every point mattered, as the Coventry side started to take a Round 2 lead. In a turn of events, the CDCL settled on 9-5, equalizing the scores, to bring the result to a complete tie. From blundering queens to back-rank mate, the games saw the full range of tactics on display!

Both Leagues thank all the players for competing, as well as, every player and local Club organiser for keeping local chess vibrant across Coventry & District, and last but not least, to Sprinkles Gelato for their generous support.


Results

COVENTRY & DISTRICT LEAGUE    14-14  LEAMINGTON
Open
1  Philip Briggs    Nuneaton   1-1   Mark Page
2  Bob Wildig       Rugby      0-2   Mike Donnelly
3  David Ireland    Coventry   2-0   Neil Staples
4  Bernard Charnley Kenilworth 2-0   Tom Darling
5  Tony Green       Nuneaton   1-1   Ben Graff
Under 150
6  Sam Cotterill    Coventry 0.5-1.5 Dave Thomas
7  John Conway      Coventry   1-1   Dave Shurrock
8  David Riley      Rugby      0-2   Jude Shearsby
Under 120
9  John Hall    Rugby      0-2  Peter Stiff
10 John Rayner  Nuneaton   1-1  Algirdas Toleikis
11 James March  WarwickUni 1-1  Alexandros Kagkalis
Under 90
12 Paul Sweatman    Coventry 0.5-1.5 Jimmy Blair
13 Hok Chiu         WarwickUni 2-0   Jonathan Male
14 Chun Chiu        WarwickUni 2-0   Bruce Holland