Captains’ Reports on the 2025-2026 League and Cup Season
Camberley Chess Club had one of our most successful seasons ever in 2025-2026.
The above photo shows some of the Haselmere Trophy winners celebrating one of several league/cup wins.
Thanks to all the team captains and players for contributing to a most enjoyable season of chess!
Below are reports from each of the team captains.
Berkshire League Division 1 (Daniel Seaton)
The Camberley A team had a very successful season, though fell agonisingly short of two major trophies. We led Division 1 (which Camberley have not won since 2008) until the very last match of the season, being pipped at the post by Crowthorne by just one point. Similarly, we reached the final of the Premier Precision Trophy, being beaten by a very strong Reading side. Though we came up just short in these competitions, this should not detract from the consistently very high level of chess that was played by the team’s regular players – our results back this up! We will be back again next season to hopefully get over the line.
Berkshire League Division 2 (Tim Bland)
This season the Camberley B team, operating in Division 2, came third overall. It was a tough season with some very close matches that didn’t quite go our way on occasion. We still hit the podium but finished 3 points adrift of the top placed Bracknell A.
This is a strong league, where we often face players rated well over 1900 or 2000 on the top boards. The season features 10 matches and significant travel, so there are no easy games. We lost 1 match, won 5 and drew 4. I’m pleased with the result even if it means we have to give the trophy back… temporarily.
15 different Camberley players graced the boards this season. I was fortunate to welcome Mike Morgan and Tristan Nowell as new players into the fold this year; both had strong performances. Thanks to everyone who played. Special nods for performance rating go to Adrian (2105), Paul Sloane (1962), Aditya (1960!), and I was personally quite pleased to hit a performance rating of 1885 across 6 games.
I was also very proud to drag coax Steve out of his unnecessarily early retirement. Steve played 2 games and scored 100%. So he’ll be on the sheet next year whether he likes it or not. With that said, if there are any Camberley players who want to play in the team, regardless of your rating, please let me know and I will ensure you are at least offered an opportunity to play this coming season. All are welcome.
Berkshire League Division 3 (Josh Jackson)
This season with Camberley C was an absolute treat, my first as captain that allowed me, and the rest of the team to see some of the great highs and lows that come with the game of chess.
Through the season, the team remained undefeated, quite the feat in the face of an everlasting horde of underrated juniors. We did well not to let that get the best of us, and pushed on to give the league winners their only two draws and to finish second overall. (Reading won every other game!)
We were unfortunate not to win the league I think, trailing by only two points, seven points clear of third place.
Great performances all around, with what feels like the majority of matches finishing with results down to the last board. Either to secure us a deserved win, or to bag a tight draw against a tough opponent. There were many nail-biting finishes, often with both teams standing over the final game watching blunders be made and material won by either side.
I would like to give a shout-out to some key players that delivered over the season.
Aditya with a performance rating of over 2000, scored 3/3 in key games taking down the top board where those points mattered the most for the result.
Daniel, who remained reliable with 6/7 often squeezing points out of endgames with only a slight advantage.
Tristan Nowell, who (if we ignore Bg2 in the first game of the season) played incredibly well and out-booked every opponent and has improved massively over this first season at the club with 3/4. I will never forget the sheer joy coming from hearing how he smoked his opponent with an obscure Tal variation Caro Kann.
On a personal note, the past season saw me get to play the most chess I have ever played, improving over roughly 100 rating points and having a blast along the way scoring 8/9. although sadly dropping a point where it mattered most.
Thank you to everyone for playing, hopefully next season we can do the same if not better!
Surrey Border League Division 1 (Bob Smith)
Our Camberley A Team played in the SBL Division 1 for the first time in a number of years. Against very strong teams from Farnham, Guildford and Reading our play deserved more than the 5 ½ game points we achieved across the 6 games and we also managed at least ½ point in each game. Our best match of the season was a close 3-2 defeat away to Farnham. This also featured 2 of the best games of the season where both Zac and Ian won on boards 1 and 2 against top opposition. Ian’s fiery dragon sent his opponent home within the first hour! The other game to highlight was Simon’s draw with IM Nigel Povah at home to Guildford. We had 12 players represent with Zac, Ian and Bob playing 4, Simon, Paul, Tim, and Mike playing 3 games each. Overall, despite the challenge faced against higher rated opposition on all boards in every match the team represented the club well. It wasn’t often that we could play our strongest team due to school, work and travel so thanks to everyone who stepped in to ensure that we did field a team for each match.
Surrey Border League Division 3 (James Roberts)
Camberley B Secure Joint-Top Finish in Solid Division 3 Debut
Camberley B have concluded a successful campaign in Division 3, demonstrating that the squad is well equipped to compete at this higher level following recent promotion. The team delivered a strong performance across the season, finishing joint-first on match points alongside Guildford C.
Out of six fixtures, Camberley B secured four victories and suffered two defeats, accumulating a total of 8 match points. The team narrowly missed out on the title, finishing tied on 8 match points but with 15.5 game points to Guildford C’s 16.5.
Season Results Overview
– September 29, 2025: The season opened with a 4-1 away defeat against Guildford C.
– November 13, 2025: The team rebounded with a 3-2 away victory against Farnham C.
– December 4, 2025: Momentum continued with a 3.5 – 1.5 home win over Godalming A.
– January 29, 2026: A secondary encounter with Guildford C resulted in a 1.5 – 3.5 loss at home.
– March 12, 2026: The squad completed a season double over Farnham C with a 3-2 home win.
– April 1, 2026: The season concluded with a 3.5 – 1.5 away triumph against Godalming A, consolidating the team’s position at the top of the table.
A Dramatic Title Race
The conclusion of the season provided plenty of drama. Camberley B completed all six fixtures early and sat at the top of the table, having only dropped points in the two matches against Guildford C.
At that stage, Guildford C still had three matches left to play, making an outright league title for Camberley look unlikely. However, a combination of a forfeited match and Godalming defeating Guildford in the final game of the season allowed Camberley B to finish level on match points.
Overall an excellent season, and a huge thank you to all the members who played.
Some honourable mentions to the team regulars; Bob Smith, Jan Demjan and David Bean.
Surrey Border League Division 5 (Bob Wooding)
First, I would like to say this has been the most enjoyable season I’ve been involved in.
The Camberley C team started with a 2-3 loss against Godalming a bit of a shock and a wake-up night. We followed with 2 wins and then played Crowthorne away which we drew. Crowthorne won this division last season so we knew this was a good result.
Next up was away at Woking who at this stage were top of the league. Our team had an unbelievable night at Woking winning 1/2 -4 1/2 with great wins from Tristan Searle, Jake and Lee Conyard and Tim Bland.
From that evening I decided to play the strongest team possible and we followed up with wins against Godalming Guildford and Farnham. At this stage of the season Josh Jackson came back into the team and didn’t stop winning.
Second from last game Crowthorne at home and the match started really well with Josh and Jake winning 2-0 up what could go wrong – well our top 3 boards all lost for the only time of the season Lee, Tim and then myself losing on time
The next week was our last match at home against Woking who now only needed a Draw to win the league. And what a match. First up was a win from Josh then a defeat for Tristan. Tim Bland was getting crushed on board 1 then out of the blue his opponent makes a mistake and we’re 2-1 up, my match goes down to the last seconds and I lose the ending – 2-2. Down to Lee who was in an equal position with a minute on his clock, his opponent Graham Andrews has 30 seconds left and cracks under pressure by making his move and not pressing his clock 3-2 to us and we’ve won the league!
We had 9 players play in total, with the standout player being Lee Conyard with 6 wins from 7 games.
I would like to thank everyone who played. Thanks for a great season!
Surrey Border League Rapid Division 1 (Steve Harley)
The Rapid A team had by far its best season yet. We were able to field some really strong teams throughout the season. Jon Ady and Dildarav Lishoy were mainstays on the top two boards; they both scored 60+% against some very strong opponents. In the first half of the season we beat Godalming and Crowthorne comfortably, but lost 5.5-2.5 away at Farnham. However in January we had a fantastic result beating Farnham 4.5-3.5 in the return match (notably featuring Jon 2-0 Clive Frostick). A further win away at Crowthorne retained our hopes of finishing level with Farnham. Unfortunately we lost our last match 3-5 at Godalming, with Jon having a very rare 0-2 setback against their star player Gwilym Price. Nine members played in the team this season – thanks to everyone that turned out for the team.
Surrey Border League Rapid Division 2 (Bob Wooding)
The Rapid B team finished 2nd in its first season and I wanted to go one better this season.
We started with a win against Godalming then went to Farnham. Steve Harley came into the team for his first game and came up against Tim Davis; this was a match I thought we were going to lose until Steve won his second game giving us a draw.
After 2 more wins, including revenge over Farnham, we played Crowthorne away and again Steve got the short straw having to play Happy Derrick Johnson.
The match ended drawn and after winning all our remaining matches we won the league by a clear point.
8 different players played with stand-out performances from Daniel (7 wins from 8), Steve (9 1/2 from 14), Josh (8 1/2 from 14) and myself (10 from 12).
Thanks everyone who played and it was really great to win the league!
Surrey Border League Cups (Steve Harley)
In the Bell Trophy team went out 2-3 in the first round at home to Bracknell, with wins for Seb Twisk and Lee Conyard.
The Haslemere Trophy was altogether more successful. I round 1 we avenged last year’s defeat in the final by beating Godalming away. As always, I chose players who I was confident would overperform their ratings. We were heavily outrated and needed only 2.5/10 to win the match. As it turned out we scored 1.5 in the first round of games, and another 2 in the second round to go through comfortably. Only the captain, acting as sacrificial lamb on board 1, did not score at least half a point.
The semi-final at home to Fleet and Farnborough was a bizarre and memorable occasion. F&F went full on, with GM Simon Williams on top board, and 2000+ players on 2-5. The average rating difference was 457 points, meaning they need to win 10-0. Towards the end it was 8-0, with me clinging on to a possible draw against Clive Frostick (a ringer for the evening) and Jack Maiden playing out a tense ending versus their captain Lee Savill (rated 460 points above Jack).
Jack brilliantly gave up a piece to get passed A and H pawns; Lee’s Knight could not stop both of them. In time trouble they agreed a draw to give us a fantastic 0.5-9.5 victory.
After the incredible semi, the final at Crowthorne was relatively straightforward. Again we were outrated, this time by an average of 190 points, which meant we needed 3/10 to win. David Bean and Lee Conyard both won their first games to get us close, then Lee and I both won in the second and David drew, to score us 4.5 and victory.
It was a great pleasure to captain the Haslemere team – it is my favourite format and the handicap system really makes every game exciting. Thanks to all 8 players who represented us over the three matches.