As Battersea’s league teams finally crank into gear this week, we thought it was a good time to clarify what has changed this year.
The short answer is a lot!
To recap, Battersea plays in two league structures, the London Chess League (LCL) and the Central London League (CLL).
As stated in our previous update on the planning for the new season after lockdown, the CLL has remained largely the same. It has a new venue and we have new captains. But the league structure remains as it was.
However, the LCL, where the bulk of Battersea’s teams play, is a different story.
Firstly, the league structure has been ripped up and started anew for this season only. For the first time in its 130-odd year history, the league has been split into “East” and “West” conferences.
The East conference plays at the Citadines Hotel in Holborn, which used to be the main central venue. Now the West division has moved to the London Mindsports Centre near Ravenscourt Park tube in Zone 2.
This is a radical departure for a league that had previously insisted that all matches take place in Zone 1.
To add to that, each “conference” has separate 4-board and 8-board divisions. Sounds confusing? We’re not surprised. Check out the divisional structure on the website here and that might help.
For this season, Battersea is fielding seven teams in the LCL, six in the West and one in the East. At the same time, Battersea has three teams in the CLL, which plays all its matches in Pimlico.
The full fixture lists for both LCL and CLL matches have been added to the club calendar here so you can take a look at the matches coming up.
I want to play in league matches, how do I do that?
Firstly everyone who represents Battersea has to be a member of the club. If you haven’t already, you can join by filling out the form here. Secondly, you also have to be a member of the English Chess Federation – this is because the games are rated and the club will be charged a rating fee if you are not a member. This can be done here.
Then, you have to be picked for a team by one of our captains (who all operate independently). The policy is it’s entirely up to them who they choose to play. Captains generally want to choose as strong a team as possible, so a rating helps them decide. They also often prefer people they know will turn up when they say they will – and not default a game.
However, don’t think it’s a closed shop – the reality is quite often captains are desperate to find a player to fill a team so lots of opportunities to play and get known to them crop up.
We suggest you choose a few teams depending on your level and contact the captains and say you want to be considered – either contact the club and we’ll put you in touch or ask on the club WhatsApp group.
Who are the team captains?
These are the teams and their captains for the LCL:
Battersea 1 (Division 1) Midhun Unnikrishnan
Battersea 2 (Division 2) Paul Stokes
Battersea 3 (Division 4) Bill Drennan + Malcolm Dancy
Battersea Dogs (Major Division) Tim Valentine + Leon Watson
Battersea Cats (Major Division) Raja Krovvidi
Battersea Power (Minor Division) David Blackwell
Battersea Volts (Minor Division) Marco Flaccavento
And these are the teams and captains for the CLL are:
Battersea 1 (Division 1) Ali Hill
Battersea 2 (Division 1) Emil Todorow
Battersea 3 (Division 2) Tim Valentine.
If you are wondering why there are two teams called “Battersea 1” and the same with Battersea 2 and Battersea 3, then yes – it is a bit confusing. Sorry!
Where and when are the matches played?
Not an easy question to answer. Some of our home matches are played at home. Some are not. But obviously, none of our away matches are played at home.
The teams in the West play some of their home and away matches at the London Mindsports Venue near Ravenscourt Park tube with matches starting at 6.45pm. The rest of the matches are played either at Battersea or at the opposition’s venue (which is usually in Zone 1) and the start times vary depending on the venue.
The same is true for the East division but the central venue where most matches are played is the Citadines Hotel (on High Holborn, WC1 V6LF) and the start time there is 6.45pm.
For the CLL teams, it’s much simpler. All matches are played under one roof (the Churchill Gardens Residents’ Association in Glasgow Terrace, Pimlico, SW1V 3AL) at the same time.
For the avoidance of doubt, all our fixtures are available on the LCL or CLL websites with full details of the time and place. Your captain should communicate all this to you, but make sure you check!
Can I play for more than one team?
For the most part, yes. The leagues have different rules but you can generally play for any team as long as you haven’t played for another team in the same division (and even then, you can under certain circumstances).
The LCL, for example, has relaxed its rules a bit this year and you can play in the East if you’ve already played in the West with impunity. The best thing is to ask the captain before you play if there may be a problem.
