The season has started!

Last evening saw the first match in the Suffolk League, between Ipswich E and Felixstowe in Division 3.   The result?   An excellent 2½ – 1½ win for Felixstowe, with wins for Phil Hopkins and Dave Robertson, and a draw for John Barty.   You can follow Felixstowe Chess Club’s progress on their Facebook page.

Several matches will take place on Thursday, when four Ipswich teams travel to Bury St Edmunds (three in Division 1 and one in Division 3).

All clubs have submitted their nominated boards, which can be viewed here.

Some interesting statistics (average board grades):

Division 1
Board 1 – 193
Board 2 – 178
Board 3 – 169
Board 4 – 156
Total grade = 698 (average 174.5)

Division 2
Board 1 – 165
Board 2 – 150
Board 3 – 142
Board 4 – 135
Total grade = 592 (average 148)

Division 3
Board 1 – 141
Board 2 – 121
Board 3 – 110
Board 4 – 104
Total grade = 476 (average 119)

Board 1 in Division 2 is higher than Board 4 in Division 1.   Similarly, Board 1 in Division 3 is higher than Board 4 in Division 2.