WELLINGTON Chess Club held their AGM last week in readiness for the new season in the West Somerset League which starts in two weeks’ time. Following the sudden and unexpected decision by club secretary and club captain Chris Barratt to leave the club during the summer the club has been forced to find volunteers to take over these roles.

The job of club Secretary has been taken over by Robert Harris and that of treasurer by Rupert Sells. Alan Stonebridge will be organising the club championship. The club’s six-board team which plays in Division 2 of the league will be captained by former club champion Simon Pickard. David Smith will once again be captaining the four-board team in Division Three.

Prospects for the season are difficult to judge. Last season the Division Two team finished in mid table after leading at the halfway stage. Chris Barratt will be missed on the lower boards but many of the Division Three team will be looking to stake a claim to take his place. David Smith is likely to come in and play on board six but there will almost certainly be opportunities for others as the season progresses.

As to the Division Three team, this was formed last season to give the club’s growing membership a chance to play in competitive matches. Four players made their debuts and will benefit from the experience. Although the Division Three team finished bottom of their league, there is a growing confidence that the club will improve on last season’s results bearing in mind the experience gained.

Wellington is a club from one of Somerset’s smaller towns working hard to match the clubs from the bigger towns in the West of the county. The club is constantly trying to drum up interest and is now once again appealing to the people of the town who like to play chess to come along and join in. It is very cheap to play at Wellington Chess Club. In fact it is free! The club’s details can be found in the What’s On section of this newspaper.