The History of Wotton Hall Chess Club

Wotton Hall Chess Club was formed on 7th September 2005. The principal organiser of the club in the beginning was John Jones who was Chairman, Secretary and Captain in the first year. The club had one team at that time in the North Gloucestershire Chess League (NGCL) and played in Division 3. The playing members were John Jones, Clive Donald, Tony Pilkington, Kevin Bendall, Jesse Lord, Albie Charles, Bob Langley and Ian Blencowe. In 2024 Jones, Bendall and Blencowe are still playing for the club. There was also a juniors’ section, run by John Jones, where youngsters received coaching, solved chess puzzles and played internal club friendly matches. This policy of welcoming young players into the club has continued to this day and has been a big factor in the success of Wotton Hall in recent years.

Wotton Hall progressed rapidly with 2 promotions in 3 years, winning the NGCL Division 2 in 2007-8, with a ‘B’ team also playing in Division 3. Kevin Bendall became Chairman in 2007 to help ease the burden on John Jones, who remained as Secretary and continued to bring talented youngsters into the club, including Michael Ashworth who was aged 9 when he started playing at Wotton Hall in 2008. Michael went on to become the British junior champion at under 15 level in 2014 and then under 16 level in 2015. Michael’s younger brother Robert joined the club in 2010 and has been a tremendous asset to the club as a very good player, captain and as an excellent organiser of the internal club tournaments.

The 1st team initially struggled in Division 1 and were relegated after only one season in the top flight. However, with a stronger squad including one of the best players in the entire league, Ian Robson, on board 1 the club were Division 2 champions again in the 2010/11 season. Since 2011, Wotton Hall have always played in the top Division of the NGCL, becoming Division 1 champions for the first time in the 2014/15 season. The club went on to win the title again in 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20 all under the captaincy of Michael Ashworth. The ‘B’ team also won the Division 2 title in 2018/19 to cap a very successful season.

In 2019 a new ‘Superleague’ competition was introduced by the NGCL, which involves 8 players per team competing in a standard and rapid play format throughout the season. All the larger clubs (Wotton Hall, Cheltenham, Stroud, Gloucester) have participated with Wotton Hall winning 3 out of 4 years the competition has been held so far.

In the last ten years two Wotton Hall players have excelled in the North Gloucestershire Individual Championship with Ian Robson winning five times (2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2022/3 and 2023/24) and Joey Stewart winning twice (2018/19 and 2021/22).

After the enforced lockdown in the country due to the covid virus, most of the 2020/21 season was cancelled. However, since the club reopened playing membership has increased steadily, including IM (International Master) Andy Horton who joined the club in 2021. In the current 2024/25 season Wotton Hall has 6 teams in the 4 divisions in the NGCL.

The club continues to attract a lot of junior age players, and many have gained international honours. Michael Ashworth, Robert Ashworth, Charlie McLaren, Tom McLaren and Eleanor Hapeshi have all represented England when they were juniors at Wotton Hall. Three of the current juniors, Siddharth Venkatanarayanan, Jaime Ashworth and Zack Norris, have represented the South-West England team, with Maddy Dupree and Siddharth Krishna playing for Gloucestershire. Zack Norris, aged 11, is a huge talent and he is now in the England Junior Squad until he is 18 years old. Zack is also a British Champion as he finished equal first in the Under-12 Rapid Championship this summer.

Wotton Hall’s playing strength had increased over the years and the club took the decision to enter the 4NCL (4 Nations Chess League) for the 2022/23 season. This is a very strong competition with Chess Clubs from all over the UK participating and involves a lot of commitment by the players on 5 weekends throughout the season with a lot of travelling. Ian Robson has done a sterling job in organising and as captain of the team. Wotton Hall were entered into Division 4 with 35 teams in 2022 and had a very successful year finishing 6th winning 7 of the 11 games. This led to a promotion to Division 3 in the 2023/24 season. Another very successful year followed, with the team finishing equal 2nd winning 7 and drawing 1 of the 11 matches played, narrowly missing a second consecutive promotion on tie-break rules (game points).

The club has come a long way since fielding one team in the lowest Division in the North Gloucestershire Chess League in 2005. Much of the success has been achieved due to the commitment of the officers of the club over the years. Kevin Bendall is still Chairman; John Jones, Alex Hope and currently Ian Robson have been elected as Secretary; Clive Donald, John Jones, Ian Blencowe and currently Michael Ashworth have been elected as Treasurer. The stability provided by some long serving members has helped Wotton Hall become a leading club in Gloucestershire.

Kevin Bendall

Chairman, Wotton Hall Chess Club

September 2024