The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) Division 3 Bishops season started in the past weekend on 18-19 November. The matches were held at the Mercure Hotel, Telford, England.
![](https://ictl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-2-1024x94.png)
Written by Trisha:
I was looking forward to making my debut for the She Plays To Win (SPTW) Lioness team. Previously I played for an Irish chess club, Gonzaga in Division 1, this season I wanted to play for SPTW because I loved the concept of an all-girls team and I got the chance to lead the team by playing on board 1.
![](https://ictl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-1.png)
Round 1, Saturday 02 pm: SPTW Lionesses – Ashfield 1
The first match was a close battle, we lost by a close margin. Although it was a decent start for the season.
Round 2, Sunday 11 am: Brown Jack – SPTW Lionesses
Round 2, we showed our potential! We won against a slightly lower-rated average team than us. Shoutout to Olga and Alannah for important wins with the Black pieces!
After 2 rounds, we are currently on 7th rank out of 12 teams with 2 Match points and 6 Game points. Rounds 3-4 will take place early next year on January 6 – 7 2024!
She Plays to Win consists of four teams! That’s 24 players, this wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of our captain and founder of SPTW IM Lorin D’Costa. These are the teams as follows:
- SPTW Lionesses (the team that I play in – Division 3)
- SPTW Young Stars A
- SPTW Young Stars B
- SPTW Uni
By Tarun:
I was playing for Greater Woodpushers. My good friend Aidan Rawilson who also is the captain, brought me on board. Just like Trisha, I too was previously playing for Gonzaga in the previous seasons. Going into this league my main goal is to help the team to secure the top 2 spots which would promote the team to Division 2 by scoring on the 1st board. Having that said, I would try to enjoy the long classical-time control games and the team-tournament atmosphere. Greater Manchester Woodpushers consists of three teams:
- Greater Woodpushers (which I play in)
- Average Woodpushers (division 4)
- Apprentice Woodpushers (division 4)
The team is very diverse ranging from young junior players to experienced players.
![](https://ictl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WhatsApp-Image-2023-11-19-at-21.47.29_6650148f-1024x768.jpg)
Round 1, Saturday 02 pm: Warwickshire Select 2 – Greater Woodpushers
On Friday I predicted that I might play against Andrew so I was able to use my home preparation. Even though the opening was a “successful” I quickly realized the bishop pair was quite annoying. I wasn’t able to convert my material advantage into a decisive advantage:
Round 2, Saturday 11 am: Greater Woodpushers – The MASceters
I wasn’t pleased with my result yesterday, so I was eager to score today. I got a good IQP probably my opponent could have considered active options to slow down my initiative though over the board it was hard to play them.