A Historic Season
: Created:14 Jun 2011 , byThe seventeen members who attended Ealing's 125th Annual General Meeting on June 2nd were unanimous that it had been quite a season for our club.
At the top end Ealing achieved its first Middlesex and Thames Valley League double. In the Middlesex League we pipped mighty Hendon by half a point and in the Thames Valley League we finished two points clear of a resurgent Harrow.
Even more remarkable were the results attained by our second teams and particularly our Thames Valley side captained by Alastair Johnstone who were promoted to the first divison behind the runaway winners Kingston. Competing against seven strong first teams is going to be tough for our second string next season but we are up for the challenge. For much of the campaign we also were contenders for promotion from the Middlesex League second division. Eventually we had to give best to the first teams of former champions Athenaeum and Imperial College.
A few years back we entered an experimental team in the Hillingdon League with the intention of giving opportunities to players of all standards. We have three teams in this league now, one in each division and our second team meritoriously won divison two but it was agreed at the AGM not to accept promotion as long as our first team remained in the top flight at the end of this season.
It's going to be a busy summer with the Annual Lightning Tournament (champion: Veljko Stanisic), the President's Simul' given by John Quinn, the by now traditional talk by Peter Sowray: last year's subject Bent Larsen, the Summer Tournament and the fiercely contested graded tournaments organised by Simon Healeas
Last but not least the Ealing club is looking at an exciting new development that must remain under wraps for the moment while being developed.