Middlesex shuffles the pack with three new team captains

Thursday 21 August 2025

MCCA has appointed three new captains ahead of the SCCU County Championships 2025/26 season, which starts on 4th October.

The new line-up is:

• Bob Eames (Open)*
• Evan Beachley (U2050)
• Keith Jones (U1850)
• Peter Grant-Ross (U1650 team)*
• Sam Fenton (U1450)*

*New captains

Veteran captain Keith Jones took charge of reorganising the captaincies following the departures of Anthony Fulton and Manoharan Dilukshan (Dilu), both of whom achieved notable successes as captains in the SCCU and ECF county championships.

FIDE Master Bob Eames, who joins us as Open captain, is a chess teacher, the architect of Hackney Chess Club's recent successes in the Middlesex League's Division 1, and a stalwart of Middlesex's Open team in the SCCU County Championships.

Evan Beachley has been U1650 captain for several years. His promotion to the U2050 captaincy is an opportunity to build on the higher team's success in winning the Montague Jones Trophy in 2025.

Keith Jones (his other MCCA job is Secretary) stays in place as captain of the U1850 team, after winning the Montague Jones (no relation) trophy in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2025, and the ECF U160 trophy in 2016 and 2018.

Peter Grant-Ross (who doubles up as MCCA President) has captained various Kings Head teams over the years and will captain the U1650 team.

Sam Fenton played junior county chess at a teenager. He and his son are members of the Middlesex U1450 squad, which he now captains.

Congratulations to new captains Bob, Peter and Sam, and to Evan on his two steps up; and good luck to all five teams and their captains in the 2025/26 season!

Middlesex wins the Under 1850 section of the ECF Counties Championship

Saturday 5 July 2025

In a hair-raising finish, Middlesex beat Yorkshire 8.5 points to 7.5 to win the Under 1850 section of the ECF County Championships.

The 16- board match produced no fewer than eleven draws and only two losses. Congratulations to veteran captain Keith Jones, to the three winners (Bharath Jayakumar, David J White and Shlok Parakh), and to the eleven stalwarts who held their formidable opponents at bay. Captain Keith has promised a full report for News and Views once he's recovered from the shock of winning his third championship in four years.