2011/12 4NCL Season Climax
The first 4 Nations Chess League (4NCL) competition took place in 1993 and over the intervening years it has developed into the most prestigious team chess event in the United Kingdom.
The '4 Nations' name refers to the constituent countries that make up the UK; England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, all of which have separate chess federations.
The 2011/12 4NCL league season runs from November to May and the final three rounds take place this weekend from 5-7 May (a bank holiday weekend in the UK).
There are four divisions in total; divisions 1 and 2, and division 3 (north) and division 3 (south). Division 1 features the cream of British chess talent, as well as a few big-name imports.
There are 16 teams each in division 1 and 2, and each team must consist of 8 players and be mixed sex (so at least one woman, or man!). The standings in the 1st division championship pool going into the final weekend look like this:
| # | Team | BP | MP |
| 1 | Wood Green Hilsmark 1 | 22½ | 8 |
| 2 | Cheddleton 1 | 18 | 6 |
| 3 | Guildford 1 | 20½ | 5 |
| 4 | Barbican 4NCL 1 | 17 | 5 |
| 5 | White Rose 1 | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | Jutes of Kent | 14 | 2 |
| 7 | Barbican 4NCL 2 | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | e2e4 1 | 9 | 2 |
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The top guns for leaders Wood Green include Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell and Jon Ludvig Hammer. Surprise package Cheddleton are led by Danny Gormally and Mark Hebden, while Guildford can boast Nigel Short and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Matches start on Saturday at 14:00 local time (13:00 UTC), on Sunday at 13:00, and Monday at 11:00. The time control is 40 moves in two hours, then 20 moves in one hour and a final 30 minutes to finish.
Fixture details and live games can be found at the excellent official website www.4ncl.co.uk.
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David Howell (right) beating Nigel Short earlier in the season
