Summer Cup

The Summer Cup (and associated Summer Plate) is a team cup event which uses a handicap system to equalise the chances of different strength teams - allowing them to play on a more equal footing.

These tournaments are free to all member clubs of the League and, as the name implies, they run in the Summer period between the end of the main leagues and the beginning of the following season. Play is at a slightly quicker time control than the majority of the main League matches, and while still serious chess the matches tend to be played in a lighter spirit. In recent years the events have often been a happy hunting ground for the juniors of the Tiger Cubs, but the handicap system means that it's often the team that plays well on the night that succeeds rather than the ostensibly strongest team on paper.