The Wandering Dragons have won this handicap competition by beating Edinburgh-2 5½-5 in the final.

Wandering Dragons	5½‑5	Edinburgh 2
Leah, Tom (2061)	½-1¼	Haddow, Findlay (1709)
Browning, Isaac (2054)	1-¾	McGillivray, Calum (1701)
Burnett, Walter (1941)	1-¾	Whittaker, Ian P (1565)
Sloan, Elliot S (1850)	1-¾	Montgomery, David C (1563)
O`Neil, Jim (1797)	1-¾	Ruby, Vendela (1100)
Irvine, Ben (1340)	1-¾	Loumgair, Sue(807)

Edinburgh 2 (Home, Tuesday 2nd September) Final

The final was played in Pilrig, 2nd September 2025, we were at home. We decided to put out a strong team to try to take the final. The maximum handicap of -4½ (6 * ¾) was applied, so we could only afford 1 draw. As always, these games are tricky but this time we made it - WINNERS of the SUMMER CUP 2025. Tom had the toughest time where his opponent escaped Tom's strong position to threaten to win but he held on and out-played him in the end-game to secure the draw and the title.

We should not forget the other pool members who played a role in getting us to the final. Chris, Richard K, John and Silvian. Thanks everyone!!

Badgers Brooke (Away, 24 June) Semi-Final

The team won all games and are through to Final. Once again, the maximum handicap of -4½ (6 * ¾) was applied. Although the grade differences on each board were large, all it takes is for one game to go astray or two to draw and it's over.

Jim and Ben had some wobbly moments with Ben starting the opening with a nice bishop sac on f7, which was declined, followed up with a strong attack. In the simplifications however, the piece dropped and the attack was gone. Ben played some safe chess after that and got into a winning end game a piece up (R-N v R and some pawns). Instead of simplifying to a N advantage Ben chose another path, leading to a rook ending with even pawns. Ben then converted this drawn position with some nice rook manoeuvres.

Jim played the Dutch and later found out his opponent had been reading up on the Staunton gambit, which can be very dangerous. Jim was aware of the line and played out of the gambit line to an even position. As Jim played to create a strong queenside attack, he ignored the opponent's kingside attack and allowed a very dangerous pawn to get to h6. This gave his opponent some sacrificial tactics which did not work but it looked pretty scary. Jim missed a few strong moves in the heat of the moment but saw enough to ensure the win.

Another strong team result.

Badgers Brook	4½‑6	Wandering Dragons
La Gamma, Antonio (1270)	¾-1	Browning, Isaac (2008)
Walker, Gordon J (1266)	¾-1	Burnett, Walter (1872)
Forbes,John (1191)	¾-1	Sloan, Elliot S (1838)
Lawrence, David (1164)	¾-1	O`Neil, Jim (1814)
Woollven, Peter (1003)	¾-1	Irvine, Ben (1324)
Mabon, David(931)	¾-1	Moore, Chris (1253)

Tiger Cubs (Home, 4 June)

The team won all games and are through to the next round. The maximum handicap of -4½ (6 * ¾) was applied. Four of the games (boards 2-5) ended quite quickly with a piece dropped or missed in tactics. This was in keeping with the large grade difference. On board 1, Isaac was facing strong resistance but decided to simplify into an endgame where he showed the real difference with some nice endgame tactics. On board 6, John had gone a piece up but his young opponent had a dangerous attack brewing against his castled king with a fianchettoed bishop pointing at his king, a rook and queen facing his king and loads of threats. John stayed calm and coolly defended his way to exchange off the danger, finishing with a mate on his dangerous opponent.

A great team performance by all.

Wandering Dragons	6‑4½	Tiger Cubs
Browning, Isaac (2008)	1-¾	Edsar,Felix (1000)
Burnett, Walter (1872)	1-¾	Drysdale,Archie (1000)
O`Neil, Jim (1814)	1-¾	Isoe,Cillian (1000)
Kynoch, Richard J P (1791)	1-¾	Kalyan, Dheeraj(766)
Irvine, Ben (1324)	1-¾	McCready, Lochlan(596)
Palmer, John (1122)	1-¾	Li, Charlie(586)

Edinburgh West (Home, 13 May)

The team won 4-2 on the night and we also had a plus 2 on the handicap. Elliot got +½ on 1, Ben and John got ¾ on 5 and 6.

A great team performance meant that we did not need the handicap addition.

Elliot, Captain: "The big swing on board #5 of 1¾ points shows advantage of lower graded players. We would have won with 2 board wins (unless it was board 6 due to tie break rules). So it can be good when players are playing on form. All games were tight with no quick wins. First result at 10pm, even on short time control we use in the summer cup."

Wandering Dragons	6‑2	Edinburgh West
Sloan, Elliot S (1838)	½‑1	Palaniswamy, Raja S (1976)
O`Neil, Jim (1814)	1‑0	Del Mar, Tristan I (1749)
Kynoch, Richard J P (1791)	1‑0	Robinson, Martin E (1708)
Grosu, Silvian (1560)	1‑0	Prabhu, Aadith (1370)
Irvine, Ben (1322)	1¾-0	Campbell, Alistair W I (1608)
Palmer, John (1122)	¾-1	Darling, Callum (1586)

About the Summer Cup

The Summer Cup Competition and the associated Plate Competition, for first round losers, is a team event which takes place between March and September. Each team consists of six players. Normal chess rules concerning adult matches apply, but a handicap system gives weaker teams an advantage.

The handicap system operates as follows: a player graded over 200 points below his/her opponent is awarded a handicap bonus of ¾ point and a player graded between 100 and 200 points below his/her opponent receives a handicap bonus of ½ point.

An additional factor is that juniors (fast improving players) receive a rating boost based on their age before the handicaps are calculated:

Age	Increment
≦12	120
13	110
14	100
15	85
16	65
17	45
18	40
19	35
20	20