You will excuse me if I start with some personal news, but I've had quite a few emails asking how I was, so many of you will be pleased to know I have now been discharged back to the care of my own doctor. Subject to her approval I hope to be looking for a part time job in the near future.

This years tournament is between Cardiff, Cardigan, Monmouth and Nidum (the champions of their respective leagues. The matches have been typified by hard fighting chess of a very high standard and there have been a couple of upsets. Cardiff started off by beating Nidum 4.5 - 1.5 and then defeated Cardigan by 5.5 - 0.5. So Cardiff looked home and dry, going to Europe as Welsh Champions. Meanwhile Nidum were responsible for the first upset, beating the strongly fancied Monmouth team 3.5 - 2.5. Although the whole Nidum team played well, great credit is due to their top two boards who took one and a half points off the Monmouth IMs Chris Dunworth and Jimmy Sherwin.

So all eyes turned to Monmouth on 4th of July, with Cardiff expected to complete the treble and take the championship in style. But somebody forgot to tell the Monmouth captain Jimmy Sherwin, and it might have been expected that the New York International Master might have something up his sleeve on Independence Day. After all, you don't beat Bobby Fischer twice unless you know something about the game. The result was a 4.5 - 1.5 win for Monmouth in the course of which they the top three boards, throwing the championship back into the melting pot and, incidentally, showing just how well the Nidum top boards had played in the previous match.

Whatever happens, Cardiff have qualified for Europe, but they'll have to wait to see if they go as champions. It's so tight that even Cardigan could still in theory win the tournament, although they would need to take 11.5 game points from their last two matches. Monmouth will win if they beat Cardigan 4.5 - 1.5 on Sunday. While Nidum can't actually win, they can still get second place in Monmouth fail to beat Cardigan by more than 4 - 2.

The next match takes place on Sunday 7th July in the Emlyn Cafe, Tan-y-Groes, Nr Cardigan (on A487 Cardigan to Aberystwyth road 7 miles from Cardigan). If you're in the area it should be worth watching. Pawn off, 2.30 pm. Why not make a day of it and have lunch in the cafe (I think the last orders are about 1.30pm). It's within easy reach of some of the most beautiful coastline in Europe, so the rest of the family can enjoy themselves while you watch the games.

Tuesday 6th Aug. Cardiff Chess Club, 15 min Swiss Tournament, week 2. Pawn off 7.15pm.

I've lost my copy of the Monmouth Weekend Tournament, which is due shortly. If somebody would be kind enough to send me the details, I'll publish them.

Finally, great news, Hereford is back, if only as a one day tournament in August. I'll look up the details and publish them next time.

Please send all emails to david.james20@ntlworld.com as I'm having trouble with my other email addresses.

Please start sending news through again and I'll try to send out the more interesting items from the backlog over the next few issues.

Finally, many for the good wishes I received during my last bout of illness (both by email and expressed personally). They helped me through a very difficult period.

Best wishes

Dai James.