The Holmfirth Pod Chess League, set up by Steve Westmoreland, managed to get going, the first match being played on 03/09/2020. (Original plans were described here. See also here.) There are 6 teams,

Belgrave (including Dave Patrick),

David Brown Gear (including Leo Keely),

Holmfield,

Holmfirth (including Steve Westmoreland),

Huddersfield (including Kyle Sharpe), and

Wakefield (including Peter Shaw).

Belgrave is from the Calderdale league, and the others from the Huddersfield league. “Holmfield” may not be on your map of West Yorkshire. That team is a hybrid Holmfirth/Huddersfield team. (Sounds better than “Huddersfirth”.) 7 of the scheduled 15 matches (all play all once) have been played so far, with the final match scheduled for 25/11/2020. Matches are in general played over 3 boards, which neatly fits within the current “rule of 6”. 2 matches have been played over 4 boards, in which case one board was presumably played apart, in the bar area perhaps. 18 players have been involved so far. As regards observance of Covid regulations, organiser Steve Westmoreland happens to encompass such things in his “day job”, which obviously helps.

Wakefield have dropped out since the start, and Holmfield have been dropped to even the numbers.

Click here for photos from the 28/09/2020 match Holmfirth v Belgrave (drawn 1½-1½).

They are not countenancing rapid or blitz events, as such events mean players mixing more.

Given that a number of older Yorkshire players have hardly left the house since the initial lock-down, while a minority of mainly younger players have been trying to restart club meetings at a very low level, and some have been meeting in pairs to play in pubs, it is interesting to consider the statistics of the take-up by Huddersfield league players.

15 out of last season’s 50 Huddersfield league players are playing in the Holmfirth Pod League, or 30%. 3 out of last season’s 19 Belgrave players are involved, or about 16%.

A number of organisations are around now considering when, if ever, they will be able to resume over-the-board chess. Certainly, now long-foretold rises in infection levels are appearing, many would not engage in such events at present, even though (currently) legal in some areas of the country, but for the adventurous (or reckless according to ones point of view - “legal” is not the same as “wise” for everyone), the Holmfirth Pod League perhaps provides a model.

Any initiatives along Holmfirth lines need managing responsibly with regard to current Covid-related requirements, and finding “Covid-compliant” venues might be difficult. Any plans necessarily have to take into consideration the fact that restrictions could change at any time, abruptly curtailing events, so resumption of most long-established team events seems still to be a faint glimmer in the distant future.