The UK’s national league, the 4NCL, is turning into a two-horse race after last weekend’s third and fourth rounds at Peterborough. Wood Green, the 2024 and London League champions, and Manx Liberty, the 2023 winners whose core is a group of Romanian and Hungarian grandmasters, have both won all their four matches.
After four of the 11 rounds the leaders are Wood Green with 8 match points (24 game points) and Manx Liberty on 8 (23.5), then Cheddleton Savills Catering 6 (19), Barnet Knights 6 (18). The fixture list is geared to producing a climax, so that Wood Green v Manx will only occur in May’s final round, when both teams are likely to enhance their squads with strong GM wildcards.
