MCA League Restructure 2026
The Merseyside Chess Association has agreed in principle to a new league structure for the 2026/27 season based on each club only being allowed to field one team in the First Division to enable a greater number of smaller clubs to participate in the top flight and improve the appeal and potential growth of their clubs.
Documents relating to the background of moving to this new structure and ongoing developments will be stored on this page to make all information easily accessible for all Merseyside players interested.
These discussions about restricting clubs on Merseyside to one team per club have been ongoing at club and MCA committee level since the 2018/19 season when Liverpool 2 won the second division but declined promotion to Division 1 to provide opportunity for top level chess for other clubs.
In 2021/22 season after COVID Liverpool 2 again won Division 2 and reluctantly moved into Division 1. In 2022/23 Liverpool 3 won Division 2 but objected and declined promotion to Division 1 on principal.
Liverpool with 3 teams and Atticus with 2 teams in Division 1 would have been catastrophic for most MCA clubs and the current league structure is now once again heading potentially towards on 4 or even 3 clubs being represented in Division 1 which is why we are making this change.
MCA Restructure initial proposal July 2025
This presentation above was delivered to the MCA Committee in July 2025 as requested after being discussed at the MCA AGM at the end of the 2025 season. A vote at the end of this meeting voted not to throw out the proposal but in favour of further research to gather a more detailed insight into how a new league restructure may work which should be presented for review during the 25/26 season
MCA Restructure second proposal Jan 2026
This proposal above was presented on the January 2026 MCA committee meeting to review the detail of the potential MCA restructure at the end of which a vote would be taken to either throw out the proposal or agree on its implementation for the following season. The MCA committee voted to move away from the current league structure next season to a version of the new proposed structure but requested a number of options be drawn up for consideration by a representative from each Merseyside club in March 2026.
MCA Restructure Overview Cover letter – Russell
This document above shows the detailed options of the new league structure which will be voted on in March 2026 by one representative from each MCA club for implementation before the new 2026/27 league season. Below the Restructure options document is the Restructure Overview covering letter from MCA president Russell Cowell.
Merseyside Teams Playing strength
This spreadsheet shows the playing strength of each of the clubs on Merseyside based on the clubs top 7 players at the end of the 2025 league season. Some updates have been added in yellow to show changes to strength this season for clubs with significant change.
English chess leagues stats 2025
This document above shows a comparison of all the English chess associations at end of 2025 season and which of the currently have a one team per club structure and which still have more than 1 team per club. It also shows and compares how many matches each of the first division teams play per season.
MCA Division 1 number of clubs history and future
This analysis compare the number of clubs represented in Division 1 on Merseyside over the last 15 years and how it may look in future if the number of clubs represented continues to decline.
Above are the recorded MCA Honours history records for all MCA divisions and tournaments which can hopefully have additional entries added with further research. Information gathered so far was researched by Jim Gallagher from MCA archives and engravings on tournament trophies
To be added soon:
FAQs highlighting the main concerns raised by MCA chess players in light of the changes being implemented
Additional detailed background of the reasoning that has led to the need for a new MCA League structure looking at the may problems the old structure created and how the new structure will dramatically benefit all players, clubs, districts of Merseyside to get access to the highest level of competitive chess where ever they are.