Team captain: Ashley Freeman
The Club has a proud tradition in the Essex League, having won the League Championship on nine occasions (1974-75, 1976-77, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1986-87, 2004-05, 2014-15 and 2018-19). The full list of Champions is on the ECA website: Essex League Champions
| Date | Home Team | v | Away Team |
| 21 October 2021 | Barking I | 3½–4½ | Wanstead I |
| 9 November 2021 | Wanstead I |
6–2 | Upminster I |
| 24 November 2021 | Writtle | 3–5 | Wanstead I |
| 11 March 2022 | Southend I | 4–4 | Wanstead I |
| 29 March 2022 | Wanstead I |
3½–4½ | Brentwood I |
| 21 April 2022 | Basildon | 3–5 | Wanstead I |
| 17 May 2022 | Wanstead I |
5–3 | Loughton I |
Played 21 October 2021
| Board | Barking I |
v | Wanstead I |
| 1 | Sands, David A 2245 (B) | ½-½ | Cawdery, John 2081 (W) |
| 2 | Goldberg, Jeff A 2110 (B) | 0-1 | Hodgson, John H 2103 |
| 3 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 1990 | 0-1 | Rix, Steven JL 2028 |
| 4 | Robinson, James M 1953 | 0-1 | Freeman, Ashley 1795 (1859) |
| 5 | Figueroa, Edison 1906 | 1-0 | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 |
| 6 | Ramage, Colin R 1908 | 1-0 | Whitton, Terry D 1924 |
| 7 | Clow, Ken W 1870 | 0-1 | Murrell, Mark R A 1861 |
| 8 | Berkley, Stephen W 1683 | 1-0 | McCarron, Peter DJ 1751 |
| Average: 1959 | 3½-4½ | Average: 1940 |
A great result for the new skip!
Meeting the Essex League Champions head-on, the Wanstead first team came away from their opening fixture at Barking with both points, winning 4½-3½. A great result for debut skipper, Ashley Freeman, who contributed to the blitz of the top order by winning his own game. Good to see the return of Steve Rix.
This fine result came after losing two players from the top half in the previous 48 hours and at one point being 3-1 behind and will send a few ripples through the League, with a short fixture list (seven matches).
Played 9 November 2021
| Board | Wanstead I |
v | Upminster I |
| 1 | Cawdery, John 2095 | ½-½ | Davenport, John 1975 |
| 2 | Hodgson, John H 2103 | 1-0 | McCall, Martin 1915 |
| 3 | Rix, Steven JL 2028 | 1-0 | Robertson, Andrew E 1878 |
| 4 | Freeman, Ashley 1998 | ½-½ | Crane, Leslie J 1855 |
| 5 | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 | 0-1 | Corish, Aidan T 1780 |
| 6 | Whitton, Terry D 1924 | 1-0 | Biggs, Peter 1690 |
| 7 | Staniland, Philip 1851 | 1-0 | Pelling, Nicholas J 1743 |
| 8 | Murrell, Mark R A 1861 | 1-0 | Rahaman, Mustapha 1660 |
| Average: 1980 | 6-2 | Average: 1812 |
Played 24 November 2021
| Board | Writtle | v | Wanstead I |
| 1 | Russell White 2185 | 1–0 | John Cawdery 2095 |
| 2 | John Moore 2013 | 0–1 | John Hodgson 2103 |
| 3 | David Millward 1998 | 0–1 | Vladimir Parols 1985 |
| 4 | Paul Williamson 1975 | 0–1 | Ashley Freeman 1998 |
| 5 | Edgar Wilson 1953 | 1–0 | Ian Hunnable 1976 |
| 6 | Kerry Chilvers 1923 | 0–1 | Terry Whitton 1924 |
| 7 | Ivor Smith 1870 (sub) | 1–0 | Philip Staniland 1851 |
| 8 | Andrew Forrester 1683 | 0–1 | Mark Murrell 1861 |
| Average: 1950 | 3–5 | Average: 1975 |
A huge result! And no draws. In the terms of this Season’s competition, this result away to the perennial Champions cannot be under-valued. Make no mistake, there are still some stern tests ahead, but this covid season, one crack at Writtle, away, and we nailed it!
Played 11 March 2022
| Board | Southend I |
v | Wanstead I |
| 1 | Grist, Howard 2001 (W) | 1-0 | Cawdery, John 2095 (B) |
| 2 | Sutherland, Neil A 2000 | ½-½ | Rix, Steven JL 2028 |
| 3 | Corfield, Julian 1986 | 0-1 | Freeman, Ashley 1998 |
| 4 | Wedlock, Stephen L 1923 | ½-½ | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 |
| 5 | Saunders, Michael J 1777 | 1-0 | Whitton, Terry D 1924 |
| 6 | Newton, Colin M 1752 | 0-1 | Staniland, Philip 1851 |
| 7 | Paul, Dennis B 1650 | ½-½ | Nickals, Peter A 1832 |
| 8 | Lacey, Nick J 1675 | ½-½ | McCarron, Peter DJ 1751 |
| Average 1846 | 4-4 | Average 1932 |
Played 29 March 2022
| Board | Wanstead I |
v | Brentwood I |
| 1 | Cawdery, John 2095 | 0-1 | Pert, Richard G 2515 |
| 2 | Rix, Steven JL 2028 | 0-1 | Haydon, David L 2403 |
| 3 | Freeman, Ashley 1998 | 0-1 | Bowden, Karl 2350 |
| 4 | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 | ½-½ | Coote, Trevor D 2073 |
| 5 | Staniland, Philip 1851 | 1-0 | Hughes, Gavin James 2013 |
| 6 | Murrell, Mark R A 1861 | 1-0 | Gamal, Alaa 1878 |
| 7 | Nickals, Peter A 1832 | 0-1 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1893 |
| 8 | Swales, Andrew 1765 | 1-0 | Davies, Robert JV 1713 |
| Average 1926 | 3½-4½ | Average 2105 |
Played 21 April 2022
| Board | Basildon | v | Wanstead I |
| 1 | Baptie, Justin P 2185 | ½-½ | Hodgson, John H 2103 |
| 2 | Somogyi, Tamas 2095 | 0-1 | Cawdery, John 2095 |
| 3 | Kraszewski, David 1960 | 1-0 | Rix, Steven JL 2028 |
| 4 | Bara, V Radu 1945 | 0-1 | Freeman, Ashley 1998 |
| 5 | Gedvilas, Arunas 1833 | 0-1 | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 |
| 6 | Savin, Paul A 1870 | ½-½ | Whitton, Terry D 1924 |
| 7 | Laundy, Peter R 1795 | 1-0 | Staniland, Philip 1851 |
| 8 | Higgins, Steve 1500 | 0-1 | Murrell, Mark R A 1861 |
| Average 1898 | 3-5 | Average 1980 |
Commentary by skipper Ashley Freeman
You know something!? That felt rather like a championship winning performance last night!
Well done to everyone – a truly magnificent effort all round. We took the lead early on (courtesy of Mark) and held on to it throughout. John Cawdery looked calm and controlled throughout and brought us up to 4-1, but where was that crucial final half point going to come from?! I must admit, l started to feel a little anxious when Ian went below 5 minutes on his clock(!), but in true presidential-style he kept his nerve and earned a well-deserved full point (and a grateful hug from me!)
We did it with flare. Even our two losses were heroic fighting games where it wasn’t so clear (to me at least) what the final outcome would be. That in itself speaks volumes about the courage and tenacity of our team. Whether we win the title or come a very close second, there is no doubt in my mind that we are a championship winning side!
Played 17 May 2022
| Board | Wanstead I |
v | Loughton I |
| 1 | Cawdery, John 2095 | 0-1 | Bowmer, Kevin 2013 |
| 2 | Rix, Steven JL 2028 | 0-1 | Stirling, William J 2043 |
| 3 | Freeman, Ashley 1998 | 1-0 | van Tol, Martin 1780 |
| 4 | Hunnable, Ian D 1976 | 0-1 | Middleton, Stephen (1948) |
| 5 | Whitton, Terry D 1924 | 1-0 | Demirdelen, Ozan (1472) |
| 6 | Not Named | 1d0 | Default |
| 7 | Not Named | 1d0 | Default |
| 8 | Not Named | 1d0 | Default |
| 5-3 |
| Essex League Division 1 | P | W | D | L | Pts | % |
| Ashley Freeman 1998 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5½ | 78.57 |
| Mark Murrell 1861 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| John Hodgson 2103 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3½ | 87.50 |
| Terry Whitton 1924 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3½ | 58.33 |
| Philip Staniland 1851 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 60.00 |
| Steve Rix 2028 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2½ | 41.67 |
| John Cawdery 2095 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 28.57 |
| Ian Hunnable 1976 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 28.57 |
| Vladimir Parols 1985 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Andrew Swales 1765 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Peter McCarron 1751 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 25.00 |
| Peter Nickals 1832 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 25.00 |
| Walkover | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 100.00 |
| 13 Players | 56 | 28 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 58.93% |