Lincolnshire have one team in Division 1 of the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). Games are played on weekends from October to May. There are 11 rounds played over 5 weekends.
Pandora's Box Grantham were competing in Division 1 this season for the first time and it was always going to be tough for the team. The main aim was that of survival and avoiding relegation at the end of the season.
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct | Pandora's Box Grantham - Guildford A&DC 1 | ½-7½ |
| 25 Oct | South Wales Dragons - Pandora's Box Grantham | 2½-5½ |
| 16 Jan | Pandora's Box Grantham - Barbican 4NCL 1 | 2½-5½ |
| 17 Jan | Betsson.com - Pandora's Box Grantham | 6-2 |
After 4 rounds division 1 was split into two halves (8 teams in each). The top half competing for the championship and the bottom half was the fight to avoid demotion. Having only won 1 match out of 4 Pandora's Box Grantham were playing in the demotion pool. With the stronger teams now in the other half the Lincolnshire team had every chance of improving it's results. This is exactly what happened as the team won 2 of its next 4 matches.
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb | Wood Green Hilsmark Kingfisher 2 - Pandora's Box Grantham | 5-3 |
| 21 Feb | Pandora's Box Grantham - Poisoned Pawns 1 | 5½-2½ |
| 27 Mar | White Rose 1 - Pandora's Box Grantham | 5-3 |
| 28 Mar | Pandora's Box Grantham - Oxford 1 | 4½-3½ |
In the final rounds of the 4NCL, Pandora's Box Grantham only needed to win one match to be safe from relegation. Other teams like Jutes of Kent and Poisoned Pawns were worse off and needed to win all their matches to have any chance of staying up. As it turned out a draw from the remaining 3 matches saw the team survive relegation by 1 point. A close call but Pandora's Box Grantham have secured their place in division 1 for next season.
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May | Jutes of Kent - Pandora's Box Grantham | 5½-2½ |
| 2 May | Pandora's Box Grantham - Barbican 4NCL 2 | 2½-5½ |
| 3 May | Guildford A&DC2 - Pandora's Box Grantham | 4-4 |
| Team | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betsson.com | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Barbican 4NCL 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Oxford 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Pandora's Box Grantham | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| South Wales Dragons | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Guildford A&DC 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Poisoned Pawns 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Jutes of Kent | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |