Inter-County Championship 2015–16

Results and reports from the county’s matches will appear here throughout the season.

Previous years

Minor

Nottinghamshire – Norfolk

Both teams were evenly matched with grades averaging 175. With the match score tied at 7-7, Notts needed 1½ points from the two remaining games involving Robert Richmond on Board 1 & Dave Flynn on Board 16. Robert, knowing a win was needed in his game, marched his king up the board and ended getting self mated; Dave in a losing rook and pawn ending might have garnered a half but both the clock and his position were against him. The Norfolk captain contacted me afterwards saying “it was a tight match yesterday played in great spirit by both teams, and went right to the wire”

Nottinghamshire - Norfolk
21 May 2016
Sawtry, Peterborough
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Richmond, Robert 190 0-1 Przybyla, Kamil 209
2 W  Mercs, Peter J 183 0-1 Pullinger, Steve 184
3 B Willow, Jonah B 182 0-1 McEwan, Ken 186
4 W Thompson, Brian 176 ½–½ Moore, Gerald 181
5 B Walker, Andrew N 175 ½–½ Dempster, Dave 177
6 W Broughton, Daniel 167 1-0 Dawson, Jeff 174
7 B Tardi, Zoltan 175e 0-1 Frean, Daniel 170
8 W Jarvis, Derek 174 ½–½ Moore, Geoffrey 175
9 B George, Andrew 178 0-1 Dekker, Cor 174
10 W Swain, John T 170 1-0 Saravanan, Karthik 161
11 B Halfpenny, Glenn 172 1-0 Turner, Terry 174
12 W Burke, Steve 162 ½–½ Moore, Steve 166
13 B Levens, David 167 ½–½ Hall, Antony 166
14 W Combie, Alex B 166 ½–½ Burrows, Jonathan 165
15 B Naylor, Mike 161 1-0 Twitchell, Dave 164
16 W Flynn, Dave 155 0-1 Badger, Paul 160
        7-9    

Worcestershire – Nottinghamshire

Worcestershire - Nottinghamshire
27 February 2016 5
Tyesley WMC, Olton
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Besedin, Pavel 205 ½–½ Richmond, Robert 190
2 W  Davis, Lee 183 0-1 Mercs, Peter 183
3 B Lambourne, Daniel  183 1-0 Willow, Jonah 182
4 W Marchant, Geoff 178 0-1 Thompson, Brian 176
5 B Arkell, Nicholas 177 ½–½ Walker, Andrew 175
6 W Hurney, Kevin 175 ½–½ Jarvis, Derek 174
7 B Mellor, Stephen 177 0-1 George, Andy 178
8 W Kitson, Peter 175 ½–½ Burke, Steve 162
9 B Friar, Jim 175 0-1 Combie, Alex 187
10 W Dyett, Greg 166 1-0 Naylor, Mike 161
11 B Friar, Joseph 157 1-0 Poole, Tim 162
12 W Turner, Brian 164 ½–½ Hunter, Steve 163
13 B Towers, Nigel 165 0-1 Lane, Tim 150
14 W Jackson, Gary 156 ½–½ Hayward, Brian 153
15 B Knee, John 151 ½–½ Graham, Neil 146
16 W Woodhouse, Stephen 150e ½–½ Walters, Keith 145
        7-9    

Nottinghamshire – Warwickshire

Report from Steve Burke, Andy Walker et al

With a 10 point a board grading difference, the match result should have been somewhere near 10-6 but the Men of Warwick, the land of the “Kingmaker”, came to a tourney in Nottingham looking for a fight and were soundly repulsed! The Notts Men-at-Arms won 8 and drew 7 of the individual battles – while Sir David of Levens’ epic endgame fight was still in progress well after sunset, when most had already packed away their armour and left the field of glory! This too was a win to give Notts a deserved 12½-3½ victory. Geoff Gibson was an early winner in a remarkably quick joust. Of the remaining games the most entertaining was Brian Thompson’s when he forced out the unfortunate Warwickshire monarch from his defensive stronghold with a sustained attack which led to an execution in the middle of the a-file for the king.

Nottinghamshire - Warwickshire
5 December 2015
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Richmond, Robert J 190 ½–½ Cundy, Mark 175
2 W  Combie, Alex B 187 1-0 Hickey, Anthony UG
3 B Mercs, Peter J 183 ½–½ Ireland, David 173
4 W Willow, Jonah B 181 ½–½ Green, Anthony 171
5 B Thompson, Brian 178 1-0 Bull, Phil 167
6 W Walker, Andrew N 175 ½–½ Smith, Simon 167
7 B Truman, Richard 173 1-0 Ralph, Sean 163
8 W Jarvis, Derek 173 1-0 Mildenhall, John 160
9 B Swain, John 170 ½–½ Sadler, Anthony 158
10 W Gibson, Geoffrey 169 1-0 Bryen, Nigel 156
11 B Levens, David 167 1-0 Hope, Gary 155
12 W Broughton, Daniel 167 ½–½ Goodwin, Ed 152
13 B Poole, Tim 162 1-0 Lawrence, Roy 152
14 W Burke, Steve 162 1-0 Thomas, Keith 150
15 B Naylor, Mike 161 1-0 Fahy, John 146
16 W Ali, Hamzah 159 ½–½ Wallman, Robert 144
        12½–3½    

Nottinghamshire – Lincolnshire

Report from Neil Graham

Lincolnshire were visitors in the second Minor Counties Championship match of the season. Both sides were short of top board players but whilst the sides appeared well matched in the middle and lower order, the away side looked to have a definite edge over the upper boards.

After two hours play there was very little to report, a pawn up or down here or there but all the games looked drawish. Only Mike Naylor’s game where Chris Holt had given up a bishop for three pawns had a big material imbalance. During the next hour the results started to trickle in. Richard McCann, making his debut, drew solidly and then Hamzah now an exchange up forced a passed pawn towards the queening square; Dick Edwards lost to a pawn storm. This win turned out to be Lincolnshire’s sole victory of the match.

The bottom boards then turned in our favour. Mike had now gained two pawns, Kevin attacked an exposed king, exchanged off and was left with rook v bishop in an ending, both Taylor and Tim found tactical methods to win and we had four points on the result sheet. Similarly on the top boards Lincolnshire were making little impression and draws were agreed on Boards 2, 3, 5 and 6. David had a lucky escape then went on to win whilst Richard Truman had the toughest test of the upper order however he too eventually was able to halve his game.

Lincolnshire were saved from a more comprehensive defeat by some sterling defence by their players on Boards 7 & 9. Daniel’s two bishops were somehow kept out in the ending by two knights whilst Geoff was on his second scoresheet when eventually he agreed a

draw after his opponent had survived sustained pressure for the better part of 50 moves.

This left Board One where Paul Cumbers, a pawn down, allowed a rook exchange in an ending. Robert queened with Paul’s pawn still on the sixth rank and showed impeccable technique to score the full point for Nottinghamshire.

Nottinghamshire - Lincolnshire
31 October 2015
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Richmond, Robert J 190 1-0 Cumbers, Paul 194
2 B Thompson, Brian 178 ½–½ Stead, Nick 190
3 W Walker, Andrew N 175 ½–½ Kilshaw, Joe 187
4 B Truman, Richard 173 ½–½ Williams, J Stuart 184
5 W Jarvis, Derek 173 ½–½ Prior, Stephen 183
6 B Swain, John 170 ½–½ Russell, Harry 181
7 W Gibson, Geoff 169 ½–½ Summers, Alastair 170
8 B Levens, David 167 1-0 McCarthy Kevin 167
9 W Broughton, Daniel 167 ½–½ Georgiou, Dennis 164
10 B McCann, Richard 165 ½–½ Palmer, Keith 163
11 W Poole, Tim 162 1-0 Ladds, Graham 160
12 B Naylor, Mike 161 1-0 Holt, Chris 159
13 W Harvey, Kevin 160 1-0 Mason, Ben 154
14 B Ali, Hamzah 159 1-0 Allott, Steve 153
15 W Edwards, Richard 157 0-1 David, Ivan 152
16 B Pearson, Taylor 152 1-0 MacDonald, Stuart 151
        11-5    

Leicestershire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Robert Richmond

We were rapidly 2 down. A crunching win by Brian Hayward and the quiet accumulation of a large number of extra pawns by Andy George levelled things up. Steal of the day was Mike Naylor converting an inferior, pawn-down Rook ending into a winning King and Pawn. 7-7

Adi Munshi, spent the first 40-odd moves under severe pressure before somehow finding an almost defendable N + 3 vs B + 4 ending. His opponent then helpfully sealed the queenside and , short of time, agreed the draw. We should hand out medals for such defensive heroism. 7½-7½

Last to finish was Alex Combie on top board. A wild game simplified into a tricky, but probably defendable Rook and opposite Bishop ending. The draw was secured when his opponent prematurely sacrificed his Rook for the advanced f-pawn, intending to recover the rook by promoting his own pawn. However there was a repetition to prevent this, so honours even with a drawn match. Bring on Lincolnshire, and reversing last years defeat...

Leicestershire - Nottinghamshire
10 October 2015
Syston Social Club, Leicestershire
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Okhai, Shabir  187 ½–½ Combie, Alex B 187
2 B Sharpe, Graham 189 ½–½ Willow, Jonah B 181
3 W Galligan, Brian 186 ½–½ Mercs, Peter J 183
4 B Burgess, Ray 182 ½–½ Richmond, Robert J 190
5 W Denton, John 174 0-1 George, Andrew 178
6 B Norton, Craig 178 ½–½ Thompson, Brian 176
7 W Robinson, John 177 ½–½ Walker, Andrew N 175
8 B Sheahan, Sean 177 ½–½ Jarvis, Derek 174
9 W Colburn, Paul 175 1-0 Gibson, Geoffrey 169
10 B Reynolds, Tom 171 ½–½ Broughton, Daniel 167
11 W Mitchell, John 168 ½–½ Munshi, Aditya 165
12 B Vann, Richard 171 0-1 Naylor, Mike 161
13 W Potter, Karl 164 1-0 Flynn, Dave 155
14 B Hanscombe, Richard 167 0-1 Hayward, Brian 153
15 W Gramaticu, Constatin 164 1-0 Hill, Maurice 152
16 B Pattinson, John 159 ½–½ Myers, Richard 143
        8-8    

Under 180

Warwickshire U180 – Nottinghamshire U180

Warwickshire - Nottinghamshire
5 March 2016
Quinborne, Birmingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Lloyd, Alan 176 0-1 Truman, Richard 173
2 B Cundy, Mark 175 1-0 default  
3 W Hickey, Tony 174 ½–½ Ukken, Somton 166
4 B Escott, Keith 171 ½–½ Naylor, Mike 161
5 W Hazlehurst, Cory S 170 ½–½ Poole, Tim 162
6 B Smith, Simon 171 ½–½ Lane, Tim 150
7 W Ralph, Sean 163 0-1 Flynn, Dave 155
8 B Turner, Jon 163 ½–½ Graham, Neil 146
9 W Mildenhall, John 160 0-1 Somton, Anita 142
10 B Sadler, Anthony 160 ½–½ Taylor, Robert 147
11 W Hope, Gary 155 1-0 Hill, Maurice 152
12 B Bryne, Nigel 156 0-1 Tassi, John 142
13 W Thomas, Keith 150 1-0 Radford, Mark 151
14 B Lawrence, Roy 152 1-0 Cranmer, Stan 133
15 W Walker, Terry 145 1-0 Willoughby, Robert 150
16 B Wright, Larry 144 1-0 Sayer, Ray 119
        9-7    

Under 160

Nottinghamshire U160 – Surrey U160

In this match Notts had a clear grading advantage over the lower boards but with no wins on Board 1-7 were unable to garner enough points in the lower order to win. Notts were always in the lead until 13 boards were declared and the score was tied at 6½-6½. William Atiomo’s Q & P ending always looked drawn whereas the two team captains had an imbalanced position where I had Q+4 v R, N+5. I’m sorry to say that I couldn’t see any way to progress this and instead of playing on offered a draw. This left Tim Lane (as in last year’s match at the same stage) shouldering the whole burden of the team. His position was clearly drawn (no good for us) so Tim went for broke and lost.

Nottinghamshire - Surrey
21 May 2016
Open University, Milton Keynes
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Pearson, Taylor 152 0-1 Anvarinaeini, Alireza 159
2 W  Lane, Tim 150 0-1 Reddin, Roy 159
3 B Nabbs, Terry 154 ½–½ Cath, Martin 159
4 W Sudar, Dragoljub 153 0-1 Sedgwick, David 157
5 B Hayward, Brian M 153 ½–½ Fields, Francis 158
6 W Atiomo, William (snr) 147 ½–½ Jones, H Trevor 154
7 B Graham, Neil 146 ½–½ Grey, Nicholas 151
8 W Myers, Richard 143 1-0 Moore, John 149
9 B Foster, Stephen J 148 0-1 McKenna, John 142
10 W Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 143 1-0 Ifalore, Michael 133
11 B Taylor, Bob 149 1-0 Lawrence, Peter 143
12 W Walters, J Keith 145 ½–½ Chidi, Lovinia 142
13 B Aiton, Keith 150 0-1 Horlock, Peter 138
14 W Huthwaite, John R 147 1-0 Gunn, Michael 129
15 B Tassi, John 142 0-1 Turowski, Marek 128
16 W Radford, Mark 151 1-0 Walker, Julian 104
        7½–8½    

Nottinghamshire U160 – Warwickshire U160

Nottinghamshire - Warwickshire
23 January 2016
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Ali, Hamzah 159 ½–½ Soszynski, Marek J 159
2 B Flynn, David  155 0-1 Sadler, Anthony 158
3 W Hayward, Brian 153 1-0 Thomas, Keith 150
4 B Sudar, Dragoljub 153 ½–½ Fahy, John F 151
5 W Pearson, Taylor 152 1-0 Bryne, Nigel 156
6 B Webster, Alex 152 0-1 Walker, Terry W 145
7 W Hill, Maurice 152 1-0 Biddle, Mike A 139
8 B Radford, Mark SR 151 ½–½ Harrington, Michael J 136
9 W Lane, Tim 150 1-0 Asbury, Jon A 135
10 B Aiton, Keith 150 0-1 Kent, Arthur F 130
11 W Willoughby, Robert 150 1-0 Green, John 131
12 B Huthwaite, John 147 ½–½ Jimenez, Frank C 126
13 W Taylor, Robert P 147 1-0 Oliver, Peter JR 125
14 B Foster, Stephen J 147 0-1 Hussain, Adrian 113
15 W Walters, Keith 145 1-0 Gilbert, Kim T 123
16 B Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 143 1-0 Pitt, Chris W 120
        10-6    

Greater Manchester U160 – Nottinghamshire U160

Report from Neil Graham

Two Manchester players failed to appear for the above match – thus two of our players had driven to the venue for nothing. This was extremely annoying – especially as one, Keith Aiton, had come all the way from Newark. I am still waiting for an explanation because if the players failed to set off, I really think our players should receive some compensation for the waste of most of the day and the cost of petrol etc.

Anyway it at least gave us a 2-0 start and after a fairly quick draw from Bob Willoughby we had taken a 2½-½ lead. I am afraid that what was happening in the other games rather passed me by as I had a particularly complicated tussle. However I understand that we maintained our two point lead and after nine declarations we were 5½-3½ up with wins from Tim Lane and Mark Radford to add to the initial defaults. A win from Bob Taylor and a number of draws, some of them rather lucky, took the score to 8-5.

I’d missed a clear win earlier in my game and with less than five minutes on the clock decided that a draw would give us the match. This was offered and accepted so we were 8½-5½ up – Board Two where we had been losing for a considerable time conceded and the score finally finished at 9-7. When I returned home, I found that my position was easily won but whether I would have found this at the board is in doubt. The two boards defaulted was the only thing that in the end separated the teams. Can I thank Tim Lane for filling in the gaps in the narrative.

Greater Manchester - Nottinghamshire
7 November 2015
Newcastle Bridge Club
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Lonsdale, Jon 158 ½–½ Flynn, David 155
2 B Connor, Mick 153 1-0 Hayward, Brian 153
3 W Jardine, Chris 153 1-0 Sudar, Dragoljub 153
4 B Moan, Francis 149 ½–½ Hill, Maurice 152
5 W Virgin, Jack 149 0-1 Radford, Mark 151
6 B Default   0-1 Aiton, Keith 150
7 W Livesey, Nigel 145 0-1 Lane, Tim 150
8 B Beresford, Alan 142 ½–½ Willoughby, Robert H 150
9 W Kierman, Dave 145 ½–½ Foster, Stephen J 147
10 B Lamb, Ian 140 0-1 Taylor, Robert P 147
11 W Phythian, Graham 139 1-0 Atiomo, William (snr) 147
12 B Norris, Mick 137 ½–½ Graham, Neil 146
13 W Carroll, Mick   ½–½ Roper, Keith W 144
14 B Bryne, Tony 126 ½–½ London, Nick J 144
15 W Default   0-1 Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 143
16 B Otto, Dan 114 ½–½ Tassi, John 142
        7-9    

Under 140

Nottinghamshire U140 - Worcestershire U140

After beating Worcestershire 10-6 in the Midlands zone we faced a rematch in the national semi-finals at Bramcote. Outgrading our opponents on every board Notts (average grade 132) might have expected an easy passage to the finals and appeared favourites against Worcestershire (average grade 125) and we scored the first win through Alan Kenyon. Worcs. hit back strongly and grabbed the tie by the scruff of the neck by notching the next four wins. Notts appeared to have promising positions on the top 4 boards, but Worcs. defended tenaciously and the prospect of a fight-back evaporated. Dave Griffiths and Mike Nailard added consolation wins to the 6 draws.The tie was decided on Boards 1-8, which Worcs. claimed by a 6-2 margin and thus the West Midlands county reversed the score in the original match.

Nottinghamshire U140 - Worcestershire U140
11 June 2016
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Morgan, D Philip 139 ½–½ Horwill, Eric 139
2 W Cranmer, Stan 133 ½–½ Sharratt, Paul 134
3 B Murfet, George J 133 0-1 Spowart, David 128
4 W Robinson, Alan S 139 ½–½ Shaw, Tony 134
5 B Ince, Darran 137 0-1 Ellis, Ian 129
6 W Bosworth, Gary 129 0-1 Truscott, Ian 130
7 B Thomson, James L 138 ½–½ Peters, Roy 125
8 B Redburn, Barry T 135 0-1 Bradley, Sam 121
9 W Nailard, Michael 136 1-0 Humphries, Jeremy 122
10 B Griffiths, David 133 1-0 Stanton, Giles 113
11 W Woodhouse, David 131 ½–½ Kirkland, Arnold 118
12 B Fraser, Chris A 120 0-1 Bowcott, Dustin 120e
13 W Budd, Chris 121 ½–½ Smith, David 121
14 B Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 132 0-1 Bricknell, Rob UG
15 W Kenyon, Alan 132 1-0 Day, Kevin 113
16 B Gibson, Graham 123 0-1 Bowcott-Terry, Finlay 100e
        6-10    

Nottinghamshire U140 - Hertfordshire U140

This is the match where we defaulted a board and coupled with an early loss we were soon 2-0 down which then turned to 3-0; Hertfordshire’s last win of the match. Peter Gorecka-Marshall then turned the tide with Notts first victory and after that the wins and draws just kept on coming. Draws from Chris Budd and Phil Morgan saw Notts over the finish line to 8½ points and a couple of further draws from Alan Kenyon and Graham Neil completed the final score.

Nottinghamshire U140 - Hertfordshire U140
21 May 2016
Northampton
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Morgan, Phil 139 ½–½ Simon, Charles 138
2 W Cranmer, Stan 133 ½–½ Sloan, Cecil 138
3 B Murfet, George J 133 1-0 Mountford, Corinne 134
4 W Murphy, Ross 135 1-0 Wali, Mir 137
5 B Thomson, James L 138 ½–½ Gore, Alan 129
6 W Bosworth, Gary 129 ½–½ Maclaren, Andrew 138
7 B Redburn, Barry 135 1-0 Ruddick, Gary 128
8 B Griffiths, David 133 1-0 Price, Michael 138
9 W Default   0-1 Seeley, Peter 122
10 B Budd, Chris 121 ½–½ McMahon, Austin 122
11 W Fraser, Chris A 120 1-0 Williams, Graham 122
12 B Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 132 1-0 Pearson, Richard 129
13 W Kenyon, Alan J 132 ½–½ Peate, John 125
14 B Neil, Graham 120 ½–½ Dicks, Stephen 124
15 W Gibson, Graham 120 0-1 Dunks, Peter 120
16 B Harper, Michael J 120 0-1 Brewis, Alan 90
        9½–6½    

Nottinghamshire U140 - Derbyshire U140

Nottinghamshire U140 - Derbyshire U140
20 February 2016
Bramcote
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Morgan, Phil 139 1-0 Kelsall, John 133
2 W Willow, Hambel 127 1-0 Walker, Roger 128
3 B Ince, Darran 137 ½–½ Woods, Roy 125
4 W Bosworth, Gary 129 0-1 Wootton, Steve 127
5 B Thomson, James 138 1-0 Dunne, David 127
6 W Nailard, Mike 136 1-0 Meyer, Dylan 131
7 B Bonnello, Chris 120 0-1 O'Flanagan, Paul 126
8 W Taylor, Marcel 135 0-1 Bubis, Matthew 116
9 B Pillay, Ragul 123 1-0 Cameron, Neil 126
10 W Bennett, Adam 132 0-1 Sheldon, Philip 124
11 B Fraser, Chris 120 ½–½ Harrison, Ron 117
12 W Kenyon, Alan 132 0-1 Lever, Brian 121
13 B Neil, Graham 120 1-0 Gallagher, Kevin UG
14 W Dodgson, Joe 123 1-0 Pace, Graham 113
15 B Scott, Simon 120 1-0 Fancourt, Les 104
16 W Harper, Mick 120 1-0 Loomes, Bert 103
        10-6    

Worcestershire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140

Worcestershire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
6 February 2016
Tyesley WMC, Birmingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Collett, Ray  135 ½–½ Cranmer, Stan 133
2 B Horwill, Eric 139 0-1 Murfet, George 133
3 W Spowart, Dave 128 ½–½ Ince, Darran 137
4 B Shaw, Tony 131 0-1 Willow, Hambel 127
5 W Sharratt, Paul 134 ½–½ Brace, Peter 134
6 B default   0-1 Thomson, James L 138
7 W Ellis, Ian 129 1-0 Redburn, Barry T 135
8 B Crockett, Steve 128 0-1 Nailard, Michael J 136
9 W Truscott, Ian 130 0-1 Taylor, Marcel V 135
10 B Peters, Roy 125 1-0 Bennett, Adam 132
11 W Leaper, Richard 126 1-0 Woodhouse, David 131
12 B Bradley, Sam 121 0-1 Budd, Chris 121
13 W Humphries, Jeremy 122 0-1 Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 132
14 B Bowcott, Dustin 120e ½–½ Gibson, Graham 123
15 W Smith, David 121 1-0 Harper, Mick 120
16 B Day, Kevin 113 0-1 Scott, Simon 120
        6-10    

Lincolnshire U140 – Nottinghamshire U140

Report from Mike Nailard

Having predicted the result correctly I had to work hard to lose my game!!

Having lost the toss to the delight of half the team the match got started more or less on time. In a quickplay game on the board to my right, Andrew Thompson won with less than 30 minutes on each clock. Notts one up and never to look back. After nearly three hours play Peter (B) drew, Chris won and I lost to make it 2½-1½. In the next half hour Phil, Gary, George and Alan (K) won with draws from Alan (R), Darran and James to get to 8-4. Next to finish was Barry with the draw to secure the match result in our favour. I have to mention that he was a piece down after move 9 so it was a good (maybe lucky) fightback. With Dave drawing and Peter (G-M) coming second we were 9-5. Watching the two Grahams (N and G) grind out the wins was frustrating but good for the team.

My only other comment is that I have never seen Alan Robinson have so much time on his clock at the end of a game!

Lincolnshire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
9 January 2016
North Hykeham, Lincoln
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Egan, William  130 ½–½ Robinson, Alan S 139
2 B Grasham, John 129 0-1 Morgan, D Philip 139
3 W Comben, Michael 129 ½–½ Thomson, James L 138
4 B Beckett, Phill 127 ½–½ Ince, Darran 137
5 W Sherlock, Peter 122 0-1 Thompson, Andrew 136
6 B Dew, Mike 119 1-0 Nailard, Michael J 136
7 W Scott, David 118 ½–½ Redburn, Barry T 135
8 B Noons, Keith 117 ½–½ Brace, Peter 134
9 W Pollock, Andy 115 0-1 Murfet, George J 133
10 B Birkbeck, Francis 112 ½–½ Griffiths, David 133
11 W Cumbers, Chris 111 1-0 Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 132
12 B Rae, Graeme 110 0-1 Kenyon, Alan J 132
13 W Robinson, Frank 109 0-1 Bosworth, Gary 129
14 B Orr, William 105 0-1 Gibson, Graham 123
15 W Fischer, Paul 105 0-1 Neil, Graham 120
16 B Gutcher, Philip 92 0-1 Bonnello, Chris J 120
        5-11    


Under 120

Nottinghamshire U120 – Warwickshire U120

Nottinghamshire U120 - Warwickshire U120
2 July 2016
Warwick
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Swanwick, Mike 116 1-0 Evans, Richard 112
2 B Sargeant, Chris 118e 0-1 Spillane, Kevin 118e
3 W Gogia, Armaan 104 1-0 Grzywaczewski, Karol 119
4 B Luland, Steve 105 1-0 Farooq, Rayyan 118
5 W Wright, Nigel 112 ½–½ Horsley, Dennis 118
6 B Flint, Andy 107 1-0 Llewelyn, John 114
7 W Morrell, Len 115 1-0 Hodgkin, Paul 98e
8 B Garnett, Bob UG ½–½ Mantell, Robert 111
9 W Pincheira, Bernardo UG 1-0 Zawadzki, Marek 99
10 B Gretton, Margaret 102 ½–½ Davies, Paul 98
11 W Kacprzak, Lukasz 110 0-1 Packenham, John 103
12 B Rodriguez, Alberto 100 ½–½ Kelly, Alan 88
        8-4    

Nottinghamshire U120 – Norfolk U120

Notts met Norfolk in the pretty rural village of Glatton somewhere in the depths of Cambridgeshire. The match was closely contested initially with Norfolk obtaining winning advantages on Boards 1 & 8 however their lower boards suffered a complete collapse and with a win from Bob Garnett, Notts were able to take a 6½-3½ lead. Bernardo Pinchiera and Chris Sargeant agreed draws as the match result wasn’t in doubt so we were able to finish well inside the playing session having booked our place in the final.

Nottinghamshire U120 - Norfolk U120
11 Jun 2016
Glatton
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Swanwick, Mike 116 0-1 Bradley, William 118
2 B Sargeant, Chris 118e ½–½ Carman, Bruce  116
3 W Luland, Steve 105 1-0 Searle, Kevin 116
4 B Flint, Andy 107 0-1 Carter, Bruce 109
5 W Morrell, Len 115 ½–½ Neil, Charlie 106
6 B Garnett, Bob UG 1-0 Goodchild, Colin 98
7 W Pincheira, Bernardo UG ½–½ Grindrod, Bob 92
8 B Gilpin, Ben 107 0-1 Denniss, Trevor 92
9 W Kacprzak, Lukasz 110 1-0 Smith, Robert 89
10 B Rodriguez, Alberto 100 1-0 Cotterell, Stephen J 90
11 W Wright, Joe 74 1-0 Wells, Heather 77
12 B Swanwick, Steve 94 1-0 Bradley, Eric 54
        7½–4½    

Nottinghamshire U120 – Surrey U120

Our efforts to find an extra board thanks to Bob Abrahart was rather wasted as we found Surrey had defaulted their Board 12. Their error was compounded after their 11th board arrived 1½ hours after the agreed start time, so he too was defaulted and Notts were 2-0 up. Margaret Gretton defeated the Surrey captain to make it 3-0 and after that it was comparative plain sailing as Notts moved to a 6-2 advantage and Andy Flint took a draw to see Notts over the line. Notts moved on to 8-3 with Surrey wining the last game to finish but by that time it was all too late for the SCCU team.

Nottinghamshire U120 - Surrey U120
21 May 2016
Milton Keynes
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Swanwick, Mike 116 ½–½ Miles, Barry 117
2 B Gogia, Armaan 104 ½–½ Warry, Stephen 109
3 W Luland, Steve 105 1-0 Upton, Bill 109
4 B Wright, Nigel 112 1-0 Ryan, John 108
5 W Sayer, Ray 119 1-0 Ogungbesan, Morayo 107
6 B Morrell, Len J 115 0-1 Lee, Robin 107
7 W Flint, Andy 107 ½–½ Collis, Paul 106
8 B Garnett, Bob UG ½–½ Davies, Robert 106
9 W Gretton, Margaret L 102 1-0 Johnson, Steve 105
10 B Gilpin, Ben 107 0-1 Smyth, Sandy 101
11 W Rodriguez, Alberto 100 1-0 Default  
12 B Abrahart, Bob 96 1-0 Default  
        8-4    

Worcestershire U120 – Nottinghamshire U120

Worcestershire U120 - Nottinghamshire U120
13 February 2016
Redditch
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Kirkland, Arnold 118 ½–½ Swanwick, Mike 116
2 B Stanton, Giles 113 0-1 Luland, Steve 105
3 W Day, Kevin 113 0-1 Gogia, Armaan 104
4 B Watson, Bill 119 ½–½ Wright, Nigel 112
5 W Radford, Terry 109 0-1 Flint, Andy 107
6 B Vernon, Colin 101 0-1 Morrell, Len 115
7 W Clack, Michele 95 ½–½ Brown, Alan 104
8 B Thomas, Paul 100 ½–½ Garnett, Bob 105e
9 W Taylor, Tony 99 ½–½ Gretton, Margaret 102
10 B Reed, Toni 74 0-1 Gilpin, Ben 107
11 W Cleak, David 90 1-0 Kacprzak, Lukasz 110
12 B Collett, Richard 107 0-1 Rodriguez, Alberto 100
        3½–8½    

Nottinghamshire U120 – Staffordshire U120

Report from Neil Graham

Staffordshire were kind enough to advise two defaults in advance to give Notts a 2-0 lead prior to start of play. However by the start of the match Staffordshire had a further default to declare whilst Notts found themselves one short as well. Bob Abrahart, who had turned up to cover just such a possibility, would have had to play on Board One whilst Mike Swanwick would have had no opponent. The team captains took the sensible step of re-pairing the top two boards and playing over 11 boards and allowing Bob to go home. As it was Mike won his game but elsewhere things did not go too well. Ben lost material on Board Six and it was all downhill in this game from then on whilst we lost on Board Two in similar fashion. Lukasz though was able to break through in the centre to score the only other win OTB. The game between Nigel Wright and Nicholas Wright both graded 112 ended, not surprisingly, in a draw. With one game left we were able to seal victory courtesy of Alan Brown’s draw on Board 8. How thankful we were at the end for our 2-0 start!

Nottinghamshire U120 - Staffordshire U120
5 December 2015
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Swanwick, Mike 116 1-0 Smith, Barry 117
2 B Smith-McGloin, Sam 118 0-1 Day, John 114
3 W Morrell, Len 115 0-1 Hawthorne, Julian 113
4 B Wright, Nigel 112 ½–½ Wright, Nicholas 112
5 W Kacprzak, Lukasz 110 1-0 Evans, Peter 107
6 B Gilpin, Ben 107 0-1 Jones, Simon 103
7 W Garnett, Bob E105 ½–½ Hall, Arthur 96
8 B Brown, Alan 104 ½–½ Torbica, Danny 96
9 W Gretton, Margaret 102 ½–½ Davies, Andrew 92
10 B Rodriguez, Alberto 100 1-0 default  
11 W Abrahart, Bob 96 1-0 default  
  6-5

Lincolnshire U120 – Nottinghamshire U120

Report from Nigel Wright

After some initial confusion as to where exactly we were meant to be playing (a hidden side door with a poorly positioned sign proved difficult to find for most, even the Lincolnshire team!), the match started 10 minutes later than scheduled with Notts short of top board. Twenty minutes later, Abhishek Thakar arrived, and all credit to his Lincolnshire opponent who had decided not to start the clock so Abhishek suffered no time penalty.

I apologise for not being able to comment on all of the games, my game took all of my attention initially and when I finally broke the deadlock and won a bishop due to a slight miscalculation on my opponents behalf, we were at the half way point with Lincs 3½ to Notts 2½. I managed to have a quick look around the boards, so with nothing standing out as clear cut, I decided to make myself a cup of tea whilst curiously browsing the many photos on the wall depicting the history of Lindum Group, chuckling to myself at the sheer number of fashionable?! 80’s haircuts adorning the wall. When I came back, we had won another game but Lincs had equalled this, so after 8 games we were still 1 point down. Abhishek managed a draw against his opponent shortly after - 5-4.

The last three games looked like they would all go the distance as they were closely contested, so I went to make myself a coffee ready for the long haul. Charlotte Attwood looked to have a slight advantage against her opponent, Alan Brown was 3 pawns down but with his queen, rook, and bishop more active than his opponents’ queen, rook, and knight, it could still go either way. Andy Flints’ game looked to be very complicated and not many pieces had been removed from the board at the time control, but even though Andy was on the back foot, he had an advantage on time.

After a lot of nervous pacing between the boards from myself, Charlotte finally managed to push home her advantage and turned it into a win – the scores were level for the first time in the match - 5 points apiece. About 20 minutes later, Alan showed good composure to fight back from his disadvantage, being a bishop for two pawns better off. Andy was starting to push forward, his opponent starting to run out of time.

Time for another coffee! Alan by this time had swapped off his bishop for the pawns, leaving his h and g pawns free to stroll to the other end of the board, demonstrating good end game technique for the win. For the first time in the match, Notts took the lead. All attention turned to Andy’s game – he had broken free from the pressure his opponent had put him under, and started to attack kingside with everything he could throw at it. As Andy was starting to tighten the noose, his opponents’ flag fell (so to speak, we were using digital clocks!). Final score – Lincolnshire 5 v 7 Nottinghamshire.

The venue itself was set up well for hosting chess, plenty of space, and plenty of tea and biscuits to go around. My thanks to Lincolnshire for being friendly and welcoming hosts, thanks to Andy for being captain for the day, and congratulations to Nottinghamshire on making it two wins out of two so far!

Lincolnshire U120 - Nottinghamshire U120
7 November 2015
North Hykeham, Lincoln
Board Colour Grade Grade
1   Dew, Mike 119 ½–½ Thakar, Abhishek 116
2   Scott, David 118 0-1 Wright, Nigel 112
3   Murugesh, Kishore 118 1-0 Kacprzak, Lukasz 110
4   Pollock, Andy E115 0-1 Flint, Andy 107
5 Giles, Andy 114 ½–½ Gilpin, Ben 107
6   Parnian, Arya 113 1-0 Garnett, Bob 105e
7   Cumbers, Chris 111 0-1 Gogia, Armaan 104
8   Rae, Graeme E110 0-1 Brown, Alan 104
9   Robinson, Frank 108 1-0 Rodrigues, Alberto 100
10   Fischer, Paul 105 1-0 Kats, Marten 96
11   Newstead, Dr Mark 97 0-1 Abrahart, Bob 96
12   Gutcher, Phil 92 0-1 Attwood, Charlotte 91
  5-7

Nottinghamshire U120 – Warwickshire U120

Report from Neil Graham

Notts welcomed Warwickshire to Underwood and took an early lead. Lukasz broke through on the kingside whilst his opponent’s pieces were well away from defensive duties on the other flank; Abhishek won a piece and although his extra knight was trapped on a1 it proved sufficient for a win in a king & pawn ending and whilst I was writing this down debutant Armaan came and reported a win in his game though I’m not sure how this occurred. Mike drew so Notts took were leading by 3½- ½.

Despite this things didn’t look so good elsewhere. We were material down on Boards 1 & 10 and losses were recorded on those boards and then Alberto fell into a back rank mate and Warwickshire were now making a match of it. After a further endgame loss on Board 11, Notts were able to maintain a lead through Nigel’s king and pawn ending win and a counterattack from Steve with a forced checkmate in three followed by a steady draw from Andy – so we were 6-5 up with just the Board Four game in play.

The Warwickshire player was a couple of pawns adrift in a minor piece endgame and sacrificed a bishop in an attempt to force home a pawn. The pawn reached the seventh rank but was immediately lost when Len forked king and pawn and was able to capture the pawn at which point the away player resigned. Although the match was scheduled for four hours all the games had finished within three and Notts had opened their Under 120 account for the season.

Nottinghamshire U120 - Warwickshire U120
17 October 2015
Underwood Community Centre
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W  Smith-McGloin, Sam 118 0-1 Grzywaczewski, Karol 119
2 B Thakar, Abhishek 116 1-0 Farook., Rayyan 118
3 W Swanwick, Mike 116 ½–½ Horsley, Dennis 118
4 B Morrell, Len 115 1-0 Llewelyn, John 114
5 W Wright, Nigel 112 1-0 Trailor, Adam 113
6 B Kacprzak, Lukasz 110 1-0 Evans, Richard 112
7 W Flint, Andy 107 ½–½ Weaver, Simon 111
8 B Luland, Steve 105 1-0 Mills, Craig 110
9 W Gogia, Armaan 104 1-0 Stiff, Peter 104
10 B Brown, Alan 104 0-1 Mantell, Robert 101
11 W Gretton, Margaret 102 0-1 Armitage, Mark 101
12 B Rodriques, Alberto 100 0-1 Kelly, Alan 88
  7-5

Under 100

Nottinghamshire U100 – Essex U100

Notts faced Essex in a rematch of last year’s semi-final at the Open University, Milton Keynes and for the second successive year made the worst possible start by defaulting a board and then losing a further board in record time. Although in the remaining matches we were able to hold Essex at 5-5, they never lost their lead and finished as 7-5 winners in a reverse of the score from 2015.

Nottinghamshire U100 - Essex U100
11 June 2016
Milton Keynes
Board Colour Grade Grade
1   Mendis, Vidura 99 0-1 Shelley, Scott 96
2   Default   0-1 Reynolds, Derek 98
3   Abrahart, Bob 96 ½–½ D'Cruz, David 93
4   Morley, Stephen 91 ½–½ White, Nigel 91
5   Cragg, Nathan 93 1-0 Prickett, Ron 90
6   Bowden, Thomas 87e 0-1 Young, Ken 97
7   Hargreaves, Malcolm 93 0-1 Ball, Richard 88
8   Attwood, Charlotte 91 1-0 Cane, Tony 92
9   Blampied, Dorothy 83 0-1 Stefanoni, Leonardo 87
10   Parham, Simon 87 1-0 Chapman, John 89
11   Meade, Alex 80 0-1 Adams, Trevor 79
12   Litherland, Jack 65 1-0 Cassar, Mario 75
  5-7

Nottinghamshire U100 – Warwickshire U100

Nottinghamshire U100 - Warwickshire U100
20 February 2016
Bramcote
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Tandon, Rohan 85 0-1 Zawadzki, Marek 99
2 W Argyle, Kevin 89 ½–½ Davies, Paul 98
3 B Dell, John 93 ½–½ Wood, Penny 96
4 W Dawson, Ric 91 ½–½ Grimes, Adrian 94
5 B Bennett, Howard UG 1-0 default  
6 W Abrahart, Bob 96 0-1 King, Angus 93
7 B Morley, Stephen 91 ½–½ Harman, Geoff 87
8 W Hargreaves, Malcolm 93 1-0 Buxton, Richard 87
9 B Attwood, Charlotte 91 1-0 Silverman, Paul 87
10 W Blampied, Dorothy 83 ½–½ Blair, Jimmy 74
11 B Parham, Simon 87 1-0 King, Zosia E68
12 W Meade, Alex 80 0-1 Clulee, John 66
  6½–5½

Leicestershire U100 – Nottinghamshire U100

Leicestershire U100 - Nottinghamshire U100
24 October 2015
Braunstone Civic Centre
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W  Carter, Andy 96 ½–½ Heath, George 99
2 B Worrow-Goodin, George 93 ½–½ Dell, John 93
3 W Mottram, Paul e75 1-0 Hargreaves, Malcolm 93
4 B Mottram-Epson, Peter 72 0-1 Maladkar, Ritika 92
5 W Raine, Ben 64 1-0 Morley, Stephen 91
6 B Ward-Langman, Joseph e67 0-1 Dawson, Ric 91
7 W Suribhatla, Yash e70 0-1 Seagrave, Mike 90
8 B Gamble, Matthew 65 0-1 Argyle, Kevin 89
9 W Khare, Anika 69 0-1 Tandon, Rohan 85
10 B Jacob, Nathanael e57 ½–½ Parham, Simon 87
11 W Chen, Daniel e60 0-1 Maladkar, Lavanya 84
12 B Haywood, Rory e51 0-1 Meade, Alex 80
  3½–8½