Inter-County Championship 2016–17

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

Previous years

Minor

Nottinghamshire – Worcestershire

Nottinghamshire - Worcestershire
18 February 2017
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Law, Zhe 220 1-0 Besedin, Pavel 199
2 B Richmond, Robert J 191 ½–½ Hurney, Kevin 186
3 W Mercs, Peter J 180 ½–½ Edge, John 181
4 B Broughton, Daniel 182 1-0 Kitson, Peter 179
5 W Thompson, Brian 180 0-1 Lambourne, Daniel M 177
6 B Walker, Andrew N 171 1-0 Marchant, Geoffrey 177
7 W Jarvis, Derek 171 ½–½ Friar, Joseph 176
8 B Combie, Alexander 171 ½–½ Turner, Brian 168
9 W Cast, Julian 167 1-0 Clarke, Ian 168
10 B Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 167 0-1 Woodhouse, Stephen V 168
11 W Graham, Neil 147 0-1 Dyett, Greg F 159
12 B Naylor, Mike 159 1-0 Boswell, Gary 157
13 W Burke, Steve 158 1-0 Towers, Nigel S 156
14 B Levens, David 156 1-0 Knee, John P 145
15 W Walters, J Keith 159 1-0 Varilone, John F 143
16 B Atiomo, William 153 ½–½ Chester, John 140
        10½–5½    

Nottinghamshire – Leicestershire

Report from Neil Graham

Notts last chance to qualify for the Counties Championship finally evaporated against Leicestershire with a 9-7 defeat at Bramcote. To be fair even if we’d won the match a further victory against unbeaten Worcestershire would have been required together with Lincolnshire defeating Leicestershire – so really it wasn’t going to happen. It’s been a disappointing season so all we can really do is prepare for 2017/18 and hope we can regain our form. Just six individual wins from forty eight games was not going to gain us admission to the national stages.

After an early loss from Richard Truman it was always an uphill struggle despite Dan Broughton levelling the scores – our young players Jonah Willow and Adi Munshi did score notable wins and with five games to go Notts led by 6-5. Unfortunately these games were to yield only two draws and with the top board in play it was Leicestershire who were 8-7 in the lead and Shabir Okhai sealed a 9-7 result for the away county.

Nottinghamshire - Leicestershire
21 January 2017
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Whitfield, Craig 194 0-1 Okhai, Shabir 194
2 B Richmond, Robert J 192 0-1 Malczyk, Rafal 191
3 W Mercs, Peter J 183 ½–½ Agnew, Alan 185
4 B Willow, Jonah B 184 1-0 Denton, John R 188
5 W Truman, Richard G 180 0-1 Dong, Bao Nghia 185e
6 B Thompson, Brian 180 ½–½ Galligan, Brian 178
7 W Broughton, Daniel 179 1-0 Burgess, Ray J 182
8 B Walker, Andrew N 175 ½–½ Horspool, Philip J 174
9 W Swain, John 174 ½–½ Sheahan, Sean D 174
10 B Jarvis, Derek 171 0-1 Vann, Richard P 177
11 W Gibson, Geoff 171 ½–½ Colburn, Paul J 172
12 B Cast, Julian 169 0-1 Taylor, Robert K 170
13 W George, Andy 168 ½–½ Potter, Karl H 167
14 B Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 167 ½–½ Hanscombe, Richard 161
15 W Burke, Steve 165 ½–½ Mitchell, John R 157
16 B Munshi, Aditya 164 1-0 Miller, James N 158
        7-9    

Warwickshire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Neil Graham

If the match against Lincolnshire was an embarrassment, the second match against Warwickshire was a humiliation as we were defeated by 10½-5½. Only two players scored wins making the grand total of three wins from 32 games played in our opening two matches. In this case I am pleased to say we were able to strengthen the team considerably from the opening matches to such an extent that we outgraded Warwickshire on every board; in addition we welcomed two debutants Zhe Law and Craig Whitfield on Boards 1 & 2. It availed us little – again we were only able to hold the home team on the upper order with Robert Richmond winning in a decidedly double edged game. The lower boards suffered an ignominious collapse once again. Tim Lane scored a second Notts win after his opponent misplayed the opening. We now have to beat both Leicestershire and Worcestershire to progress any further – Worcestershire having already reached four points from two games. Luckily the next game isn’t until the New Year so possibly we can rediscover some form by then.

Warwickshire - Nottinghamshire
29 October 2016
Coleshill Manor
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Cabero, Pablo Padilla 195 ½–½ Law, Zhe Kang E202
2 B Hynes, Anthony 191 ½–½ Whitfield, Craig 194
3 W Page, Mark 187 0-1 Richmond, Robert J 192
4 B Walsh, Marcus 174 1-0 Mercs, Peter J 183
5 W Hickey, Anthony 173 1-0 Willow, Jonah B 184
6 B Smith, Simon 172 ½–½ Tardi, Zoltan 181
7 W Escott, Keith 171 ½–½ Truman, Richard G 180
8 B Ho, Marcus 171 ½–½ Thompson, Brian 180
9 W Green, Anthony 170 1-0 Walker, Andrew N 174
10 B Hazlehurst, Cory 169 1-0 Halfpenny, Glenn 171
11 W Cundy, Mark 166 ½–½ Jarvis, Derek 171
12 B Hope, Gary 160 1-0 Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 167
13 W Ralph, Shaun 159 ½–½ Combie, Alex B 164
14 B Thomas, Keith 157 1-0 Naylor, Mike 164
15 W Turner, Jon 151 0-1 Lane, Tim 157
16 B Wallman, Robert 148 1-0 Graham, Neil 158
        10½–5½    

Lincolnshire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Neil Graham

Notts were humbled by Lincolnshire in their opening match of the 2016-17 Counties Championship. Although outgraded on all but one of the boards, the 13-3 defeat was the worst suffered by the county for several years and contrasted markedly with the same match last year which was won by Nottinghamshire by 11-5. The match started with a draw from Geoff Gibson and the top eight boards just about held their own; however Boards 9-16 ended 8-0 in Lincolnshire’s favour. There might have been a chance to salvage some points on Boards 15 & 16 but unfortunately the clock intervened in both games notably with Drag Sudar declining a draw with fourteen seconds left only to find that the checkmate he thought was imminent wasn’t. Apart from Geoff, three other players drew and Somton Ukken was the only Nottinghamshire winner.

Lincolnshire - Nottinghamshire
8 October 2016
North Hykeham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Dorrington, Chris 228 1-0 Richmond, Robert J 192
2 B Stead, Nick 199 ½–½ Mercs, Peter J 183
3 W Milson, Samuel 198 1-0 Thompson, Brian 180
4 B Cumbers, Paul 197 ½–½ Halfpenny, Glenn 171
5 W Birtwistle, Nigel 189 ½–½ Jarvis, Derek 171
6 B Dilley, Jason 185 ½–½ Gibson, Geoff 171
7 W Russell, Harry 182 1-0 George, Andrew 168
8 B Williams, J Stuart 180 0-1 Ukken, Somton 167
9 W Cusick, Peter 179 1-0 Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 167
10 B Prior, Stephen 176 1-0 Somton, Anita 165
11 W Kilshaw, Joe 168 1-0 Combie, Alex B 164
12 B Georgiou, Denis 165 1-0 Munshi, Aditya 164
13 W Palmer, Keith 163 1-0 Levens, David G 160
14 B Summers, Alastair 156 1-0 Graham, Neil 158
15 W Burridge, Ian 156 1-0 Hayward, Brian 154
16 B McCarthy, Kevin 156 1-0 Sudar, Drag 153
        13-3    

Under 180

Devon – Nottinghamshire

On paper two evenly matched teams but as so often happens this didn’t reflect in the match score. Firstly we were only able to field 8 players in the 160-179 grade bracket and the remainder of the team was made up with U160 players. A clash with the Nottingham MegaFinal didn’t help matters which meant a number of prospective participants were unavailable. It took until the 12th game for Notts to register their first win and although we scored 3½ points from the last five games to finish it was too little and too late – our upper order scoring particularly badly. Of these five4 final games Dan Broughton and Mike Naylor had particularly long and arduous struggles. The games from the match are available on the Chess Devon website.

Devon - Nottinghamshire
20 May 2017
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Wheeler, John F 176 1-0 Broughton, Daniel 182
2 B  Thynne, Trefor F 165 ½–½ Swain, John 175
3 W Hampton, Paul DJ 166 ½–½ Walker, Andrew 171
4 B Twine, David 167e 1-0 Jarvis, Derek 171
5 W Wensley, Oliver 168 1-0 Combie, Alexander 171
6 B Haynes, Jos 165e 1-0 George, Andy 168
7 W Brusey, Alan W 161 1-0 Burke, Steven 158
8 B Ingham, H William 165 0-1 Naylor, Mike 158
9 W Brooks, Paul 162 1-0 Smith, Matt 160
10 B Shaw, Meyrick 159 1-0 Flynn, David 158
11 W Marshall, Michael O 162 ½–½ Walters, Keith 159
12 B Gosling, Brian 159 ½–½ Lane, Tim 155
13 W Scott, Chris J 152 ½–½ Sudar, Dragoljub 152
14 B Kinder, Andrew S 153 0-1 Taylor, Robert 147
15 W Butland, Nick J 148 1-0 Graham, Neil 147
16 B Quinn, Martin 145 0-1 Ensor, Rob 124
        10½–5½    

Nottinghamshire – Warwickshire

Nottinghamshire - Warwickshire
11 March 2017
Bramcote
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Broughton, Daniel 182 0-1 Singh, Amrik J 169
2 W  Swain, John 175 ½–½ Walsh, Marcus 173
3 B Walker, Andy 171 0-1 Hickey, Antony 167
4 W Jarvis, Derek 171 1-0 Smith, Simon C 170
5 B Gibson, Geoff 173 1-0 Escott, Keith L 170
6 W Combie, Alexander 171 1-0 Ho, Marco 173
7 B George, Andy 168 ½–½ Hazlehurst, Cory S 179
8 W Bentley, Alex 160 0-1 Cundy, Mark A 168
9 B Jazdzewski, Daniel 160 1-0 Hope, Gary 171
10 W Smith, Matt 160 ½–½ Sadler, Anthony 162
11 B Naylor, Mike 159 0-1 Papathanasopoulos, Nikolaos 163
12 W Hayward, Brian 159 ½–½ Thomas, Keith 161
13 B Levens, David 156 ½–½ Reynolds, Robert 154
14 W Walters, Keith 159 0-1 Mildenhall, John 154
15 B Hunt, Owen 154 1-0 Fahy, John F 147
16 W Sudar, Drag 152 ½–½ Wallman, Robert J 161
        8-8    

Under 160

Yorkshire U160 – Nottinghamshire U160

The match here, played at Pool-in-Wharfedale very much mirrored the Essex quarter-final but this time there was no Notts fightback as Yorkshire marched serenely into the national finals. Essentially Yorkshire won a large number of games which were interspersed with draws. The match opened with a Drag Sudar loss rather than a win and it took until the end of the session for Nick London to score the sole Nottinghamshire response. A couple of games might have garnered extra half points bur essentially it was very much a "no contest" fixture.

Yorkshire U160 - Nottinghamshire U160
10 June 2017
Pool-in-Wharfedale
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Johnson, Paul 160 ½–½ Bentley, Alex 160
2 W  Patrick, David A 159 ½–½ Flynn, David 158
3 B Stephenson, David 156 1-0 Hayward, Brian M 159
4 W Hughes, Peter 151 1-0 Jazdzewski, Daniel 158
5 B Ismail, Adam 159 ½–½ Walters, Keith 159
6 W Dean, Robert 157 ½–½ Lane, Tim 155
7 B Mahoney, Nicholas 153 ½–½ Atiomo, William 153
8 W Donahue, Randy 154 1-0 Sudar, Dragoljub 152
9 B Quereshi, Younis 147 ½–½ Hill, Maurice 150
10 W Westmoreland, Steve 149e 1-0 Taylor, Robert P 147
11 B Routledge, Adam 150 0-1 London, Nick 148
12 W Bowman, Richard 143 ½–½ Graham, Neil 147
13 B Braham, Peter 144 1-0 Morgan, D Philip 146
14 W Mason, Peter 152 1-0 Tassi, John 142
15 B Adam, David 141 ½–½ Robinson, Alan 141
16 W Khan, Karim 145 ½–½ Thomson, James 136
        10½–5½    

Essex U160 – Nottinghamshire U160

Notts staged a dramatic comeback after trailing Essex by seven boards to two in the quarter-finals at the Open University, Milton Keynes. Drag Sudar was an early winner but after that draws from Keith Walters & Daniel Jazdzewski were the only additions to the scores as Essex racked up a series of unanswered wins. Suddenly though the tide turned and Notts wins began to appear on the scoresheet. James Thomson added a draw and with a win from Neil Graham in the penultimate game to finish the scores were suddenly tied at 7½-7½. The final game was on Board One where Matt Smith had both a time and material advantage in a Queen & Pawn ending. Essex required a win as Board Count was in our favour however the University player secured the full point to give Notts the match victory.

Essex U160 - Nottinghamshire U160
13 May 2017
Open University Milton Keynes
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Spurr, Michael 160 0-1 Smith, Matt 160
2 B  Winter, Thomas G 160 0-1 Flynn, David 158
3 W Murrell, Mark 158 1-0 Hayward, Brian 159
4 B Clow, Ken W 151 0-1 Bentley, Alex 160
5 W Pearse, Dave G 152 ½–½ Jazdzewski, Daniel 158
6 B Woodward, Ian P 150 ½–½ Walters, Keith 159
7 W Nickals, Peter A 146 1-0 Lane, Tim 155
8 B Porter, Edward 149 0-1 Sudar, Dragoljub 152
9 W Groce, Ken 139 1-0 London, Nick J 148
10 B Moth, Simon 139 0-1 Taylor, Robert P 147
11 W Rahaman, Mustapha 137 0-1 Graham, Neil 147
12 B Burgoyne, Peter A 138 1-0 Willow, Hambel 147
13 W Morgan, Ian 133 0-1 Huthwaite, John R 145
14 B Siddo, Charlton 133 1-0 Tassi, John 142
15 W Collyer, Alex 126 1-0 Murfet, George 140
16 B Jestico, John 98 ½–½ Thomson, James 136
        7½–8½    

Warwickshire U160 – Nottinghamshire U160

Warwickshire U160 - Nottinghamshire U160
4 February 2017
W.M.C. Birmingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Ralph, Sean 163 1-0 Jazdzewski, Daniel 160
2 W  Thomas, Keith 161 1-0 Flynn, David 158
3 B Reynolds, Robert 154 ½–½ Lane, Tim 155
4 W Mildenhall, John 154 1-0 Walters, J Keith 159
5 B Fahy, John 147 1-0 Simpons, Kevin 152
6 W Wallman, Robert J 161 ½–½ Hill, Maurice 150
7 B Wright, Larry 150 ½–½ London, Nick J 148
8 W Evans, Christopher J 136 0-1 Taylor, Robert P 147
9 B Reynolds, Richard C 143 0-1 Graham, Neil 147
10 W Dickson, Fred S 136 ½–½ Willow, Hambel M 147
11 B Harrington, Michael J 141 ½–½ Radford, Mark 143
12 W Lawrence, Roy A 140 0-1 Tassi, John 142
13 B Byrne, Nigel 138 1-0 Robinson, Alan 141
14 W Walker, Terry W 147 0-1 Murfet, George 140
15 B Biddle, Mike A 140 ½–½ Thomson, James L 136
16 W Tallis, Mark E 135 0-1 Scott, Simon 130
        8-8    

Nottinghamshire U160 – Greater Manchester U160

Again on paper, Notts looked better than their opponents but the first thing we’ve learned this season is that what looks good on a match sheet needs to be translated to good on the board and so it turned out once again. Notts once again depended on their lower boards where we were undefeated from 7-16 but in the upper order we lost by 4-2. Brian Hayward scored an early win, there were several draws including at least one lucky one and as the results came in the scores were evenly matched. Towards the end Bob Taylor and Nick London weighed in with important wins and Dave Flynn scored the full point with his opponent’s king trapped in the middle of the board. Notts lead by 8-7 with Board 9 still playing. Neither player seemed to have any knowledge of the match score as they played on in an extremely complex rook & pawn ending. It was a great relief when a draw was agreed to give Notts the match by the narrowest of margins.

Nottinghamshire U160 - Greater Manchester U160
10 December 2016
Newcastle Under Lyme Bridge Club
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W  Bentley, Alex 158 0-1 Green, Tom DA 158
2 B Lane, Tim 157 0-1 Jardine, Chris 158
3 W Flynn, Dave 155 1-0 Livesey, R Nigel 157
4 B Simpson, Kevin 154 0-1 Davoodi, Siamak 156
5 W Hayward, Brian M 154 1-0 Lonsdale, Jon I 152
6 B Myers, Richard 154 0-1 Lockett, Karl J 151
7 W Jazdzewski, Daniel 153 ½–½ Kierman, Dave 148
8 B Sudar, Dragoljub 153 ½–½ Green, Fiona 147
9 W Hill, Maurice 150 ½–½ Moan, Francis E 143
10 B Huthwaite, John R 148 ½–½ Beresford, Alan 132
11 W Tassi, John 147 ½–½ Lamb, Ian D 124
12 B Taylor, Bob 147 1-0 Hughes, Howard 123
13 W Robinson, Alan 144 ½–½ Byrne, Tony 123
14 B London, Nick 144 1-0 Harman, George 116
15 W Willow, Hambel 144 ½–½ Doherty, Paul 111
16 B Murfet, George J 141 1-0 Underwood, Shaun 111
        8½–7½    

Under 140

Lancashire U140 – Nottinghamshire U140

Lancashire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
1 July 2017
Trident Centre, Warwick
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Dobson, Emlyn 137 ½–½ Bhayat, Shane 150
2 B  Addison, John 141 ½–½ Radford, Mark 143
3 W Muirhead, William 141 ½–½ Gogia, Armaan 135
4 B Dickinson, Peter 139 0-1 Poyser, Alex 133
5 W Tillotson, Carl 135 ½–½ Cranmer, Stan 133
6 B Morris, Robert 136 1-0 Nailard, Mike 133
7 W Almond, Dave 133 1-0 Griffiths, Dave 132
8 B Stanfield, David 136 ½–½ Wright, Nigel 134
9 W O'Mara, Paul 131 1-0 Budd, Chris 133
10 B Widdup, Jason 138 0-1 Taylor, Marcel V 130
11 W Horne, Michael 132 1-0 Gorecka-Marshall, Peter 131
12 B Weedall, Raymond 128 ½–½ Roper, Keith 125
13 W Flaherty, Steven 124 ½–½ Luland, Steve 128
14 B Farthing, Michael 127 ½–½ Willoughby, Robert 127
15 W Glover, Gordon 125 ½–½ Fraser, Chris 119
16 B Carey, Con 118 ½–½ Neil, Graham 117
        9-7    

Yorkshire U140 – Nottinghamshire U140

The U140 team joined the U160s to take on Yorkshire at Pool-in-Wharfedale. After an early loss the match was very closely contested until the end of the playing session when wins from Armaan Gogia and Alex Poyser gave Notts a 7½-6½ lead. Again board count was firmly in our favour with a draw required from the remaining two games. Unfortunately Nigel Wright incorrectly exchanged into what turned out to be a losing endgame which enabled Yorkshire to level the scores. Nevertheless the remaining game looked won for Notts and Marcel Taylor saw the team home with some solid play in a minor piece ending.

Yorkshire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
10 June 2017
Pool-in-Wharfedale
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Ross, Andy 136 0-1 Bhayat, Shane 150
2 W  Beckett, Phil 136 ½–½ Radford, Mark 143
3 B Kubisa, Jamie 137 0-1 Gogia, Armaan 135
4 W Pearce, Neville R 125 0-1 Poyser, Alex 133
5 B Stothard, David 132 ½–½ Cranmer, Stan 133
6 W Grice, Alec 128 1-0 Wright, Nigel 134
7 B Hackett, Thomas 137 ½–½ Budd, Chris 133
8 W Srickland, Ian 127 ½–½ Gorecka-Marshall, Peter 131
9 B Holliday, John K 127 1-0 Scott, Simon 130
10 W Andrews, Norman G 128 0-1 Taylor, Marcel V 130
11 B Gelder, Paul 128 1-0 Luland, Steve 128
12 W Tangirala, Aditya 127 1-0 Willoughby, Robert 127
13 B White, Richard 118 0-1 Swanwick, Mike 124
14 W Cullum, Dale 113 0-1 Roper, Keith 125
15 B Forbes, Stephen 109 ½–½ Fraser, Chris 119
16 W Harrington, Steve 116 1-0 Neil, Graham 117
        7½–8½    

Kent U140 – Nottinghamshire U140

Report from Mike Nailard

Despite the best efforts of the Highways Department both teams arrived on time and the match started more or less on time. Nottinghamshire won the toss so had white on the odd boards. After just over two hours play Kent drew first blood with Nigel losing on the board next to me. Just before 16:00 I noticed that Stan and Graham had agreed draws. When I finished my game (6 pawns v 3 pawns and a knight (Yuk)) in second place Dave had the same result, but Bob and Chris Fraser had won and draws from Chris Budd, Keith, Andy and Mike Swanwick kept the match tight with Kent leading 6 - 5. After a cup of tea and seeing Steve level the match with a good win it was 6 apiece and four matches to go. The Kent captain thought we were winning and predicted a Notts victory but it was as close as it could be at 8½ - 7½. The final four matches were wins from Marcel and Alex, a draw for Peter and Mark came second on top board in the final game.

Kent U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
20 May 2017
Open University, Milton Keynes
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Watson, Mikey 157 1-0 Radford, Mark SR 143
2 W  Davis, Derek 144 ½–½ Cranmer, Stan 133
3 B Nevols, Keith 144 1-0 Wright, Nigel 134
4 W Bedwell, Richard 141 1-0 Nailard, Michael J 133
5 B Wood, Mike 140 0-1 Poyser, Alex 133
6 W Davey, Adrian 140 ½–½ Budd, Chris 133
7 B Thompson, Rob 140 1-0 Griffiths, David 132
8 W Sharp, Gary 139 ½–½ Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 131
9 B Lettington, David 138 0-1 Taylorl, Marcel V 130
10 W Fowler, David 132 0-1 Luland, Steve 128
11 B Bernard, Chris 129 0-1 Willoughby, Robert 127
12 W Gilbert, David 125 ½–½ Roper, Keith 125
13 B Orr, David 129 ½–½ Swanwick, Mike 124
14 W Pol, Jerry 123 ½–½ Flint, Andy 123
15 B Hickey, Pete 123 0-1 Fraser, Chris 119
16 W Woodfield, Richard 118 ½–½ Neil, Graham 117
        7½–8½    

Derbyshire U140 – Nottinghamshire U140

Report from Mike Nailard

It was one of those games where Nottinghamshire should have won by a couple of points. I missed a very elegant win on about move 20 only to to get ground down in dour ending a pawn down. A couple of other players let some points and half-points evaporate. So it was left to Mark Radford to keep Nottinghamshire in the game. He had a super win on board 1 to draw the match.

Derbyshire U140 - Nottinghamshire U140
7 January 2017
Rolls Royce, Derby
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Smith, Vaughan WG 136 0-1 Radford, Mark 138
2 W  Woods, Roy 135 1-0 Bhayat, Shane 134
3 B Cameron, Neil 135 ½–½ Poyser, Alex 136
4 W Shaw, John 138 ½–½ Roper, Keith 137
5 B Sheldon, Philip 134 ½–½ Bennett, Adam 135
6 W Wootton, Stephen G 131 1-0 Wright, Nigel 134
7 B Meyer, Dylan 131 0-1 Thompson, Andy 134
8 W Jenson, Jon 131 ½–½ Luland, Steve 134
9 B Bubis, Matthew 128 1-0 Willoughby, Robert 133
10 W Woodhouse, David J F 126 1-0 Nailard, Mike 133
11 B Lever, Brian 124 0-1 Griffiths, Dave 131
12 W Walker, Roger W 121 1-0 Swanwick, Mike 128
13 B Harrison, Ronald S 119 0-1 Taylor, Marcel 127
14 W Parkin, Norman W 116 ½–½ Redburn, Barry 121
15 B Fancourt, Leslie J 112 ½–½ Flint, Andy 121
16 W Pearson, Frank K 95 0-1 Neil, Graham 122
        8-8    

Nottinghamshire U140 – Lincolnshire U140

Lincolnshire had won their opening match against Derbyshire so arrived in good form. Again on paper with Notts outgrading their opponents on every board an easy home win looked in prospect – but once again it wasn’t to be. The first problem arose when a home player failed to turn up. Luckily Alex Meade was to hand to step in as the e-mail notifying her of the U100 defaults had not been delivered. Shane Bhayat soon added to his score from the first match and further wins on the lower boards from Andy Flint and Barry Redburn gave Notts a good start. After that things started to go wrong with some unforeseen losses, a few draws and only two further wins from Alex Poyser and Mike Swanwick. With the score tied at 7-7 it might be thought that Lincolnshire was in with a shout but the final two games involving Bob Willoughby and Simon Scott were clearly lost for Lincolnshire with both away players material down in endings. So a Notts win by 9-7 – the top boards struggling, the bottom boards pulling us through.

Nottinghamshire U140 - Lincolnshire U140
3 December 2016
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W  Radford, Mark SR 138 0-1 Robinson, Adam 136
2 B Cranmer, Stan 138 ½–½ Sherlock, Peter 134
3 W Poyser, Alex 136 1-0 Scott, David 126
4 B Bhayat, Shane 134 1-0 Damms, Peter 122
5 W Wright, Nigel 134 0-1 Dew, Mike 122
6 B Luland, Steve 134 0-1 Grasham, John 120
7 W Nailard, Mike 133 0-1 Roberts, Neil 119e
8 B Willoughby, Robert 133 1-0 Orr, William 118
9 W Griffiths, Dave 131 ½–½ Rae, Graeme 116
10 B Gorecka-Marshall, Peter 130 ½–½ Fischer, Paul 111
11 W Budd, Chris 130 ½–½ Milson, Neil 109
12 B Scott, Simon 128 1-0 Newstead, Mark 108
13 W Swanwick, Mike 128 1-0 Watson, Andrew 85
14 B Meade, Alex (reserve) 67 0-1 Musurov, Arlan 77
15 W Redburn, Barry 121 1-0 Burt, Kieran 63
16 B Flint, Andy 121 1-0 Pilani, Amogh 43
        9-7    

Nottinghamshire U140 – Worcestershire U140

Last year Worcestershire managed to scrape a team together and qualify for the National U140 finals as a wild card as the Midland’s third representative. Suddenly it all seemed to click – by defeating three of the strongest U140 sides in the country (Kent, Surrey and ourselves) by convincing margins, Worcestershire became for the first time national champions. In this match Notts, as current MCCU champions, outgraded Worcestershire on every board from six downwards. The home side took an early 4-1 lead thanks to Mike Nailard, Shane Bhayat and Chris Budd but then Worcestershire completely turned the match round with six successive wins. Chris Sargeant brought the score back to 7-5. Two boards were playing at the top and two at the bottom. Looking at the lower boards, the best we could achieve was a half point – and so it turned out, another loss and a draw from Peter Gorecka-Marshall gave the away team a 8½-5½ advantage. Board One was then quickly concluded as drawn and Keith Roper was rather unfortunate to lose thus giving Worcs a 10-6 victory over us for a second match. They are the national champions and played like it!

Nottinghamshire U140 - Worcestershire U140
12 November 2016
Bramcote
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B  Radford, Mark SR 138 ½–½ Sharratt, Paul 139
2 W Cranmer, Stan 138 0-1 Horwill, Eric 138
3 B Roper, Keith W 137 0-1 Spowart, Dave 138
4 W Poyser, Alex 136 0-1 Holowczak, Alex 136
5 B Wright, Nigel 134 0-1 Ellis, Ian 135
6 W Cater, Robert 135 0-1 Bradley, Sam 134
7 B Bhayat, Shane 134 1-0 Bowcott-Terry, Finlay 130
8 W Bennett, Adam 135 ½–½ Leaper, Richard 129
9 B Luland, Steve 134 ½–½ Peters, Roy 129
10 W Thompson, Andrew 134 0-1 Stanton, Giles 128
11 B Nailard, Michael J 133 1-0 Bricknell, Rob 125
12 W Griffiths, David 131 0-1 Shaw, Tony 125
13 B Gorecka-Marshall, Peter W 130 ½–½ Kirkland, Arnold 124
14 W Budd, Chris 130 1-0 Banks, Peter 118
15 B Swanwick, Michael 128 0-1 Smith, David 116
16 W Sargeant, Chris 118e 1-0 Radford, Terry 104
        6-10    

Under 120

Nottinghamshire U120 – Hertfordshire U120

Nottinghamshire U120 - Hertfordshire U120
13 May 2017
Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Gibson, Graham 127 0-1 Woodhouse, Keith 132
2 B  Sargeant, Chris 118e 1-0 Pearson, Richard 123
3 W Harper, Mick 116 1-0 Douse, Terry 118
4 B Dabner, Tom 115 0-1 Sampson, Tim 119
5 W Gilpin, Ben 114 1-0 Kalyviotis, Alexandros 115
6 B Rodriguez, Alberto 110 0-1 Pines, Chris 100
7 W Garnett, Bob 110 0-1 Duggin, Mark 103
8 B Brown, Allan 110 0-1 Copner, John 103
9 W Abrahart, Bob 103 ½–½ Hicks, Simon 96
10 B Gretton, Margaret 101 0-1 Harris, John 100
11 W Morley, Stephen 97 ½–½ Andrews, Arthur 96
12 B Owusu, Clement 94 0-1 Brewis, Alan 93
  4-8

Nottinghamshire U120 – Worcestershire U120

Report from Neil Graham

On paper Notts looked firm favourites to win this match but Worcestershire put up some stern resistance in the middle order and the final result was a lot closer than the gradings suggested. For the first time Armaan Gogia suffered a loss after losing the exchange, Bob Garnett evened things up and the remaining boards from 2-9 were all drawn in a variety of ways – some with stout defence on both sides others more by luck. The final three boards all ended as Notts wins. A couple of younger players played on to the bitter end whilst the bottom board also gave us a full point but this time the away player did resign. So we finished the Midland zone as champions and scored our eleventh successive victory at Under 120 level.

Nottinghamshire U120 - Worcestershire U120
21 January 2017
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Gogia, Armaan 119 0-1 Smith, David 116
2 B  Ensor, Rob 119 ½–½ Humphries, Jeremy 116
3 W Gibson, Graham 119 ½–½ Radford, Terry 104
4 B Sargeant, Chris 118e ½–½ Clack, Michele 101
5 W Rodriguez, Alberto 116 ½–½ Reed, Toni 99
6 B Garnett, Bob 110 1-0 Hodkinson, Peter 99
7 W Wright, Joe 109 ½–½ Ward, Kevan 96
8 B Gretton, Margaret 108 ½–½ Taylor, Tony 95
9 W Gilpin, Ben 108 ½–½ Collett, Richard 94
10 B Dabner, Tom 105 1-0 Woodhouse, Monty 86
11 W Brown, Allan 104 1-0 Arkell, Daniel 74
12 B Abrahart, Bob 102 1-0 Cassidy, Frank 61
  7½–4½

Warwickshire U120 – Nottinghamshire U120

Report from Bob Abrahart

Following a magnificent, and very much appreciated xmas buffet, that was organised by Warwickshire U120 (home team), Nottinghamshire U120 (away team) won the toss and opted to play white on odd numbered boards. The match started well for Nottinghamshire: two early wins (Len Morrell [5] and Ben Gilpin [8]) and an early draw (Bob Garnett [6]) on our central boards established a sound head start. Such initial gains delivered a solid lead that was never really lost. Three somewhat slower board endings subsequently followed: Bob Abrahart [9] eventually got his opponent to agree a draw; Margaret Gretton [7] was slowly but surely out-positioned and we suffered our first loss; whilst Stephen Morley [10] gained a sound win over his opponent and our lead was re-established. Then came our second defeat: Lukasz Kacprzak [11] had been struggling with a difficult position and eventually succumbed. This loss, however, was subsequently countered by two very good wins based on ingenious endings (Mick Harper [4] and Jose Serrano [12]). The top three boards were the last to finish providing two draws and one loss: each game for the most part having delivered limited advantage to either player (Rob Ensor [1], Bernardo Pincheira [2], Chris Sargeant [3])

Warwickshire U120 - Nottinghamshire U120
10 December 2016
Liberal Club, Leamington Spa
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Madden, Jason 117 ½–½ Ensor, Rob 119
2 W  Killarney, Simon 117 1-0 Pincheira, Bernardo 118
3 B Paffard, Mark 117 ½–½ Sargeant, Chris 118e
4 W Grzywaczewski, Karol 117 0-1 Harper, Mick 115
5 B Kelly, Paul 117 0-1 Morrell, Len 113
6 W Horsley, Dennis 113 ½–½ Garnett, Bob 110
7 B Mantell, Robert 115 1-0 Gretton, Margaret 108
8 W Lorch, Richard 111 0-1 Gilpin, Ben 108
9 B Wood, Penny 104 ½–½ Abrahart, Bob 102
10 W Leggett, Peter 96 0-1 Morley, Stephen 94
11 B Stiff, Peter 93 1-0 Kacprzak, Lukasz 93
12 W Kelly, Alan 88 0-1 Serrano, Jose 82
  5-7

Staffordshire U120 – Nottinghamshire U120

Staffordshire U120 - Nottinghamshire U120
29 October 2016
Newcastle Bridge Club
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Hawthorne, Julian 118 0-1 Gogia, Amaan 119
2 W  Johnson, David 118 ½–½ Gibson, Graham 119
3 B Barker, David 117 0-1 Pincheira, Bernardo 118
4 W Guest, Paul 115 0-1 Harper, Michael J 115
5 B Page, Michael 107 ½–½ Morrel, Len J 113
6 W Jones, Simon 106 1-0 Gretton, Margaret L 108
7 B Meakin, Anthony 106 1-0 Gilpin, Ben 108
8 W Evans, Peter 101 0-1 Dabner, Tom 105
9 B Topp, James 98 0-1 Brown, Allan 104
10 W Hackney, David 95 ½–½ Abrahart, Bob 102
11 B Hull, Stuart 94 0-1 Attwood, Charlotte 97
12 W Buckley, David 84 0-1 Kacprzak, Lukasz 93
  3½–8½

Nottinghamshire U120 – Lincolnshire U120

Report from Bob Abrahart

Nottinghamshire exacted a swift revenge on Lincolnshire for their Counties Championship opening day defeat by winning the Under 120 meeting. Only in the middle order were Lincolnshire able to match the home county and they managed to score a couple of wins there. Some helpful blunders contributed to the Lincolnshire downfall in the lower order where they also defaulted a board. Boards 1-3 all looked in Nottinghamshire’s favour and we were able to score maximum points there. The oddest result came in the sole draw on Board Four where Alberto Rodriguez was able to halve with King and Queen versus King, Queen and four pawns with a perpetual skewer, Chris Cumbers finding his king hemmed in defending his newly promoted queen.

Nottinghamshire U120 - Lincolnshire U120
15 October 2016
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W  Gogia, Amaan 119 1-0 Parnian, Behzad 119
2 B Gibson, Graham 119 1-0 Orr, William 118
3 W Pincheira, Bernardo 118 1-0 Rae, Graeme 116
4 B Rodriguez, Alberto 116 ½–½ Cumbers, Chris 114
5 W Harper, Michael J 115 0-1 Bennett, Terry 112
6 B Morrell, Len J 113 1-0 Roberts, Neil E110
7 W Garnett, Bob 110 0-1 Newstead, Mark 108
8 B Wright, Joe 109 1-0 Taylor, Will 103
9 W Maladkar, Rikita 109 1-0 Chaplin, Paul 98
10 B Gretton, Margaret L 108 1-0 Metcalfe, Peter 84
11 W Abrahart, Bob 102 1-0 Burt, Kieran 63
12 B Brown, Allan 104 1-0 Default  
  9½–2½

Under 100

Warwickshire U100 – Nottinghamshire U100

Warwickshire U100 - Nottinghamshire U100
10 Jun 2017
Coleshill Social Club, Coleshill
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Stiff, Peter 101 ½–½ Serrano, Jose 111
2 B  Grimes, Adrian  96 1-0 Attwood, Charlotte 105
3 W Leggett, Peter 92 0-1 Swanwick, Steve 96
4 B Donovan, John 91 0-1 Ward, Alex 97
5 W Evans, Tom 85 1-0 Dell, John 94
6 B Blair, Jimmy 80 1-0 Owusu, Clement 94
7 W Buxton, Richard 79 1-0 Dawson, Ric 91
8 B Jones, Malcolm 77 ½–½ Kacprzak, Lukasz 90
9 W Clulee, John 73 0-1 Heath, George 86
10 B Srivastava, Aarkarsh 69 ½–½ Groves, Alan 88
11 W Vanes, Tom 65 1-0 Parham, Simon 78
12 B Green, Des 51 0-1 Hargreaves, Malcolm 70
  6½–5½

Nottinghamshire U100 – Leicestershire U100

Nottinghamshire U100 - Leicestershire U100
18 February 2017
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Serrano, Jose 111 1-0 Mckiernan, John  99
2 B  Attwood, Charlotte 105 0-1 Worrow-Goodin 97
3 W El Khoury, Alexander 99 1-0 Mottram, Paul 99
4 B Morley, Stephen 97 1-0 Hollingworth, Stuart 97
5 W Owusu, Clement 94 1-0 Adams, Mick 96
6 B Dawson, Ric 91 0-1 Agger, Reg 95
7 W Kacprzak, Lukasz 90 ½–½ Ward-Langman, Joseph 91
8 B Groves, Alan 88 ½–½ Martin, Paul 87
9 W Heath, George 86 1-0 Roberts, Neil 76
10 B Hargreaves, Malcolm 70 1-0 Blay, Thomas 90e
11 W Default   0-1 Haywood, Rory 55
12 B Litherland, Jack 68 0-1 Liacheng LV, Jason 55
  7-5

Nottinghamshire U100 – Staffordshire U100

To get an Under 100 Staffordshire side to Notts is something of an achievement – last season they managed to default this fixture (twice)! This time they managed two thirds of a team, defaulting four of the twelve boards in advance. The home team stood down four players but somehow one turned up (see U140 report). With a 4-0 advantage a close match wasn’t in prospect and so it proved after Steve Swanwick had an early win. Several games were then drawn plus wins from Alan Groves & Clement Owusu meant Notts cruised to a 9½ - 2½ win and qualification for the national finals.

Nottinghamshire U100 - Staffordshire U100
3 December 2016
Bramcote, Nottingham
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 W Attwood, Charlotte 97 ½–½ Hackney, David 95
2 B  Lester, Ashley 97e ½–½ Hull, Stuart 94
3 W Swanwick, Steve 96 1-0 Buckley, David 84
4 B Kacprzak, Lukasz 93 ½–½ Green, Stuart 82
5 W Dell, John 92 ½–½ Perry, Robert 69
6 B Groves, Alan 88 1-0 Dinoo, Matthew 68
7 W Heath, George 88 ½–½ Cooper, Robert 60e
8 B Owusu, Clement 87 1-0 Knight, Terry 59
9 W     1-0 Default  
10 B     1-0 Default  
11 W     1-0 Default  
12 B     1-0 Default  
  9½–2½

Warwickshire U100 – Nottinghamshire U100

Warwickshire U100 - Nottinghamshire U100
12 November 2016
Water Orton
Board Colour Grade Grade
1 B Grimes, Adrian 98 0-1 Attwood, Charlotte 97
2 W Leggett, Peter 96 0-1 Dawson, Ric 97
3 B Stiff, Peter 93 ½–½ Lester, Ashley 97e
4 W Simpson, Richard 94 0-1 El Khoury, Alexander 95
5 B Donovan, John 92 ½–½ Morley, Stephen 94
6 W Wickett, Gary 91 0-1 Kacprzak, Lukasz 93
7 B Evans, Tom 86 0-1 Dell, John 92
8 W Fox, Chris 85 0-1 Heath, George 88
9 B Buxton, Richard 82 0-1 Owusu, Clement 87
10 W Vanes, Tom 76 0-1 Parham, Simon 85
11 B Blair, Jimmy 75 0-1 Litherland, Jack 64
12 W Srivastava, Aakarsh 67 ½–½ Meade, Alex 67
  1½–10½