Inter-County Championship 2018–19

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

Previous years

Minor

Warwickshire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Steve Burke

The match against Warwickshire very much followed the pattern of the previous encounter with Lincs. Warwicks surprised us by producing IM Amit Ghasi on Board One. After an opening struggle we went 3 down, then rallied to 3-3 and 4-4 and finally, in a tense finish, with three games left running, Mike Naylor managed to finish off Keith Escott to clinch a win after Justin Hadi & Alex Combie had carefully played out bishop of opposite colour endings to achieve draws.

Warwickshire - Nottinghamshire
1 December 2018
Tyseley WMC, Birmingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Ghasi, Ameet K 255 ½–½ Willow, Jonah 218
2 W  Stepanyan, Henrik 210 1-0 Mercs, Peter 184
3 B Sygnowski, Tomasz 206 ½–½ Hadi, Justin 188
4 W Mason, Don 198 ½–½ Richmond, Robert 183
5 B Chowdhury, Mohammed 190 ½–½ Combie, Alexander 176
6 W Hynes, Tony 184 ½–½ Thompson, Brian 174
7 B Quaraishi, Shahab 174 1-0 Burke, Steve 172
8 W Walsh, Marcus 172 0-1 Halfpenny, Glenn 171
9 B Escott, Keith L 172 0-1 Naylor, Mike 172
10 W Salder, Anthony 170 ½–½ George, Andy 169
11 B Cundy, Mark A 167 ½–½ Walker, Andy 167
12 W Ali, Golam S 169 0-1 Finn, Jonathan 166
13 B Smith, Simon C 165 1-0 Sudar, Drag 163
14 W Thomas, Keith 150 1-0 Bhayat, Shane 162
15 B Wallman, Robert 147 0-1 Gogia, Armaan 161
16 W Chowdhury, Bodrul 131 0-1 Lane, Tim 161
        7½–8½    

Lincolnshire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Steve Burke

Ten games were drawn in the opening match of the season with the honours split in the remaining six games. Notts have suffered some serious setbacks at the hands of Lincolnshire in recent seasons so this was a good result against the current Midlands Champions. As usual, Lincs were strong on the top end with 8 players between 199 and 185. So apart from Jonah on top board we were out-graded by about 15-20 points per board. However, their bottom five boards were all 155 or below, giving us some 7 or 8 points edge there. It was going to be an uphill struggle, but we had a chance.

Gradually the draws rolled in, though we were first to drop a point as Brian was the first to get mated in a wild looking position. More draws and then I hear that Florian sacrificed for an attack, but it went wrong and we were two down. Again more draws and then Glenn pulled one back for us, before Nigel restored their two point edge. After more draws we ended up with Richard, myself and Jonah still playing.

Richard eventually managed to win an ending where he had a R+P v B+N, cutting the deficit. The last two games went down into the last 10 minutes. After Jason over-pressed, our game flip-flopped between a win for me and a draw. I was up a pawn, but down to a couple of minutes against four, and couldn’t see a win when he offered a draw.

I didn’t see Jonah's game at the end, but he pulled out a win to secure a dramatic last gasp comeback draw in the match.

Lincolnshire - Nottinghamshire
6 October 2018
Lincoln
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W  Cumbers, Paul 199 0-1 Willow, Jonah B 218
2 B Smith, Murray 198 ½–½ Richmond, Robert 183
3 W Birtwistle, Nigel 196 1-0 Combie, Alex B 176
4 B Milson, Samuel 195 1-0 Thompson, Brian 174
5 W Stead, Nick 193 1-0 Biermann, Florian 173
6 B Prior, Stephen 189 ½–½ Naylor, Mike 172
7 W Dilley, Jason 188 ½–½ Burke, Steven J 172
8 B Kilshaw, Joe 185 0-1 Halfpenny, Glenn 171
9 W Cusick, Peter 175 ½–½ George, Andrew 169
10 B Bowers, Francis 168 ½–½ Walker, Andrew 167
11 W David, Ivan 167 ½–½ Broughton, Daniel 167
12 B Ladds, Graham 155 0-1 Truman, Richard 167
13 W Holt, Chris 155 ½–½ Sudar, Drag 163
14 B Hebert, Andy 155 ½–½ Bhayat, Shane 162
15 W Palmer, Keith 152 ½–½ Gogia, Armaan 161
16 B Parnian, Arya 149 ½–½ Grainger, Charlie 161
        8-8    

Under 180


Under 160

Nottinghamshire – Manchester

Report from Neil Graham

Both teams were trying to find replacements on the Friday night following withdrawals, so it was decided to play over 15 boards thus saving a great deal of phoning etc. With the withdrawal of Warwickshire, the sole purpose of this match was to determine seeding into the nationals as both teams qualify by right. As usual a closely contested match resulted with Manchester having the advantage of 8 Whites as Notts lost the toss yet again. With Manchester establishing a 6.5-7.5 lead, the last game was agreed drawn although perhaps we held a slight advantage.

Nottinghamshire - Manchester
19 January 2019
Newcastle Bridge Club
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Kofi-Ofuafor, Onos 159 ½–½ Whalley, Mark 157
2 W Myers, Richard 154 ½–½ Tyton, Adam 156
3 B Huthwaite, John 150 1-0 Lonsdale, Jon 155
4 W Aiton, Keith 149 1-0 Lockett, Karl 149
5 B Graham, Neil 148 ½–½ Harman, George 149
6 W Hill, Maurice 147 ½–½ McElvenny, Damien 148
7 B Walters, Keith 145 0-1 Carroll, Michael B 142
8 W London, Nick 145 1-0 Doherty, Paul 141
9 B Atiomo, William 144 ½–½ Pardoe, David 134
10 W Taylor, Marcel 144 ½–½ Grindrod, John 138
11 B Roper, Keith 136 0-1 Griffiths, Gareth 127
12 W Tassi, John 137 0-1 Moan, Francis 136
13 B Willow, Hambel 133 ½–½ Lamb, Ian 132
14 W Willoughby, Robert 137 ½–½ Hughes, Howard 125
15 B Neil, Graham 128 0-1 Nagy, Viktor 133
16 W Default   0-0 Default  
        7-8    

Under 140

Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire

Nottinghamshire - Worcestershire
2 March 2019
Bramcote
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Taylor, Bob 139 ½–½ Spowart, David 136
2 B Thomson, James 138 0-1 Evans, Harry 134
3 W Wright, Nigel 133 0-1 Bradley, Sam 138
4 B Roper, Keith 136 1-0 Speeley, Peter 135
5 W Mendis, Vidura 127 1-0 Shaw, Tony 135
6 B Scott, Simon 133 1-0 Holmes, Matthew 136e
7 W Alderton, Oliver 133e 0-1 Maybury, Philip 129
8 B Sargeant, Chris 129 0-1 Asbury, Jon 126
9 W Pincheira, Bernardo 128 ½–½ Horwill, Eric 134
10 B Gibson, Graham 114 0-1 Stanton, Giles 130
11 W Dabner, Tom 129 1-0 Wilkinson, Richard 125
12 B Neil, Graham 128 0-1 Varilone, John 121
13 W Budd, Chris 125 ½–½ Kirkland, Arnold 114
14 B Harper, Mick 120 ½–½ Cleak, David 110
15 W Nailard, Mike 125 0-1 Alcock, Steve 97
16 B Fraser, Chris 120 1-0 Pountney, Terrance 88
        7-9    

Leicestershire – Nottinghamshire

Report from Neil Graham

With 6/8, Notts might have been expecting to qualify for the national stages. However a win for opponents Leicestershire would give them a place with Notts having to win against unbeaten Worcestershire in their final match. As it was Notts took an early lead by 3.5-0.5 assisted by a competent win from Joseph Hurst on his U140 debut. Leicestershire pulled the score back to 5.5-5.5 but our top boards then won the next four games to declare leaving Keith Roper to agree a draw to make the final score 10-6. The last match will decide both the Midlands title and seeding into the nationals.

Leicestershire - Nottinghamshire
23 February 2019
Ravenstone Village Institute
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 W Kerbel, Sasha 137 0-1 Radford, Mark 136
2 B Bingham, James 134 0-1 Taylor, Bob 139
3 W Wilson, Andrew 133 ½–½ Thomson, James 138
4 B Kruitbosch, Gijs 128 ½–½ Roper, Keith 136
5 W Adcock, Terry 126 0-1 Wagenbach, Janos 138
6 B Manger, John 130 ½–½ Sargeant, Chris 129
7 W Collins, RF 124 1-0 Willoughby, Bob 137
8 B Pourmozafari, Ben 124 1-0 Griffiths, Dave 128
9 W Busby, Michael 126 0-1 Pincheira, Bernardo 128
10 B Worrow-Goodin, George 119 0-1 Tassi, John 137
11 W Chalashkanov, Nikola 125 0-1 Budd, Chris 125
12 B Corlett, Les 129 ½–½ Nailard, Mike 125
13 W Woods, Trevor 111 1-0 Murfet, George 126
14 B Hickman, Peter 116 ½–½ Naybour, Matt 120
15 W Cooper, Barrie 116 ½–½ Gibson, Graham 114
16 B Wyld, Nick 120 0-1 Hurst, Joseph 104
        6-10    

Nottinghamshire – Lincolnshire

Report from Neil Graham

Notts fielded a weakened team against Lincolnshire in anticipation of a win and indeed the gradings tended to confirm this. However it’s what on the board rather than what’s on paper that counts and although Notts took an early lead they were pegged back every time it looked as though they were going to establish a winning lead. With 15 games declared the match was still tied at 7.5-7.5 but unfortunately the last game was clearly in Lincolnshire’s favour and their player won the ending to give the visitors an unexpected but deserved victory.

Nottinghamshire - Lincolnshire
12 January 2019
Bramcote
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Thomson, James 138 ½–½ Mainwaring, John 138
2 W Radford, Mark 136 0-1 Wollerton, Grenville 137
3 B Wright, Nigel 133 0-1 Scott, David 132
4 W Sargeant, Chris 129 1-0 Harris, Andrew 125
5 B Griffiths, Dave 128 ½–½ Sherlock, Peter 123
6 W Mergen, Kim 130 1-0 Roberts, Neil 122
7 B Neil, Graham 128 0-1 Nelder, Allan 122
8 W Bosworth, Gary 127 1-0 Egan, Bill 120
9 B Rigney, Callum 127 0-1 Newstead, Mark 115
10 W Mendis, Vidura 127 0-1 Ashworth, Alex 115
11 B Murfet, George 126 1-0 Moss, Charles 111
12 W Nailard, Mike 125 ½–½ Rae, Graeme 107
13 B Budd, Chris 125 0-1 Bennett, Terry 105
14 W Naybour, Matt 120 1-0 Robinson, Frank 105
15 B Harper, Mick 120 ½–½ Fischer, Paul 104
16 W Fraser, Chris 119 ½–½ Pocock, John 96
        7½–8½    

Nottinghamshire – Staffordshire

Report from Neil Graham

Notts started the U140 with a relatively comprehensive win over Derbyshire dominating on the upper boards. Warwickshire, back in this section after a break, proved a much tougher proposition and it was left to Keith Roper to play a Carlson-like ending that impressed all the spectators to win the match by the narrowest of margins. A third victory came against Staffordshire who notified us in advance of two defaults. With a 2-0 start and a clear advantage on grading the match result was never in doubt as Notts entered the New Year on maximum points.

Nottinghamshire - Staffordshire
8 December 2018
Lincoln
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Taylor, Robert 139 ½–½ Blackburn, John EW 139
2 W  Thomson, James 138 ½–½ Leary, Peter W 138
3 B Roper, Keith 136 0-1 Day, John R 130
4 W Willoughby, Robert 137 0-1 Launay, Maximillien 129
5 B Tassi, John 137 ½–½ Windows, Peter J 124
6 W Willow, Hambel 133 1-0 Rehman, Matti 122e
7 B Wright, Nigel 133 1-0 Blackburn, Sandra G 118
8 W Scott, Simon 133 1-0 Leadbetter, Andrew T 118
9 B Sargeant, Chris 129 ½–½ Cox, Chris M 104
10 W Dabner, Tom 129 1-0 Biles, Fred 103
11 B Mergen, Kim E 130 1-0 Deeley, Stuart 102
12 W Neil, Graham 128 ½–½ Rehman, Cameron 97
13 B Rigney, Callum 127 ½–½ Evans, Peter FK 87
14 W Budd, Chris 125 1-0 Rehman, Dylan 87
15 B     1-0 Default  
16 W     1-0 Default  
        11-5    

Warwickshire – Nottinghamshire

Warwickshire - Nottinghamshire
24 November 2018
Greenfields Social Club, Birmingham
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Dobedoe, Richard S 135 0-1 Taylor, Robert 139
2 W  Mycock, Kenny 132 0-1 Thomson, James 138
3 B Biddle, Mike A 132 0-1 Roper, Keith 136
4 W Sandhu, Manvith 126 1-0 Willoughby, Robert 137
5 B Weaver, Simon 128 1-0 Tassi, John 137
6 W Killarney, Simon A 126 1-0 Radford, Mark 136
7 B Little, Matthew 126 ½–½ Scott, Simon 133
8 W Oliver, Peter J R 126 ½–½ Pincheira, Bernardo 128
9 B Green, John 125 1-0 Murfet, George 126
10 W Watson, Roy G 122 ½–½ Budd, Chris 125
11 B Johnson, Mike J 122 ½–½ Nailard, Mike 125
12 W Spillane, Kevin J 119 0-1 Harper, Michael J 120
13 B Reeves, David 112 0-1 Fraser, Chris 119
14 W Silverman, Paul 111 ½–½ Wright, Joe 119
15 B Pal, Rohan 111 ½–½ Flint, Andy 117
16 W Shearsby, Jude 96 ½–½ Gibson, Graham 114
        7½–8½    

Derbyshire – Nottinghamshire

Derbyshire - Nottinghamshire
10 November 2018
Rolls Royce, Derby
Board Colour  Grade Grade
1 B Meyer, Dylan 139 ½–½ Thomson, James 138
2 W Bubis, Matthew 137 0-1 Roper, Keith 136
3 B Hoddy, John 135 0-1 Radford, Mark 136
4 W Woods, Roy 133 ½–½ Luland, Steve 132
5 B Gallagher, Kevin J 128 0-1 Dabner, Tom 129
6 W Sheldon, Philip 127 0-1 Sargeant, Chris 129
7 B Vaughan, Smith 125 0-1 Neil, Graham 128
8 W Hussain, Shah 121 0-1 Pincheira, Bernardo 128
9 B Wooton, Stephen G 121 ½–½ Murfet, George 126
10 W Boreham, Michael 116 1-0 Nailard, Michael J 125
11 B Walker, Rodger 115 1-0 Budd, Chris 125
12 W Cockburn, Andre 115 0-1 Harper, Michael J 120
13 B Marshall, Nigel 114 0-1 Wright, Joe 119
14 W Adamski, Tomasz 111 1-0 Flint, Andy 117
15 B Harrison, Craig 111 ½–½ Bonnello, Chris 124
16 W Abdullahi, Alexander A 97 ½–½ Owusu, Clement 112
        5½–10½    

Under 120

Under 100