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 Knockout 2009

Preliminary Round

Round 1

Report by Ivor Smith

Russell White and John Moore had to withdraw at short notice due to illness which meant that Upminster, with a grading advantage, started this match as slight favourites.  This was confirmed when Writtle were fortunate to escape with a first round 3-3 draw when Les Crane blundered badly in what appeared to be a winning position.  More misfortune for Upminster followed in round 2 when the result of the match came down to the outcome of the board 1 game. Robert Gill who had played outstandingly well in both his games managed to find the only losing move in a position where he was ahead in material terms and indeed on the clock.  A lucky escape for Writtle.

Report by Ian Hunnable

The home side had one hiccup when Larry Marden failed to appear and Mark Murrell was put in on Board 2 as the match started. The first round gave the impression that Wanstead had a fight on their hands, despite being the higher graded side. Indeed, scores might have been level as Ian Hunnable, having captured a poisoned piece should have lost, but was rescued by the clock when down to a lone king.

The second round reflected Wanstead's half time team talk when the answer to the question "what's the plan?" was "must do better". David Spearman, Terry Whitton and Steve Gilmour each completed a double, Mark Murrell and Paul Barclay both reversed their first round results. This left David Faulkner who, having defended resourcefully against Hunnable's lasting initiative, then benefited from another error from the home player who carelessly shed a piece. Faulkner, however, had little time left and was unlikely to have survived the clock so resigned; he might have had two wins, but ended with just a draw. Harsh, but it completed a 6-0 second round for the visitors and an overall win by 9½-2½.

Brentwood "got stuffed", but apparently it could have been worse.

Report by John White

Having exchanged team lists, it was clear that with the exception of board 1 (where any possible result was equally likely), Barking held a significant grading advantage on the remaining boards.

Barking took an early 2-0 lead on account of quick wins on boards 4 and 5 but Thurrock fought back to leave themselves only a point behind - their win on board 6 definitely not being in my script.

As the Barking captain, at half-time I was slightly worried as the Barking board 2 had been in serious danger of losing and the scores would have been reversed had this happened.

However, normal service was resumed in round 2 and Barking won by a more convincing margin.

Semi-Finals

Comment by Ian Hunnable

Writtle have reached the Final of the Rapidplay Knockout with a board count win away to Wanstead. Matches between Writtle and Wanstead are always close and this one was no exception. The teams shared one round each, by the same score, but Writtle won on board count.

The first round was notable for all the wins being with black, except Board 6 which was drawn. Since Wanstead were White on odds, this gave Writtle a narrow first round lead.

In the second round, Wanstead allowed Writtle only one win, but won only two themselves. This levelled the scores, but the fact that Wanstead's wins came on the bottom two boards, spelled a board count win to Writtle.

Congratulations to Writtle who await the winners of Ilford v Barking.

Report by John White

An exchange of team lists revealed that Barking had a grading advantage on all boards except board 1.  However, the grades were close enough that if Barking did not perform to their best, Ilford could emerge as victors.

Barking took a 5-1 lead in Round 1 with Ilford managing to claw back a point on board 6 but it still meant Ilford had a hard task ahead of them if they were to turn things around as Barking only needed a single point from the top 5 boards.

In round 2, by the time Ilford managed to pull back points with wins on boards 4 and 5, Barking had scored more than enough points elsewhere. The last game to finish was on board 1 and Barking somehow managed to win this to deny Ilford the consolation of winning round 2.

So Barking play Writtle in the Final.

Final

Report by John White

Before this match, none of the Barking squad remember beating Writtle in a match when the result affected the tournament result!

The Barking captain, having won his game, was pleased to see that his team had secured a clear lead at half-time.

In Round 2, board 5 was an early draw. The Barking captain on board 3, forced his Writtle counterpart to take a draw by perpetual check. This meant that if the scores were tied, Barking were almost guaranteed to win on board count.

Not long after, Ray Purse got his revenge when his strong king-side pressure led to a winning rook sacrifice.  With the match decided, Bill Stirling drew and this meant Barking would no longer need to rely on a tie-break.

Jeff Goldberg was a pawn up but over 12 minutes behind on the clock at one point but had enough time to win. David Sands also managed to do the double against strong opposition.

Essex Chess Association

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