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Round 1 report by Peter
Walker:
The first fixtures of the ECA Weekend League saw something of an upset as Barking were beaten by Shelwick, perhaps some surprise that Chelmsford beat Ilford so comprehensively, but definitely a form result as Writtle thumped Maldon, who were struggling to field all 6 and then relied upon Klaus Fischer, who sportingly stood in as a reserve.
Goldberg (W) v Pearse was the last game to finish and was agreed drawn when Black's R, B & 7P were held up by White's 2R & 4 P.
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Round 2 report by John Philpott
The second round of the Essex weekend league, held at Upminster on 30 January 2005, provided a fascinating afternoon's chess, and appropriately on FA Cup weekend turned out to be the day of the underdog. Chelmsford, with an average grading disadvantage of 15 points per board, produced a very convincing 4½-1½ scorline against Barking. Shelwick, with an average grading disadvantage of 20 points per board fought back from 3-1 down to tie with Writtle, and would have won the match had David Millward found the best continuation in a position where both players had passed pawns on the 7th rank. Three of the Maldon team failed to arrive, and although the club shaded the games actually played, Jef Page's win was sufficient to ensure victory for Ilford.
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Round
4 report
by John Philpott
Round 4 of the Weekend League saw much decisive chess,
with only three draws in the course of the afternoon. Writtle secured a clean sweep
against Ilford to go top of the table (although Jef Page should have held the
draw against Ivan Myall), while only Kevin Cook's draw spared Maldon a similar
fate against Barking, who picked up their first match point of the campaign. In
the key match of the round, Shelwick caught up to 2½-2½ in the encounter
with previous leaders Chelmsford, but in the final game Arthur McCormick did not
succeed in converting his extra pawn in the ending.
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