Essex Open Team
- Details
- Created on Monday, 03 October 2011 17:50
- Written by Chesster
17 Mar Herts 6-10 Kent.
3 Mar Essex beat Champions Surrey by 9½-6½, but Ivor describes it as a 'hollow victory' as Surrey had already won with a match to spare and did not field their strongest team. It was a long shot, but had Herts managed two more game points in their match with Middx, Essex would be going to the nationals. They didn't and three teams finished on 3 points behind SCCU Champions, Surrey, but it is Essex who miss out, coming 4th on tie-break. Sussex and Middx go through with Surrey.
Other matches: Kent 11½-4½ Sussex; Middx 10-6 Herts.
However, all is not lost! Essex qualify for the Minor Counties competition and will receive a home fixture against a the 2nd placed team from the Midland Counties: MCCU Minor.
4 Feb The loss to Middlesex by 9½-6½ now requires Essex to beat first-placed Surrey in the last match in order to retain any chance of qualification - a tall order as Surrey have a 100% score with just the one match to go. Even then, qualification looks unlikely, although still possible if Herts were to at least draw with Middx. Review Ivor's analysis by clicking on the "Ivor" tab.
Other matches:
Sussex 12-4 Herts
Surrey 10-6 Kent
31 Jan Thanks to Ivor for supplying four games from the Open team's current campaign, one from the Sussex match and three from Kent. Find them in the game board below - use the dropdown above the board to select a game. You can also find Ivor's report on the season to date on the next tab.
7 Jan Excellent result to start the New Year as Essex beat Kent by 9½-6½ at Dartford.
Other matches: Herts 7-9 Surrey, Sussex 9-7 Middx.
5 Nov Essex bounced back from the traumatic reversal to Sussex with a resounding victory 11½-4½ at home to Herts.
In the other games: Middx 9½-6½ Kent; Surrey 13-3 Sussex.
8 Oct The Essex Open team, with a weakened side, came a cropper away to Sussex; just one win, from David Sands on top board, but eight losses, spelt a disastrous 11½-4½ defeat to start the campaign. Ivor had trouble assembling a team, with a large number of players unavailable and 10 of the 16 who took the field being graded under 180.
Sussex had no such problems and outgraded Essex by 10-15 points a board from Board 5 downwards.
SCCU Open Championship 2011-2012
On October 8th the Essex Open team travelled to Hassocks and, outgraded by an average of some 10 points a board, lost heavily to Sussex. However, in a remarkable turnaround in November at Wanstead House and fielding an impressively strong team, Herts were well beaten.
With three very strong teams (Kent, Middlesex and Kent) still to play, it was quite apparent that qualification for the national stages, by finishing in the top three, would be far from easy. These three counties are all capable of fielding teams with an average grade of 200+, something that we just cannot hope to achieve.
The match away to Kent took place on January 7th and despite being outgraded, albeit by a single point (192 to 193), we secured an outstanding victory that prompted the following email from Owen Phillips, Match Captain of the Surrey team (both current SCCU and National Champions).
Well done on the Essex win yesterday. Fascinating Group! Scarily strong Zone at present!
With two home matches to come despite Surrey being National Champions I reckon we must now consider you marginal favourites for the Zone.
Can that really be true, with such difficult matches to come: against Middlesex (February 4th) and Surrey (March 3rd)? To what extent does home advantage help?
Click here to see my report with some surprising statistics.
Ivor Smith
28 Jan 2011
|
Played 8th October 2011, at Hassocks |
|
Sussex |
v |
Essex |
|
Luke Rutherford 211 (W) |
0-1 |
David Sands 213 (B) |
|
Feliks Kwiatkowski 205 |
½-½ |
John Hodgson 200 |
|
Mark Broom 196 |
1-0 |
Tim Hebbes 190 |
|
Peter Kemp 191 |
1-0 |
Ivan Myall 188 |
|
Ken Norman 191 |
1-0 |
David Spearman 181 |
|
Peter Farr 191 |
½-½ |
Larry Marden 180 |
|
Richard Almond 188 |
1-0 |
Ian Reynolds 179 |
|
Martin Costley 187 |
1-0 |
Neville Twitchell 173 |
|
Geoffrey James 186 |
½-½ |
Chris Hampton 172 |
|
Bernard Cafferty 184 |
1-0 |
Ivor Smith 170 |
|
Robert Elliston 180 |
½-½ |
Ian Hunnable 170 |
|
David Roberts 180 |
½-½ |
Howard Grist 170 |
|
Jaimie Wilson 179 |
½-½ |
Mark Murrell 168 |
|
Tim Spanton 178 |
1-0 |
David Brock 166 |
|
Brian Donnelly 177 |
½-½ |
David Millward 164 |
|
Paul Batchelor 175 |
1-0 |
Colin Ramage 160 |
|
|
11½-4½ |
|
Pre-match comments by Ivor Smith: "Despite the fact that we have 21 players graded 180+ who are eligible and indeed inerested in playing for the County, it is particularly disappointing that so many are not available for this particular match. It goes without saying that without the support of so many of our U180s we would have been significantly weaker, if not actually conceding defaults. This is likely to be a tough match for many of our players and we can only hope that the various reasons that have led to so many absences will also have affected Sussex."
Unfortunately, no such luck! Sussex had very few missing and, from Board 5 downwards, Essex were at a grading disadvantage of 10-15 points a board. Having said that, two of the three draws secured to date were with the Black pieces, with Ian Reynolds the only casualty.
Update from Roving Reporter: "When I left Hassocks, Sussex had secured a winning lead with Neville and Ivan still in play."
Later, from Dave Millward: "Essex lost the last two games." Ouch.
|
Played 05 Nov 2011, at Wanstead |
|
Essex |
v |
Herts |
|
Richard Pert 229 |
½–½ |
Simon Knott 216 |
|
Lawrence Trent 219 |
1–0 |
Venkat Tiruchirapalli 215 |
|
David Sands 213 |
1–0 |
Steve Swanson 207 |
|
John Hodgson 200 |
½–½ |
Paul Byway 198 |
|
Neil Carr 190e |
1–0 |
Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell 187 |
|
Kevin White 194 |
½–½ |
Tarisai Savanhu 180 |
|
Jeff Goldberg 192 |
0–1 |
Mike Boyce 178 |
|
Tim Hebbes 190 |
½–½ |
Steve Law 177 |
|
Ivan Myall 188 |
1–0 |
Andy Tinker 175 |
|
Philip Gregory 182 |
1–0 |
Tim Thurstan 173 |
|
Robin Slade 182 |
½–½ |
Peter Rice 172 |
|
David Spearman 181 |
½–½ |
Barry Morris 170 |
|
Larry Marden 180 |
½–½ |
Chris Majer 168 |
|
Ian Reynolds 179 |
1–0 |
Kai Jaeger 162 |
|
John Moore 174 |
1–0 |
Ian Mutton 155 |
|
Chris Hampton 172 |
1–0 |
John Marshall 154 |
|
|
11½–4½ |
|
|
Played 07 Jan 2012, at Dartford |
|
Kent |
v |
Essex |
|
Neil McDonald 233 |
½–½ |
Lawrence Trent 219 |
|
Martin Taylor 217 |
½–½ |
David Sands 213 |
|
Alan Hanreck 211 |
0–1 |
David Coleman 207 |
|
Paul Talsma 206 |
½–½ |
John Hodgson 200 |
|
Tony Stebbings 195 |
1–0 |
George O'Toole 198 |
|
Chris Howell 198 |
0–1 |
Neil Carr 190e |
|
Andrew Mayhew 189 |
0–1 |
Kevin White 194 |
|
Ben Spink 187 |
½–½ |
Jeff Goldberg 192 |
|
John Sugden 187 |
½–½ |
Tim Hebbes 190 |
|
John Briggs 185 |
1–0 |
Ivan Myall 188 |
|
Laurence Ball 183 |
0–1 |
Philip Gregory 182 |
|
Stuart Williams 183 |
0–1 |
David Spearman 181 |
|
David Tucker 183 |
½–½ |
Larry Marden 180 |
|
Gordon Botley 180 |
½–½ |
John White 180 |
|
Mark Robertson 178 |
0–1 |
Ian Reynolds 179 |
|
Rohan Shiatis 169 |
1–0 |
Chris Hampton 172 |
|
6½–9½ |
Comment by Match Captain, Ivor Smith:
"A very encouraging result that significantly increases our chance of qualifying for the English Counties. Not only that but with performances like this and two home matches remaining the SCCU title itself remains a distinct possibility."
|
Played 04 Feb 2012, at Wanstead |
|
Essex |
v |
Middx |
|
Lawrence Trent 220 |
½–½ |
Richard Bates 222 |
|
David Coleman 205 |
½–½ |
Colin Crouch 222 |
|
Jeff Goldberg 194 |
0–1 |
Robert Eames 209 |
|
Tim Hebbes 190 |
½–½ |
Andrew Stone 199 |
|
Kevin White 187 |
0–1 |
Richard McMichael 194 |
|
Ivan Myall 184 |
0–1 |
Jochen Wittmann 193 |
|
Andrew Brett 190 |
½–½ |
Carsten Pedersen 195 |
|
Philip Gregory 186 |
½–½ |
Simon Spivack 194 |
|
John Moore 180 |
½–½ |
Paul McKeown 182 |
|
Justin Baptie 180 |
½–½ |
Costas Karayiannis 180 |
|
David Spearman 176 |
1–0 |
Colin Mackenzie 183 |
|
Larry Marden 171 |
½–½ |
Nevil Chan 193 |
|
John White 177 |
½–½ |
Peter Ackley 181 |
|
Ian Reynolds 163 |
0–1 |
Mark Davey 181 |
|
Jim Howson 174 |
0–1 |
George Dickson 175 |
|
David Millward 168 |
1–0 |
Ian Calvert 165 |
|
6½–9½ |
|
Played 03 Mar 2012, at Wanstead |
|
Essex |
v |
Surrey |
|
Lawrence Trent 220 |
½-½ |
Marcus Osborne 205 |
|
Neil Carr 206e |
1-0 |
Keith Richardson 190 |
|
David Sands 214 |
½-½ |
Graham Keane 192 |
|
Jeff Goldberg 194 |
½-½ |
John Foley 191 |
|
Tim Hebbes 190 |
1-0 |
Phil Stimpson 182 |
|
Andrew Brett 190 |
0-1 |
Dan Rosen 179 |
|
Kevin White 187 |
1-0 |
Julien Shepley 178 |
|
Philip Gregory 186 |
0-1 |
Dan Staples 177 |
|
Ivan Myall 184 |
½-½ |
Owen Phillips 161 |
|
John Moore 180 |
1-0 |
Paul Barasi 166 |
|
David Spearman 176 |
0-1 |
Francis Fields 162 |
|
Larry Marden 171 |
½-½ |
Trevor Jones 168 |
|
John White 177 |
½-½ |
Graham Wallis 160 |
|
Terry Whitton 176 |
1-0 |
John Moore 140 |
|
Jim Howson 174 |
½-½ |
Nick Driver 140 |
|
David Millward 168 |
1-0 |
Mike Gunn 129 |
|
9½-6½ |
Report by Ivor Smith
With a significant grading advantage, particularly on the bottom three boards, it was perhaps not surprising that the first result was on board 14 where Terry Whitton scored a convincing win in under two hours. Within half an hour our lead was extended to 3-1 with solid draws with the black pieces for John White and David Sands and a win on board 16 for David Millward.
It was soon after 4 p.m. that the lead was extended to 4-1 when Tim Hebbes was able to prove that his opponent's piece sacrifice was unsound. Draws for Jeff Goldberg, Jim Howson and Ivan Myall meant that with half the games already finished Surrey had yet to win a game. At around about 4.30 p.m. we suffered our first real setback when Andrew Brett lost but wins for John Moore and Neil Carr meant that we needed just one more point for victory. At 4.45 the score reached 8-4 when Lawrence Trent on board 1 drew after his opponent successfully claimed three-fold repetition. However the position on the board was probably drawn in any case.Shortly after this the match was secured as Kevin White won, taking the score to 9-4.
After this, things took a decided turn for the worse as we secured just a further half a point from the last three games to finish. Larry Marden's draw at 5 p.m. was followed by defeats for David Spearman and Philip Gregory with an early finish to the match at 5.25 p.m.
|
Open Stats |
PAGE DATE: 4-Mar-2012 |
||||||||||
|
Opponents |
Result |
Score |
|
Player |
P |
W |
D |
L |
Pts |
% |
Perf. |
|
Sussex |
Lost |
4½-11½ |
Neil Carr 206e |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
100.00 |
242 |
|
|
Herts |
Won |
11½-4½ |
David Sands 214 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
75.00 |
232 |
|
|
Kent |
Won |
9½-6½ |
John Moore 180 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2½ |
83.33 |
201 |
|
|
Middx |
Lost |
6½-9½ |
David Millward 168 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2½ |
83.33 |
190 |
|
|
Surrey |
Won |
9½-6½ |
Philip Gregory 186 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2½ |
62.50 |
194 |
|
|
|
|
|
Lawrence Trent 220 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2½ |
62.50 |
231 |
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin White 187 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2½ |
62.50 |
198 |
|
|
|
|
|
Larry Marden 171 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
2½ |
50.00 |
181 |
|
|
|
|
|
David Spearman 176 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2½ |
50.00 |
178 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tim Hebbes 190 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2½ |
50.00 |
188 |
|
|
|
|
|
Ian Reynolds 163 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
50.00 |
177 |
|
|
|
|
|
David Coleman 205 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1½ |
75.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
John Hodgson 201 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1½ |
50.00 |
203 |
|
|
|
|
|
Chris Hampton 170 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1½ |
50.00 |
170 |
|
|
|
|
|
John White 177 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1½ |
50.00 |
174 |
|
|
|
|
|
Ivan Myall 184 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1½ |
30.00 |
161 |
|
|
|
|
|
Terry Whitton 176 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
100.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Jeff Goldberg 194 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
25.00 |
166 |
|
|
|
|
|
Mark Murrell 162 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Richard Pert 232 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Robin Slade 191 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Justin Baptie 180 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Ian Hunnable 168 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Howard Grist 173 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
50.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Jim Howson 174 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
½ |
25.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew Brett 190 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
½ |
25.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Ivor Smith 168 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
David Brock 160 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Neville Twitchell 168 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Colin Ramage 160 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
George O'Toole 197 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
- |
|
|
P:5 W:3 D:0 L:2 Unf:0 31 Players |
|||||||||||
SCCU Open Table - Final
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
MP |
GP |
|
1 |
Surrey |
|
13 |
8½ |
6½ |
10 |
9 |
4 |
47 |
|
2 |
Sussex |
3 |
|
9 |
11½ |
4½ |
12 |
3 |
40 |
|
3 |
Middx |
7½ |
7 |
|
9½ |
9½ |
10 |
3 |
43½ |
|
4 |
Essex |
9½ |
4½ |
6½ |
|
9½ |
11½ |
3 |
41½ |
|
5 |
Kent |
6 |
11½ |
6½ |
6½ |
|
10 |
2 |
4½ |
|
6 |
Herts |
7 |
4 |
6 |
4½ |
6 |
|
0 |
27½ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Believe this table at your own risk. While every effort has been made to present this data accurately, in accordance with the SCCU County Match Rules, it is all the Webmaster's own work and he is only human. In the case of any doubt, please defer to the information published by the SCCU, the ultimate arbiter being the County Match Controller. Link: SCCU Website
Herts v Kent, due to have been played 8 Oct, has been rearranged for 17 March 2012.
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