Defending ECF U2050 Champions 2022-23.
Team Captain: Michael Spurr; Deputy Captain James Robinson
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Team fixtures
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Start |
| Sat 14th Oct 2023 | Kent | 8-8 | Essex | 12:15 |
| Sat 28th Oct 2023 | Surrey | 8½-7½ | Essex | 14:00 |
| Sat 25th Nov 2023 | Essex | 11-5 | Middx | 13:30 |
| Sat 27th Jan 2024 | Essex | 9-7 | Surrey | 13:30 |
| Sat 17th Feb 2024 | Middx | 7½-8½ | Essex | 14:00 |
| Sat 2nd Mar 2024 | Essex | 11-5 | Kent | 13:30 |
Match cards
| U2050 @ 02 Mar 2024 | P | W | D | L | Pts | % |
| Steve Rix 1988 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 83.33 |
| Philip Staniland 1867 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4½ | 75.00 |
| Ian Hunnable 1913 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4½ | 75.00 |
| Ivan Myall 1996 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 66.67 |
| Colin Ramage 1927 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3½ | 70.00 |
| Alexandr Pereslavtsev 1722 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 75.00 |
| Neville Twitchell 1973 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 50.00 |
| Malcolm Kingsley 1850 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 50.00 |
| Paul Williamson 2020 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2½ | 62.50 |
| Peter Jaszkiwskyj 2002 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2½ | 50.00 |
| Robbie Staff 1897 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 100.00 |
| Michael Spurr 1857 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 66.67 |
| Ian Reynolds 1898 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50.00 |
| Edgar Wilson 1979 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50.00 |
| Robert Stern 1968 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1½ | 75.00 |
| John Moore 1986 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1½ | 75.00 |
| Ruqayyah Rida 2049 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1½ | 75.00 |
| George Horan 1879 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1½ | 50.00 |
| Raul Ghose 1935 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Paul Kenning 1808 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 |
| Gavin Hughes 1962 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 33.33 |
| Martin McCall 1958 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 20.00 |
| Rafael Couto Cabral 1735 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 50.00 |
| James Robinson 1860 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 25.00 |
| Salim Kriman 2000 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 25.00 |
| Davi Afonso Diniz 1746 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Rajyeshwar Ramesh Mathompat 1704 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Coote 2003 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Default | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 29 players | 96 | 35 | 40 | 21 | 55 | 57.29% |
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 14 October 2023, at St Mary Cray
| Kent | v | Essex | |
| 1 | Johnson, Jim A 2045 (2043) (W) | 1-0 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 2002 (2002) (B) |
| 2 | Hartley, Luke 2017 (2017) | 1-0 | Kriman, Salim 2000 (2000) |
| 3 | Keenan, Brendan 1995 (1995) | ½-½ | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (1998) |
| 4 | Tucker, David S 1979 (1979) | ½-½ | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (1996) |
| 5 | Clear, David E 1958 (1960) | ½-½ | Moore, John C 1986 (1986) |
| 6 | Allen, John P 1935 (1935) | 1-0 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1982) |
| 7 | Gluckman, Tim 1917 (1920) | ½-½ | McCall, Martin 1972 (1983) |
| 8 | Stanchev, Stoyko 1917 (1917) | 0-1 | Horan, George 1964 (1961) |
| 9 | Wigbout, Rod 1894 (1896) | ½-½ | Ramage, Colin R 1927 (1926) |
| 10 | Batchelor, Roy 1880 (1874) | 0-1 | Pereslavtsev, Alexandr 1923 (1911) |
| 11 | Sands, Alan VH 1825 (2034) | ½-½ | Reynolds, D Ian W 1898 (1898) |
| 12 | Lane, Robert E 1803 (1799) | ½-½ | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1887) |
| 13 | Swiatkowski, Aram 1781 (1792) | 0-1 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1886) |
| 14 | Bernard, Chris PJ 1790 (1790) | ½-½ | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1883) |
| 15 | Rutland, Paul C 1774 (1767) | ½-½ | Spurr, Michael 1873 (1873) |
| 16 | Bishop, Geoffrey L 1699 (1646) | ½-½ | Kenning, Paul H 1808 (1832) |
| Average: 1889 | 8-8 | Average: 1935 |
Report by Michael Spurr
My first match as captain ended as a battling 8-8 draw away to Kent. Unfortunately, this ended the U2050 winning run, but a draw was probably a fair result for the match.
From my point of view, things started well with a full team available and all present and correct at St Mary Cray. Essex took the lead, with young Alexandr on board 10 continuing his excellent form for the U2050. Draws followed on boards 9, 12 and 5, before Kent drew level with a win on top board. After two further draws on 16 and 7, another of our younger players, Sean Horan, took Essex back into the lead on board 8. Malcolm won on board 13 to give Essex a two point lead. Several more draws followed until only three games were left on boards 2, 6 and 14.
Salim on board 2 looked to have an advantage, Neville was down on board 6 and Phillip’s position on board 14 seemed fairly even. Neville’s loss was soon confirmed – Essex 1 up. Unfortunately, Salim lost his way in time trouble and also lost – match all square. Despite a valiant effort to win his game, and with little time left, Philip eventually agreed a draw with the Kent captain. Honours even!
In the end, the Kent rating advantage on top boards was cancelled out by the Essex strength in depth on lower boards. Everyone played in good spirits, allowing me to only stress about the final result! My thanks to the entire team, including Ben Harte who ended up not needing to play.
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 28 October 2023, at Cheam
| Surrey | v | Essex | |
| 1 | Heppell, Ian N 1999 (1991) (W) | ½-½ | Kriman, Salim 2000 (1988) (B) |
| 2 | Shepley, Julien M 1964 (1972) | 0-1 | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (1998) |
| 3 | Stimpson, Philip M 1960 (1920) | ½-½ | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (1996) |
| 4 | Collins, Anthony S 1942 (1933) | 0-1 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1947) |
| 5 | Rydahl, Johan 1923 (1932) | ½-½ | Stern, Robert C 1968 (1986) |
| 6 | Cullen, Anthony P 1900 (1737) | ½-½ | McCall, Martin 1972 (1982) |
| 7 | Edwards, Nicholas L 1872 (1900) | 1-0 | Hughes, Gavin James 1962 (1962) |
| 8 | Odunaiya, Victor 1866 (1866) | 1-0 | Horan, George 1964 (1978) |
| 9 | Eckert, Jonathan M 1837 (1828) | 0-1 | Reynolds, D Ian W 1898 (1895) |
| 10 | Fenwick, Hugh F 1811 (1830) | ½-½ | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1875) |
| 11 | Morrison, Joseph 1828 (1828) | 1-0 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1899) |
| 12 | Boughen, Andrew 1823 (1823) | 0-1 | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1873) |
| 13 | Carpenter, Stephen CD 1822 (1807) | ½-½ | Robinson, James M 1860 (1869) |
| 14 | Fox, James 1778 (1771) | 1-0 | Diniz Afonso, Davi 1746 (1735) |
| 15 | Venkatesh, Anuj V 1755 (1826) | ½-½ | Couto Cabral, Rafael 1735 (1735) |
| 16 | Welling, Zac 1698 (1744) | 1-0 | Mathompat, Rajyeshwar Ramesh 1704 (1771) |
| Average: 1862 | 8½-7½ | Average: 1901 |
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 25 November 2023, at Wanstead
| Essex | v | Middx | |
| 1 | Williamson, Paul L 2020 (2019) (W) | ½-½ | Mackenzie, Colin 2045 (2048) (B) |
| 2 | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (1980) | 1-0 | Fulton, Anthony R 2044 (2044) |
| 3 | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (2012) | ½-½ | Calvert, D Ian 2025 (2011) |
| 4 | Stern, Robert C 1968 (1956) | 1-0 | Coles, Steven F 2016 (1996) |
| 5 | Wilson, Edgar 1979 (2003) | 1-0 | Rubeck, Jonathan 1965 (1994) |
| 6 | McCall, Martin 1972 (1975) | 0-1 | Hayler, Andrew 1964 (1970) |
| 7 | Horan, George 1964 (1969) | ½-½ | Fleming, Liam 1912 (1887) |
| 8 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1966) | ½-½ | Healeas, Simon 1911 (1910) |
| 9 | Hughes, Gavin James 1962 (1952) | ½-½ | Breed, Greg J 1893 (1890) |
| 10 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 2002 (1961) | 1-0 | Tello, Yasser 1871 (1788) |
| 11 | Pereslavtsev, Alexandr 1923 (1994) | 1-0 | Kay, Jonathan 1856 (1847) |
| 12 | Ramage, Colin R 1927 (1928) | ½-½ | McGuinness, Andrew 1853 (1865) |
| 13 | Reynolds, D Ian W 1898 (1904) | ½-½ | Kennelly, Paul 1848 (1825) |
| 14 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1887) | ½-½ | Bryant, Harry 1806 (1935) |
| 15 | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1882) | 1-0 | Hayali, Laith 1796 (1804) |
| 16 | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1893) | 1-0 | Fincham, Leon HJ 1788 (1781) |
| Average: 1951 | 11-5 | Average: 1913 |
After a draw and the narrowest of losses, away to Kent and Surrey respectively, in our previous two matches, skip Michael was keen to get as strong a team as possible for Essex’ first home match, against Middlesex. He was not disappointed, with one of the strongest Essex U2050 teams on record! And even had the luxury of several reserves (no room on the team for the skip or his deputy!) and could even accommodate an unavoidable withdrawal on Friday evening.
Report by Michael Spurr
At the start of the match, a strong Middlesex team had the rating advantage on top boards, but even here Essex outscored the visitors by 3-1 without defeat and the Essex strength in depth was clear across the 16 boards and proven as the match went on.
Paul started with a draw on top board, followed by Ian and Gavin on 13 and 9. The floodgates were opened by Edgar, who won with a nice mating attack, closely followed by an almost customary win for young Aleksandr. Steve was next to win on 2, with an endgame tactic that I will be sure to remember! From then on, the wins came regularly, with Robert having the honour of taking us to 9 points and securing the match win. Congratulations to Peter, Phillip and Ian for also winning and ensuring the largest winning margin against Middlesex in recent memory! This result ends the year on an excellent note and sets things up nicely for the remaining SCCU matches in 2024.
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 27 January 2024, at Wanstead
| Essex | v | Surrey | |
| 1 | Rida, Ruqayyah 2049 (2046) | ½-½ | Heppell, Ian N 1999 (1990) |
| 2 | Williamson, Paul L 2020 (2004) | ½-½ | Hinton, Jonathan 1963 (1985) |
| 3 | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (2011) | 1d0 | Shepley, Julien M 1964 (1977) |
| 4 | Wilson, Edgar 1979 (1984) | 0-1 | Marsden, Rupert 1823 (1937) |
| 5 | Pereslavtsev, Alexandr 1923 (2034) | 1-0 | Stimpson, Philip M 1960 (1946) |
| 6 | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (2012) | ½-½ | Odunaiya, Victor 1866 (1878) |
| 7 | Moore, John C 1986 (1986) | 1-0 | George, Olufemi 1858 (1885) |
| 8 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 2002 (1954) | 0-1 | Kilambi, Venkata Ananth Akshay 1824 (1844) |
| 9 | McCall, Martin 1972 (1962) | 0-1 | Jones, David 1880 (1861) |
| 10 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1975) | 1-0 | Welling, Zac 1698 (1880) |
| 11 | Ramage, Colin R 1927 (1936) | 1-0 | Venkatesh, Anuj V 1755 (1814) |
| 12 | Reynolds, D Ian W 1898 (1899) | 0-1 | Sefton, Adam 1803 (1814) |
| 13 | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1899) | ½-½ | Alcock, Graham P 1791 (1782) |
| 14 | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1872) | 1-0 | Eckert, Jonathan M 1837 (1782) |
| 15 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1881) | ½-½ | Fox, James 1778 (1764) |
| 16 | Kenning, Paul H 1808 (1837) | ½-½ | Polanyk, John 1769 (1749) |
| Average: 1948 | 9-7 | Average: 1848 |
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 27 January 2023, at Childs Hill
| Middx | v | Essex | |
| 1 | Sivanandan, Bodhana 2000 (2066) | 0-1 | Rida, Ruqayyah 2049 (2046) |
| 2 | Mackenzie, Colin 2045 (2051) | 1-0 | Pereslavtsev, Alexandr 1923 (2118) |
| 3 | Fulton, Anthony R 2044 (2028) | ½-½ | Williamson, Paul L 2020 (2011) |
| 4 | Coles, Steven F 2016 (2018) | 1-0 | Coote, Trevor D 2003 (2011) |
| 5 | Brixel, Christof 1992 (2018) | 0-1 | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (2019) |
| 6 | Calvert, D Ian 2025 (1993) | ½-½ | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (1997) |
| 7 | Chan, Nevil 1999 (1982) | ½-½ | Wilson, Edgar 1979 (1952) |
| 8 | Hayler, Andrew 1964 (1975) | 1-0 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1962) |
| 9 | Rubeck, Jonathan 1965 (1952) | 0-1 | Ramage, Colin R 1927 (1929) |
| 10 | Cowan, Xavier 1960 (1926) | 0-1 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 2002 (1944) |
| 11 | Breed, Greg J 1893 (1914) | 0-1 | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1907) |
| 12 | Fleming, Liam 1912 (1877) | 0-1 | Spurr, Michael 1873 (1884) |
| 13 | Sheard, Jack 1871 (1863) | 0-1 | Staff, Robbie 1897 (1881) |
| 14 | Kay, Jonathan 1856 (1822) | 1-0 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1867) |
| 15 | Hayali, Laith 1796 (1828) | 1-0 | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1859) |
| 16 | Fincham, Leon HJ 1788 (1753) | 1d0 | Default 0000 () |
| 7½-8½ |
Report by Michael Spurr
On paper, there was little to choose between the teams and this was proven as the match progressed. Unfortunately, travel issues contributed to a number of late arrivals for both teams and an early default for Essex. However, on his debut, Robbie Staff brought Essex level with an excellent win in a highly tactical game. There followed a middle order blitz from Essex to take a 3 point lead at the half-way point, with wins from Colin, Peter, Ian and me in quick succession.
Several of the games still in play were not looking favourable to Essex and Middlesex gradually chipped away at the lead. A nice endgame from Steve and a fighting draw from Edgar took us to 7½ points, holding a 1 point lead with the top two boards still in play (and down to the final minutes). On board 2, the Middlesex player took the point in a time scramble to leave the match all square with one game remaining on board 1. Despite playing on increments and with both players promoting to a queen, Ruquayyah was able to create a successful mating attack against her very young and highly talented opponent.
So, Essex won the match by the narrowest of margins!
Winning games plus Neville’s interesting loss, below. (Still hoping to get the other win.)
Games
SCCU U2050
Played Saturday 2 March 2024, at Wanstead
| Essex | v | Kent | |
| 1 | Rix, Steven JL 1988 (2030) | 1-0 | Hartley, Luke 2017 (2043) |
| 2 | Williamson, Paul L 2020 (1993) | 1-0 | Clear, David E 1958 (1971) |
| 3 | Myall, Ivan J 1996 (1992) | 1-0 | Sands, Alan VH 1965 (1965) |
| 4 | Hughes, Gavin James 1962 (1971) | ½-½ | Keenan, Brendan 1995 (1960) |
| 5 | Wilson, Edgar 1979 (1954) | ½-½ | Tucker, David S 1979 (1950) |
| 6 | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 2002 (1954) | ½-½ | Spanton, Tim R 1852 (1910) |
| 7 | Ghose, Rahul 1935 (1948) | 1-0 | Allen, John P 1935 (1917) |
| 8 | McCall, Martin 1972 (1943) | 0-1 | Anstead, Jerry 1911 (1895) |
| 9 | Ramage, Colin R 1927 (1931) | ½-½ | Wigbout, Rod 1894 (1892) |
| 10 | Twitchell, Neville H 1973 (1931) | ½-½ | Batchelor, Roy 1880 (1865) |
| 11 | Hunnable, Ian D 1889 (1907) | 1-0 | Gluckman, Tim 1917 (1865) |
| 12 | Spurr, Michael 1873 (1894) | ½-½ | Jacob, Sydney J 1905 (1857) |
| 13 | Staff, Robbie 1897 (1877) | 1-0 | Heard, Andrew H 1851 (1848) |
| 14 | Robinson, James M 1860 (1865) | 0-1 | Swiatkowski, Aram 1781 (1814) |
| 15 | Staniland, Philip 1867 (1860) | 1-0 | Rutland, Paul C 1774 (1772) |
| 16 | Kingsley, Malcolm P 1886 (1856) | 1-0 | Bishop, Geoffrey L 1699 (1694) |
| Average: 1940 | 11-5 | Average: 1895 |
Rport by Michael Spurr
What a way to end the SCCU U2050 group stage!
The match started and ended with an Essex loss, but in between we powered to a convincing victory over Kent. Prior to the match, Kent needed a win to ensure qualification for the ECF finals and overtake Essex to win the SCCU U2050 championship. However, as the match progressed this looked increasingly unlikely, due to a number of excellent performances from the Essex team. Both teams were missing players due to tournaments elsewhere and on the exchange of team sheets, Essex held a rating advantage on every board apart from 1. This was particularly apparent over the bottom eight boards.
After an early loss for James on 14, Robbie quickly brought Essex level. Soon after, wins for Ian (whose opponent had a “touched piece” tragedy) and Philip took Essex into a 3-1 lead. A win for Rahul on his return to the Essex U2050 team and a number of draws in the middle order took Essex to 6 points – three ahead and in sight of victory. On board 3, Ivan had been a piece up for a long time and eventually his opponent gave up – 7-3 to Essex. After a dodgy response to a Staunton Gambit, I was two pawns down in an opposite-coloured bishops endgame, but managed to turn things around and gain a draw. At this point, the remaining games looked to be equal or advantage Essex, so victory only seemed a matter of time.
Fittingly, it was Steve on board 1, continuing his excellent form for the U2050 team, who gave Essex the unassailable 8½ points.
There were still four games left and a draw for Gavin on 4, followed by wins for Malcolm and Paul stretched the Essex lead to 11-4. Finally, Martin on 8 was unlucky to lose in a time scramble.
So, a resounding win for Essex that seals the SCCU U2050 title for the 3rd year in a row and qualification to the ECF County Finals! We finished on 9 points (+4 =1 -1), three ahead of Surrey who beat Middlesex in their final match to jump into 2nd place and also qualify for the finals. I must admit that after a difficult start (draw away to Kent and loss away to Surrey), I thought that simply qualifying for the ECF final stages would be a challenge. To win four straight matches and retain the SCCU U2050 title was definitely beyond expectation!