ECF U2050 SF: Essex 6-10 Cleveland
At Newark (Notts) A first meeting between Essex and Cleveland. Exchange of team lists revealed that Essex had an advantage of an average 105 points a board. But Essex, with a hat-trick of Championships at this level, were in for a shock. There is a cogent theory that says that ratings of northern players represent a strong player than than the same rating of players in the south: a north/south divide. Nonetheless, Essex seemed to be doing well in a number of games, but one by one eight of them turned in favour of Cleveland who built a convincing 10-6 victory. Congratulations to Cleveland and best wishes for the final where they will meet Greater Manchester.
ECF U1450 SF: Staffs 3-9 Essex
At Kettering (Northants) Essex U1450, against the midland champions, had the complete opposite of the experience of the U2050 team. Staffs had a small advantage of an average 37 points a board, which is not much at all. Essex continued their form from the previous match against Greater Manchester and it was one-way traffic as Essex won by a landslide with a six point winning margin; 9-3.
Links: U2050 page | U1450 page | Aggregate stats | ECF LMS County Championships