NATIONAL CLUB

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Open U175 U150 U125 U100 Handicap Rapidplay

updated 1.8.01

NATIONAL CLUB 2000-2001

Finals in red. Even the U125 Plate has finally (sort of) emerged. Entries overall were down again, and three wins (or a loss and two wins) has often been enough to secure a title. At least one team has won a title without ever scoring more points than its opponents. The (relative!) scarcity of entries from the north may be something to do with the fact that the NCCU run a Club Championship of their own. On similar lines, we believe, though it may be for teams of four. (See Mike McNaughton's response 22.12.00 in Open Forum.)
Five of the Finals 15th July were held at Wanstead Library, with Ken Groce and Jeff Goldberg as arbiters. Ernst & Young sponsored the venue costs.

OPEN
Eight entries (ten last year).
Round 1 (by 28th January: seeded teams underlined): The Hen and Chickens 1½ 4½ Wood Green; Maidstone 3 3 *Hounslow; Ilford 4 2 Hastings & St Leonards; Mushrooms 1 5 Bedford
Semi-finals (by 6th May): Wood Green 5½ ½ Hounslow; Bedford 3½ 2½ Ilford
Final at Wanstead: Bedford* 3 3 Wood Green
PLATE
Semi-finals Hastings & St Leonards 2 4 Maidstone; Mushrooms* 3 3 The Hen and Chickens
Final at Wanstead: Maidstone 2½ 3½ Mushrooms

OPEN FINAL
	Bedford	15.7.01	Wood Green
1 2 3 4 5 6	Andrew J Ledger 225 David J Ledger 216 Steve C Ledger 196 MD Smith 167 Paul F Habershon 162 Charles E Bullock 156	½ ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 1	Matthew Turner 238 (W) Jonathan Levitt 229 Malcolm Pein 229 Ben Savage 197 Chris Maduekwe 176 A Kikoyo 173
(Wanstead)		3 3
Bedford won on board count.

John Philpott writes:
Wood Green had won the previous four Open titles. With a grading advantage of 20 points per board they looked favourites to make it five in a row, especially when they took a 2½ - ½ lead. However, the fact that the two wins came on boards 5 and 6 meant that Bedford were in with a chance to take the title on board count if they could hit back on the higher boards. That is exactly what happened with Dave Ledger beating Jonathan Levitt and Steve Ledger defeating Malcolm Pein in the last game to finish. This was an extremely good afternoon for the Ledger family as Andrew had earlier drawn with Matthew Turner.

OPEN PLATE FINAL
	Maidstone	15.7.01	Mushrooms
1 2 3 4 5 6	Neil McDonald 229 (B) Cliff R Chandler 213 Ian R Watson 211 Peter M Titmas 166 Alex M Stille 151 Robert E Lane 146	1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ ½	Chris B Baker 220 Tim W Pelling 190 William A Linton 192 Ronald A Harris 189 Rory MR O'Kelly 186 David G Smith 185
(Wanstead)		2½ 3½

The Plate match was similar in some respects to the Open with defending champions Mushrooms taking a two point lead on the lower boards and then seeking to hold onto their lead. However, they were more successful in doing so than Wood Green as although Neil McDonald pulled a point back by winning top board for Maidstone, Mushrooms drew boards 2 and 3 to retain their title.

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MAJOR U175
14 entries (15 last year)
Round 1 (by 21st January): Cosham 1 4 Southampton; Hastings & St Leonards 3 2 The Holt; Kings Head 1 4 Wanstead & Woodford; Leighton Buzzard 2 3 Aylesbury; Maidstone w/o scr Rainham; Milton Keynes 1½ 3½ Warley Quinborne; Rose Forgrove w/o scr Ashfield
Round 2 (by 18th March): Maidstone 1 4 Hastings & St Leonards; Wanstead & Woodford 3½ 1½ Southampton;Warley Quinborne 2½ 2½ *Rose Forgrove; Aylesbury v bye.
Semi-finals (by 20th May) Aylesbury 3½ 1½ Hastings & St Leonards; Rose Forgrove 1½ 3½ Wanstead & Woodford
Final at Wanstead: Aylesbury* 2½ 2½ Wanstead & Woodford
PLATE
Round 1 Leighton Buzzard 3 2 Kings Head; Ashfield 1 4 Milton Keynes. Byes: Cosham, The Holt.
Semi-finals Milton Keynes 3 2 Leighton Buzzard; The Holt* 2½ 2½ Cosham
Final at Wanstead: Milton Keynes 2½ 2½ *The Holt

U175 FINAL
	Aylesbury	15.7.01	Wanstead & Woodford
1 2 3 4 5	William Hughes 168 (W) Brian Shipley 163 Andrew George 167 Andy Hughes 163 Chris Hansell 157	1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 ½ ½	Julian Winkworth 163 Gerry Hayes 173 Larry Marden 169 Terry Whitton 164 George McNally 163
(Wanstead)		2½ 2½
Aylesbury won on board count.

John Philpott:
Wanstead & Woodford went 2-0 up by winning the two boards (2 and 4) where they had the White pieces. Aylesbury hit back on board 3, after which Wanstead needed either a draw on board 1 or a win on board 5 to take the title. Both games went the full distance. Aylesbury eventually broke through to win on board 1, and after an agonising knight and pawn ending their board 5 with seconds left on his clock managed to force the capture of the last Black pawn to ensure a draw and secure the title on tie break.

U175 PLATE FINAL
	The Holt	15.7.01	Milton Keynes
1 2 3 4 5	Ian G Kelly 161 (B) Paul Watson 156 John L Bryant 149 Paul R Selby 143 Danny Glebocki 60	0 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1	Peter Clarke 165 Victor Rumsey 158 PSW Kendall 161 Richard Mahoney 161 Richard Ormesher 150
(Wanstead)		2½ 2½
The Holt won on elimination.

This was the closest of all the Wanstead Finals. The Holt's captain Paul Watson claimed what turned out to be the decisive point in the last game to finish.

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INTERMEDIATE U150
17 entries (24 last year)
Round 1 (by 7th January): Hastings & St Leonards 3 2 Tunbridge Wells; Syston scr w/o Rose Forgrove (Leeds); Alwoodley 3 2 Great Lever; Wood Green II 0 5 Basildon; Metropolitan 3 2 Wood Green I; Thornbury 2½ 2½ *Cosham; Basingstoke 2 3 Southampton; Hammersmith 2 3 Chislehurst; Maidstone bye (originally paired with Rainham, who hadn't entered)
Round 2 (by 18th February) Maidstone 2½ 2½ *Hastings & St Leonards
Round 3 (by 8th April) Basildon 3 2 Metropolitan; Southampton 2 3 Cosham; Rose Forgrove 3 2 Alwoodley; Chislehurst 3 2 Hastings & St Leonards
Semi-finals (by 27th May) Cosham 2 3 Chislehurst; Basildon 2 3 Rose Forgrove
Final Chislehurst 2 3 Rose Forgrove
PLATE
Round 1 Tunbridge Wells w/o scr Wood Green B; Wood Green A 1 4 Hammersmith; Basingstoke scr w/o Thornbury; Great Lever v bye. So in the end there was a match in round 1 after all.
Semi-finals Great Lever 2 3 Thornbury; Tunbridge Wells 1½ 3½ Hammersmith. Thornbury is Bristol, or near as dammit.
Final at Wanstead: Hammersmith 2 3 Thornbury

U150 FINAL
	Chislehurst	15.7.01	Rose Forgrove
1 2 3 4 5	P Rutland 147 (B) D Davis 147 R Cheeseman 142 S Chick 141 G Bishop 133	0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1	C Davies 148 R Velasco 139 G Smith 131 R Letton 131 D Summerland 92
(Church Hall?)		2 3

Result Steve Chick

U150 PLATE FINAL
	Hammersmith	15.7.01	Thornbury
1 2 3 4 5	John H Woolley 149 (B) Philip B Sargeaunt 147 Peter S Morton 142 Alex FM Meynell 141 Peter E Hawran 134	½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½	David Dugdale 144 Ron J Kiff 132 Lynsey Savery 119 James W Nichols 111 Chris Levy 118
(Wanstead)		2 3

John Philpott:
Yet another tight match. The Thornbury player on board 4 overcame a 30 point grading deficit to score the decisive point. Well done to Thornbury who had the longest journey (from the Bristol area) and overcame breaking down on the journey to London.

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UNDER 125
13 entries (20 last year)
Round 1 (by end January): Pontefract 4 1 Rose Forgrove; Grimsby* 2½ 2½ Ashfield; Kings Head 4 1 Linton (Cambs); Aylesbury* 2½ 2½ Basingstoke; Aberystwyth 4 1 Totnes; Whitstable 4 1 Hastings & St Leonards; Tunbridge Wells v bye. (Someone had to have a bye. As it happened, Tunbridge Wells got it because their entry went astray and didn't surface until just before Christmas. This set the Controller wondering how many other entries had gone astray.)
Round 2 (by 8th April) Grimsby 1½ 3½ Pontefract; Aylesbury 3½ 1½ Aberystwyth; Tunbridge Wells* 2½ 2½ Kings Head; Bye Whitstable
Semi-finals (by 3rd June) Whitstable 3 2 Aylesbury; Tunbridge Wells 1½ 3½ Pontefract. Pontefract is in Yorkshire.
Final Whitstable* 2½ 2½ Pontefract
PLATE Round 1 Hastings & St Leonards 2 3 Linton; Ashfield w/o scr Basingstoke; Byes Totnes, Rose Forgrove
Semi-finals Linton (Cambs) v Rose Forgrove (Yorks); Totnes (Devon) v Ashfield (Notts)
Final Linton 3 2 Ashfield. We imagine they won their semi finals.

U125 FINAL
	Whitstable	15.7.01	Pontefract
1 2 3 4 5	Alistair Taylor 123 (W) Neil Lister 120 Tony Hargreaves 119 Malcolm Snashall 118 Dave Shipp 102	1 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½	SA Spencer 115 CJ Terrington 109 M Farley 105 AG Morgan 102 Peter Gray 103
(Syston)		2½ 2½
Whitstable won on board count.

Whitstable thought they'd lost this one. After three draws their board 1, in a totally drawn position, was instructed to decline a draw because board 2 was clearly lost. "Don't worry," Pontefract said. "When we lose, it's always on board count." The Whitstable board 2 duly lost. Board 1 then accidentally left a bishop en prise, and won after his opponent didn't take it. He was quite pleased when they told him about the board-count rule. He thought he'd forced a play-off.

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UNDER 100
9 entries (10 last year)
Round 1 (by 29th January): Hesperides 1 4 Basingstoke; Coulsdon & Purley 2 3 Ashtead; Rotherham Juniors 3½ 1½ St Marys (Cannock); Cowley 1½ 3½ Magdalen College School; South Hams (Kingsbridge) v bye
Round 2 (by 18th March) Basingstoke 1½ 3½ South Hams
Semi-finals (by 20th May) Magdalen College School 2 3 Rotherham Juniors so the holders go out; South Hams 3 2 Ashtead
Final South Hams (Devon) w/o scr Rotherham Juniors. Rotherham could not get transport. (They did suggest a telephone match, but we suspect the Controller wasn't keen.) They were to have played at Long Hanborough, which is a heck of a way from Devon and Rotherham.
PLATE
Semi-finals (by 20th May) Cowley 4½ ½ Coulsdon & Purley; St Marys scr w/o Hesperides
Final Hesperides 1 4 Cowley (played 17.6.01 to avoid a clash with British Land Gigafinal). We don't know where Hesperides are from, but Surrey somewhere.

U100 PLATE FINAL
	Hesperides	17.6.01	Cowley
1 2 3 4 5	Louise Newlands 86 Sunena Patel 77 Joanne Tong 62 Meera Patel Sophie Epperlein	0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1	Daniel Hitchens 87 Claire Morris 99 Naomi Miller 74 Darius Robson 86 Minh Nguyen 89
(Purley)		1 4
Grades are from the half-year corrected list and may not be the same as the ones published in September.

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HANDICAP RAPIDPLAY
11 entries (13 last year)

Grading	Stronger
difference	team needs
6 - 15	4½
16 - 25	5
26 - 35	5½
36 - 45	6
46+	6½

The average grades quoted always seem to be whole numbers. However, the difference is calculated before any rounding is done. The difference is then rounded, and halves go up.

Round 1 Poulton le Fylde (146) 2½ 5½ Bolton (181); Syston w/o scr The People CC (Who?); Basildon (132) *2 2 Bedford (195): only one round played, since Bedford's target of 6½ was already unattainable; Mushrooms (192) 6½ 1½ Cowley (173); Rainham (148) 2 6 Guildford (169); Cardiff Bye.
Round 2 (by 9th April) Bolton scr w/o Mushrooms; Cardiff 8 0 Basildon; Byes Syston, Guildford
Semi-finals (by 21st May) Syston (93) ½ 7½ Guildford (165); Mushrooms (199) 6 2 Cardiff (195)
Final Guildford* (166) 4 4 Mushrooms (199). Details on the Mushrooms website.
PLATE
Semi-finals (by 21st May) Bedford w/o scr Rainham; Cowley (155) 4½ 3½ *Poulton le Fylde (134)
Final Poulton le Fylde (131) 1 7 Bedford (176)

Open U175 U150 U125 U100 Rapidplay home

A pre-season message from Cyril Johnson, Director of Home Chess.
22.10.00
In Season 1997/8, the total prize fund for the National Club Competition was £1200. This year, the total prize fund is £2780, which includes a prize for the best game in any section of £100.
     This 130% increase in cash prizes has resulted in increased interest in the National Club, but this year, because of other circumstances, the entries are a little disappointing¹. Accordingly the deadline for entries has been extended to November 5th, and any further entries should be sent to me. I will accept telephoned, faxed, e-mailed or even posted entries by that date.
     To further encourage entries, I have decided to allow £3 commission from any existing entry in the event if it can persuade any new team or team(s) to enter this year's event. Getting 10 new entries will result in a £30 cash gift for a club.
     May I point out that the U100 section rules have been relaxed slightly, so that a team may use one player graded between 100 and 119 in each match. We find that this often allows schools to use a teacher or parent as a player/driver.
Cyril Johnson cyriljohnson@yahoo.co.uk
105 Central Ave, Syston Leicester LE7 3EG
Tel 0116 260 9012

¹rjh note. They were down last year as well.

We did hear that a National Club controller resigned at the start of the season. Something to do with the BCF not paying his expenses.