Colchester B finish 2nd in Division 2

Colchester B won their last two matches to move ahead of teams from Chelmsford and Maldon and finish in 2nd place in NECL Division 2 (the A team have one match left but the B team's results mean that they are now guaranteed to finish in 1st place).

The team beat Witham B 3.5-0.5 and followed this with a 2.5-15 win against Maldon B - both these results were better than the results obtained by the A team against these teams! Felix Schnell made his Colchester debut in the match against Maldon. In the Maldon B match Phil drew quickly, Svein's opponent claimed a draw by repetition soon after the opening, Felix's game was quite sharp and had plenty of opportunities for both sides to go wrong - eventually finishing in a repetition, Nathan won after a long same-colour bishop endgame.

Date: Apr-2015
NECL Division 2
Brd	Col	COLCHESTER B	Result		MALDON B	Col
1	b	Felix Schnell (e155)	½	½	Tom Winter (143)	w
2	w	Nathan Barnes (152)	1	0	Keith Cook (139)	b
3	b	Svein Kjenner (e139)	½	½	Ian MacLachlan (137)	w
4	w	Phil Daley (123)	½	½	Frank Sealey (103)	b
		(avg=142)	2.5	1.5	(avg=130)

 

Date: Apr-2015
NECL Division 2
Brd	Col	WITHAM B	Result		COLCHESTER B	Col
1	w	Barrie Quinn (119)	0	1	Alex Orava (148)	b
2	b	Barry Mitchell (112)	0	1	Mike Wagstaff (148)	w
3	w	Peter O'Malley (116)	0	1	Svein Kjenner (e139)	b
4	b	John Staplehurst (103)	½	½	Clive Bellinger (138)	w
		(avg=112)	0.5	3.5	(avg=143)

 

Nine matches were played by the B team, with seven wins and two defeats (against the A team and, narrowly, Chelmsford B). The player statistics (by board) are:

 

Board 1 (Total 7/9)
Alex Orava	5.5/6
Felix Schnell	0.5/1
Mike Wagstaff	1/1
Pete Smith	0/1

 

Board 2 (Total 5.5/9)
Nathan Barnes	2/2
Mike Wagstaff	1.5/4
Svein Kjenner	1/1
Martin Harris	1/2

 

Board 3 (Total 6/9)
Mike Wagstaff	1/1
Svein Kjenner	3/4
Clive Bellinger	1/2
Pete Smith	1/1
Brian Remmer	0/1

 

Board 4 (Total 6/9)
Svein Kjenner	1/1
Clive Bellinger	1.5/2
Phil Daley	1.5/2
Martin Harris	0/1
John Duff-Cole	1/2
Mark Johnson	1/1

Colchester win NECL Plate

Colchester A have won the NECL Plate competition, beating Maldon B 3-1 in a replay. Ian and Matt won their games with Mike and Javier drawing. Other players who were part of the team in earlier rounds of the competition were Nathan Barnes, Alex Orava and Martin Harris.

Date: Apr-2015
NECL Plate Final - Replay
Brd	Col	MALDON B	Result		COLCHESTER A	Col
1	b	Dave Pearse (153)	½	½	Javier Ruano Marco (e189)	w
2	w	Tom Winter (143)	0	1	Ian Gooding (183)	b
3	b	Keith Cook (139)	0	1	Matt Stemp (e165)	w
4	w	Ian MacLachlan (137)	½	½	Mike Wagstaff (148)	b
		(avg=143)	1	3	(avg=171)

 

Five matches were played in the knockout competition, with only one game lost out of the 20 played. The player statistics (by board) are:

 

Board 1
Javier Ruano Marco	1.5/3
Ian Gooding	0/1
Matt Stemp	1/1

 

Board 2
Ian Gooding	2.5/3
Nathan Barnes	1.5/2

 

Board 3
Matt Stemp	2/2
Nathan Barnes	0.5/1
Alex Orava	1/1
Mike Wagstaff	1/1

 

Board 4
Mike Wagstaff	3/4
Martin Harris	0.5/1

Annual General Meeting

Post from Clive

 

Colchester Chess Club A.G.M. will be held on Wednesday 24th June.

 

Any items for inclusion on the Agenda to the undersigned by Wednesday 10th June

 

Clive Bellinger
Secretary

Tony Locke Rapidplay - round 7 draw

The draw for round seven (the last round) of the Tony Locke Rapidplay has been made (first named player has white):

Clive Bellinger (4.5)	v	Nathan Barnes (6)
Svein Kjenner (4.5)	v	Mark Johnson (4)
Ed Goodman (4)	v	Martin Harris (4)
Alex Welge (3.5)	v	John Duff-Cole (2.5)
Luke Tatchell (3)	v	Phil Daley (2)
Matt Stemp (2.5)	v	Pete Smith (2.5)
Simon Denney (1)	v	Dave Chatfield (2.5)
John King (1.5)	v	Denzel Gonzales (1)

Where previous round games have not been played both players have been given half a point for the purpose of making the 7th round draw - when the games have been played both player's scores will be updated. These half-points are shown in player scores above - so some scores could potentially go down as matches from previous rounds are played. The number after the player's name indicates their current (provisional) score. Matt, Simon and Denzel joined the competition at the round 4 stage.

The following games from earlier rounds still need to be played:

Pete Smith	v	John Duff-Cole
John King	v	Simon Denney
Denzel Gonzales	v	Phil Daley
Luke Tatchell	v	Pete Smith
Martin Harris	v	Alex Welge
Luke Tatchell	v	Dave Chatfield
John Duff-Cole	v	Matt Stemp
Pete Smith	v	John King
Luke Tatchell	v	Pete Smith

 

Results on the top boards in round 6 saw wins for Svein Kjenner and Clive Bellinger in the chasing pack, but a win for Nathan Barnes means that he now can't be caught and has won the competition.

There is still a battle for the podium places with Clive and Svein currently occupying 2nd and 3rd - Martin Harris, Mark Johnson and Ed Goodman are also in contention.

Late-March summary

The A, B and D teams all played a match at the end of March. The D team beat Billericay B to keep their chances of winning Division 3 alive. The A team beat Witham B to stretch their lead at the top of Division 2. The B team beat Clacton B, they can no longer catch the A team but can still finish 2nd in the division. The A team have one match left - if they win or draw then they will win the division, they may even have won the division before they play that match (depending on how Maldon B and Chelmsford B do in their two remaining matches).

 

Date: Mar-2015
NECL Division 3
Brd	Col	COLCHESTER D	Result		BILLERICAY D	Col
1	b	Simon Denney (114)	1	0	Chris Van Veen (113)	w
2	w	Ed Goodman (73)	1	0	Ken Young (112)	b
3	b	Mark Johnson (71)	½	½	Charles Newman (105)	w
4	w	Denzel Gonzales (e80)	0	1	David Wilson (94)	b
		(avg=84)	2.5	1.5	(avg=106)

 

Date: Mar-2015
NECL Division 2
Brd	Col	COLCHESTER A	Result		WITHAM B	Col
1	w	Javier Ruano Marco (e189)	1	0	Keith Husband (121)	b
2	b	Ian Gooding (183)	1	0	Barry Mitchell (112)	w
3	w	Matt Stemp (e165)	1	0	John Staplehurst (103)	b
4	b	Nathan Barnes (152)	0	1	Peter Hughes (67)	w
		(avg=172)	3	1	(avg=110)

 

Date: Mar-2015
NECL Division 2
Brd	Col	CLACTON B	Result		COLCHESTER B	Col
1	w	Martin Alvin (135)	0	1	Mike Wagstaff (148)	b
2	b	Melvin Steele (127)	0	1	Martin Harris (121)	w
3	w	Mike Coughtrey (113)	0	1	Pete Smith (119)	b
4	b	Nigel Lake (87)	1	0	John Duff-Cole (87)	w
		(avg=115)	1	3	(avg=118)

Draw for club championship - knockout rounds

The seeding rounds for the club championship are now over. Group winners (who get byes for the first two rounds) were: Nathan Barnes, John Duff-Cole, Martin Harris and Brian Remmer. Runners-up were: Phil Daley, Dave Chatfield, Mohammud Jaufarally and Clive Bellinger.

No seeding games were completed in two of the groups. All players go through to the knock-out stages but players who have not played any games in the group stages count as having come 3rd in their groups for seeding purposes.

Matches have been randomly determined for each round.

Time limit is the same as for league matches, players should toss a coin to determine colours. In the event of a draw players can either have a rematch (swapping colours; this must take place before the scheduled date for the next round) or an armageddon game should be played (players swap colours; White has 5 minutes on the clock, Black has 4 minutes; if game is drawn Black wins). Unless agreed otherwise by the two players before the game starts, an armageddon match will be used to determine the winner if the game is drawn.

If a player is unable to play their match on the date scheduled it is their responsibility to contact their opponent and arrange an alternative date. Wins on default will be awarded at the discretion of the tournament controller.

ROUND 1 - Wednesday April 8th
Matt Stemp	v	John King
Svein Kjenner	v	Denzel Gonzales
Pete Smith	v	Simon Denney

 

ROUND 2 - Wednesday 6th May
(Match a)	Dave Chatfield	v	winner of Smith/Denney
(Match b)	Phil Daley	v	winner of Kjenner/Gonzales
(Match c)	Clive Bellinger	v	Mark Johnson
(Match d)	Ed Goodman	v	winner of Stemp/King

 

QUARTER-FINAL - Wednesday 20th May
(Match e)	Nathan Barnes	v	winner of match a
(Match f)	John Duff-Cole	v	winner of match b
(Match g)	Martin Harris	v	winner of match d
(Match h)	Brian Remmer	v	winner of match c

 

SEMI-FINAL - Wednesday 3rd June
winner of match e	v	winner of match f
winner of match g	v	winner of match h

 

In addition to the final, there will be a 3rd place play-off and (if needed) matches to determine the winner of the Club Shield (for best result by a player with an ECF grade under 120).

The final, and any play-off matches, will take place on Wednesday 17th June.

Another two matches

Two matches were played this week, another two matches next week. The B and C teams both won 3.5-0.5, against Wethersfield and Chelmsford C respectively. The results mean that the C team still have promotion from Division 3 in their own hands and, if the A team and Maldon B slip up, the B team could still win Division 2.

 

Date: Mar-2015
NECL Division 3
Brd	Col	CHELMSFORD C	Result		COLCHESTER C	Col
1	b	John Constantine (125)	½	½	Martin Harris (121)	w
2	w	Peter Brander (110)	0	1	Pete Smith (119)	b
3	b	Trevor Dickerson (122)	0	1	Brian Remmer (109)	w
4	w	Trevor Adams (89)	0	1	John Duff-Cole (87)	b
		(avg=111)	0.5	3.5	(avg=109)

 

Date: Mar-2015
NECL Division 2
Brd	Col	WETHERSFIELD	Result		COLCHESTER B	Col
1	w	Stefaan Van Poucke (149)	0	1	Alex Orava (148)	b
2	b	Bill Norman (128)	½	½	Mike Wagstaff (148)	w
3	w	Ron Vallance (87)	0	1	Svein Kjenner (e139)	b
4	b	Sid MacDonald (78)	0	1	Mark Johnson (71)	w
		(avg=110)	0.5	3.5	(avg=126)

 

Below is Svein's win from the match against Wethersfield, annotations by the winner. A bishop sacrifice leads to an exposed king and a quick win.

[Event "NECL Division 2"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Vallance, Ron"] [Black "Kjenner, Svein"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventRounds "2"] {Wethersfield - Colchester B, Board 3.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. e3 {Now I had no idea how theory goes.} ({I had of course expected} 3. dxe5 Ng4) 3... exd4 4. exd4 d5 5. c5 g6 (5... b6) 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Be3 Re8 9. h3 Bf5 10. Nc3 c6 11. O-O Nbd7 12. a4 ({If white fights for the e4 square with} 12. Nd2 {I could have played} Nxc5 13. dxc5 d4) 12... Ne4 13. Bd3 Ndf6 (13... Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 b6 {is the preferred line my engine gives. But I wanted a K-side attack.}) 14. Qc2 Qc8 15. Bxe4 $6 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 (16... Bxe4 17. Qd1 {is also good, but I really wanted to hit on h3}) 17. Qd2 {And now: Men or mice?} Bxh3 {Of course there were more quiet continuations,} 18. Ng5 $4 ({ White really had to accept the challenge with} 18. gxh3 Qxh3 19. Nh2 Rh4 20. f3 Re8 21. Bf4 {My engine gives small advantage Black. I am not sure if White would have survived this. Which side would you like to play in this position?}) 18... Bxg2 19. Nxe4 {Now it is mate in five. The Queen and Bishop are perfect together in this positon.} (19. f3 Rxe3 20. Kxg2 {is two pawns up with a winning positon.}) 19... Bf3 $1 20. Kh2 (20. Ng3 Qh3 {and mate next move}) 20... Qg4 21. Ng3 Qh4+ 22. Kg1 Qh3 0-1