Report from John Grasham
Louth Chess Club was crowned national champions in the National Club Championships minor section on Sunday 25th August. This was after a 3-1 win over Fenton Chess Club from Staffordshire.
Louth qualified for the final from a pool of three teams including Harrogate and Syston. Our first match was against Harrogate in January. We emerged triumphant after a win for captain John Grasham and for Adam Wardlow and a draw for Cameron Marnoch gave us a 2.5 -1.5 win. Charles Ayton also represented Louth in the match. Our second match against Syston scheduled for March was called off after Syston were unable to field a team and they later withdrew from the competition leaving us in the final.
We travelled to the match against Fenton which was being played in Syston, Leicestershire in optimistic mood despite knowing we would be outgraded. Team captain John Grasham was joined by Ian Scott, his son David and Gary Scott who is unrelated to the other two. Louth got off to a flying start after John Grasham won his game after only eleven moves when his opponent, Rob Taylor’s mobile phone went off. In chess it is an official rule that when a player’s mobile phone sounds during a game it is an automatic disqualification. Eleven year old David Scott was next to finish after winning a tight endgame when his opponent blundered a knight as was unable to defend his pawns. This left Louth only needing half a point to claim the title but two intense games were still being fought. Ian Scott was able to agree a draw after swapping off with his opponent to leave him a pawn up in the endgame and Gary Scott agreed a draw after the contest was over despite being in a worse position.
| Board | Home Player | Grade | Score | Away Player | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuart Johnson | 129 | 1-0 | Charles Ayton | 125 |
| 2 | Andrew Zigmond | 128 | 0-1 | John Grasham | 106 |
| 3 | Margaret Rowley | 119 | 0-1 | Adam Wardlow | 87E |
| 4 | Chris Watt | 77E | ½-½ | Cameron Marnoch | 75E |
| Total | 1½-2½ |
| Board | Home Player | Grade | Score | Away Player | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Taylor | 136 | 0-1 | John Grasham | 106 |
| 2 | Steve Emmerton | 119 | ½-½ | Ian Scott | 128E |
| 3 | Neal Davies | 114 | ½-½ | Gary Scott | 117E |
| 4 | Mike Smith | 103 | 0-1 | David Scott | 76E |
| Total | 1-3 |
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