| Position | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | Match Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warwickshire | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Worcestershire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Staffordshire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Lincolnshire | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Nottinghamshire | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct | Worcestershire v Lincolnshire | 9½-2½ |
| 24 Nov | Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire | 6-6 |
| 15 Dec | Lincolnshire v Warwickshire | 2½-9½ |
| 2 Feb | Lincolnshire v Staffordshire | 4-8 |
Worcestershire v Lincolnshire
Report from John Grasham
Unfortunately Lincolnshire got off to a poor start to their Under 120 campaign this year with a 9½ to 2½ loss. Richard Coats agreed a draw on top board early on but that was as good as it got. Defeats for Charles Moss who left a rook hanging, Paul Chaplin who missed a mate in one, Joe Scarborough, Dan Southern and the Gaikwad brothers left us having already lost the game with five matches remaining. Pride was restored however with a win for Neelay Sant who was playing a long play game for the first time. It was his opponent who blundered after a draw was likely. More defeats for James Wilson and Cameron Marnoch who could have held on for a draw or maybe better if he had played the correct series of checks to defend his opponents mate in one was tempered with a win for the captain. I offered my opponent a draw on two occasions when I was a pawn down in the middlegame and then again when she swapped off queens but she declined and played on until she was in a position where she had to sacrifice a rook to prevent a mate in two. Frank Robinson was last to finish but after swapping off knights in the endgame he couldn’t prevent his opponents pawn from queening. Maybe with a bit more luck on our side we can have a closer match against Nottinghamshire on 24th November.
| Worcestershire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Kevin Day | Redditch | 119 | ½-½ | Richard Coats | Spalding | 111 |
| 2 | W | Peter Seeley | Redditch | 118 | 1-0 | Frank Robinson | Spalding | 108 |
| 3 | B | Michele Clack | Redditch | 115 | 0-1 | John Grasham | Louth | 106 |
| 4 | W | Giles Stanton | Redditch | 113 | 1-0 | Charles Moss | Lincoln | 105 |
| 5 | B | Doug Bott | Greenlands | 112 | 1-0 | Paul Chaplin | Grimsby | 101 |
| 6 | W | Mark Hore | Headless Cross | 110 | 1-0 | Rajiv Gaikwad | Grimsby | 100E |
| 7 | B | Richard Collett | Greenlands | 109 | 1-0 | Joe Scarborough | Lincolnshire Juniors | 92 |
| 8 | W | Terrance Poutney | Worcestershire | 106 | 0-1 | Neelay Sant | Lincolnshire Juniors | 90E |
| 9 | B | Maureen Clark | Halesowen | 105 | 1-0 | Cameron Marnoch | Lincolnshire Juniors | 83E |
| 10 | W | Penny Wood | Redditch | 99 | 1-0 | James Wilson | Lincolnshire Juniors | 65E |
| 11 | B | Tony Taylor | Halesowen | 83 | 1-0 | Daniel Southern | Lincolnshire Juniors | 51 |
| 12 | W | Joyce Evans | Halesowen | 77 | 1-0 | Rithik Gaikwad | Lincolnshire | 50E |
| 9½-2½ | ||||||||
Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire
Report from John Grasham
Lincolnshire managed to get off the mark this season with a 6-6 draw against Nottinghamshire. I got Lincolnshire of the mark with an early draw by agreement with a king and six pawns remaining. Quick defeats for Cameron Marnoch, Dan Southern and Will Taylor left us up against it but there was more luck for juniors Nathan McKiernon and Haydn Godfrey who both drew. Our first win came from an amazed Paul Chaplin after he dropped a piece early on against his nine year old opponent only to find that his more advanced pawns meant he won it back. The game swung back and forth until his opponent swapped of bishops at the wrong time to allow Paul to queen his remaining pawn. Adam Coats won on his debut from a pawn down with an attacking flurry that left his opponents king exposed but defeat for his father and a draw for Phil Gutcher left us needing to win the final two matches. Adam Wardlow won his game after thinking about a move for 10 minutes only to realise his opponents queen was en prise. This left it all down to Mark Bradshaw on board 1, he was one or two pawns down for most of the game but when it came down to a two rooks and two pawns to three endgame Mark’s pawns were further forward and his rooks better placed so his opponent could not prevent him queening. This result leaves the team hopeful of pulling off a shock in our next game against Warwickshire on 15th December.
| Nottinghamshire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Lukasz Kacprzak | Nottingham Central | 114 | 0-1 | Mark Bradshaw | Grimsby | 115 |
| 2 | W | Onos Kofi-Ofuafor | Nottingham University | 107 | 1-0 | Richard Coats | Spalding | 111 |
| 3 | B | Andrew Thompson | Gambit | 104 | ½-½ | John Grasham | Louth | 106 |
| 4 | W | Adam Bennett | West Nottingham | 103 | 0-1 | Paul Chaplin | Grimsby | 101 |
| 5 | B | Steve Swanwick | Nomads | 96 | ½-½ | Philip Gutcher | Grimsby | 85 |
| 6 | W | Alberto Rodriguez | Nomads | 95 | 0-1 | Adam Coats | Spalding | 79E |
| 7 | B | Dorothy Blampied | Radcliffe & Bingham | 91 | 0-1 | Adam Wardlow | Louth | 71E |
| 8 | W | Michael Swanwick | Nomads | 88 | 1-0 | Cameron Marnoch | Lincolnshire Juniors | 83E |
| 9 | B | Michael Seagrave | Nomads | 86 | ½-½ | Haydn Godfrey | Lincolnshire Juniors | 69 |
| 10 | W | Steve Luland | Nottingham University | 74 | 1-0 | Daniel Southern | Lincolnshire Juniors | 51 |
| 11 | B | Craig Smith | Nottinghamshire | UG | ½-½ | Nathan McKiernon | Lincolnshire Juniors | 50E |
| 12 | W | J Hay | Nottinghamshire | UG | 1-0 | Will Taylor | Lincolnshire Juniors | 50E |
| 6-6 | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Warwickshire
Report from John Grasham
Lincolnshire’s Under 120 team’s winless start to the season continued with a comprehensive defeat to Warwickshire by 9½ to 2½. We started the match 1-0 down as one player pulled out early on the morning of the match. We went further behind with early defeats for Cordeaux duo Cameron Marnoch and Nick Gillespie as well as a defeat for young David Scott on the bottom board. However two wins put us back in contention, first for Neelay Sant who capitalised on a blunder from his opponent which left his king exposed and then from captain John Grasham who was making his first ever appearance on board one. I was able to launch a destructive kingside attack with my more active pawns and both rooks after the queens were swapped off. With my opponent already the exchange down and certain to lose further material he resigned. Haydn Godfrey then agreed a middlegame draw with his opponent but that was all the points we were to amass. James Wilson and Jacob Storey fought to the end but there opponents just had too many more pawns and Charles Moss, Paul Chaplin and Phil Gutcher all had to resign when a rook down. Incredibly Lincolnshire can still qualify for the knockout phases but only with a win in our final game against Staffordshire on the 2nd February.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Warwickshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | John Grasham | Louth | 106 | 1-0 | Dave Reeves | Westminster | 118 |
| 2 | B | Charles Moss | Lincoln | 105 | 0-1 | Kim Gilbert | Shirley | 117 |
| 3 | W | Paul Chaplin | Grimsby | 101 | 0-1 | Wendell Rawlins | Warwickshire CA | 115 |
| 4 | B | Phillip Gutcher | Grimsby | 85 | 0-1 | John Donovan | Shirley | 114 |
| 5 | W | Neelay Sant | Lincolnshire Juniors | 90E | 1-0 | Peter Hughes | Warley Quinborne | 114 |
| 6 | B | Haydn Godfrey | Lincolnshire Juniors | 69 | ½-½ | Guy Greenland | Leamington | 112 |
| 7 | W | James Wilson | Lincolnshire Juniors | 65E | 0-1 | John Pakenham | Warley Quinborne | 109 |
| 8 | B | Cameron Marnoch | Lincolnshire Juniors | 61E | 0-1 | Graham Gee | Warwickshire CA | 108 |
| 9 | W | Jacob Storey | Lincolnshire Juniors | 51E | 0-1 | Steve Hotchkiss | Warwickshire CA | 100 |
| 10 | B | Nicholas Gillespie | Lincolnshire Juniors | 50E | 0-1 | Bram Garner | Olton | 99 |
| 11 | W | David Scott | Lincolnshire Juniors | 50E | 0-1 | Peter Leggett | Leamington | 82 |
| 12 | B | Default | N/A | 0-1 | Pauline Woodward | Warley Quinborne | 111 | |
| 2½-9½ | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Staffordshire
Report from John Grasham
Lincolnshire’s U120 team missed out on the chance to make it through to the national quarter finals with a 8-4 defeat to Staffordshire. Despite playing the strongest team in terms of grading we had put out in our two year history we were soon behind after a blunder cost Paul Fischer his game. More defeats soon followed for Neelay Sant, Max Vasey and Joe Scarborough but these were tempered by draws for Paul Chaplin and Haydn Godfrey and wins for Chris Cumbers and James Kelly. A draw for myself on board one after finding I was down a knight and a pawn in the endgame meant we had to win all three remaining games. However it was not to be. Gary Scott on his county debut found his young opponent too strong in a rook and pawns endgame and Richard Coats resigned after swapping off left him a rook adrift. Adam Wardlow was last to finish and his draw at least made the scoreline respectable.
I would again like to thank everyone who played for the team this year, especially those who provided transport and look forward to captaining the team again and welcoming both new and returning players for next season.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Staffordshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | John Grasham | Louth | 132 | ½-½ | Stephen Emmerton | Fenton | 125 |
| 2 | B | Neelay Sant | Lincolnshire Juniors | 114Q | 0-1 | John Fenby | Brewood | 119 |
| 3 | W | Chris Cumbers | Grantham | 106 | 1-0 | Robert Brodie | Bushbury | 118 |
| 4 | B | Richard Coats | Spalding | 104 | 0-1 | Peter Shaw | Newcastle-under-Lyme | 117 |
| 5 | W | Max Vasey | Lincolnshire Juniors | 102 | 0-1 | Neville Jones | Alsager | 104 |
| 6 | B | Adam Wardlow | Lincolnshire CA | 100E | ½-½ | Paul Guest | Brewood | 104 |
| 7 | W | Paul Fischer | Lincolnshire CA | 99 | 0-1 | Simon Jones | Bushbury | 105 |
| 8 | B | Paul Chaplin | Grimsby | 99 | ½-½ | Peter Evans | Stafford | 107 |
| 9 | W | Gary Scott | Louth | 95E | 0-1 | Jack Healings | Cheddleton & Leek | 108 |
| 10 | B | James Kelly | Lincolnshire Juniors | 93 | 1-0 | Jacob Cartlidge | Cheddleton & Leek | 105 |
| 11 | W | Joe Scarborough | Lincolnshire Juniors | 85 | 0-1 | David Buckley | Bushbury | 100 |
| 12 | B | Haydn Godfrey | Lincolnshire Juniors | 79 | ½-½ | Stuart Hull | Fenton | 87 |
| 4-8 | ||||||||