| Position | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincolnshire | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Leicestershire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Nottinghamshire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Derbyshire | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct | Lincolnshire v Nottinghamshire | 9-7 |
| 8 Nov | Lincolnshire v Leicestershire | 9½-6½ |
| 6 Dec | Derbyshire v Lincolnshire | 8-8 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jan | Lincolnshire v Greater Manchester | 9½-6½ |
| 21 Feb | Lincolnshire v Worcestershire | 8½-7½ |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 16 May | Lincolnshire v Essex | 5½-10½ |
Lincolnshire v Nottinghamshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire hosted Nottinghamshire in their first match of the season at the Lindum Atrium at North Hykeham looking to avenge the defeat that they suffered against the same opposition last year. Lincolnshire fielded a strong looking line up, but by contrast Nottinghamshire had some players missing from last year’s victorious campaign in the MCCU so I was optimistic before the start of the match. However this optimism was soon tempered by the fact that we lost the services of our newest recruit John Naylor due to unforeseen circumstances only an hour before play was due to start. Fortunately I had the luxury of four reserve players on standby for this match. The only problem was being able to contact one of them at short notice and get one of them to the venue on time. It was Grimsby’s Steve Allott who became the hero of the hour by racing to the venue and eventually making a valuable draw for the team despite arriving late and incurring a considerable disadvantage on the clock. Safe in the knowledge that we would not have to default a board Lincolnshire set about the task of winning the match. Lincolnshire took an early lead when I managed to break through surprisingly quickly on the queenside and pressed home the initiative to secure the full point. Steve Prior increased the Lincolnshire lead by sacrificing a rook to break down his opponent’s resistance and then Alastair Summers put us firmly in the driving seat with a controlled performance. After that Lincolnshire never looked back and although Nottinghamshire battled hard to get themselves back in to the match we eventually prevailed by a 9-7 score line. Chris Dorrington, Joe Kilshaw and Graham Ladds were the other winners on the day for Lincolnshire. It must be said that I was particularly impressed by the response that I had from my players for this first match. It is very rare to be able to have players available on standby as reserves for these county matches and on this occasion I had four players who were willing to do this. It makes my task as captain considerably easier and win or lose it makes the whole experience considerably more enjoyable. Our next match is at home to Leicestershire on Saturday November 8th and as in recent years this promises to be a closely fought encounter.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Nottinghamshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 228 | 1-0 | Peter Mercs | Gambit | 193 |
| 2 | W | Claudio Mangione | Lincoln | 208 | ½-½ | Pablo Padilla Cabero | Ashfield | 191 |
| 3 | B | Paul Cumbers | Lincolnshire | 200 | 0-1 | Alexander Combie | Newark | 189 |
| 4 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 188 | 1-0 | Robert Richmond | West Bridgford | 186 |
| 5 | B | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 186 | 1-0 | Richard Truman | West Bridgford | 182 |
| 6 | W | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 | 1-0 | Andy George | Newark | 180 |
| 7 | B | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 180 | 0-1 | Kieran Child | Notts University | 178 |
| 8 | W | Harry Russell | Louth | 176 | ½-½ | Andy Walker | Notts University | 173 |
| 9 | B | Kevin McCarthy | Grantham | 174 | ½-½ | Brian Thompson | West Bridgford | 171 |
| 10 | W | Keith Palmer | Louth | 167 | 0-1 | Jonah Willow | West Notts | 166 |
| 11 | B | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 166 | ½-½ | Harry Croasdale | West Bridgford | 165 |
| 12 | W | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 159 | ½-½ | Brian Hayward | Gambit | 160 |
| 13 | B | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 156 | 1-0 | Drag Sudar | Gambit | 151 |
| 14 | W | Ivan David | Grantham | 154 | 0-1 | Mark Radford | Nottingham Central | 153 |
| 15 | B | Graham Ladds | Newark | 154 | 1-0 | Bob Taylor | Ashfield | 149 |
| 16 | W | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 150 | ½-½ | Neil Graham | Ashfield | 144 |
| 9-7 | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Leicestershire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
The fixtures against Leicestershire are always hard fought matches and this one proved to be just as tough. Lincolnshire eventually won the match by a 9½ - 6½ score line but the match was much closer than the score suggests. Lincolnshire were always ahead in the match but some of the games in the closing stages were difficult to judge and it took grit and determination by several Lincolnshire players to get us over the finishing line. Lincolnshire scored their first win of the match when debutant Russell Ludlow broke through his opponents’ defences to force resignation. Claudio Mangione was the next to win when he outplayed his opponent in the middle game and denied him any hint of counter play before administering the decisive blow. Leicestershire fought back to eventually score wins on three boards but Lincolnshire always led by a two or three point margin and some fighting draws aided by wins for myself, Harry Russell, Alastair Summers and Stuart Macdonald saw the team home. With this win Lincolnshire made sure that they qualified for the knockout stages of the Minor Counties in the New Year. They also maintained their unbeaten home record at the Lindum Atrium which stretches back to October 2010. The next match for Lincolnshire is on Saturday December 6th away to Derbyshire.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Leicestershire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Claudio Mangione | Lincoln | 208 | 1-0 | Martin Burrows | Wigston | 206 |
| 2 | B | Paul Cumbers | Lincolnshire | 200 | ½-½ | Florian Hahn | Leicestershire | 195 |
| 3 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 188 | 0-1 | Graham Sharpe | Blaby District | 186 |
| 4 | B | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 | 1-0 | Andy Morley | Wigston | 189 |
| 5 | W | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 180 | ½-½ | Brian Galligan | Syston | 179 |
| 6 | B | John Naylor | Louth | 177 | ½-½ | Ray Burgess | Thurnby | 178 |
| 7 | W | Harry Russell | Louth | 176 | 1-0 | Sean Sheahan | Shepshed | 173 |
| 8 | B | Kevin McCarthy | Grantham | 174 | 0-1 | Shabir Okhai | Syston | 172 |
| 9 | W | Keith Palmer | Louth | 167 | ½-½ | John Mitchell | Loughborough | 166 |
| 10 | B | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 166 | ½-½ | Sean Hewitt | Blaby District | 166 |
| 11 | W | Russell Ludlow | Lincoln | 165 | 1-0 | Richard Handscombe | Leicestershire | 165 |
| 12 | B | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 159 | ½-½ | Karl Potter | Latimer | 160 |
| 13 | W | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 156 | 1-0 | Mike Cowley | Blaby District | 160 |
| 14 | B | Graham Ladds | Newark | 154 | ½-½ | Grahm Booley | Blaby District | 160 |
| 15 | W | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 151 | 0-1 | Jim Bingham | Braunstone | 155 |
| 16 | B | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 147 | 1-0 | Glyn Ward | Loughborough | 152 |
| 9½-6½ | ||||||||
Derbyshire v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to Derby safe in the knowledge that their qualification to the next phase of the MCCU Competition was already secure. However it was important to keep the momentum going from our two previous victories in the Eastern Zone. Derbyshire on the other hand had lost their opening two matches so they only had pride to play for. Lincolnshire out graded their opponents on every board despite fielding a weakened side. Things looked promising for the visitors when Ivan David scored a quick win but after that the tables quickly turned and from thereon in the Lincolnshire team were always trailing. Chris Dorrington and Nick Stead scored wins late on to level the match and it was left to me to see if we could snatch the victory in the one remaining game. I was an exchange up but found it difficult to make progress and eventually agreed to the draw which meant that the match finished all square at 8 – 8. This result meant that Lincolnshire finished top of the Eastern Zone and will now advance to the MCCU open semi-final on January 24th 2015. Here they will face Greater Manchester who finished as runners up in the Western Zone. Lincolnshire will probably start as underdogs in this match because our opponents have experienced a revival under their new captain and will be able to call upon the services of several strong players.
| Derbyshire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Paul Madden | Breadsall | 203 | 0-1 | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 228 |
| 2 | B | Ray Forey | Derby | 177 | ½-½ | Claudio Mangione | Lincoln | 208 |
| 3 | W | Martin Cobham | Derby | 163 | ½-½ | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 |
| 4 | B | Raymond Gamble | Spondon | 161 | 0-1 | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 180 |
| 5 | W | Mike Alderson | Belper | 161 | ½-½ | Harry Russell | Louth | 176 |
| 6 | B | David Pickering | Burton | 161 | ½-½ | Keith Palmer | Louth | 167 |
| 7 | W | John Hoddy | Burton | 161 | 1-0 | Andy Hebert | Grantham | 166 |
| 8 | B | Anthony Natt | Clay Cross | 159 | 1-0 | Russell Ludlow | Lincoln | 165 |
| 9 | W | Alan Downham | Belper | 158 | ½-½ | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 159 |
| 10 | B | Kevin Dalley | Derby | 150 | ½-½ | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 156 |
| 11 | W | John Shaw | Belper | 147 | 0-1 | Ivan David | Grantham | 154 |
| 12 | B | Maurice Hill | Rolls Royce Derby | 145 | ½-½ | Graham Ladds | Newark | 154 |
| 13 | W | Mark Carter | Spondon | 138 | 0-1 | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 151 |
| 14 | B | Paul Moore | Burton | 135 | 1-0 | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 150 |
| 15 | W | David Hoddy | Burton | 134 | ½-½ | Chris Holt | Grantham | 148 |
| 16 | B | Dylan Meyer | Derby | 123 | 1-0 | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 147 |
| 8-8 | ||||||||
SF Lincolnshire v Greater Manchester
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to Handsworth in Sheffield to play in the semi-final of the MCCU Open championship against Greater Manchester knowing that a victory would put them in to the Open final for the first time ever and secure a place in the national quarter finals of the Minor Counties Championship later in the year. Before the match I was anticipating that our opponents would be able to field a strong side and that we would start the match as underdogs but fortunately Greater Manchester had some players unavailable. This meant that on paper the match looked like it could be a close one. The match started with a few drawn games before Graham Ladds opened the scoring for Lincolnshire when he held off a dangerous looking kingside attack and pressed home his advantage on the queenside. Denis Georgiou then cunningly trapped his opponents rook in an endgame in which he was already better to put us two points to the good. Joe Kilshaw played a very interesting piece sacrifice which kept his opponents king trapped in the centre and despite there being no immediate win he was able to bring all of his pieces in to the attack and score a decisive victory. John Naylor then put Lincolnshire four points clear with a controlled performance. At this stage it looked like Lincolnshire could run away with the match but things were far from over and Greater Manchester slowly started to chip away at the Lincolnshire lead. With three games left Lincolnshire held a 7-6 lead but I had already worked out that a tied match would not be favourable for us if Stephen Prior managed to lose his game on board three. However Ian McDonald showed grit and determination despite being a pawn down in a rook and pawn endgame to confidently hold on for a crucial draw. Ivan David then secured the match win for Lincolnshire with a fine display of technique in a knight and pawn endgame to mark his return to form. Stephen Prior then put the icing on the cake when he took advantage of his opponents time trouble and trapped his queen to force resignation leaving the final match score 9½ - 6½ in favour of Lincolnshire. Our opponents in the MCCU final will be Worcestershire who narrowly defeated Leicestershire in the other semi-final. This will promise to be another difficult match for Lincolnshire as Worcestershire are an improving team who have gained several strong players this season. They also boosted their team in the semi-final against Leicestershire by fielding Grandmaster Keith Arkell on board 1. The final will take place on Saturday 21st February.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Greater Manchester (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Paul Cumbers | Lincolnshire | 200 | 0-1 | Andrew Horton | 3Cs | 214 |
| 2 | B | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 | ½-½ | Alan Smith | Stockport | 200 |
| 3 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 188 | 1-0 | Andy Reeve | Stockport | 186 |
| 4 | B | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 186 | 1-0 | Philip Olbison | Chorlton-cum-Hardy | 181 |
| 5 | W | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 180 | ½-½ | Daniel Pousada | Greater Manchester | 173e |
| 6 | B | John Naylor | Louth | 177 | 1-0 | Laszlo Antal | Denton | 170 |
| 7 | W | Harry Russell | Louth | 176 | ½-½ | Adam Tyton | Bolton | 177 |
| 8 | B | Kevin McCarthy | Grantham | 174 | ½-½ | Peter Mulleady | Atherton | 174 |
| 9 | W | Andy Hebert | Grantham | 166 | ½-½ | Graham Burton | 4NCL 3Cs | 174 |
| 10 | B | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 159 | ½-½ | John Reed | East Cheshire | 174 |
| 11 | W | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 156 | 0-1 | Pablo Lopez | Denton | 172 |
| 12 | B | Ivan David | Grantham | 154 | 1-0 | Glenn Trueman | Marple | 163 |
| 13 | W | Graham Ladds | Newark | 154 | 1-0 | Tim Hilton | Denton | 158 |
| 14 | B | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 151 | 1-0 | Alan Beresford | Chorlton-cum-Hardy | 156 |
| 15 | W | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 150 | ½-½ | Jon Lonsdale | Great Lever | 144 |
| 16 | B | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 147 | 0-1 | Ian Lamb | Bolton | 141 |
| 9½-6½ | ||||||||
F Lincolnshire v Worcestershire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to Sharnford in Leicestershire to play Worcestershire on what was to prove to be an historic day for the county team. Two titles were to be decided on the day as this match was the final of both the MCCU Open championship as well as the MCCU Minor Counties championship. This was the first time ever that Lincolnshire had reached the final of the MCCU Open event, which has been in existence since 1898. And the players who were selected did not disappoint and rose to the occasion, winning the contest by an 8½-7½ margin. I had anticipated that Worcestershire would field Grandmaster Keith Arkell on board 1 as they had done against Leicestershire in the semi-final of this event. So I had a plan in place to counter the possibility of this happening again and drafted in a home grown Grandmaster of our own, Matthew Turner, in readiness to face Arkell. Matthew was playing his first game for Lincolnshire in over twenty years after moving away from the area. Unfortunately the expected all Grandmaster clash failed to materialise as Keith Arkell was playing in a tournament in Dresden. However Matthew’s presence gave the rest of our team a huge lift and undoubtedly put a dent in our opponent’s hopes of winning the trophy.
Lincolnshire started the match superbly and were three points ahead after one and a half hours play. Stephen Prior’s opponent unwisely grabbed a pawn in the opening and was mercilessly punished. John Naylor was the next to win when his opponent made a bad mistake in a sharp position and was forced to resign almost immediately. Then our expected win on board one came when Matthew Turner gave his opponent no chance whatsoever. After about another hour Worcestershire scored their first win of the match and with several other games looking slightly better for them the match was far from over. But the Lincolnshire team showed great resilience and dug deep to edge towards victory. The bottom two boards were crucial. Denis Georgiou gradually outplayed his young opponent and then Ivan David once again ground out a trademark endgame to secure the full point. I had been much better in the early stages of my own game but allowed my opponent too much counter play and so I agreed a draw to take the team points tally to seven. Harry Russell showed great tenacity to hold an inferior endgame to edge us even closer to the title. Another draw followed before Keith Palmer secured the match for Lincolnshire. Keith’s opponent had a queen against rook and bishop in the endgame but the pawns were all on the same side of the board. With no pawn breaks available Keith was able to set up a fortress which his opponent was unable to breach. This left Lincolnshire three points up with two games to play. Worcestershire did manage to win the remaining two games but one of these was somewhat fortuitous as Jason Dilley slipped in time trouble when in a winning position.
So history was made by the Lincolnshire team and every player who has played for the team can be extremely proud of themselves, not just the sixteen players who were selected to play in the final. I had three players available as reserves if required. This has been almost always the case during my tenure as captain. My job is made easier by having an enthusiastic bunch of committed players to pick from and whilst this is the case it will be a pleasure to lead the team.
However the season is not yet over for the county team. This latest victory means that Lincolnshire advance to the quarter final stage of the national Minor Counties Competition. At the time of writing our opponents are unknown. What we do know is that we will face one of the teams from the Southern Counties Chess Union. This match will take place on Saturday 16th May.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Worcestershire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Matthew Turner | Lincolnshire | 239 | 1-0 | Stephen Mellor | Worcester | 185 |
| 2 | W | Jason Dilley | Grantham | 203 | 0-1 | John Edge | Halesowen | 184 |
| 3 | B | Paul Cumbers | Lincolnshire | 199 | ½-½ | Daniel Lambourne | Redditch | 183 |
| 4 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 186 | 1-0 | Peter Kitson | Worcester | 177 |
| 5 | B | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 185 | ½-½ | Nicholas Arkell | Stourbridge | 175 |
| 6 | W | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 183 | ½-½ | Charles Lowick Higgie | Malpas & Whitchurch | 174 |
| 7 | B | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 183 | 0-1 | Nigel Towers | Redditch | 172 |
| 8 | W | John Naylor | Louth | 180 | 1-0 | Kevin Hurney | Worcestershire | 172 |
| 9 | B | Harry Russell | Louth | 180 | ½-½ | James P Friar | Hagley | 168 |
| 10 | W | Nick Payne | Grantham | 176 | ½-½ | Brian Turner | Malvern | 167 |
| 11 | B | Kevin McCarthy | Grantham | 171 | 0-1 | Greg Dyett | Stourbridge | 167 |
| 12 | W | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 165 | ½-½ | Jim A Friar | Kidderminster | 167 |
| 13 | B | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 | ½-½ | Gary Jackson | Banbury | 163 |
| 14 | W | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 161 | 0-1 | John Wrench | Kidderminster | 159 |
| 15 | B | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 156 | 1-0 | Joseph Friar | Hagley | 157 |
| 16 | W | Ivan David | Grantham | 153 | 1-0 | John Knee | Malvern | 148 |
| 8½-7½ | ||||||||
Here are some pics from the MCCU Open/Minor Final (click on a pic to view it in full size):
ECF Quarter Final Lincolnshire v Essex
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire faced a tough task when they travelled to Brampton in Cambridgeshire to play Essex in the Minor Counties Quarter Final. Things were not made any easier when three of the usual middle order had to withdraw for various reasons in the week leading up to the match. So were missing what would have been our boards 7, 8 and 9. As usual Lincolnshire had reserves on standby that were ready and willing to play so there was no need to default any boards. The final result looked a little one sided. The margin of defeat, 10½-5½, did not reflect the tenacity of the Lincolnshire performance. At one stage the match was finely balanced at 4-4. As our opponents began to pull away several of the team realised that a few risks had to be taken. Unfortunately several of these individual gambles failed to pay off and we slipped to a heavy defeat. Essex thoroughly deserved their victory on the day but I thought that a 9-7 victory for our opponents would have been a fair result. So once again Lincolnshire came unstuck against opposition from the SCCU. It should not be forgotten however that the 2014-15 season has been an historic one for Lincolnshire Chess. The whole team can be extremely proud of their victory in the MCCU Open Championship. It was the first time ever that Lincolnshire has won this competition. So the task for the county team is clear. We must strive to achieve success in the national stages.
I would like to thank all of the team members for their efforts this season. Once again everybody contributed to the team ethic. I am lucky to have such committed individuals who are willing to play for the county. Lincolnshire do not have masses of players to call upon for selection unlike some of the other county teams that we compete against. So the results that we get mean that we are already over achieving as a county. I do not know how much more we can progress as a team, but I am willing to carry on in my role as captain next season if asked to do so.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Essex (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Paul Cumbers | Lincolnshire | 199 | 0-1 | Jonathan Rogers | Ilford | 216 |
| 2 | W | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 183 | 0-1 | Andrw Lewis | Manningtree | 207 |
| 3 | B | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 186 | ½-½ | David Sands | Barking | 205 |
| 4 | W | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 185 | 1-0 | Tim Hebbes | Essex | 193 |
| 5 | B | Daniel Wells | Newark | 185 | ½-½ | Ian Reynolds | Billericay | 186 |
| 6 | W | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 183 | 1-0 | Ivan Myall | Writtle | 185 |
| 7 | B | Harry Russell | Louth | 180 | ½-½ | Jeff Goldberg | Barking | 185 |
| 8 | W | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 | ½-½ | Kevin White | Ilford | 181 |
| 9 | B | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 165 | 0-1 | John Moore | Writtle | 179 |
| 10 | W | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 161 | ½-½ | Jim Howson | Upminster | 169 |
| 11 | B | Alastair Summers | Lincolnshire | 168 | 0-1 | David Millward | Writtle | 165 |
| 12 | W | Ivan David | Grantham | 153 | 0-1 | Nomai Wei | Wanstead | 162 |
| 13 | B | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 156 | 0-1 | Neville Twitchell | Ilford | 161 |
| 14 | W | Graham Ladds | Newark | 150 | ½-½ | Paul Barclay | Wanstead | 149 |
| 15 | B | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 151 | ½-½ | David Smith | Wanstead | 148 |
| 16 | W | Ben Mason | Grantham | 145 | 0-1 | Elliott Cocks | Chelmsford | 144 |
| 5½-10½ | ||||||||