Lincolnshire Chess Association

U120 Counties Competition Open Team (2014-15)

MCCU U120 Counties Championship Open
Position Teams Pl W D L Match Pts
1 Lincolnshire 4 2 1 1 5
2 Nottinghamshire 3 2 0 1 4
3 Warwickshire 2 1 0 1 2
4 Staffordshire 2 1 0 1 2
5 Worcestershire 3 0 1 2 1

MCCU U120 Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
4 Oct Worcestershire v Lincolnshire 6-6
8 Nov Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire 9½-2½
6 Dec Lincolnshire v Staffordshire 7½-4½
24 Jan Lincolnshire v Warwickshire 6½-5½

ECF U120 Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
16 May Lincolnshire v Kent 5½-6½

Worcestershire v Lincolnshire

Report from John Grasham

Lincolnshire went into their first match of the season in confident mood having beaten today’s opponents by an 11-1 scoreline in their last match however we knew Worcestershire weren’t going to be as charitable this time around. We went 1-0 down after youngest team member Arya Parnian lost to a skewer of his king and rook in an endgame that should have been drawn. Wins followed for Peter Damms who forked a rook and queen with his knight, Behzad Parnian who capitalised on an unguarded pawn and Will Taylor when his opponent inexplicably tried to promote a pawn on the sixth rank. Dan Southern won after his opponent missed a mating attack against her when a piece up but the score was levelled after defeats to Charles Ayton who tried an ill advised sacrifice, Geoff Roe who defended valiantly to no avail and Mark Newstead who got into such a bad position his opponent asked him to resign! Philip Gutcher proved a rook could be better than two bishops and Gary Scott put us on the brink of victory when his astuteness in sacrificing his extra pawn to engineer a king and three pawns each endgame left him in a won position. However the victory was not to come. Both Paul Fischer and William Orr fought on in time difficulty in tight endgames but neither could secure a draw. This left the honours even and after two matches unbeaten Lincolnshire head to Nottinghamshire on the 8th November for their second match of the season.

Date: 4/10/14
Venue: Syston and District Social Club, 36 High Street, Syston, Leicester, LE7 1GP
Worcestershire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W David Smith Redditch 119 1-0 William Orr Horncastle 117
2 Maureen Clark Halesowen 118 1-0 Paul Fischer Lincoln 117
3 W Richard Collett Greenlands 117 1-0 Charles Ayton Louth 109
4 B Giles Stanton Redditch 107 0-1 Gary Scott Horncastle 109
5 W Kevin Day Redditch 106 0-1 Behzad Parnian Grimsby 108
6 B Michele Clack Redditch 105 0-1 Philip Gutcher Grimsby 104
7 W Paul Thomas Kidderminster 104 1-0 Geoff Roe Lincoln 95
8 B Terry Radford Droitwich 99 1-0 Dr Mark Newstead Horncastle 86
9 W Terry Pountney Kidderminster 96 1-0 Arya Parnian Grimsby 83
10 B Tony Taylor Halesowen 91 0-1 Will Taylor Kings School Grantham 81
11 W Frank Cassidy Greenlands 63 0-1 Peter Damms Louth 67
12 B Joyce Evans Halesowen 62 0-1 Dan Southern Kings School Grantham 57
  6-6

Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire

Report from John Grasham

I knew Lincolnshire would be up against it in their second match when I saw the Nottinghamshire teamsheet and they had 11 players graded over 100 and so it proved. We got off to a bad start when Cameron Marnoch lost after picking up the wrong piece. Defeats followed for Chris Cumbers, Will Taylor and Dan Southern and even though David Scott fought on when two pieces down he succumbed as well. Phil Gutcher lost despite being the exchange up and when Frank Robinson lost a double edged endgame when a pawn up we were 7-0 down with match already gone. Charles Ayton restored some pride after winning from two pawns down after his opponent unexpectedly gave his rook away. Then defeats followed for Mark Newstead who was crushed in the middlegame and Paul Fischer who couldn’t stop his opponent’s pawns in the endgame. Gary Scott’s extra knight proved decisive in the endgame to give us our second win and William Orr was able to grind out a draw against his highly rated young opponent. We will be hoping to cut out these unforced errors in our next match against Staffordshire on 6th December.

Date: 8/11/14
Venue: Bramcote Memorial Hall, Church Street, Bramcote, Nottingham NG9 3HD
    Nottinghamshire (Home team)   Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Hambel Willow West Nottingham 118 ½-½ William Orr Horncastle 117
2 B Rob Ensor Gambit 117 1-0 Paul Fischer Lincoln 117
3 W Dave Dunne West Nottingham 117 1-0 Chris Cumbers Grantham 112
4 B Mike Swanwick Nomads 114 0-1 Gary Scott Horncastle 109
5 W Chris Fraser West Bridgford 113 0-1 Charles Ayton Louth 109
6 B Lukasz Kacprzak Nottingham Central 112 1-0 Philip Gutcher Grimsby 105
7 W Graham Garside West Nottingham 113 1-0 Frank Robinson Spalding 105
8 B Michael Tellier Nottingham University 108 1-0 David Scott Horncastle 99
9 W Len Morrell Radcliffe & Bingham 107 1-0 Dr Mark Newstead Horncastle 86
10 B Margaret Gretton Gambit 104 1-0 Will Taylor Kings School Grantham 81
11 W Steve Luland Nottingham University 103 1-0 Cameron Marnoch Louth 75
12 B Rohan Tandon Nottinghamshire Juniors 75 1-0 Dan Southern Kings School Grantham 57
    9½-2½

Lincolnshire v Staffordshire

Report from John Grasham

Lincolnshire went into their crucial match with Staffordshire already 2-0 up after their opponents could only raise 10 players. Phil Gutcher agreed an early draw and Andrew Watson won after his opponent decided to swap off queens at the wrong time to put us further ahead. Geoff Roe lost after deciding to save his rook rather than his bishop in a swap off and was then overrun. Chris Cumbers and Paul Fischer then agreed draws to put us closer to the target. Will Taylor played an interesting line leaving his queen open to attack from a bishop but his opponent decided against taking and Will won a rook. He was then able to win comfortably. William Orr then lost after failing to spot a mate in one. Behzad Parnian was then able to win the match for Lincolnshire by slowly picking off four of his opponents pawns and waiting for his opponent to run out of time. Peter Damms put us further clear after his opponent couldn’t stop his passed central pawn. Steve Cade was the last to finish but he couldn’t salvage anything after losing a piece. After a comfortable win Lincolnshire will be in a confident mood going into their last game against Warwickshire next month where a win will see us qualify for the knockout stages.

Date: 6/12/14
Venue: Thurmaston Old School, Melton Road, Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BD
    Lincolnshire (Home team)   Staffordshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Stephen Cade Louth 118 0-1 Mike Jarocki Brewood 118
2 B William Orr Horncastle 117 0-1 David Johnson Kidsgrove 115
3 W Paul Fischer Lincoln 117 ½-½ Peter Windows Stafford 115
4 B Chris Cumbers Grantham 112 ½-½ Sandra Blackburn Holmes Chapel 114
5 W Behzad Parnian Grimsby 108 1-0 Danny Torbica Lichfield 112
6 B Philip Gutcher Grimsby 104 ½-½ Peter Evans Stafford 109
7 W Andrew Watson Louth 99 1-0 Arthur Hall Staffordshire 104
8 B Geoff Roe Lincoln 95 0-1 Simon Jones Bushbury 104
9 W Peter Damms Louth 67 1-0 David Buckley Bushbury 91
10 B Will Taylor Kings School Grantham 81 1-0 Stuart Green Stafford 74
11 W Arya Parnian Grimsby 83 1-0 Default    
12 B Haydn Godfrey Kings School Grantham 74 1-0 Default    
    7½-4½

Lincolnshire v Warwickshire

Report from John Grasham

Lincolnshire went into their final match against a strong Warwickshire side knowing that a win would take them through to the national stages for the first time. Things got off to a good start when 10 year old Arya Parnian won against Warwickshire’s former captain. A quick draw followed for Paul Fischer and then a win for Arya’s father Behzad who had the advantage of three minor pieces to two in the endgame extended our lead. Dan Southern then won from a position that looked lost when he was able to promote a pawn with check but Mark Newstead lost after his opponent trapped his queen in the centre of the board. Gary Scott resigned when several pawns down and Peter Damms lost when zugzwanged in the endgame but Andrew Watson got us closer to our target when his opponent moved a rook to leave a mate in one. At this point we needed two more wins and with Will Taylor having a won game with an extra queen we needed something on another board but we were behind in all the remaining games. However we took the win when Chris Cumbers informed his opponent that he had run out of time. Late losses for Phil Gutcher who misjudged a rook move which led to a back rank mate and William Orr who ran out of time could not put a damper on an excellent performance for Lincolnshire this season. We will return to action in the national quarter final on 17th May.

Date: 24/1/15
Venue: Thurmaston Old School, Melton Road, Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BD
Lincolnshire (Home team) Warwickshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B William Orr Horncastle 117 0-1 James Madden Leamington 119
2 W Paul Fischer Lincoln 117 ½-½ John Pakenham Warley Quinborne 119
3 B Chris Cumbers Grantham 112 1-0 Kim Gilbert Shirley 112
4 W Gary Scott Horncastle 109 0-1 John Green Solihull 113
5 B Behzad Parnian Grimsby 108 1-0 Dennis Horsley Solihull 110
6 W Philip Gutcher Grimsby 104 0-1 Peter Stiff Stratford 106
7 B Peter Damms Louth 101 0-1 Penny Wood Solihull 108
8 W Andrew Watson Louth 99 1-0 Simon Weaver Coventry Chess 103
9 B Dr Mark Newstead Horncastle 86 0-1 Bernard Visgandis Nuneaton 101
10 W Will Taylor Kings School Grantham 81 1-0 Mark Armitage Leamington 100
11 B Arya Parnian Grimsby 83 1-0 Pauline Woodward Warley Quinborne 86
12 W Dan Southern Kings School Grantham 57 1-0 Harvey Watkins Warley Quinborne 86
  6½-5½

ECF Quarter Final Lincolnshire v Kent

Report from John Grasham

I knew we would be up against it in our quarter final against Kent and despite pulling out all the stops to get the strongest team that had ever played for Lincolnshire out, we were still outgraded by an average of 10 points on every board. Things were looking bleak after we quickly found ourselves 3-0 down. Will Taylor left his queen en prise after 12 moves, Behzad Parnian played the wrong move order to leave himself the exchange plus a rook down and Chris Cumbers overlooked a mating threat. William Orr got us on the scoresheet with his first win of the season after forcing a bishop plus pawns endgame when his opponent had a bad bishop. It looked as if Kent’s matchplay tactics were working after the next four matches were all drawn. Kishore Murugesh played a very steady game on his debut for the county, Arya Parnian couldn’t force one of his pawns home in a knight and two pawns versus rook endgame, Peter Damms couldn’t convert a pawn advantage and Paul Fischer drew also. This left four matches remaining and as we were ahead in three at the time this match was going to the wire. Frank Birkbeck’s passed pawn in the centre was too strong and he queened it to give him the win and promising positions for Phil Gutcher and Mark Newstead who had turned his game around after being a piece down meant that the match was going to be decided on board 6 with Charles Ayton. Charles, despite being two pawns up was not able to hold on in the endgame and his position was slowly eroded until he had to accept defeat. A win for Mark and a draw for Phil was academic at the end but the team acquitted themselves remarkably and we were commended on our efforts by the Kent captain afterwards.

I would again like to thank everyone who played for the team this year, especially those who provided transport.

Date: 16/5/15
Venue: Great Shelford Memorial Hall, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 5LZ
Lincolnshire (Home team) Kent (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1   Behzad Parnian Grimsby 120 0-1 Mikey Watson Kent Junior Congressese 127
2   William Orr Horncastle 114 1-0 Peter Belka Gravesend 115
3   Chris Cumbers Grantham 113 0-1 Stephen Bond Tunbridge Wells 117
4   Kishore Murugesh Lincolnshire Juniors 112 ½-½ Peter Blundell Swale 118
5   Francis Birkbeck Louth 112 1-0 John Fowers Gravesend 118
6   Charles Ayton Louth 110 0-1 Andrew Gillard Swale 110
7   Arya Parnian Grimsby 104 ½-½ Phil Wheeler Pretts Wood & Orpington 125
8   Paul Fischer Lincoln 104 ½-½ Eric Hazell Kent CCA 115
9   Philip Gutcher Grimsby 103 ½-½ Lee Brockwell Kent CCA 117
10   Peter Damms Louth 97 ½-½ James Robertson Tunbridge Wells 112
11   Dr Mark Newstead Horncastle 91 1-0 Joe Neanor Pretts Wood & Orpington 105
12   Will Taylor Kings School Grantham 90 0-1 Neil Lang Kent CCA 111
  5½-6½