| Position | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nottinghamshire | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Leicestershire | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Lincolnshire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Worcestershire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | Warwickshire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct | Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire | 11-5 |
| 5 Dec | Leicestershire v Lincolnshire | 8½-7½ |
| 6 Feb | Warwickshire v Lincolnshire | 12-4 |
| 5 Mar | Lincolnshire v Worcestershire | 9-7 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr | Cornwall v Lincolnshire | 5½-10½ |
| 21 May | Kent v Lincolnshire | 7½-8½ |
| 11 Jun | Lincolnshire v Cambridgeshire | 8½-7½ |
| 2 Jul | Lincolnshire v Norfolk | 7-9 |
Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire
| Nottinghamshire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Robert Richmond | West Bridgford | 190 | 1-0 | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 |
| 2 | B | Brian Thompson | West Bridgford | 178 | ½-½ | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 |
| 3 | W | Andrew N Walker | Nottingham University | 175 | ½-½ | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 187 |
| 4 | B | Richard Truman | West Bridgford | 173 | ½-½ | J Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 |
| 5 | W | Derek Jarvis | Ashfield | 173 | ½-½ | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 183 |
| 6 | B | John Swain | Gambit | 170 | ½-½ | Harry Russell | Louth | 181 |
| 7 | W | Geoff Gibson | Gambit | 169 | ½-½ | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 170 |
| 8 | B | David Levens | West Nottingham | 167 | 1-0 | Kevin McCarthy | Grantham | 167 |
| 9 | W | Daniel Broughton | West Bridgford | 167 | ½-½ | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 164 |
| 10 | B | Richard McCann | Nottinghamshire | 165 | ½-½ | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 |
| 11 | W | Tim Poole | Nottingham University | 162 | 1-0 | Graham Ladds | Newark | 160 |
| 12 | B | Mike Naylor | Gambit | 161 | 1-0 | Chris Holt | Grantham | 159 |
| 13 | W | Kevin Harvey | Nottingham Central | 160 | 1-0 | Ben Mason | Grantham | 154 |
| 14 | B | Hamzah Ali | Gambit | 159 | 1-0 | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 153 |
| 15 | W | Richard Edwards | Nottinghamshire | 157 | 0-1 | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 |
| 16 | B | Taylor Pearson | West Nottingham | 152 | 1-0 | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 151 |
| 11-5 | ||||||||
Leicestershire v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Despite a heroic effort Lincolnshire eventually went down to a narrow 8½-7½ defeat against a much stronger Leicestershire team. Two withdrawals on Friday evening weakened the travelling Lincolnshire side that was already missing several regular players. I returned to captain the side after missing our opening match defeat against Nottinghamshire due to a family bereavement. A similar one sided defeat looked on the cards as Leicestershire raced in to a three game lead after about two hours play. But the Lincolnshire team was determined to make a contest of it despite being out rated by an average of twelve points per board. Graham Ladds scored the first win for Lincolnshire from position that looked drawn and we sensed a chance to fightback. Sam Milson missed all of last season, having spent a year at University in Germany, but marked his return to the team with a ruthless display of attacking chess to destroy his opponent. Stuart MacDonald was a late substitute for this match and proved his worth by fending off a dangerous looking attack and eventually winning the resulting endgame to score an important point. Denis Georgiou applied steady pressure and eventually forced the win of a pawn and headed to a winning endgame in which his bishop proved to be superior to his opponents Knight. This meant that the match was level with just one game remaining. The board one encounter between Paul Cumbers and Martin Burrows was an epic struggle. Both players are well known to one another having played together in the Grantham Sharks 4NCL team for several seasons. Paul looked to be better at one stage but the game went in to a rook and pawn endgame lasting almost 80 moves before he eventually conceded defeat. So eventually Lincolnshire finally went down by the narrowest of margins but certainly showed that adversity can bring out the best in people. The match was notable for the debut of Grimsby’s eleven year old Arya Parnian who was promoted at very short notice from the under 120 team who were playing nearby at Thurmaston. The experience will prove invaluable to him and I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. Thanks are due to the new under 120 captain William Orr for helping me out at the last minute.
| Leicestershire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Martin Burrows | Wigston | 202 | 1-0 | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 |
| 2 | W | Alan Byron | Wigston | 203 | ½-½ | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 |
| 3 | B | Shabir Okhai | Syston | 187 | 0-1 | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 |
| 4 | W | Graham Sharpe | Heathcote Arms | 189 | ½-½ | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 187 |
| 5 | B | Andy Morley | Wigston | 182 | ½-½ | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 |
| 6 | W | Brian Galligan | Syston | 186 | ½-½ | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 |
| 7 | B | Ray Burgess | Thurnby | 182 | 1-0 | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 170 |
| 8 | W | John Denton | Melton Mowbray | 174 | ½-½ | Andy Hebert | Grantham | 164 |
| 9 | B | Sean Sheahan | Shepshed | 177 | 0-1 | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 164 |
| 10 | W | Craig Norton | Wigston | 178 | 1-0 | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 161 |
| 11 | B | John Robinson | Braunstone | 177 | 0-1 | Graham Ladds | Newark | 160 |
| 12 | W | Paul Colburn | Braunstone | 175 | 1-0 | Chris Holt | Grantham | 159 |
| 13 | B | John Mitchell | Loughborough | 168 | ½-½ | Steve Allott | Grimsby | 153 |
| 14 | W | Richard Hanscombe | Braunstone | 167 | ½-½ | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 |
| 15 | B | Constantin Gramaticu | Syston | 164 | 0-1 | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 151 |
| 16 | W | Karl Potter | Latimer | 164 | 1-0 | Arya Parnian | Grimsby | 113 |
| 8½-7½ | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Warwickshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Despite several last minute changes to the original line up Lincolnshire powered their way to a convincing 12-4 victory against Warwickshire at Syston. Lincolnshire had to win this match as a defeat would mean the end of their hopes of progressing in to the latter stages of the Minor Counties Competition. The Lincolnshire team coped well under the pressure of having to win at all costs and the result was never really in doubt once Sam Milson and Joe Kilshaw got us off to a flyer with the opening two wins of the match. Further wins from last minute substitute Grenville Wollerton, Alastair Summers and Nigel Birtwistle put Lincolnshire into a commanding 6½-1½ lead. The match was virtually over after just over three hours play and victories from Paul Cumbers, Ivan David, Denis Georgiou, Graham Ladds and Nick Stead completed the rout. Special mention must be made of Nick Stead’s performance. Nick was the only Lincolnshire player out rated by his opponent who does not lose many games and is a regular qualifier for the British Chess Championships. Lincolnshire’s last match is against Worcestershire on March 5th. A victory in that match will mean that we will qualify for the preliminary round of the Minor Counties Competition.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Warwickshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 195 | 1-0 | Don Mason | Shirley | 204 |
| 2 | W | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 192 | 1-0 | Amrik Singh | Warley Quinborne | 180 |
| 3 | B | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 | 1-0 | Anthony Hickey | Boldmere St Michael | 178 |
| 4 | W | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 183 | 1-0 | Tom Robinson | Redditch | 171 |
| 5 | B | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 183 | ½-½ | Simon Smith | Warley Quinborne | 171 |
| 6 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 176 | ½-½ | Mark Cundy | Olton | 166 |
| 7 | B | Peter Cusick | Lincolnshire | 174 | ½-½ | Anthony Green | Nuneaton | 165 |
| 8 | W | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 172 | 1-0 | Iain Brodie | Solihull | 164 |
| 9 | B | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 171 | 1-0 | Sean Ralph | South Birmingham | 163 |
| 10 | W | Kevin McCarthy | Lincolnshire | 164 | 0-1 | Anthony Sadler | Solihull | 160 |
| 11 | B | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 161 | 1-0 | Jon Turner | Warley Quinborne | 158 |
| 12 | W | Graham Ladds | Newark | 158 | 1-0 | John Mildenhall | Sutton Coldfield | 155 |
| 13 | B | Chris Holt | Grantham | 157 | ½-½ | Nigel Byrne | Solihull | 155 |
| 14 | W | Ivan David | Grantham | 156 | 1-0 | Gary Hope | Olton | 151 |
| 15 | B | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 153 | 0-1 | Keith Thomas | Boldmere St Michael | 144 |
| 16 | W | Grenville Wollerton | Grantham | 142 | 1-0 | Adrian Hussain | Kynoch | 126 |
| 12-4 | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Worcestershire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire met Worcestershire in their final match of the MCCU group stages knowing that a win would see them snatch the last Minor Counties qualifying place from under the noses of their opponents. Lincolnshire were in a confident mood after last month’s demolition of Warwickshire and they fielded their strongest line up of the season so far. But as we all know matches in the MCCU are almost always close affairs and this was once again proven to be the case in this match where Lincolnshire held an advantage in average rating. In a match which was to swing to and fro for most of the afternoon Lincolnshire suffered an early blow when the normally solid Stuart Williams blundered a piece and was forced to resign immediately. It was pleasing to see Harry Russell return to the team after missing the last two games and he produced a fine performance to level the scores. Chris Dorrington on top board was making his first appearance of the season and he outplayed his opponent to put Lincolnshire ahead. Worcestershire levelled the scores and then went ahead for the first time in the match. However Joe Kilshaw won a crucial game which was not looking promising at one stage to restore parity and then I managed to rip open my opponent’s defenses on the kingside to nudge Lincolnshire in front.
Lincolnshire thus held a one point lead with two games remaining. If the match was drawn then both we and Worcestershire would be level on match points in the group and board count would be the tiebreaker for the Minor Counties qualification place. Having done the calculations I knew that half a point from the two remaining games would be enough to see us through. Ivan David and Denis Georgiou were the two Lincolnshire players left in play. Ivan assured Lincolnshire of qualification when he forced a repetition of moves. This meant that Denis who was a solid pawn up could push for the win without any risk to the team and he duly converted his advantage in the endgame to leave Lincolnshire winners by a 9-7 margin. Denis is probably playing the best chess of his life since he retired from work and it is pleasing to see somebody who has done a lot for chess in Lincolnshire over the years in such sparkling form.
At the time of writing I am unsure as to who Lincolnshire’s next opponents will be. However one thing that I am sure of is that we will have plenty of travelling to do because Lincolnshire have been drawn to play against the second placed team in the West of England Chess Union in the preliminary round of the Minor Counties Competition. This means that we could be facing Cornwall, Devon, Somerset or Gloucestershire! The preliminary round is scheduled to take place on Saturday 23rd April.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Worcestershire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 229 | 1-0 | Pavel Besedin | Worcester | 204 |
| 2 | B | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 195 | 0-1 | John Edge | Halesowen | 185 |
| 3 | W | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 192 | ½-½ | Lee Davis | Malvern | 183 |
| 4 | B | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 | ½-½ | Daniel Lambourne | Worcestershire | 179 |
| 5 | W | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 183 | 1-0 | Geoff Marchant | Streatham | 179 |
| 6 | B | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 183 | 0-1 | Kevin Hurney | Worcestershire | 176 |
| 7 | W | Harry Russell | Louth | 178 | 1-0 | Stephen Mellor | Worcester | 175 |
| 8 | B | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 176 | ½-½ | Peter Kitson | Worcester | 175 |
| 9 | W | Nick Payne | Grantham | 175 | 0-1 | Jim A Friar | Kidderminster | 173 |
| 10 | B | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 172 | 1-0 | Joseph D Friar | Kidderminster | 169 |
| 11 | W | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 171 | 1-0 | Brian Turner | Malvern | 163 |
| 12 | B | Keith Palmer | Louth | 161 | ½-½ | John Knee | Malvern | 150 |
| 13 | W | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 161 | ½-½ | Maurice Bissell | Kidderminster | 147 |
| 14 | B | Graham Ladds | Newark | 158 | ½-½ | Stephen Woodhouse | Worcestershire | 150e |
| 15 | W | Andy Hebert | Grantham | 157 | ½-½ | Ray Collett | Worcester | 142 |
| 16 | B | Ivan David | Grantham | 156 | ½-½ | Dave Spowart | Kidderminster | 132 |
| 9-7 | ||||||||
Cornwall v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire made the long trek to Yate near Bristol to play against Cornwall in the preliminary round of the Minor Counties Competition. I had expected that not everybody would be too keen to travel such a distance for one game but a combination of people car sharing, staying with friends or relatives or booking a hotel locally meant that Lincolnshire were able to field a strong team. I knew that Lincolnshire would be favorites to win the match on paper and a quick look at the respective line ups saw that Lincolnshire averaged 176 over the sixteen boards whilst our opponents only weighed in at 155. However the match still had to be won and a solid performance by Lincolnshire resulted in a 10½-5½ victory. Our next match will be on Saturday 21st May when we face the holders Essex in the Quarter Final. Essex has been a bit of a bogey side for Lincolnshire having defeated us three times in the last four years. If we are to break the losing sequence against them then we will have to field a strong side and be at our very best in order to progress to the semifinal.
| Cornwall (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Andrew Greet | Cornwall | 237 | 1-0 | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 229 |
| 2 | B | Jeremy Menadue | Truro | 190 | 0-1 | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 |
| 3 | W | James Hooker | Truro | 178 | ½-½ | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 |
| 4 | B | Default | 0-1 | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 | ||
| 5 | W | Lloyd Retallick | Newquay | 171 | 1-0 | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 187 |
| 6 | B | David Saqui | Camborne & Redruth | 170 | 0-1 | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 |
| 7 | W | Gary Trudeau | Cornwall | 160 | ½-½ | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 |
| 8 | B | Colin Sellwood | Camborne & Redruth | 156 | 0-1 | Harry Russell | Louth | 181 |
| 9 | W | Jeff Nicholas | Camborne & Redruth | 149 | ½-½ | Kevin McCarthy | Lincolnshire | 167 |
| 10 | B | Richard Smith | Truro | 145 | 0-1 | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 164 |
| 11 | W | Richard Stephens | Falmouth | 142 | ½-½ | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 164 |
| 12 | B | David R Jenkins | Camborne & Redruth | 124 | 0-1 | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 |
| 13 | W | Ian Renshaw | Falmouth | 121 | ½-½ | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 161 |
| 14 | B | Anton Barkhuysen | Camborne & Redruth | 119 | 0-1 | Graham Ladds | Newark | 160 |
| 15 | W | Brian Parkin | Liskeard | 119 | 1-0 | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 |
| 16 | B | Jason Henderson | Lerryn | UG | 0-1 | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 151 |
| 5½-10½ | ||||||||
Essex v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
After the long trip to play Cornwall in the preliminary round last time out Lincolnshire had considerably less distance to travel when they met old rivals and holders of the trophy Essex in the Minor Counties Quarter Final at Peterborough. Herman Kok and the Lindum Group provided a superb venue for the occasion the match being played in spacious comfortable surroundings with air conditioning. There was also an analysis room where players could discuss their games without disturbing those players who were still playing. The Essex webmaster set up his laptop in the analysis room and he was able to give an account of the match on the Essex Chess Website as the afternoons events unfolded.
Lincolnshire has never had much luck against teams from the SCCU. We have lost six times against opposition from the Home Counties including three previous defeats against Essex. But with both teams weighing in just underneath the 180 average grade a close match was in prospect and it proved to be just that. The teams traded punches with one another all afternoon. One side would edge in front with a win only for the scores to be levelled with a win by the other side. The match reached a crucial stage with four games left in play. The match was tied at 6-6. But then Lincolnshire struck two killer blows late in the day. Wins from Nick Stead and Keith Palmer put us in the driving seat at 8-6 up. It was the first time that either team had opened up a two point lead during the match.
However it was not all over. There still remained the obstacle of the dreaded board count. We have lost matches on board count before and I had already worked out that if Essex were to win the last two matches in play then the tie break would go against us. So we still needed half a point from the last two matches to make sure of victory. The two players left in play were myself and Paul Cumbers. Both of us had fought back from worse positions. Paul had defended very well to solidify his position and I had sacrificed an exchange to get some counter play and was close to equalizing but rather short of time. But Paul duly secured the half point that we needed and although my position slipped away at the end it didn’t matter. Lincolnshire had won the match by 8½-7½.
Winning this match was a tremendous achievement. Most of our team were playing with incremental time controls for the first time whilst our opponents were all familiar with them. The Essex team was a strong one with a Fide master and an International Master on their top two boards. But the team coped well under immense pressure and their hard work paid off in the end.
Our Opponents in the Semi Final will be Cambridgeshire. This will be another difficult encounter. There are no easy matches now. Every team left in the last four is capable of putting out a very strong team just under the under 180 average grade required by the rules of the competition. So we will have to lift ourselves for another big performance if we are to make it through to the finals day at Warwick on Saturday July 2nd.
| Essex (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | B | Jonathan Rogers | Ilford | 217 | ½-½ | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 229 |
| 2 | W | Artur Sygulski | Wanstead | 202 | ½-½ | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 |
| 3 | B | David Sands | Barking | 200 | 0-1 | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 |
| 4 | W | John Hodgson | Ilford | 191 | ½-½ | Jason Dilley | Grantham | 187 |
| 5 | B | Tim Hebbes | Essex | 188 | 1-0 | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 187 |
| 6 | W | David Spearman | Wanstead | 185 | 1-0 | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 |
| 7 | B | Ian DW Reynolds | Wanstead | 185 | ½-½ | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 |
| 8 | W | Ivan Myall | Chelmsford | 184 | 0-1 | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 183 |
| 9 | B | Kevin Bowmer | Loughton | 181 | 1-0 | Harry Russell | Louth | 181 |
| 10 | W | Jeff Goldberg | Barking | 181 | ½-½ | Nick Payne | Grantham | 176 |
| 11 | B | Steve Rix | Wanstead | 178 | 1-0 | Alastair Summers | Peterborough | 170 |
| 12 | W | John White | Barking | 172 | ½-½ | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 164 |
| 13 | B | Christopher Hampton | Rittle | 156 | 0-1 | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 164 |
| 14 | W | Philip Staniland | Wanstead | 156 | 0-1 | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 |
| 15 | B | Elliot Cocks | Essex Juniors | 157 | ½-½ | Graham Ladds | Newark | 160 |
| 16 | W | Ian Woodward | Thurrock | 136 | 0-1 | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 |
| 7½-8½ | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Cambridgeshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
The Lincolnshire team travelled to Peterborough to play Cambridgeshire in the Minor Counties semifinal and was in a confident mood after defeating the holders of the trophy Essex in the quarter final. The team showed several changes from that match with five players being unavailable due to holidays but despite this we were able to field a team just below the U180 average required by competition rules. However Cambridgeshire were also missing a few players so the match looked as if it would be pretty close on paper.
Steve Prior drew first blood for Lincolnshire when he opened up his opponent’s kingside and ruthlessly pressed home his advantage. Unfortunately Cambridgeshire were soon level when Ian McDonald declined a draw offer from ex Lincolnshire player Francis Bowers only to promptly blunder a rook. A few draws followed but then Lincolnshire started to take control. Sam Milson celebrated finishing his final exams at Sheffield University by skillfully exploiting his better coordinated pieces in an endgame to put Lincolnshire ahead and then I myself produced my best game of the season in which I exploited a space advantage and finished the game off with a nice combination. Ivan David also showed good technique to grind down his opponent and put Lincolnshire three points ahead.
However Cambridgeshire dug in and fought back with two wins of their own to cut the deficit to 7½-6½ with two games still in play. Paul Cumbers and Joe Kilshaw were the players at the board for Lincolnshire. Joe had been worse for much of his game but was fighting hard. Paul who had been in this situation a few times already this season had a least a draw but was pressing for the win. The board count situation was for once looking good for us in the event of a tied match but in the end it wasn’t needed as Paul easily drew his game and Joe made sure of an outright victory in the match by securing a well-deserved draw.
So yet another 8½-7½ victory put Lincolnshire in to the Minor Counties final for the first time since 1990. The team has fought extremely hard after losing their first two matches and only just scraping through to the knockout stages. We will now play Norfolk at Warwick on national finals day on Saturday July 2nd. Whatever the result we will have had a great season but it would be excellent if we can produce another strong performance and lift the trophy. We would be grateful of any support from anybody connected with Lincolnshire Chess and hope that some of you will be at the final to cheer the team on.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Cambridgeshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 229 | ½-½ | Andrei Timoshenko | Peterborough | 208 |
| 2 | B | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 | ½-½ | Liam Varnam | Royston | 194 |
| 3 | W | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 | 0-1 | Kevin Clark | Royston | 195 |
| 4 | B | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 | 1-0 | Robert McCorry | Cambride City | 178 |
| 5 | W | Jason Dilley | Grantham | 187 | ½-½ | Chris Tandy | Peterborough | 179 |
| 6 | B | Joe Kilshaw | Grimsby | 187 | ½-½ | Chris Davison | Cambridge City | 183 |
| 7 | W | Nigel Birtwisle | Grantham | 186 | 1-0 | Norman Hutchinson | Cambridge City | 172 |
| 8 | B | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 | ½-½ | Philip Fallon | Cambridge City | 173 |
| 9 | W | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 183 | 1-0 | Paul McMahon | Linton | 173 |
| 10 | B | Harry Russell | Louth | 181 | ½-½ | Raymond Ilett | Peterborough | 172 |
| 11 | W | Peter Cusick | Grantham | 174 | ½-½ | John Daugman | Cambridge City | 166 |
| 12 | B | Kevin McCarthy | Lincolnshire | 167 | ½-½ | Andrew Chapman | St Neots | 165 |
| 13 | W | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 165 | 0-1 | Carl Watkins | Warboys | 162 |
| 14 | B | Ian McDonald | Lincoln | 161 | 0-1 | Francis Bowers | Peterborough | 166 |
| 15 | W | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 | 1-0 | Sam Caraway | New England | 162 |
| 16 | B | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 151 | ½-½ | Marcus Connolly | Peterborough | 146 |
| 8½-7½ | ||||||||
Lincolnshire v Norfolk
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to Warwick on Saturday July 2nd to play in their first Minor Counties Final for 26 years. A close match was in prospect because both Lincolnshire and their Norfolk opponents fielded strong teams just below the 180 grading average required by the rules of the competition. The venue was excellent and easily accommodated both our final and the other six finals in the various graded competitions which were being played that day. Lincolnshire had done exceptionally well to get to the Minor Counties final after almost being eliminated in the union stage and then surviving two closely fought matches in the quarter and semifinal ties. Unfortunately this time the team came up short and although every player gave their maximum effort our opponents prevailed by a 9-7 margin.
Norfolk thoroughly deserved to lift the trophy. After winning the first full point Lincolnshire were never leading the match after that and were always chasing the match. To be fair we kept ourselves in contention by salvaging a few draws from positions which looked much worse for us. We always fight hard in our matches but this time it was not enough. Congratulations are due to our opponents who were worthy winners on the day. We will be back next season and hopefully the team will be better for the experience of playing on national finals day. The team was obviously disappointed to lose but every team member showed their sportsmanship by staying for the prize giving although they knew that there would be no trophies for the losing finalists. After the prize giving was over almost all of the team stayed for a team meal at a local Indian restaurant to celebrate what has still been a successful season despite this defeat at the final hurdle.
The strong commitment, enthusiasm and fighting spirit shown by the members of the county team has once again been excellent. I have also received help from outside of the team as well. Thanks are due to John Grasham and Paul Chaplin for allowing me to borrow digital clocks from both Louth and Grimsby Chess Clubs respectively for use in our matches. As ever Herman Kok has continued to support the team by providing a venue for some of our matches this season courtesy of the Lindum Group. This support combined with efforts of the players makes my life as captain so much easier. I am willing to continue in my role as captain if asked to do so.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Norfolk (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | Chris Dorrington | Grantham | 229 | 0-1 | Gordon Scott | Norfolk & Norwich | 212 | |
| 2 | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 194 | 1-0 | Kamil Przybyla | Broadland | 206 | |
| 3 | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 190 | ½-½ | David LeMoir | Fakenham | 193 | |
| 4 | Samuel Milson | Louth | 188 | 0-1 | Steve Pullinger | Yarmouth | 184 | |
| 5 | Jason Dilley | Grantham | 187 | ½-½ | Roy Hughes | Broadland | 188 | |
| 6 | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 186 | ½-½ | Benjamin Collinson | Norfolk & Norwich | 185 | |
| 7 | Stuart Williams | Grantham | 184 | 1-0 | Ken McEwan | Broadland | 186 | |
| 8 | Stephen Prior | Grantham | 183 | 0-1 | Andrew Brett | Writtle | 185 | |
| 9 | Harry Russell | Louth | 181 | ½-½ | Gerald Moore | Broadland | 181 | |
| 10 | Nick Payne | Grantham | 176 | 0-1 | Daniel Frean | Broadland | 170 | |
| 11 | Peter Cusick | Grantham | 174 | 1-0 | Meryn Hughes | Norwich Dons | 176 | |
| 12 | Denis Georgiou | Scunthorpe | 164 | 0-1 | Cor Dekker | Wymondham | 174 | |
| 13 | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 164 | 0-1 | Steve Moore | Norwich Dons | 166 | |
| 14 | Keith Palmer | Louth | 163 | ½-½ | Brian Jeffery | Fakenham | 166 | |
| 15 | Graham Ladds | Newark | 160 | ½-½ | Jonathan Burrows | Norwich Dons | 165 | |
| 16 | Ivan David | Grantham | 152 | 1-0 | Gregory Tebble | Norwich Dons | 140 | |
| 7-9 | ||||||||