Lincolnshire Chess Association

Minor Counties Competition (2019-20)

MCCU Minor Counties Championship
Position Teams Pl W D L Pts
1 Warwickshire 5 4 1 0 9
2 Lincolnshire 5 4 1 0 9
3 Leicestershire 5 3 0 2 6
4 Shropshire 5 1 0 4 2
5 Nottinghamshire 5 1 0 4 2
6 Worcestershire 5 1 0 4 2

MCCU Minor Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
16 Nov Leicestershire v Lincolnshire 6-10
7 Dec Lincolnshire v Warwickshire 8-8
4 Jan Lincolnshire v Worcestershire 11½-4½
22 Feb Shropshire v Lincolnshire 4-8
14 Mar Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire 4-12

Leicestershire v Lincolnshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to play Leicestershire in the first match of the season at a new venue at Burton Lazars just outside Melton Mowbray. The matches against Leicestershire are always keenly contested and on paper this match looked like it would be a close one. But a fine team performance ensured that Lincolnshire were never in any real trouble and they ran out convincing winners by a 10-6 margin. The damage was done by the middle order of the team and it was enough to break the resistance of the home team. Our next match is against Warwickshire on Saturday 7th December.

Date: 16/11/19
Venue: Burton Lazars
Leicestershire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Shabir Okhai Syston 198 0-1 Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 202
2 W  Martin Burrows Wigston 199 ½-½ Samuel Milson Louth 199
3 B Peter Guthmann Leicester University 192 1-0 Stephen Prior Grantham 195
4 W Gheorghe Albu Braunstone 189 0-1 Murray Smith Lincoln 194
5 B Robert K Taylor Syston 184 0-1 Paul Cumbers Grantham 192
6 W Graham Sharpe Heathcote Arms 183 0-1 Nick Stead Grimsby 189
7 B Simon Gay Market Harborough 180 0-1 Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 181
8 W John Denton Melton Mowbray 173 1-0 Peter Cusick Grantham 181
9 B Brian Galligan Syston 171 ½-½ Stuart Williams Grantham 179
10 W Tom Dove Ashby 170 ½-½ Kevin McCarthy Lincoln 173
11 B Ray Burgess Thurnby 168 ½-½ Keith Palmer Louth 161
12 W Karl Potter Syston 164 0-1 Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 153
13 B Ian M Clarke Market Harborough 157 0-1 Andy Hebert Grantham 153
14 W John Brookes Melton Mowbray 162 ½-½ David Scott Louth 152
15 B Romilly Ilersic Market Harborough 163 ½-½ Graham Ladds Newark 150
16 W Constantin Gramaticu Syston 161 1-0 Ian McDonald Lincoln 149
6-10

Lincolnshire v Warwickshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to Syston in Leicestershire to face Warwickshire full of confidence after their convincing victory over Leicestershire in their opening match. Lincolnshire were the favourites to win the match on paper and midway through the match another victory looked on the cards. But then some games started to slip away and Warwickshire clawed their way back in to the match. Sometimes this is how things go and eventually the match was drawn 8-8. We really should have won the match but only had ourselves to blame. I myself was the guiltiest of all. I was closing in on a win but I then blundered a whole rook to give my opponent the victory instead. We now move on to play Worcestershire in the New Year. Hopefully we will bounce back from this minor setback and produce a more clinical performance.

Date: 7/12/19
Venue: Syston
Lincolnshire (Home team) Warwickshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 202 0-1 Henrik Stepanyan Sutton Coldfield 209
2 B  Samuel Milson Louth 199 ½-½ Philip Holt Olton 207
3 W Stephen Prior Grantham 195 ½-½ Donald Mason Shirley 190
4 B Murray Smith Lincoln 194 ½-½ Tony Hynes Warwickshire 183
5 W Paul Cumbers Grantham 192 1-0 Nicholas Walker West Bromwich 182
6 B Nick Stead Grimsby 189 ½-½ Mark Cundy Olton 173
7 W Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 181 1-0 Shabab Quraishi West Bromwich 172
8 B Peter Cusick Grantham 181 ½-½ Anthony Sadler Solihull 172
9 W David Coates Lincoln 172 ½-½ Anthony Green Nuneaton 169
10 B Francis Bowers Grantham 166 ½-½ Keith Escott Sutton Coldfield 164
11 W Keith Palmer Louth 161 1-0 Roy Lawrence Sutton Coldfield 155
12 B Steve Allott Grimsby 155 0-1 Golam Ali Sutton Coldfield 151
13 W Andy Hebert Grantham 155 ½-½ Gary Hope Olton 149
14 B David Scott Louth 152 0-1 Mercea Majaesan Warwickshire 145E
15 W Graham Ladds Newark 150 1-0 Default    
16 B Ian McDonald Lincoln 149 0-1 Robert Marks Sutton Coldfield 134
8-8

Lincolnshire v Worcestershire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to Frolesworth in Leicestershire to play against Worcestershire and were looking for an improved performance from their previous match. Lincolnshire fielded a much changed line up from their first two matches but the players who came in to the team certainly didn’t disappoint. I had asked for a more ruthless performance from the team and they rose to the occasion winning by 11½-4½. This result puts us back at the top of the table joint top with Warwickshire. The next match for Lincolnshire is on Saturday 22nd February when we play Shropshire who have re-entered the competition this season after a few years absence.

Date: 18/01/20
Venue: Frolesworth
Lincolnshire (Home team) Worcestershire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 202 1-0 Peter Kitson Worcester 187
2 W  Samuel Milson Louth 199 0-1 Lee Davis Malvern 182
3 B Jason Dilley Grantham 197 0-1 John Edge Halesowen 181
4 W Murray Smith Lincoln 194 1-0 Dan Lambourne Redditch 180
5 B Paul Cumbers Grantham 192 ½-½ Kevin Hurney Greenlands 175
6 W Nick Stead Grimsby 189 1-0 Stephen Mellor Worcester 175
7 B David Coates Lincoln 172 ½-½ Nigel Towers Redditch 162
8 W Francis Bowers Grantham 166 ½-½ Brian Turner Malvern 160
9 B Keith Palmer Louth 161 1-0 Stephen Woodhouse Greenlands 158
10 W Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 153 1-0 Harry Evans Redditch 157
11 B Andy Hebert Grantham 153 1-0 Mihai Zbircea Redditch 153
12 W Dennis Browning Peterborough 151 1-0 Scott Russell Redditch 153
13 B Graham Ladds Newark 150 1-0 Hossam Abou Shaady Stourbridge 151
14 W Chris Holt Grantham 147 1-0 Paul Sharratt Stourbridge 140
15 B Chris Hill Grantham 147 ½-½ John Varilone Kidderminster 135
16 W Stuart MacDonald Grimsby 142 ½-½ Ian Truscott Greenlands 133
11½-4½

Shropshire v Lincolnshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to Syston in Leicestershire to take on Shropshire who were returning to the competition after several years absence. The Shropshire captain had already informed me on Friday evening that they would be four players short but rather than claim the four defaulted boards I graciously agreed to play the match over twelve boards.

It was no surprise that Lincolnshire were big favourites to win when the board pairings were announced. Shropshire battled really hard but due to the large difference in grading the result was never really in doubt. A poor performance from the Lincolnshire captain boosted the Shropshire points tally and gave the match score line some respectability. The final margin of victory was 8-4 although it really should have been more.

Our final match in the MCCU stages is on Saturday 14th March when we are away to Nottinghamshire. If we manage to win that match then we will finish as joint MCCU champions with Warwickshire. This will be our fifth successive match on the road this season and we will look forward to next season when we will have the luxury of two home matches at the Atrium.

Date: 22/02/20
Venue: Syston
Shropshire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Nathanael Paul Newport 189 1-0 Jason Dilley Grantham 207
2 B  Ian Jamieson Newport 168 1-0 Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 198
3 W Charles Higgie Shropshire 168 0-1 Paul Cumbers Grantham 197
4 B Christopher Lewis Newport 164 0-1 Stephen Prior Grantham 196
5 W Matthew Clark Shropshire 159 0-1 Nick Stead Grimsby 189
6 B Toby Neal Shropshire 157 0-1 Stuart Williams Grantham 180
7 W Peter Kitchen Shrewsbury 155 0-1 Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 178
8 B Tony Preece Maddocks 149 0-1 David Coates Lincoln 169
9 W Steve Tarr Maddocks 149 0-1 Francis Bowers Grantham 168
10 B Adrian Bailey Oswestry 146 ½-½ Keith Palmer Louth 158
11 W Gary White Maddocks 142 1-0 Andy Hebert Grantham 158
12 B Stefan Tennant Telford 122 ½-½ Graham Ladds Newark 157
4-8

Nottinghamshire v Lincolnshire

Date: 14/03/20
Venue: Bramcote
Nottinghamshire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Jonah Willow West Nottingham 235 ½-½ Murray Smith Lincoln 199
2 B  Peter Mercs Gambit 177 0-1 Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 198
3 W Julian Cast Long Eaton 175 0-1 Paul Cumbers Grantham 197
4 B Alex Combie Newark 172 0-1 Nick Stead Grimsby 189
5 W Armaan Gogia West Nottingham 172 ½-½ Stuart Williams Grantham 180
6 B Andrew George Newark 170 ½-½ Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 178
7 W Stefan Walentowicz West Bridgford 169 ½-½ David Coates Lincoln 169
8 B Daniel Broughton West Bridgford 163 ½-½ Andy Hebert Grantham 158
9 W David Flynn Nomads 160 0-1 Graham Ladds Newark 157
10 B Andrew Stevens Nomads 154 ½-½ Dennis Browning Lincolnshire 156
11 W Alex Bentley Long Eaton 151 0-1 David Scott Louth 156
12 B Neil Graham Ashfield 146 0-1 Chris Hill Grantham 150
13 W Shane Bhayat Nomads 146 0-1 Stuart MacDonald Grimsby 149
14 B James Thomson West Nottingham 140 0-1 Ben Mason Grantham 139
15 W Marcel Taylor Radcliffe & Bingham 146 ½-½ Grenville Wollerton Grantham 137
16 B Maurice Hill Nomads 146 ½-½ Alan Nelder Grantham 128
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