Worcester & District Chess League Results 2009-10

Worcester & District Chess League
Detailed Results 2009-10 Season

Navigation: Division 1 Division 2 Knock-Out Cup Bottom of page Worc & Dist Home

Results last updated 20 May
If corrections are required, please contact Ray Collett 01905 454754

Division 1

Greenlands - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Kevin Hurney Roy Peters Ian Ellis Ian Truscott	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Jim Keene John Clark
	Result	1 - 3	Played 29 Sep

Greenlands - Kidderminster Rooks			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Kevin Hurney Andrew Wiggins Ian Truscott Steve Shaw	1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½	John Chester John Varilone Paul Thomas Terry Pountney
	Result	3 - 1	Played 13 Oct

Greenlands - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Roy Peters Andrew Wiggins Ian Ellis Ian Truscott	½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Geoffrey Herbert Tony Shaw
	Result	1 - 3	Played 20 Oct

Droitwich & St Johns - Greenlands			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Gregg Dyett	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Kevin Hurney Roy Peters Andrew Wiggins Ian Truscott
	Result	4 - 0	Played 2 Nov

Worcester Bishops - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene	½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0	Brian Turner Perry Walker Geoffrey Herbert Tony Shaw
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 12 Nov
Match report from Ray Collett. With their best side, Worcester had hoped for a better result. After 2 hours play, Jim Keene was clearly better, skilfully exploiting holes in his opponent's French Defence. This was balanced by Geoffrey Herbert's ferocious attack on his opponent's king. The other two games were even. On board 2, Perry Walker had fallen behind on the clock, but his opponent missed a move trapping a bishop and failed to spot a way to bail out only a pawn down. Steve Mellor defended a Classical Caro-Kahn and Brian forced the win of a pawn, but conceded the draw in a rook and pawn ending to secure the match for Malvern.

Kidderminster Knights - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar Gerald Link Frank Pickett	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1 1 - 0	Peter Kitson Steve James Gregg Dyett John Loynes
	Result	2 - 2	Played 25 Nov
Match report based on e-mail from Jim Friar. On board 1, John Wrench defended Peter's King's Gambit missing the win of a pawn towards the end and a draw was a fair result. On board 2, Steve James defended a Queen side onslaught to salvage half a point. Towards time control Jim Friar missed a win, but as both players had 1 minute to make 10 moves it wasn't surprising they agreed a draw. Gerald Link fought on with a rook + Queen vs 2 bishops and Queen to get into a won position, but then left a mate in 1 on. Frank Pickett came out on top of a complicated middle game, winning a number of pawns and getting 2 pieces for a Rook.

Malvern - Kidderminster Rooks			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Perry Walker Geoffrey Herbert	0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	John Varilone Paul Thomas Terry Pountney Ken Durnell
	Result	3 - 1	Played 27 Nov

Worcester Bishops - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Roager Yates	½ - ½ 0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Gregg Dyett John Loynes
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 10 Dec
Match report from Ray Collett (amended 17 Jan). The away team were favourites, but they had to fight hard for their win. On Board 1, Steve Mellor deserted his usual Caro-Khan. Peter Kitson gradually strangled the black position so that he had a clear advantage at the time control. This advantage was converted into material so that Steve looked lost as he went from one pawn to two and then three pawns down. In the time scramble of the rapidplay finish the Worcester Bishop's player won a piece, but white's pawns were marching to their coronation so Steve had to sacrifice his material advantage. The players finished with an honourable draw, each having only king and pawn. Nick Harris, playing the black side of an Alekhine's Defence soon nullified the advantage of the move and developed an initiative to attack white's central pawns. In the rush to meet the time control white found resources not seen by white, but this was not enough to save the game. On Board 3, Andrew Farthing accepted a gambit pawn and was under pressure. He lost the exchange for a pawn, but the position was strong enough to hold. The Worcester player won on time in a position which was complex and possibly balanced with the exchange for a pawn. Andrew's pawn structure was much better and the Greg's flag fell before the 35th move - bizarrely - thinking for 10 seconds or so when safe options were immediately available. Board 4 was the first to finish when John Loynes simplified to an ending where his opponent overlooked a knight fork losing a piece.

Kidderminster Knights - Greenlands			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Gerald Link	1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Kevin Hurney Andrew Wiggins Ian Truscott Steve Shaw
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 20 Jan
Match report from Jim Friar. Gerald Link was first to finish, winning the exchange in a Queen's Gambit Accepted. In a complicated ending, he finally trapped Steve Shaw's Knight, going a full rook up. On board 3, Maurice and Ian Truscott had castled on opposite sides and both were attacking the kings. Whose attack would get through first? Maurice swapped both rooks for Ian's queen, but after a number of checks, Maurice forced Ian onto the back row. Maurice's bishop was defending at b7 and made only its second move to give a winning check on a6. Jim Friar won a pawn in the centre and offered a draw to clinch the match for Kidderminster. Earlier John Wrench also offered a draw to win the match in a stronger position, but the offer was declined and Kevin payed the penalty. Kevin was a piece for three pawns down, but the pawn chain was on oppositely coloured squares from the bishop, which blockaded them. If Kevin had just left the position intact the draw was probably there. Instead he pushed pawns on the opposite side and allowed John to infiltrate with rook and knight. John trapped Kevin's King on the h-file, and Kevin was powerless to stop a mating attack.

Malvern - Droitwich & St Johns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Perry Walker Geoffrey Herbert	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 ½ - ½	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Greg Dyett John Loynes
	Result	2 - 2	Played 22 January
Match report from Nick Harris. Peter Kitson played a splendid game against Brian Turner, sacrificing fearlessly in a King's Gambit. Clarke-Harris fizzled out early. Greg Dyett was winning, the exchange and a pawn up, until he became carried away by his attack and left his own king open to a series of killer checks from Perry Walker. John Loynes had the better of his encounter with Geoff Herbert, but conceded the draw a pawn up in an endgame with bishops of opposite colours.

Worcester Bishops - Greenlands			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene	0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0	Kevin Hurney Andrew Wiggins Ian Ellis Ian Truscott
	Result	2 - 2	Played 28 January
Match report from Ray Collett. The first game to finish was on Board 2. Andrew Wiggins played a French Defence and players quickly swapped minor pieces in the opening, but white had a very slight initiative. Black chose to fianchetto his queen's bishop and Ray Collett siezed the chance to plant a knight on e5, preventing black devloping his queenside. Black found himself without moves and resigned when faced with the loss of piece. Jim Keen was the nxt to win for Worcester. White established a commanding bishop on d6 and then won with an attack on the king. This was followed by a Redditch win. On board 3 black captured a gambit pawn, held it, and overturned white's initiative, but Ian Ellis's opponent blundered in a strong, possibly winning, position and allowed a decisive tactical finish. Steve Mellor's game looked good for Worcester, but Kevin swapped a piece for pawns to expose black's king. After a check, Steve should have moved his king back into the corner and conceded a draw by purpetual. Instead the monarch advanced towards the centre and was gunned down by white's heavy artillery. [Apologies for earier incorrect result and report and thanks to Andrew Farthing for correction - Ray]

Droitwich & St John's - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Gregg Dyett	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Maurice Bissell Jim Friar Gerald Link Mark Riley
	Result	4 - 0	Played 1 Feb
Match report combined from those received from Jim Frair and Nick Harris. Droitwich St John's brushed aside Kidderminster in their bid to retain their Division 1 title. Things got off to a bad start when Kidderminster arrived at the wrong venue. As a sporting gesture the Home side didn't start the clocks till 8 o'clock while Kidderminster raced across the county. Board 1 saw Peter defending Maurice Bissell's Queens Gambit. Maurice captured a poisoned pawn and shed material when Maurice missed a Zwischen move that gave Peter engineered a double attack against unprotected rooks and won the exchange. Careful defence neutralised white's hoped-for counterplay based on an advenced pawn on e6. On Board 2 Jim Friar won a pawn towards the endgame but was too preoccupied stopping Steve's perpetual check and avoiding the draw that he dropped a piece. The board 3 game Nick Harris - Gerald Link finished first. Nick replied with a Kings Indian to Gerald Link's QP opening. Players attached on opposite wings, but slip by Gerald left him unable to make progress on the queenside, while black won with a typical King's Indian pawn storm and bone-in-the-throat-at-g3 mating attack against a defenceless king. Mark Riley's position looked promising against Greg Dyett's Bird's Opening and the game was lond and messy untill the time control. Having to make 10 moves in a few minutes, Mark was unable to exploit Greg's awkwardly placed pieces. Mark's position deteriorated as he lost 3 queen-side pawns. The rest was a matter of technique.

Kidderminster Rooks - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen Terry Pountney Ken Durnell	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	Brian Turner Perry Walker Geoffrey Herbert Tony Shaw
	Result	0 - 4	Played 10 February
Match report from Brian Turner. The highlights of this match were a Greek Gift sacrifice by Tony Shaw on h2 (Tony was black) and a well played rook and pawn ending by Geoffrey Herbert to conclude a hard-fought game with Terry Pountney.

Kidderminster Rooks - Greenlands			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Varilone (139) Mike Kitchen (119) Terry Pountney (115) Ken Durnell (111)	0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	Kevin Hurney (180) Andrew Wiggins (149) Ian Ellis (146) Ian Truscott (136)
	Result	½ - 3½	Played 17 February
Match result from Kevin Hurney.

Malvern - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Geoffrey Herbert John Knee	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	John Wrench Jim Friar Gerald Link Frank Pickett
	Result	3 - 1	Played 19 February
Match report from Brian Turner. Kidderminster knights made it through the Malvern snow for the W&D Division 1 match. On board 1, John Wrench gained an advantage with white from a Four Knights Game, but Brian Turner was able to consolidate his position for the draw. Ian Clarke played a quiet Queen's Pawn Game against Jim Friar. Nneither side could make progress and peace was signed. The last game to finish was board 3 where Geoffrey Herbert, playing black, retained a Queen's Gambit pawn. Gerald Link strongly resisted and Geoffrey had to play well to convert the rook and pawn then king and pawn endings to win. On board 4, John Knee established a passed pawn on c6 against Frank Pickett. John reinforced it with a queen-side breakthrough and won with conneced passed pawns.

Kidderminster Knights - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Jim Friar John Wrench Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett	0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ -½ ½ -½	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Geoffrey Herbert John Knee
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 3 Mar
Match reported by Brian Turner and Jim Friar.

Greenlands - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Andrew Wiggins Ian Ellis Ian Truscott Steve Shaw	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 9 Mar
Match report from Jim Friar. Board 2 was the first to finish. Ian Ellis played a King's Gambit, but allowed black to attack his d-pawn. After its capture there were massive complications. Ian exchanged pieces and lost a second pawn. Attempting to win a pawn back, Ian missed a back row mate. On board 3 Ian Truscott tried a Slav Defence against Maurice Bissell's Queen's Gambit. Missing an intermediate move, Ian lost a pawn and then a full piece. Later Maurice a trapped a lone rook to clinch the win. After the time control on board 4, Frank Pickett and Steve had exchanged off only a bishop and a couple of pawns in a Colle System with too much play left for the 5-10 minutes they both had left so they agreed a draw. Andrew Wiggins played the black side of a French Defence and players castled on opposite wings. John opened the h-file with his rook on h1 and also got a rook on a7 so that both attacked h7. In spite of this pressure Andrew Wiggins found a killer knight sacrifice that allowed Andrew to win the rook on a7 to win.

Kidderminster Knights - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Gerald Link Frank Pickett	0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Phil Smith
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 17 Mar
Match report from Ray Collett. First game to finish was board 4 when Frank Pickett made short work of black's Caro-Kahn Defence. By that stage, Worcester Bishops were also reeling on board 2 where Maurice Bissell, refreshed from his holiday in New Zealand, overwhelmed black's King's Indian Defence with an early Bg5. Andrew Farthing and Gerald Link agreed a draw in a blocked position and board 1 also looked to be heading for a draw. Fortunately for Steve Mellor, his opponent blundered, and Kidderminster Knights remained on top.

Malvern - Greenlands			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Geoffrey Herbert Tony Shaw	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Andrew Wiggins Ian Ellis Ian Truscott Richard Collett
	Result	4 - 0	Played 19 Mar
Match reported by Brian Turner

Droitwch & St Johns - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett	½ - ½ 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene
	Result	3 - 1	Played 22 Mar
Match report from Ray Collett. Both teams deployed their best artillery for this local Derby. The St Johns side went into the lead when Steve James crushed Ray collet with a Four Pawns Attack on a Kings Indian Defence. Greg Dyett, playing Bird's Opening, got the advantage and won on time in a superior position. Andrew Farthing played his trademerk 1.Nc3 and the players agreed a draw in an even position. The last game to finish was board 1: a draw leaving St Johns match winners.

Kidderminster Rooks - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Varilone (b) Pauk Thomas Terry Pountney Ken Durnell	½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ -½ ½ - ½	John Wrench (w) Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 24 Mar
Match report from Jim Friar. What looked on paper an easy match for the Knights turned out turned out to be a tough win. On board 2, Paul Thomas (Knights) wasted time capturing Jim Friar's (Knights) white-squared bishop. Jim counter-attacked in the centre. Paul pushed his d-pawn forward, but it was difficult to defend it. Then Paul castled into an attack and couldn't stop mate. Next game to finish was board 4. Frank Pickett (Knights) had an even game against Ken Durnell (Rooks). Ken ended with queen and two bishops against Frank's queen, bishop and knight. Neither player could pass the pawn barrier separating the pieces and they agreed a draw. One board 1, John Varilone (Rooks) found a brilliant knight move against what looked like a winning attack for John Wrench (Knights). John Varilone decided to win a rook and missed a move that would have won a piece. Taking the rook allowed John Wrench a perpetual check. The last game to finish was a titanic struggle between Terry Pountney (Rooks) and Maurice Bissell (Knights). Terry had queen and bishop against Maurice's queen and knight. Maurice had a passed c-pawn, but could not make progress. For over thirty moves Maurice tempted Terry to move the pawns defending his King but to no avail and the point was shared. (amended 5 April).

Droitwich & St John's - Kidderminster Rooks			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Default Nick Harris Greg Dyett	1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0	John Varilone Paul Thomas Terry Pountney Ken Durnell
	Result	3 - 0	Played 30 Mar
Match report from Nick Harris. Outgraded, Kidderminster Rooks went down, but put up stout resistance.

Malvern - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Geoffrey Herbert Tony Shaw	½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene Ed Osbourn
	Result	2 - 2	Played 9 Apr
Match report from Ray Collett. Without their best player and outgraded on all boards, Worcester were expected to lose this match. All games were even throughout. Last to finish was Board 1, which went to the final 2 minutes of play. Brian Turner, Malvern as black, played an unusual variation of the Steinitz Defence Deferred in the Ruy Lopez. Ray Collett's pieces looked a little tied up at one stage defending the e4 pawn, but he found a way to simplify to an end game with queen and knight each and symmetrical pawns on both sides. By this stage the other three games had been drawn and Brian had an advantage in time so he played on, refusing the Worcester man's offer of a draw. Queens were swapped and it looked at first as if black's more active king would infiltrate, but Ray defended carefully and the draw was agreed with both players having knight and three pawns.

Droitwich & St Johns's - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1	Brian Turner Ian Clarke Perry Walker Geoff Herbert
	Result	1 - 3	Played 12 Apr
Match result from Brian Turner.

Worcester Bishops - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene John Clarke	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1	John Wrench Gerald Link Mark Riley Dave Close
	Result	1 - 3	Played 15 Apr
Match reported by Andrew Farthing.

Worcester Bishops - Kidderminster Rooks			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Jim Keene John Clark	½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	John Varilone Paul Thomas Terry Pountney Ken Durnell
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 22 Apr
Match report from Ray Collett. At the tail end of a poor season for Worcester, an emphatic win for the Bishops. The board 1 game went to the final seconds of the first time control when Collett (Worcester) with a rook esconced on the seventh had to submit to perpetual from Varilone's (Kidderminster) marauding queen and knight. Andrew Farthing got a bind and squeezed Thomas by advancing king-side pawns. Eventually the pips squeaked. Jim Keene won material and went into a winning minor piece ending two pawns up to win.

Kidderminster Rooks - Droitwich & St Johns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Varilone John Chester Paul Thomas Ken Durnell	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Greg Dyett John Loynes
	Result	1 - 3	Played 21 Apr
Match reported by Nick Harris

Kidderminster Rooks - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Paul Thomas Default Terry Pountney Ken Durnell	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ -½	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Andrew Farthing John Clark
	Result	½ - 3½	Played 28 Apr
Match result from Andrew Farthing and report from Ray Collett. Outgraded and starting without a player, Kidderminster Rooks duly went down to Worcester Bishops. Steve Mellor won through a king-side attack. Andrew Farthing and Terry Pountney's game started with Andrew's trademark 1.Nc3 and Andrew secured a clear positional advantage. This went to a rook and pawn ending with Terry trying to defend isolated triple f-pawns. The position could not be held and Terry conceded to the Worcester's captain. On board 4, there was a temporary hiatus while both players tried to correct their scores. The game started with a Dutch Defence and was fairly level throughout.

AKidderminster Knights - Kidderminster Rooks			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Mark Riley	1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	John Varilone Clive Billinge Paul Thomas Terry Pountney
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 18 May
Match report from Jim Friar. The world championship influenced board one's game, players following a Queen's Gambit. There were pieces and pawns as far as the eye could see in a very sharp and tactical match. In the end John Varilone (Rooks) had given up too many pawns for the complications. Clive Billinge (Rooks) sacrificed a pawn in an irregular opening. The game ended with a queen and pawn ending, but Clive unable to stop Jim Friar's passed pawn. Board 3 saw sacrifices from both sides in a very interesting Exchange Variation of the French Defence. After all the dust settled, neither player had advantage and the game was drawn. Mark Riley (Rooks) played an exchange Ruy Lopez to perfection. His peices were all mobilised allowing him a temporary sacrifice which led to an overwhelming position.

Division 2

Headless Cross - Redditch			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Asley Davis David Richardson Mark Hore Paul Roberts	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Giles Stanton Jason Cole Richard Turner N Stokes
	Result	3 - 1	Played 28 Sep

Headless Cross - Hagley			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Glenn Cox (150) Ashley Davis David Richardson (120) Ron Thompson	½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½	Frank O'Gorman (124) Greg Voskanian (116) Graham Wyle (121) Bill Sitch (72)
	Result	3 - 1	Played 12 Oct

Redditch - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Rob Bricknell Jason Cole Michele Clack Penny Wood	½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Mark Riley John Gittus Clive Billinge Michael Kitchen
	Result	2½-1½	Played 13 Oct

Worcester Pawns - Headless Cross			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing John Clark Roger Yates	½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1	Ashley Davis David Richardson Mark Hore Kevin Day
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 15 Oct
Match report by Ray Collett. Strengthened with a Wesh Junior International player on board 1, Headless Cross hoped to repeat last seasons win against City. Early signs were not good for the visitors when their board 2 dropped the exchange. In compensation, Headless Cross players had slight positional advantages on boards 1 and 4. After two hours play, only board one was finished. Ashley offered a draw at the time control when central exchanges left only mninor pieces and pawns in play. Meanwhile Andrew Farthing was increasing pressure on David's king, but Roger yates had dropped a pawn against Kevin on Board 4. The Cross went ahead when Kevin forced off the pieces and won more pawns. On board three there was drama when Mark Hore speculatively sacrificed a rook to open up John Clark's king. John was right to accept the sacrifice, but it was very easy for him to go wrong with his opponent's bishop and queen threatening to penetrate his tattered king side defences. Fortunately for City, Mark allowed John to force the exchange of queens when the extra rook was decisive. The home victory was finally sealed when Andrew Farthing, pursued his attack with ruthless efficiency to convert.

Worcester Pawns - Droitwich			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Phil Smith Roger Yates	0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	John Loynes Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller Tom Parkes
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 29 Oct
Match report by Ray Collett. This local Derby produced a close match with all four games in the balance after two hours play. On top board Worcester had the advantage of the exchange and position, but on board two Droitwich were ascendant. Andrew Farthing was first to concede and this result was followed by a draw on board 3. Roger played a captain's game for Worcester, winning a minor piece ending, but on board 1, Worcester blundered the move before the time control so that John Loynes' Knight forked his opponent's rooks. This was followed by an even crazier move rather than settling for an ending a 'mere' pawn up. This left John 15 minutes to wrap up a knight and bishop versus rook ending, which he did with one minute to spare.

Droitwich - Headless Cross			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller W (Bill) Watson Tom Parkes	0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ -½ ½ -½	Glenn Cox Ron Thompson Mark Hore Paul Roberts
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 16 Nov

Worcester Pawns - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ray Collett John Clark Phil Smith Roger Yates	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0	Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen
	Result	2 - 2	Played 19 Nov
Match report by Ray Collett. On board 1 Ray Collett defended the black side of a Ruy Lopez. In a complex middle game, Ray allowed his opponent the chance to sacrifice a piece for a winning king side attack. Fortunately for Worcester, the sac was not played. A few moves later, white failed to win a gifted piece but did force an ending with a supported advanced passed pawn to take the win. On board 2, Tim Yates accepted a sacrifice of a knight for 2 pawns and resisted an attack to achieve a won ending. Clive Billinge and Worcester's new player Phil Smith had a complex Ruy Lopez, but in the end Clive got the win. Roger Yates played his usual English Opening and achieved a slight plus at the time control. Thereafter black's game fell apart for Worcester.

Kidderminster Pawns - Hagley			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Peter Keate Graham Wyle J Taylor Bill Sitch
	Result	3½ - ½	2 December

Hagley - Headless Cross			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	James P Friar (116) Joseph D Friar (100) Bill Sitch (72) Peter Owen (ug)	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1 1 - 0	Glenn Cox (150) Ashley Davis (138) Mark Hore (106) Ronald Thomson (110)
	Result	2 - 2	11 December
Match report from Jim Friar - Twelve-year-old James Friar was Hagley's captain for the night. It was the intention to field a complete junior side for the return match against Headless Cross, but unfortunately board 3 couldn't make the match and Bill Sitch was substituted at the last moment. Boards 1, 2 and 4 had an average age of just over 12. On board 1 James played the Petroff Defence. From the opening he had a spatial advantage but couldn't convert it as Glenn wouldn't allow the queen and bishop to be swapped off, as he would have an inferior ending. On board 2 Ashley expertly defended against a Morra gambit going into the ending a pawn up. With a knight and 6 pawns v knight and 5 pawns Joseph skilfully blockaded the passed pawn in the centre. Had Ashley swapped the knights off, Joe would have the opposition and force Ashley back, winning the pawn and turning the tables. Ashley was too good to allow this and a draw was agreed. Bill's game was fairly equal until the around the twentieth move, where an oversight saw Mark get a double attack going against Bill's King, which proved fatal. The final board saw an excellent battle in an opposite Bishop ending. Although Peter was a couple of pawns up, Roland's King was active and well positioned compared to Peter's. Fortunately Peter managed to create a passed pawn either side of the board and this proved decisive. Roland's overworked Bishop couldn't contend with both pawns as Peter pushed them onto victory.

Hagley - Droitwich			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	James P Friar (J) Kyle Reed (J) Joseph D Friar (J) Peter Owen (J)	0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1	Arnold Kirkland (W) Bill Watson Tom Parkes Barry Tisdell
	Result	2 - 2	Played 21 January
Match report by Jim Friar (Snr). Hagley, with an average age of twelve and three quarters played Droitwich had an average age of 72. It was a typical David vs Methuselah match! After an hour of play, Kyle Reed pinned Bill Watson's queen against his king forcing Bill's resignation. On board 3, Joseph Friar won the exchange and then finished the game by a clever trap forking his opponent's king and queen. On borard 4, the game was quite equal until the young Hagley player missed a back-rank mate. So it was all to play for on top board. Arnold Kirkland had opened with what looked like a King's Indian Attack quietly extending into the centre with pawns. In a complicated position, James Friar won a piece for two pawns. These pawns were connected in the centre, and Arnold intended to push them. After two and a half hours play, James had won one of these pawns, but there were massive complications. The Droitwich player had a pawn at e6 backed by queen and rook. In the dying minutes James gave up his piece for the pawn amd swapped queens to leave rook and three pawns each. Arnold, an experienced county player, offered the exchange of rooks, which James accepted leaving Arnold's King was more active. Arnold created a passed pawn on the Q-side. As both pawns raced to queen with Arnold's winning by a short head to leave him with a queen vs pawn ending to win in a few seconds. Arnold blocked the pawn on g6 and forced James's resignation. What a match!

Kidderminster Pawns - Redditch			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	Kryzs Krowicki Giles Stanton (capt) Richard Turner Peter Seeley
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 27 January
Match report by Giles Stanton. In the match, Kryzs Krowicki had a superior position, declined the offer of a draw and then took a wrong pawn. Further loss of material lost the game. On board 2 in a Sicilian Sveshnikov as black Giles Stanton tried to take advantage of white's premature capture on f6, but made a hash of it loosing quickly. On board 3 the position became blocked with no apparent way for either side to make progress. On board 4, Clive Billinge swapped rooks when the exchange down giving Peter Seeley free entry on the f-file to infiltrate, win further material, and win the game.

Headless Cross - Worcester Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Glenn Cox Ashley Davis Paul Roberts Ronald Thompson	0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0	Philip Smith Ed Osbourn Roger Yates Default
	Result	2 - 2	Played 8 Feb
Match report by Roger Yates and Glenn Cox. Being outgraded and a man down, the Pawns did well to draw this match. Paul Roberts a new player for Headless Cross had an even game against Roger Yates until the Worcestre player won a pawn in the ending. Roger's experience then netted the full point. Ed Osbourn playing his first match for Worcester was pitted against talented junior Ashley Davis. With unbalanced pawns in the ending, Ashley was able to get the win. The final game to finish was Board 1, which was lost on time. Glen Cox was subjected to a violent king's-side attack by Phil Smith, causing the Headless Cross player to lose time. Phil may have been able to win the game sooner, but his advantage in time was enough to secure the point even after he blundered a piece near the end when his rooks got pinned. Glenn said: "Phil can fairly claim to have won the game, rather than being given it by my time trouble".

Droitwich - Hagley			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland WW (Bill) Watson Tony Parkes Barry Tisdall	0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Francis O'Gorman Bill Sitch Faro Rafaat Colin Reed
	Result	3 - 1	Played: unknown
Match reported by Hagley.

Redditch - Droitwich			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Giles Stanton Derek Abrahams Kevin Day (player ineligible) Peter Seeley	1 - 0 0 - 1 (½ - ½) ½ - ½	Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller WW (Bill) Watson Bert Foord
	Explanation below Result	1½ - 2½	Played 16 Feb
Match report by Rob Bricknell and Giles Stanton. Arnold Kirland took the game to Giles Santon with an early f4-f5 advance in a Sicilian. Giles expected a piece sac to open up the king, which would have been difficult to defend. Arnold fought shy of this continuation. The tide turned for Giles when he offered to exchange queens, which was also declined, but then an attack appeared from nowhere, resulting in a fortuitous win. On board 2 in another Sicilian Defence, Rob Bricknell won the exchange and a pawn with a knight fork and finished with an overwhelming attack. On board 3 after an English Opening the players agreed a draw in an even position, but Kevin Day was ineligible to play for Redditch because he has already represented Headless Cross this season. The last game to finish was on board 4. It was tightly contested with Bert Foord ending two pawns up. With opposite coloured bishops and Peter Seeley's centralised king, however, Bert was unable to make progress and a draw was agreed. The Controller has ruled that the result of the draw on board 3 will be used for grading, but Redditch lose the match 1½ - 2½.

Hagley - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Kyle Reed Julian Taylor Michael Reitenbach Colin Reed	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 (0 - 1)	Dave Close Mark Riley Clive Billinge Terry Pountney (ineligible)
	Result	1 - 3	Played: 19 Feb
Match reported by Hagley. On board four, Kidderminster played a barred player who has already played 4 times in Division 1, hence the amended result.

Headless Cross - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Glenn Cox Ashley Davis Ronald Thompson John Holmberg	½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0	David Close Tim Yates Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 1 Mar
Match report by Glenn Cox. The young and the not-so-young secured Headless Cross's victory. First to finish was board 3, where Clive Billinge checkmated Ronald thompson. On board 2 15-year-old Ashley converted a material advantage into a winning king and pawn ending. Shortly after, 90-year-old John Holmberg won another victory in a tight game against Mike Kitchen on board 4. On board 1, Dave Close played the Grand Prix Attack against Glenn Cox's Sicilian. Dave secrificed two pawns, but the attacke repulsed so that at the time control Glenn had knight and six pawns against knight and four pawns. Being short of time, Glenn offered a draw to win the match for Headless Cross.

Redditch - Headless Cross			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson (168) Rob Mitchell (140) Rob Bricknell (125) Pete Seeley	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ -½ 1 - 0	Glenn Cox (150) Ashley Davis (138) Dave Richardson (128) Mark Hore (106)
	Result	3 - 1	Played 2 Mar
Match report by Genn Cox. Redditch regulars were playing a Birmingham League match so stronger players were drafted in. Tom won a pawn in the early middle game and converted comfortably.

Droitwich - Redditch			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller WW (Bill) Watson Barry Tisdell	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ -½ ½ -½	Giles Stanton Jason Cole Derek Abrahams Pete Seeley
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 15 Mar
Match report by Giles Stanton. Arnold Kirkland used a Philidor Defence and gained a pawn against Giles Stanton. White thought he could swap off all major and hold the game with a more active king. However, attempting to re-gain the pawn the black king infiltrated and Arnold won. Jason Cole once again employed his favourite Caro Kann to earn his draw.

Hagley - Worcester Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Keate (146) James P Friar (116) Graham Wyle (121) Bill Sitch (72)	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1	Ed Osbourn (u/g) Philip Smith (u/g) Roger Yates (100) Pat Greenow (92)
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 21 Apr
Match reported by Roger Yates

Kidderminster Pawns - Droitwich			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 0 - 1 1 - 0	Arnold Kirkland WW (Bill) Watson Bert Foord Barry Tisdell
	Result	2 - 2	Played 21 Apr
Match result from Arnold Kirkland

Droitwich - Worcester Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller WW (Bill) Watson Tony Parkes	0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0	Ed Osbourn John Clarke Phil Smith Roger Yates
	Result	2 - 2	Played 22 Mar
Match reported by Worcester

Kidderminster Pawns - Headless Cross			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Dave Close Mrak Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	Glenn Cox Ashley Davis David Richardson Mark Hore
	Result	4 - 0	Played 17 Mar
Match report by Headless Cross. On top board Glenn Cox (Headless Cross) had a small advantage around move 20, but missed the best line. Dave Close simplified into an ending and Glenn missed the draw.

Droitwich - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland Rob Fuller WW (Bill) Watson Tom Parkes	0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ -½ 1 - 0	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge
	Result	2 - 2	Played 8 Mar
Match report by Controller.

Worcester Pawns - Redditch			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ed Osbourn Roger Yates Phil Smith Pat Greenow	½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Rob Michell Jason Cole Rob Bricknell Pete Seeley
	Result	1 - 3	Played 25 Mar
Match report by Controller.

Worcester Pawns - Hagley			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Ed Osbourn Phil Smith Roger Yates Pat Greenow	½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	Andrew Moore James P Friar Kyle Reed Joseph D Friar
	Result	1 - 3	Played 8 Apr
Match report by Ray Collett. The young Friar brothers powered Hagley to a convincing win. On board 1 a Budapest Gambit initially gave black a slight advantage, but as pieces came off the game drifted to equality. James Friar soon had an advantage in space and his opponent was on the ropes after losing the exchange in a very cramped position. The Worcester captain, Roger Yates gave up a bishop for three pawns after missing a chance to win his opponent's queen. In the ending, Roger's careful shepherding of his passed pawns earned him the draw. Joseph Friar, defending a Ruy Lopez, and soon broke free from the 'Spanish torture' and won a piece then cruised to victory. (Amended 10 April)

Hagley - Redditch			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Francis O'Gorman W (Bill) Sitch F Raafat MA (Tony) West	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	Jason Cole D Spowart Rob Bricknell Giles Stanton
	Result	0 - 4	Played 9 Apr
Match report by Derek Digger

Redditch - Hagley			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	D Spowart Penny Wood Derek Abrahams Peter Seeley	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Francis O'Gorman Graham Wyle Greg Voskanian W (Bill) Sitch
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 20 Apr
Match report by Derek Digger

Kidderminster Pawns - Worcester Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	David Close Mark Riley Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen	½ - ½ ½ -½ 0 - 1 1 - 0	Ed Osbourn Phil Smith Roger Yates Pat Greenow
	Result	2 - 2	Played 28 Apr
Match result from Ray Collett.

Redditch - Worcester Pawns			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Rob Bricknall Dave Stuart Richard Turner Pete Seeley	½ - ½ 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Ed Osbourn Phil Smith Roger Yates Pat Greenow
	Result	3 - 1	Played 4 May
Match result from Roger Yates.

Headless Cross - Droitwich			Div 2
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Glenn Cox Ashley Davis David Richardson Paul Roberts	1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Arnold Kirkland WW (Bill) Watson Bert Foord Jack Chen
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 10 May
Match report from Glenn Cox. On board 4 the advantage fluctuated wildly, but eventually Paul Roberts (Headless Cross) found himself with three united passed pawns against Jack Chen’s rook. In this case the pawns were too far advanced for the rook to cope. On top board Arnold Kirkland (Droitwich) played the Grand Prix Attack against Glenn’s Sicilian Defence. After a tense middle game, Glenn emerged with a favourable knight versus bishop endgame. The knight won a pawn and the bishop was unable to prevent the advance of the extra pawn.

Knock Out Cup

Worcester Bishops - Kidderminster Rooks			Knock Out Round 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Paul Thomas Mike Kitchen Ken Durnell Terry Pountney	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ -½	Ray Collett Andrew Farthing Ed Osbourn John Clark
	Result	1 - 3	Played 19 May
Match report by Ray Collett. Both teams were weakened by absences because top players were working away from home. Top board finished first. Paul Thomas (Kidderminster) played a French Defence, but weakened his king side and Ray Collett infiltrated a bishop to f6 and Paul found there was no way to stop the queen getting to g7 and mating. Board 2 arrived at an interesting middle game where Andrew Farthing (Worcester) won a queen side pawn, but Mike Kitchen (Kidderminster) had plenty of compensation and a draw was agreed. Terry Pountney (Kidderminster) played a Queen's Pawn Game on board 4. John Clarke won a pawn and went into a bishop and pawn ending a pawn up, but was unable to convert to a full point. Board 3 was the last to finish. This game saw a Scandanavian Defence. Ed Osbourn (Worcester) gradually increased control of the board and broke through with an attack on black's king.

Droitwich & St Johns B - Redditch			Knock Out Round 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Arnold Kirkland WW (Bill) Watson Bert Foord Barry Tisdell	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Jason Cole Rob Bricknell D Spowart Peter Seeley
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played unknown
Match report by Derek Digger

Hagley - Headless Cross			Quarter Final
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Andrew Moore Peter Keate Francis O'Gorman Greg Voskanian	1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1	David Richardson Mark Hore Ronald Thomson Paul Roberts
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 21 June
Match result from Andrew Moore.

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