Post by arf on May 19, 2013 8:33:52 GMT
Cream of the crop!
Middlesex travelled to Salisbury looking to win as, of course, it ensures the ongoing defence of their title; however there are some other reasons Middlesex were looking forward to the match these being to date Middlesex have a 100% record against Devon (P7 W7) so would want to maintain it but further it sees the milestone of your author captaining the u175/u180 team for a 50th time (record to date P49 W27 D3 L19 Perf. 58%)). In captaining the side for the 50th time he is by far and away the longest serving 2nd/u175/u180 captain since a formal competition introduced in 1972-73. D. Foley-Comer’s record of 40 was equalled and surpassed in the 2011-12 treble winning cycle (40th match vs. Sussex Win 9-7; 41st vs. Essex Win 9-7). For the record of the 15 captains the team has had the longest serving are: A. Fulton – 50 matches (7 cycles); D. Foley-Comer – 40(4); Mrs. Z. Ryle – 34(5); R. Jennings – 27(3) and D.J. Stewardson – 26(3). A win would be nice to register the milestone in a positive way as compared to the defeat to Essex experienced in his very first match way back in 2006! Could the team achieve victory to make the match a memorable one for their captain?
Going into the match not much was known about Devon since they do not participate in a discrete u180 competition in the WECU as their intra-Union competition is run on a 1st (Open) and 2nd (u160) team basis. Consequently, Devon is able to field their strongest XVI at all times. Yes this does include a significant number of u180 players (average 11 per match) so a best guess could be made at their XVI. However, based on previous experience and information available to hand it is expected to be a competitive one (expected average 166) and whichever team fielded it would be one determined to register their maiden win against Middlesex at the eighth time of asking!
You would think that as defending Champions it would be straightforward in getting a team together as there would be collective pride in trying to retain the trophy, especially considering the fact that this feat had not been achieved by any county since Warwickshire in 2000-2001. It will be admitted there were a few headaches getting team together as a small u180 squad meant that with any circumstances beyond their control it just takes a few players becoming unavailable to leave team in vulnerable position and ultimately apt to be weaker than usual. However thanks to John W, Peter and Roger who all answer a late request so that Middlesex were able to avoid the embarrassment of declaring defaults and maintain a competitive team average (163).
With the team arriving safely in the environs of Old Sarum – Stratford sub-Castle being located close to this historic area – when exchanging team list the predicted strength of the Devon side was met (166). With a 3pt differential a close match was on the cards as the par score was Devon win 8.5-7.5. It was always expected that the QF would be the match to make or break Middlesex’s campaign and so it proved to be as in going into the match as underdogs the team had to step up to the plate – like they did against Surrey – to try and secure victory. With the stage set the question is would your captain be celebrating his milestone in style?
The match did not get off to the most auspicious of starts as due to an event in the northern part of the county only ¼ of the Devon team have arrived by time of commencement. In the spirit of fair play it is agreed to delay the start of the match. It is during this time that Middlesex get a piece of good fortune as Brian Hewson (Devon Captain) advises that one of his players has missed lift so Devon will be defaulting board 16. With a close match in prospect you do not want to give your opponent an advantage. Devon will now have to raise their game to win. Defaults are disappointing even more so when you have travelled some distance and where you’re located is in the middle of nowhere so that you have no opportunity to pass time in a worthwhile way. Middlesex lead 1-0.
A spirited draw by Ian is followed up with a second Middlesex win. Andrew seems to thrive in the National Stages as having defeated his Warwickshire opponent in the previous cycle he follows it up with another one against Devon. Devon is under real pressure now to turn this match around. They hit back when your author blunders bringing his match to an abrupt end. Middlesex lead 2.5-1.5.
With his match now over, an ignominious way to personally remember his 50th match as captain, he could now watch the match unfold. George has played an interesting line where he is trying to prove that his Q and extra pawns and more than enough against R+B+N; Jon K who has been forced to castle into his opponents attack; Guy who’s B pair are dominating the board; Bob whose N on c4 is ironically best placed piece helping his K-side attack as it takes away key squares from his opponent to aid defence of position. All other games are level with no-one clearly in trouble. The match is looking good for Middlesex, so long as nothing silly happens the winning line should be crossed with more than enough in hand thereby making a mockery of the predicted close score.
The expected draws by David and John W result but what was not expected was Roger’s win. A game in which both sides had Rs on the 7th the expectation was that it would peter out into a draw. However his opponent is ambition thinking his K could escape but he forgot that in trying to do so he afforded Roger the opportunity to setup a mating net or queen pawn. The win sees Middlesex restore their 2point lead. The concern about the weakness of Middlesex’s tail proved unfounded as they go onto record 2/2. This was the fillip Middlesex needed as Devon were going to need huge slices of luck in order to continue their hopes of wresting title from Middlesex’s grasp. This luck is not forthcoming as Mike gets his own slice when his opponent blunders. Middlesex lead 5.5-2.5.
The match reaches its halfway point and Middlesex can begin to see the winning line. Jon has turned his match and in practice has an extra piece as his opponents QB is caged behind pawns, he has draw in hand but having repelled attack seeks more; Guy has maintained his stranglehold and has converted his positional advantage into material advantage, he still needs to play carefully to prevent any desperate counter-play from his opponent; Bob has likewise converted his positional advantage to a material one but his opponent is putting up sterling defence making it difficult for him to breakthrough. However where there are advantages there are also some disadvantages namely, George is having difficulty preventing his opponents R+B+N from mobilising so is setting a few problems for him to solve; Bill is now an exchange down and his opponent is beginning to make hay and Leon is having difficulty trying to restrain his opponent’s central passed pawn. These matches will be the ones to determine outcome of match as Chris and David seem to beheading for draws. David duly does and his draw is quickly followed by George’s opponent acknowledging there is nothing more than a draw for either side. Middlesex lead 6.5-3.5.
From a Devon perspective they launch what may be considered a mini-revival as they win successive matches. The rearguard action from both Bill and Leon are insufficient and both succumb to defeat. Unfortunately for Devon though of the remaining 4 games 1 is firmly under Middlesex’s sway (Bob), 1 is at least drawn (Chris) and the other 2 tough to say but at least Middlesex are not worse. Jon is beginning to turn the screws on his opponent taking full advantage of his extra piece and Guy having held an advantage for much of the game seems to be allowing his opponent back into the game but time is now a factor. Middlesex lead 6.5-5.5.
The remaining matches sees Middlesex garner 3.5 Jon has entered a K+2P endgame where his advanced pawn will queen in time to then be able to prevent his opponent’s b-pawn from queening; a similar theme is present in Bob’s game as he plays a cheeky counter-R sacrifice to allow him to Q his a-pawn and then use her to blockade his opponents passed pawns. The sacrifice ensures his opponents K has to move else if he queens g-pawn she is immediately lost as Qg1+ K moves QxQ! Nice! Guy’s opponent eventually steps over the time limit but position is clearly lost and with game won Chris acquiesces to a draw. Middlesex win 10-6!
Well done Guys!
Middlesex continue the defence of their title and although there was personal disappointment in losing his individual game the team win was more than enough to offset this as it allowed him to fondly remember his 50th match as captain. The question now is who would be their SF opponent and who would their prospective opponents be in the final?
Prior to the default date for QF round the results of two matches were already known. Concern had been expressed about Kent on the road however it was not envisaged that Yorkshire could have problems! It was thought that Yorkshire would continue a tradition which is to make a concerted effort of becoming National Champions following their defeat in the previous cycle. It was not to be as it transpires that Kent is the beneficiary of a walkover as Yorkshire scratch match. Mike Wiltshire informs Yorkshire had difficulty in getting more than 6 players willing to play. Is this symptomatic of why there is a dearth of county chess in NCCU? Players only willing to travel within own patch? The result sees Kent progress to SF to play winner of Warwickshire vs. Lancashire and with it the possibility that Kent could emulate Middlesex side of 2011-12 and win both the SCCU and National Titles, a feat they last achieved in 1981-82. With Yorkshire scratching it also means that record of previous finalists failing to meet in another final since Essex and Devon (1998-99 & 2003-04) continues.
[Note: In a previous match report, National Stage Draw, it was reported, ‘However when competition became a graded limited one in 1992-93 of the 20 finals since, former finalists have yet to meet in this section so history would definitely be making if the 2012 finalists were to meet again. A closer inspection of the finals records reveals that history has already been made as there have been previous finalists who have met twice in the finals these being Devon and Essex as mentioned above].
The other known QF result before default date was Warwickshire vs. Lancashire. Warwickshire brought forward their match since as previously reported the Open team is heavily dependent on the u180 squad; thus in order to maximise chances it came as no surprise that one of the two matches was brought forward. The tactic did not work out for them as Lancashire recorded a 10-6 win so at least the flag is flown for NCCU.
So the SF in the bottom half of the u180 is Kent vs. Lancashire (Head-to-Head record P6 Lancashire leads 4-2).
The default date then sees one other QF match being played and that is the Cambridgeshire vs. Nottinghamshire contest. When the draw made both teams recognised they could have selection dilemmas as both counties had their u180 and u160 teams qualify for National Stage and both had been heavily dependent on u160 to make up u180. Nottinghamshire who had to play Essex in the preliminary would not have been too disappointed to lose but a win on Board Count is changed to an outright win due to oversight of the eligibility rules by the Essex captain. The result being Nottinghamshire had to try and handle the nightmare problem of overlap as well as they could. Whereas Cambridgeshire were able to bring forward their u160 match against Warwickshire so had the luxury of being able to be at their strongest. Despite their concerns Nottinghamshire were able to field a representative team and could have been be said to be favourites when looking at the strengths of the respective line-ups. However it was Cambridgeshire who edge a close match, 8.5-7.5. Cambridgeshire thus have the honour of playing Middlesex in SF.
Middlesex continue their march to Warwick and it is now down to Cambridgeshire to attempt to prevent them getting there since if they cannot Middleseex will try to break the long-standing claim of Warwickshire as being the sole team in the 21st Century to retain the title. Previous results against Cambridgeshire show Middlesex have a winning record so will hope to continue in that vein and make it to Finals Day once again:
Last 5 u180 National Championships -
Middlesex: 2012 – Champions; 2011 – Preliminary; 2010 – DNQ; 2009 – SF; 2008 – DNQ
Cambridgeshire: 2012 – DNQ; 2011 – QF; 2010 – DNQ; 2009 – QF; 2008 - DNQ
Head-to-Head Statistics: Never played at National Stage / 2 matches in SCCU P2 W2 (Perf. 100%) Points For: 26.5 Points Against: 13.5
Last played: 1990-91 W 11.5-8.5
Fixture details
Match – ECF SF vs. Cambridgeshire
Date – 8th June 2013
Venue – tbc
Start Time – tbc
Time Control – 40moves in 2h + 30mins QPF
Based on form and history the final should be Middlesex vs. Lancashire but of course the SF first needs to be negotiated before thoughts can turn to who Middlesex’s likely final opponents will be and whether they can retain the Ron Banwell Trophy thereby at last bringing that accursed record to an end!
Middlesex march menacingly on!
Go on the Middlesex!