Post by arf on Jun 16, 2012 7:35:02 GMT
Double Success!
In making the SF both Mx teams had high hopes of reaching Leicester as the pairings sees them face Somerset in the Open and Surrey in the u180. Of the 4 competitors remaining in the Open competition Somerset is the surprise package. If you were to place a bet on the winners of the Somerset-Yorkshire match the odds on Somerset being victors would be extremely long! Even if you consider they're able to call upon the services of Matthew Turner. Matthew's inclusion raised team average from 175 to 185 - a good 10points higher than usual. To mix sports Matthew's inclusion gave Somerset a chance to punch above their weight and like a chance boxer they got a lucky punch and k-o'd Yorkshire!
Yorkshire as expected was the stronger outfit fielding team with average of 195 so Matthew aside went into match as firm favourites. The Yorkshire report highlights:
"The match score was level with three games remaining. Somerset would clearly have the better board count so Yorkshire had to win the match. Dave Stephenson put Yorkshire in the driving seat with his calm victory and we now only needed a point in two games. Yorkshire seemed to be in control."
The penultimate game was drawn leaving Yorkshire requiring 0.5pt from remaining game. I doubt if it will ever be known what persuaded the Yorkshire player (K+N+2P --> K+Q+N+P) not to leave Somerset player (K+N) with just K thus meaning Somerset player gets no more than a draw. As is known if a player has mating material once their opponent's flag falls then it is a win. Although it is ridiculous expecting a player with significant material advantage to allow helpmate, unfortunately the rule is clear, K+N wins! Consequently Somerset level match and win on board count! How bizarre is that?!
With Somerset defeating Yorkshire in the scheme of things they would be the team any of the remaining semi-finalists would like to have faced and Mx drew the lucky straw. However as the Yorkshire match shows it would be presumptive to expect a straightforward match. Somerset after all is in the last 4 by right even if they had a little luck! It transpires the match was not straightforward AND luck clearly was the theme of Somerset's ECF matches.
The tone of the match was set in the first 20minutes. It got off to an inauspicious start as your author expecting to enjoy role of non-playing captain so he could monitor incoming texts/calls for updates on the progress of the u180 had to substitute for an absent player. The best laid plans of mice and men undone. Having handled his position proficiently a last minute lapse due to captaincy duties meant a sure-fire draw became a sure-fire loss! Although not the first match to be completed (Mx trailed 3-4 at this stage) it summed up the day so far - something always going wrong when things are going right. Luckily, this did not de-rail attempts to become ECF Champions for the first time since 1989 as despite these setbacks Mx dug deep to eke out a win to make it to the final. This is testimony to the team spirit created in the short time since return to top flight chess.
The late substitution was then followed by Mx getting off to a poor start with Simon capitulating. A missed tactic meant he was mated or lost queen. Although Somerset's lead was quickly wiped out as Colin Mackenzie scored a win to level match they bounced back as Colin Crouch fell victim to a devastating attack by Jack Rudd. Mx trail 1-2.
A series of draws saw Mx still trail before George's win once again levelled the match. Match tied 3-3. As reported Mx fell behind again to trail 3-4 only to fall further behind when Richard succumbed to Matthew. Mx trail 3.5-5.5. Back to back victories from the "Batchelor Boys" levelled the score. With the passing of each result what was becoming clear is that in the event of a tie Somerset had a huge advantage on board count. After the "Batchelor Boys" win board count was Mx: 59.5 Somerset 28.5 - Mx had to go for outright victory thereby make it to final but it just seemed to elude them.
The match so far was a nip-and-tuck affair and continued to be. Mx, falling behind before levelling again (Bob's loss offset by Bill's win), could never quite edge their noses in front. With two matches remaining, the scores were level and a comfortable win for Somerset on board count was on the cards if scores tied (90-46). Richard notes "it was a real match of two halves!", Mx scoring a paltry 1.5-6.5 on top 8 boards but had achieved 5.5 on 6/8. The match was heading to its' close; it was clearly a matter of when not if Mx were k-o'd from the competition and their dreams of lifting Lowenthal trophy over for yet another cycle. Mx carried a Sisyphean burden.
In the Myth of Sisyphus Camus ponders what goes through Sisyphus' head as he walks down the hill to once again push the rock up the hill only for it to roll back down for all eternity. Sisyphus recognises it is a pointless exercise but nevertheless accepts his fate and begins to roll the rock back up the hill. For hours Mx knew that they had a pointless task since they were marching towards inevitable defeat as although the deficit could be wiped out they just did not have sufficient advantage on other boards to grab the lead; something drastic needed to happen in order for this to occur. But wait? What's this? What is the Somerset captain up to? The intervention of Somerset's MC is an act that changes the direction of the match and lifts the burden.
With Somerset looking set to gain 2 draws and the point they needed to reach the winning post the Somerset captain makes a critical but fateful decision. On reviewing Mark's game he overestimates the position presuming that K+R vs. K+2P (isolated pawns) was a win for Mx. With Nev appearing to hold the draw to him it seemed as though Mx were going to score 1.5/2 and sneak through to the final; Somerset would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In reaching this conclusion he instructed Nev's opponent to play for a win, i.e., in accordance with C8 refuse draw! It was a timely decision as he virtually had Nev in zugzwang so was more than happy to press home his advantage; however in doing so he blunderd. Result? In a manic time scramble Nev queens pawn, checkmates and achieves an unlikely win. Mx cannot believe their luck as finally after the 15th game they gain lead. Mark gets inevitable draw, Mx do indeed score 1.5/2 and with it victory. Nev's unexpected result saw frowns change unsurprisingly to huge grins. The cat had definitely got the cream! Mx somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat! Mx wins 8.5-7.5!
What a cracking match!
The result was tough luck on Somerset but in the words of Machiavelli, "Fortuna is a sleeper"! As aforementioned luck was indeed the leitmotiv of Somerset's ECF matches: Luck was on their side since they should have lost against Yorkshire but win on board count. Conversely they should have won on board count against Mx but end up losing outright - luck deserted them! If this is not karma in operation, I don't know what is.
Esoteric questions aside, the result means Mx face Surrey, comprehensive winners over Sussex 11-5, in the final. Needless to say it will be a tough challenge as Surrey have asserted themselves as a powerhouse but as they say, "You can only beat who's put in front of you!" The fixture has an element of circularity in the season began against Surrey and will now end against them! Unlike the SCCU Stage result let's hope the final goes Mx's way! It will be sweet to not only secure a first win against Surrey in the final but in doing so wrest ECF title from their grasp! Details of Finals Day are below.
www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/matchbcf.htm#open
Where the Open team could feel confident of reaching the final, the u180 team could feel equally confident even if match against SCCU rivals - Surrey. Apart from securing a final berth the teams were also battling it out to see which SCCU County would have both their 1st and 2nd team at Finals Day for a second time. Surrey achieved this feat in 2006-07 losing both matches to Lancashire and Mx respectively. Mx could feel confident they would be the winning team as they had scored a 9.5-6.5 in the SCCU Stage. It would be expected that there would be a repeat of this victory.
The team will be able to give more insight to how match unfolded but by the sounds of it they had to dig deep to pull off their 9-7 win. There is some doubt whether the team just trailed by 2 or 3pts, but at one stage trail they did! It is known that Russell and Chris lost early when coupled with draws from Michael and John Mx trailed 1-3. What happened next, no-one seems to be exactly sure. Mx do score 6 unanswered points (4 wins and 4 draws) putting pay to Surrey's hopes of once again fielding their 1st and 2nd teams on Finals Day. By the time Maria's game was completed Mx had already crossed winning line as they led 9-6.
If "luck" was a leitmotiv for Somerset, "Vengeance is mine!" seems to be that for Mx's u180. Having avenged their defeat by Warwickshire, Mx is presented with the opportunity to avenge another ignoble defeat. The u180 victory sets up a Mx vs. Yorkshire final. This match up is perfect as Mx shot themselves in the foot gifting Yorkshire victory in the 2008-09 SF of last u175 County Championship before grading uplift. Names shall not be mentioned!! On a more positive note the result is also great as the squad are now one game away from achieving an unprecedented treble!
www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/matchbcf.htm#u180
With both Open and u180 winning their respective matches it means that for the 1st time since 1985 Mx have both the 1st and 2nd teams competing in the final. The QF match report noted: In that year Mx went on to win both titles - so no pressure there then! Essex is the only other SCCU County to accomplish this winning both titles in 2001-02.
A curio: Has a County MC led two teams to finals? If so when? 1 person captaining 2 teams is not an unusual event, for example in recent years for Mx apart from current Open and u180 MC, former MCCA President Chris Fewtrell used to captain both u125 and u150 (pre-2009-10 grading bands); John Philpott captained Essex's Open and u180 team. Also if you hark back to the old format of County Chess when matches could be up to 100 boards it would not be surprising if one captain was responsible for numerous teams as the players separated into different sections. However how many MC's have been able to get 2 teams through to Final especially under current format? Getting 1 team to the final is tough enough let alone 2. If yes the natural follow-up question are: How many? Have any of them gone on to win both titles? Etc.
At time of writing the venue for the final is Leicester however watch this space as there may be attempts to relocate it. With 14 SCCU teams qualifying for SF (a Union record?) there is a possibility that 5/7 finals will be all SCCU affairs. The Open is certainly an all SCCU affair. If SF results go a certain way there could be 12 teams from SCCU travelling to Leicester?! I like the idea of all finals being played at central venue so would be disappointed if they are split so it is just a question of where. The u180 will have to travel to Midlands anyway to face Yorkshire so would be great day out for both teams as players can give each other mutual support. Suffice it to say assume final is in Leicester unless notified otherwise.
It must be noted the u180 squad are now 1 win from achieving an unprecedented treble and the Open 1 away from winning their first title since 1989! If both want to have a realistic chance of lifting respective titles against 2 tough opponents it will be imperative that as many members from both squads are available.
NEXT MATCHES
Event: ECF County Championships Finals Day
Date: 7th July 2012
Opponents: Open vs. Surrey
Opponents: u180 vs. Yorkshire
Venue: Moat Community College, Maidstone Road,
Leicester, LE2 0TU
Start time: Usually 1:30pm (will confirm in due course)
Rate of play: 40 moves in 2h + 30QPF
Post-match venue to celebrate / commiserate tbc
Go on the Middlesex!