Post by arf on Feb 19, 2013 10:39:21 GMT
Middlesex on brink!
According to fixture schedule this match was expected to be Match Day 4 rather than 3. The reason why its’ status has changed is because Essex cancelled the match scheduled for 19th January 2013 due to snow! What snow you say? Exactly! It must be admitted that the Essex match captain was not enamoured about having to travel to The Pilot anyway due to engineering works in the West London area. So forecast of overnight snow may have helped sway his decision to cancel. Anyway on with the report!
Before detailing how the Hertfordshire match unfolds it transpires your author was remiss about Match Day 2 results. It was stated: “Middlesex sit atop the division with a 100% record and extend lead over rivals!” The import of this was understated as yes although Middlesex extend lead it also meant that for the first time since their return in 2007-08 they lead the section after two matches. In previous cycles Middlesex at best has scored 1pt after the first two rounds so would languish in 4th position at worst. The defeat of Sussex ensured apart from maintaining a 100% record it also meant that for the first time Middlesex lead going into Match Day 3.
The observations on the match will be brief as usually your author acts in a non-playing capacity so is able to wander around looking at positions determining whether Middlesex are on course for victory or defeat. In this instance he was pressed into playing and was involved in a protracted game which was ultimately lost. An interesting event came to pass in the passage of the play involving Rule 12.2 Conduct of players not leaving premises without permission of arbiter. Opponent arrives late and instead of paying £2 to park at a nearby car park is observed leaving it outside the venue. On remembering free parking is limited to 3hrours having reached time control decides to leave venue and move his car to a better place so as not to incur parking fine. Thus being aware of the inevitability of opponent leaving the premises which he does and considering position is lost what does he do when his opponent returns some 20minutes later? Does he a) Stop game and claim a win/draw even though position lost and let Hertfordshire appeal against claim? b) Stop game and refer situation to County Match Controller for decision as there is no arbiter to determine what the appropriate penalty should be? c) Continue with the game and overlook the transgression since game lost anyway? In the spirit of the game option (c) was chosen and natural law took effect and game as expected is lost. What would you have done in this situation? Certainly being aware this individual leaves premises in future if paired against him in county or other event if he does it again I’ll claim game even if it goes against spirit if not letter of law!
Anyway apart from this contentious issue the match generally goes as expected with Middlesex continuing their winning record on the road to Hertfordshire – P4 +4. The match opens with a flurry of draws from Bob, debutant Daniel, Simon and George. Score tied 2-2.
What has been notable about Middlesex’s performances this cycle is there is a period in the match where a concerted push is made which lays the foundation for victory. In this case the push is started by Steve who has mainly drawn in recent cycles now record third successive victory. Steve’s victory is followed by a win for our second debutant Charlie. Charlie acknowledges it was not a cut and thrust game it was more a case of his opponent overlooking a sacrifice whether accepted or not won a pawn and leads to the position falling like a house of cards. Zehra continues her fine form for the county with tactical and positional play which makes a mockery of the fact she is an exchange down. The run of wins is broken by the loss of your author’s game which is followed by an exchange of victories for the respective teams, Rick’s win offset by Colin’s defeat. Middlesex leads 6-4.
Although leading things are looking hairy in the games of Nevil, Ian and Chris all of whom are defending tricky positions. Of the others Mark is trying to disprove adage, ‘All rook and pawn endings are drawn’ Richard holding the draw in hand and Andrew turning the screws on his clubmate. Despite being in an inferior position Ian is trying to take advantage of his opponent’s critical time trouble and blitzes moves in the hopes of an error. The policy works as his opponent falls for a fork; the troublesome d-pawn falls and with it so does any chance of victory. Andrew continues his form recording another win to retain his grip of the lead of the Martin Blaine Best Performance Cup competition. Nevil defends stoutly and likewise secures a draw which ensures Middlesex attain an unassailable lead. Mark is made aware a draw is required for Middlesex to cross the winning line and after making a few more moves recognises the truism of the adage and accedes to the draw. Chris turns the tide by overcoming the ferocity of his opponent's attack to launch a clinical one of his own and records the sixth and final win of the day. Analysis suggests instead of the pawn sacrifice had his opponent played the piece sacrifice it would have blown Chris away. However in playing it in the way he did it allowed Chris sufficient time to reorganise defence and go on to secure the point. Richard’s game peters out to a draw by repetition. Middlesex win 10-6 (+6 =8 -2).
Well done guys!
Full match details here: www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/match1.htm
Match Day 3 sees Surrey play Essex and Sussex face Kent. All four teams on are on 1point, and would presume Middlesex would continue their record of winning away against Hertfordshire thereby secure one of the three nominations for the Open competition. Thus all needed to launch a push to put themselves in prime position for the remaining two qualifying places. In short their results would pretty much mean the winners are challenging for these places and the losers having to content themselves with participating in the Minor competition something Essex have wanted to avoid in recent years. 2011-12’s cycle is an unusual one as it is the first time since 1989-90 an Essex team fails to compete in any of the top three sections at the National Stage of the County Championship. Having failed to qualify for either the Open or u180 of right they decline nomination for Minor an odd decision considering it was their sole chance of attempting to win silverware for the cycle. Their decision allows Hertfordshire to once again claim Minor title despite finish bottom of SCCU competition – shocking decision.
Anyway back to current cycle. You always know when Essex do badly as there’s a delay in their result appearing on the SCCU website. Their captain tends to phone SCCU Webmaster who publishes bare match score on the day. So it proved to be the case as in contacting Surrey MC to verify details of Middlesex vs. Surrey match (16/3/2013) he advises Surrey scored a comprehensive 11-5 victory with former Middlesex stalwart Steve Berry (223/221) holding his own against Guyla Meszaros (247) on Bd1. The Sussex – Kent match throws up another surprise as Sussex holds a strong Kent team (7.5-7.5). There is an outstanding result but it is expected to be drawn under QPF rules. Kent will be disappointed to draw but must ask how could their tail only score 2/8? Clearly a game of two halves! The lack of a decisive result means the suggestion Middlesex have automatically qualified is a little bit premature since as will be seen below it does introduce an unlikely scenario when which could prevent Middlesex of qualifying for the National Stage. However they are on the brink of qualification.
Table after Round 3:
1. Middlesex 3/3 (32.5)
2. Surrey 2/3 (30)
3. Sussex 1.5/3 (23)
4. Kent 1.5/3 (21)
5. Essex 1/3 (22)
6. Hertfordshire 0/3 (15.5)
Middlesex’s victory over Hertfordshire should mean they do not finish lower than 3rd. However it is possible qualification will be denied if a peculiar set of circumstances occurs:
1) EITHER Essex is effectively participating n the Minor Counties Championship but there is an outside chance of qualification for Open. To do so they have to win both of their remaining games starting with defeating Middlesex on 2/3/2013. If the other circumstances come to pass which prevent Middlesex from qualifying their match against Sussex on 16/3/2013 is effectively an eliminator if both win on Match Day 4 as only one or other can qualify. However even allowing for this they still need favours from Kent (beat Surrey) and Surrey (lose to Kent and beat Middlesex). OR
2) Sussex wins both remaining matches against Hertfordshire and Essex. Since both are away to do so they will either have to take teams stronger than they are usually able to field or over-perform; the Kent result shows the latter is possible at home but away? AND
3) Kent has to win both of their remaining matches; however they have an edge as both are at home. The key match for Kent is match against Surrey (2/3/2013) as they would expect to defeat Hertfordshire at home since Hertfordshire are poor travellers. AND
3) A Surrey defeat to Kent means they will have to travel to Middlesex knowing they have to try and achieve an 8.5-7.5 score-line at minimum in order to qualify for National Stages. Risks would have to be taken by a number of Surrey players to achieve desired result which bodes well for Middlesex.
A complication for Kent and Surrey is their u180 teams are also playing each other on the same day and both have regularly selected u180 players to complete XVI. Consequently decisions will have to be made which competition takes priority. Will either of the u180’s prospects of securing SCCU title be sacrificed to allow the Open team to qualify for the National Stage? AND
4) Despite the semblance of controlling own destiny in order for Kent, Surrey and Sussex to qualify all know Essex has to get a positive result against Middlesex which as mentioned gives Essex a chance to enter the qualification fray!
Having reflected on the possible outcomes of future matches it is evident that non-qualification is indeed possible. However in order for this to happen Essex and Surrey have to travel to Middlesex and play for a win to qualify else one or both are out! Of course the above musings are made academic if Middlesex win one or both of their remaining matches but they do need to be considered to avoid complacency.
And so to Middlesex’s next match: Essex. If the Essex captain has done his calculations he will also have come to the same conclusion, Essex have to play for a win at Middlesex or they are out. If so then it can be expected he’ll pull out all the stops to field his strongest possible team: Meszaros on Board 1 again? Pert Board 2? Haydon Board 3? However a key player Lawrence Trent will be absent as taking part in Bunratty Chess Festival. Even if Essex can field these guys at the top their tail will be their Achilles Heel as have to call upon u180 to complete XVI. Notwithstanding expect fireworks as Essex will have to take a few risks to achieve desired win. Do they have the courage? High Risk, High Reward!
With a slim prospect of non-qualification in background there is a degree of pressure on the Essex match however on balance Essex is under more pressure as have to play for win. It is good to have it since it ensures Middlesex concentrate on the task at hand. If the win is achieved the rewards are a QF berth and Middlesex virtually crowned SCCU Champion for 35th time first SCCU Title since 1988-89. The title will be rubber-stamped if a Middlesex victory dovetails with a Kent victory over Surrey. A Surrey win combined with a Middlesex win means the final match of the cycle is a title-decider. At present the focus is on one match at a time and Essex is next one.
As mentioned to date Andrew has been the leading performer in the Martin Blaine Best Performance Cup. After 3 rounds the leading players are:
1. Andrew Stone 20points
2= Simon Spivack (18)
3= Richard Bates / Bob Eames (17)
Match Day 4 – 2/3/2013 Middlesex vs. Essex and Kent vs. Surrey. 9/3/2013 Hertfordshire vs. Sussex.
Next fixture details:
Match: Middlesex vs. Essex
Date: 2nd March 2013
Start time: 2pm
Venue: Willesden Working Men's Club, 202 Villiers Road, Brent, London NW2 5PU
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE: Both the Open and u180 matches against Essex and Sussex respectively take place at same time however the Open match is a rearranged fixture so u180 have prior claim to The Pilot].
With Essex desperate for victory and the u180 playing Sussex on the same day it is imperative Middlesex are at their fighting best.
Go on the Middlesex!