4NCL 1998/9: Bristol 2 get two wins in promotion chase

Rounds 7-8, 20-21 March 1999 by John Richards

A great weekend for Bristol 2: two wins saw them in tie first place and with the prospect of an exciting final three matches over the May Bank Holiday. The best bit came on Saturday with a win over Bigwood 2.

Bristol 1 took a point off Bigwood 1, the league champions, despite being heavily outrated. They also got a point in an exciting match with Richmond. A very good weekend which saw Bristol 1's relegation fears ease a bit.

Saturday, Round 7

    Bristol 1               Bigwood 1
1 b S Ansell     2400  =.=  L McShane      2497
2 w G Buckley    2285  =.=  J Parker       2522
3 b K Mah        2312  0-1  J Rowson       2494
4 w C Beaumont   2298  1-0  A Webster      2430
5 b C Cobb       2275  0-1  B Kelly        2405
6 w D Moskovic   2248  =.=  K Arkell       2438
7 b D Collier    2245  =.=  M Ferguson     2377
8 w M Buckley    2055  1-0  N Regan        2151
                       4-4
A spirited fighting performance by Bristol 1 saw us gain an important point and raised us to eighth in the table. It could just as easily gone either way. Simon Ansell missed a win against Luke McShane, and David Moskovic may have missed a win against Arkell. The star performance was Melanie Buckley's wild game versus Natasha Regan. Her win left Graeme Buckley needing to draw to save the match, which he duly achieved when his opponent was content to repeat moves. 
    Bristol 2                Bigwood 2
1 b R McFarland  2257  =.=   A Collinson    2405
2 w N Jakubovics 2210  1-0   C Baker        2390
3 b A Easton     2160  =.=   M Barnes       2245
4 w S Buckley    2144  1-0   N Thomas       2225
5 b S Dilleigh   2215  0-1   S Dighton      2235
6 w C Hanley     2110  1-0   R Evans        2159
7 b D Buckley    2143  =.=   J Bourne       2085
8 w S Tidman     1752  0-1   A Cast         2130
                     4.5-3.5
Icing on the cake time. Sophie Tidman had a nightmare blunder when she laid a clever sac only to discover that the sacrificed piece went with check. We rarely win if Sophie doesn't, so things looked bleak until Simon Buckley levelled the scores. Nick Jakubovics tore apart Chris Baker for his third-ever win against an IM, which left Craig Hanley to be the hero of the day with his win in the sixth hour.

Sunday, Round 8

    Bristol 1               Richmond
1 w S Ansell     2400  0-1  P Johnstone    2300
2 b C Beaumont   2298  =.=  S Williams     2371
3 w C Cobb       2275  =.=  Richard Bates  2373
4 b G Buckley    2285  =.=  G Wall         2369
5 w K Mah        2312  1-0  M Quinn        2346
6 b D Moskovic   2248  0-1  R Allicock     2232
7 w D Collier    2245  =.=  R Phillips     2245
8 b M Buckley    2055  1-0  Ruth Bates     2015
                       4-4
It's a cliché, but this game really could have gone either way. Melanie got the ball rolling with a win on time, then Chris Beaumont felt he had to take a perpetual after giving up his queen for three minor bits. Karl made it 3.5-2.5, then Simon finally capitulated in a knight versus knight and pawns ending. Graeme tried hard to win his game but had to content himself with a draw. 
    Bristol 2                B.C.C.A.
1 w R McFarland  2257  =.=   J Tait         2185
2 b N Jakubovics 2210  1-0   J Toothill     2225
3 w A Easton     2160  =.=   R Hall         2120
4 b S Buckley    2144  =.=   M Donnelly     2064
5 w S Dilleigh   2215  =.=   D Phillips     2000
6 b C Hanley     2110  =.=   T Brotherton   1952
7 w D Buckley    2143  1-0   M Sozynski     1680
8 b S Tidman     1752  1-0   H Walker       1288
                     5.5-2.5
B.C.C.A. gifted us a point on bottom board when they accidentally broke the rules by playing two wildcards in the same match; Sophie scored a win anyway. Robert McFarland turned up 25 minutes late because of traffic chaos on the motorway and took the first draw. Nick's game looked double-edged, but he managed to steer his way through the complications to score his second win of the weekend. By the time Craig's opponent accepted a draw, we had won the match with a series of half points. David was last to finish, his opponent capitulated after six hours of play.

Prospects for the final weekend

Bristol 2 never expected to be in this position. A good final weekend will see them capture one of the three promotion places; not bad for a team that was seeded tenth at the start of the season. However, it is not going to be easy. The top teams will probably all get to play each other in the last three matches and we will be heavily outrated by Guildford, Coulsdon and White Rose. But, Bristol 2 has made a habit of winning matches in which they are outrated and the team is going to go in fighting.

Bristol 1, meanwhile, have still got a bit to do to avoid relegation, though they are in a better position than this time last year. The team has six points and are in eighth place, which may not be sufficient. The good news is that the bottom three sides all have yet to play the league leaders, Slough, which should reduce the number of points they can get. But it may all come down to a tie break on game points, and six match points is not a safe place to be. We really need to get a couple more. I'm not sure my nerves can stand a finish like last year's.

4NCL 1998/9 - Division 1 Crosstable - After Round 8
 
4NCL Division 1, 1998/9 P W D L GPts MPts
1
 Slough
8
8
0
0
51
16
2
 Wood Green
8
5
2
1
40
12
3
 Bigwood
8
4
2
2
39
10
4
 Invicta Kts
8
4
2
2
33
10
5
 Barbican 1
8
5
0
3
31
10
6
 NW Eagles
8
4
0
4
31
8
7
 Richmond
8
3
1
4
26
7
8
 Bristol
8
1
4
3
28
6
9
 Barbican 2
8
3
0
5
27
6
10
 BCM
8
2
0
6
30
4
11
 Wessex
8
1
2
5
27
4
12
 Home House
8
1
1
6
24
3
 

4NCL Division 2, 1998/9 Crosstable After Round 8
 
4NCL Div 2, 1998/9 P W D L GPts MPts
1
 Guildford
8
6
1
1
43
13
2
 Coulsdon & P
8
6
1
1
40
13
3
 Bristol 2nds
8
6
1
1
35
13
4
 White Rose
8
6
0
2
37
12
5
 Wood Green 2
8
5
0
3
36
10
6
 S Wales Dragons
8
4
1
3
36
9
7
 Bigwood 2nds
8
3
1
4
34
7
8
 Witney
8
3
1
4
34
7
9
 Kings Head
8
2
2
4
30
6
10
 Gwent Dragons
8
2
2
4
26
6
11
 Nidum Knights
8
2
1
5
28
5
12
 BCCA
8
2
1
5
24
5
13
 Slough 2nds
8
1
2
5
25
4
14
 Invicta Kts 2nds
8
1
0
7
23
2
 

Fixtures and Results

1 Oct 24 Bristol 1  4-4 Invicta Knights 1  Invicta Knights 2  3½-4½ Bristol 2
2 Oct 25 Barbican 2  2-6 Bristol 1 Bristol 2 5-3 Slough 2 
3 Nov 21 Slough 1  7-1 Bristol 1 Gwent Dragons 3-5 Bristol 2 
4 Nov 22 Bristol 1  4-4 Wessex Bristol 2  4½-3½ SWDragons
5 Jan 23 Bristol 1  3-5 B.C.M. Wood Green 2  6½-1½ Bristol 2
6 Jan 24 Home House  6-2 Bristol 1 Bristol 2 4-4 Witney & Swindon 
7 Mar 20 Bigwood 1  4-4 Bristol 1 Bigwood 2 3½-4½ Bristol 2 
8 Mar 21 Bristol 1  4-4 Richmond Bristol 2 5½-2½ B.C.C.A 
9 May 1 Wood Green 1  v Bristol 1 Bristol 2 v Guildford
10 May 2 Barbican 1  v Bristol 1 Coulsdon v Bristol 2
11 May 3 Bristol 1  v NW Eagles Bristol 2 v White Rose
The last three rounds in Division 2 were decided on a Swiss pairing basis after round 8.

Rounds 5 and 6
Rounds 3 and 4
Rounds 1 and 2
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