by John Richards
It was a depleted Bristol squad that went into this important weekend. We were short of Burgess, Moskovic and Cobb and then Chris Beaumont had to pull out at the last moment with flu. Luckily, we had some good reserves for the second team but the first team was decidedly weaker than we hoped. I took the opportunity to give Craig Hanley his first team debut and, as you will see, he rose to the occasion.
| Bristol 1 | Slough 1 | |||
| Simon Ansell | Tony Kosten | |||
| James Sherwin | Lubomir Ftacnik | |||
| Simon Buckley | Tony Miles | |||
| David Ledger | Matthew Turner | |||
| Craig Hanley | Colin McNab | |||
| Tyson Mordue | Mark Hebden | |||
| Robert McFarland | Aaron Summerscale | |||
| Melanie Buckley | Susan Lalic | |||
Tyson Mordue was first to succumb to this fearsomely strong Slough team. Then Melanie took a half after being in no problems against Susan Lalic. The top three boards all caved in eventually, though Simon Buckley gave Tony Miles a run for his money. David Ledger got a well earned draw, but it was Craig Hanley in his first team debut who was Bristol's star performer; Craig got an excellent draw against GM Colin McNab.
| Bristol 2 | Nidum Knights | |||
| Nick Jakubovics | Chris Walsh | |||
| Alex Easton | Andrew Fish | |||
| David Collier | Gareth Morris | |||
| Simon Bibby | Daffyd Johnston | |||
| Jack Rudd | Richard Jones | |||
| Steve Dilleigh | Andrew Gandy | |||
| Sophie Tidman | John Tabatabai | |||
| Jerry Humphreys | Lowri Johnston | |||
Jack Rudd lost in the first 90 minutes when his chosen opening line turned out to lose a piece. Sophie Tidman and Jerry Humphreys put us in the lead, but then Simon Bibby lost to a 'cheapo' to level the scores. Nick Jakubovics' game looked hopeless, so we needed wins on both boards 2 and 3 to win the match. Alex Easton won on two, but we were on tenterhooks until Nick pulled off a miracle and got a draw. Dave Collier then needed just half a point, but it was into the last half hour of the seven hour session before Dave brought home the full point.
| Bristol 1 | Guildford-ADC | |||
| James Sherwin | Stuart Conquest | |||
| Simon Ansell | James Plaskett | |||
| David Ledger | Danny King | |||
| Craig Hanley | Andrew Kinsman | |||
| Simon Buckley | Nigel Povah | |||
| Tyson Mordue | Richard Webb | |||
| Robert McFarland | Ian Thompson | |||
| Melanie Buckley | Maria Yurenok | |||
Guildford had had a rocky season before this match, never really getting the results their strength deserved. They were certainly worried going into this match, knowing that defeat would leave them in trouble. However, they were never in danger and Bristol 1 had a disappointing defeat. There were highlights; Craig Hanley got another good draw and Simon Ansell upset Plaskett by getting a half. On the bottom two boards, where our main hopes rested, we had to settle for two draws. Defeat sees Bristol drop from 6th to 10th, in the relegation zone, over the weekend.
| Bristol 2 | S.C.S. | |||
| Jack Rudd | Andrew Greet | |||
| Alex Easton | Andrew Bigg | |||
| David Collier | Ross Rattray | |||
| Simon Bibby | Chetan Deva | |||
| Nick Jakubovics | Stephen Clark | |||
| Steve Dilleigh | Matthew Noakes | |||
| Sophie Tidman | Oliver Cooley | |||
| Jerry Humphreys | Anna Partington | |||
This was an exciting match. Jack Rudd was first to finish, losing to Greet and then Simon Bibby had to take a draw. Sophie Tidman went adrift and lost a piece to leave us trailing 2½-½. Then, disaster struck Alex Easton as he fell to a tactic and had to accept a draw offer to make it 1-3 as we reached the first time control after four hours. The next hour was thrilling as Dilleigh, Humphreys and Collier all won to put us ahead 4-3. All eyes turned to Nick Jakubovics' game where he managed to hold on for the draw that won the match.
Two wins have boosted our promotion hopes and moved us up from eighth to just behind the leaders; a good position as the competition moves into the Swiss pairing stages.
| 1 | Oct 9 | Bristol 1 | 5-3 | North West Eagles | Bristol 2 | 4-4 | TB White Rose 2 |
| 2 | Oct 10 | Richmond | 6-2 | Bristol 1 | I.K.H.H. 2 | ½-7½ | Bristol 2 |
| 3 | Nov 20 | Bristol 1 | 2-6 | Wood Green 1 | Bristol 2 | 2½-5½ | Barbican 2 |
| 4 | Nov 21 | Wood Green 2 | 2½-5½ | Bristol 1 | Poisoned Pawns | 4-4 | Bristol 2 |
| 5 | Jan 22 | Slough 1 | 6½-1½ | Bristol 1 | Nidum Knights | 3-5 | Bristol 2 |
| 6 | Jan 23 | Bristol 1 | 2-6 | Guildford ADC | Bristol 2 | 4½-3½ | S.C.S. |
| 7 | Mar 25 | Bristol 1 | v | The AD's | Bristol 2 | v | Slough 2 |
| 8 | Mar 26 | Barbican 1 | v | Bristol 1 | South Wales Dragons | v | Bristol 2 |
| 9 | Apr 29 | Bristol 1 | v | I.K.H.H. 1 | |||
| 10 | Apr 30 | Bristol 1 | v | Bigwood 1 | |||
| 11 | May 1 | Silvine White Rose | v | Bristol 1 |
In Division 2, Swiss pairings will be used for the last two weekends. Teams which have already met will NOT meet again. Pairings for the fourth weekend (rounds 7 & 8) will be based on league positions after round 6. Pairings for the final weekend (rounds 9 to 11) will be based on league positions after round 8.