The only good news was Melanie Buckley's first WIM norm, which she clinched with a win
over Cathy Forbes. Melanie's results were:
by John Richards
Division 1, Bristol 1 v Index-IT 1
1 w Simon Ansell 2383 0-1 J Nunn 2598
2 b Chris Beaumont 2290 0-1 D Norwood 2518
3 w Graham Burgess 2300 1-0 M Hennigan 2456
4 b James Sherwin 2369 0-1 A Ledger 2431
5 w Simon Buckley 2270 1-0 J Vigus 2273
6 b Craig Hanley 2231 =.= D Farndon 2253
7 w David Ledger 2285 =.= R Wade 2204
8 b Melanie Buckley 2090 =.= H Richards 2117
3.5-4.5
I find it hard to write about this match so soon afterwards. How did it happen?
David Ledger had a won endgame that will cause him nightmares - it slipped gradually
from a win to a likely draw to a possible loss. He ended up with a knight and
king managing to hold off two widely separated pawns. The two wins were the
highlights; Burgess polishing off Hennigan and a bullish Simon Buckley disposing
of Vigus. Craig Hanley tried oh so hard to win a drawn ending.
We slipped from eighth to ninth and things are looking not so good. We need some points from somewhere - but where? The AD's have to play Wood Green 2 and North West Eagles and a win and a draw for them would put them on seven points to our six. So, unless we win something we have to hope the AD's get beaten by one of their opponents. But if it's the Eagles that beat the AD's, then we have to hope that Richmond (with a very weak side) will beat the Eagles. Too many things have to go our way.
Division 2, Bristol 2 v Bigwood 2
1 b Robert McFarland 2260 0-1 D Mason 2279
2 w Nick Jakubovics 2238 1-0 A Hadzimanolis 2224
3 b David Collier 2215 =.= D Wheeler 2224
4 w Alex Easton 2165 0-1 N Thomas 2215
5 b Steve Dilleigh 2186 =.= P Wallace 2110
6 w David Buckley 2153 0-1 G Acey 2136
7 b Duncan Grossett 2080 =.= P Taylor 2187
8 w Sophie Tidman 2072 1-0 M Howard 1536
3.5-4.5
Steve Dilleigh was in big trouble after one hour and everyone had written him off.
He was almost the last to finish and brought in a half point. Nick's win was neat,
and it was good to see Sophie back on the scoreboard, but most of the rest
was dire. Alex missed a win and Duncan failed to spot a piece left en prise.
Division 1, Bristol 1 v Bigwood 1
1 w James Sherwin 2369 0-1 J Parker 2532
2 b Simon Ansell 2383 0-1 L McShane 2438
3 w Chris Beaumont 2290 =.= C Baker 2357
4 b Graham Burgess 2300 =.= L Cooper 2338
5 w Craig Hanley 2231 0-1 A Webster 2401
6 b David Ledger 2285 =.= M Ferguson 2371
7 w Simon Buckley 2270 0-1 D Mason 2279
8 b Melanie Buckley 2090 1-0 N Regan 2184
2.5-5.5
Melanie was the star of the day. Her win set her up for the chance of a WIM norm. Jim Sherwin
was the unluckiest player; doing fine against Parker he slipped up in a mutual time scramble.
Chris Beaumont was a pawn up in a queen and pawns ending but couldn't get the pawn past
the seventh.
Division 2, Bristol 2 v B.C.C.A.
1 w Robert McFarland 2260 =.= J Toothill 2226
2 b Nick Jakubovics 2238 0-1 N Stephenson 2221
3 w David Collier 2215 1-0 D Wise 2145
4 b Alex Easton 2165 =.= D Spence 2160
5 w Steve Dilleigh 2186 1-0 M Gough 2135
6 b David Buckley 2153 =.= R Savary 2100
7 w Sophie Tidman 2072 1-0 A Milnes 2056
8 b John Richards 2045 =.= T Khoo 1456
5-3
At last, a win! This was despite my best efforts, drawing against a player 600 Elo point lower.
Sophie showed her old aggression to prise open the position and score a point. Steve
Dilleigh had a good win as well. Dave Collier saw his opponent make four bad moves in
a row.
Pos GP MP 9 Bristol 1 32 6 10 NW Eagles 29.5 5 11 The AD's 29.5 4 12 Wood Green 2 28 4The Eagles play the AD's and Wood Green 2 meet Richmond.Bristol play Silvine White Rose. If the Eagles draw or win, then Bristol has to get at least one match point. If the AD's win, then Bristol stays up as long as we have the same number of game points or better (if the game points are level, then the result of the individual match is taken into account; Bristol beat the AD's 4.5-3.5).
Division 1, Bristol 1 v Silvine White Rose
1 b Simon Ansell 2383 0-1 H Gretarsson 2544
2 w Chris Beaumont 2290 0-1 H Jonkman 2446
3 b Graham Burgess 2300 =.= N Davies 2518
4 w James Sherwin 2369 0-1 A Dunnington 2366
5 b David Ledger 2285 =.= C Dunworth 2308
6 w Craig Hanley 2231 0-1 P Gayson 2255
7 b Simon Buckley 2270 1-0 S Barrett 2234
8 w Melanie Buckley 2090 1-0 C Forbes 2089
3-5
The Buckley pair were the stars, but it would prove insufficient. Graham Burgess pulled
off a swindle and ended up with rook, f and h pawns v rook; a theoretical draw, unfortunately.
The result meant that the AD's had to draw or beat the Eagles by less than 6-2 if Bristol were to stay up. They started well, going 3-1 up but after five and a half hours the last four games were still going. It looked like it was going to be okay, but as Eagle after Eagle lost or drew it became clear that the AD's might get their six points. Our last chance came in the final hour as Charlie Kennaugh tried to beat Jon Mestel. It was not to be, and Bristol's proud record of being in the first division since its inception was at an end. The Eagles and Wood Green 2 finished below Bristol.
The only good news was Melanie Buckley's first WIM norm, which she clinched with a win
over Cathy Forbes. Melanie's results were:
Rd Score Opponent Rating 3 0.5 Sheila Jackson 2186 4 1 Zhanna Lazhevskaya 2051 5 0.5 Susan Lalic 2318 6 0.5 Maria Yurenok u/r 7 0.5 Ray Edwards 2064 8 0.5 Ingrid Lauterbach 2194 9 0.5 Heather Richards 2117 10 1 Natasha Regan 2184 11 1 Cathy Forbes 2094
Our other female player, Sophie Tidman, also deserves congratulations. She has been selected for the World and European Under-16 competitions.
Meanwhile, in Division 2, the second team were settling for twelth place, just ensuring a second division spot for next season.
Division 2, Bristol 2 v King's Head
1 w Robert McFarland 2260 =.= S Berry 2275
2 b Nick Jakubovics 2238 =.= R McMichael 2261
3 w David Collier 2215 =.= R Thomas 2265
4 b Alex Easton 2165 =.= C Mackenzie 2138
5 w Steve Dilleigh 2186 =.= D Okike 2170
6 b David Buckley 2153 0-1 P S Cawte 2150
7 w Sophie Tidman 2072 0-1 A Gilfillan 1976
8 b Duncan Grossett 2080 =.= A Kelly 1576
3-5
|
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 |
4½-3½ |
The AD's |
Slough 2 |
4½-3½ |
Bristol 2 |
|
8 |
Mar 26 |
Barbican 1 |
4½-3½ |
Bristol 1 |
Bristol 2 |
½-7½ |
South Wales Dragons |
|
9 |
Apr 29 |
Bristol 1 |
3½-4½ |
Index-IT 1 |
Bigwood 2 |
4½-3½ |
Bristol 2 |
|
10 |
Apr 30 |
Bristol 1 |
2½-5½ |
Bigwood 1 |
Bristol 2 |
5-3 |
B.C.C.A. |
|
11 |
May 1 |
Silvine White Rose |
5-3 |
Bristol 1 |
Bristol 2 |
3-5 |
King's Head |
In Division 2, Swiss pairings were used for the last two weekends.