| Board | BEDFORDSHIRE | Ref No | Grade | Score | DERBYSHIRE | Ref No | Grade | Score |
| 1 | Andrew Ledger | 114226E | 218 | 0 | Mike Alcock (W) | 105573C | 187 | 1 |
| 2 | Dave Ledger | 114227G | 205 | 1 | David Latham | 210998J | 168 | 0 |
| 3 | Gary Kenworthy | 127495J | 208 | 1 | Michael Johnson | 113695B | 160 | 0 |
| 4 | Charles Tippleston | 150425D | 188 | ½ | Simon Gilmore | 111264J | 161 | ½ |
| 5 | Michael Macdonald-Ross | 151344J | 183 | ½ | Andrew Mort | 115852B | 138 | ½ |
| 6 | Paul Habershon | 111848B | 169 | 1 | Raymond Gamble | 111035E | 149 | 0 |
| 7 | Richard Freeman | 110911L | 169 | ½ | Ralph Allen | 105641E | 155 | ½ |
| 8 | Kevin Williamson | 126800E | 168 | 0 | W Mroz | e160 | 1 | |
| 9 | Alan Brown | 142337L | 165 | 1 | Trevor Bould | 107033C | 158 | 0 |
| 10 | Paul Kendall | 127456K | 164 | 1 | Paul Moore | 115733E | 157 | 0 |
| 11 | Adrian Elwin | 110244J | 163 | ½ | David Kent | 127483E | 155 | ½ |
| 12 | Branko Pribanich | 117409F | 162 | 1 | Paul Kelman (Reserve) | 165437J | 129 | 0 |
| 13 | Peter Hunt | 154236K | 147 | ½ | Ray Forey | 110757E | 149 | ½ |
| 14 | Michael Joseph | 161694J | 143 | 1 | Ron Farley | 110431H | 143 | 0 |
| 15 | Adrian Matthews | 140680C | 143 | 1 | Janos Wagenbach | 120919L | 132 | 0 |
| 16 | John Shaw | 118814J | 129 | 0 | David Brown | 107427B | 120 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 10½ | TOTAL | 5½ |
The Derbyshire captain came up trumps with the half-way venue for the match in the delightful town of Uppingham. He had come prepared with the refreshments, and a number of signs to assist the late arrivals. His decision to keep himself as a travelling reserve was justified when one of his players failed to turn up.
Despite the absence of Peter Constantinou (A-Levels) and Steve Ledger (Holidays) we were able to field a team with average grade over 170, which gave us a significant grading advantage. However somebody had said that ‘Northern Grades’ are always lower than they should be (surely that’s a myth ?!) so nothing was taken for granted.
The first three results were draws for Peter, Mac and Richard, all significantly with the Black pieces. Soon after we took the lead when firstly Branko (playing the Derby captain), and then Paul K. took full advantage of playing White. The following results maintained our advantage with good wins for Dave & Gary on high boards and Adrian M. lower down, whose position was won after move 18 – see the game below. These wins countered my own inability to count Rooks just before the time control, and the defeats on two other boards.
Eventually, we found ourselves with three games in play and a two-point lead. We needed a draw on Boards 6 or 9 to win on board count, or a win on 14 to pass the winning line. Alan initially looked to be in trouble in his Knight ending, but turned the tables completely. Paul H. held an advantage for many moves in his Rook ending, but with his time ebbing away he calmly played a series of strong moves to set up a mating net and secure the victory. Soon after Alan duly finished his game with a win, before Michael completed the match with another victory.
Congratulations to the team who have set up a final with our EACU rivals from Norfolk on July 7th.
Kevin Williamson
Wagenbach,J (132) - Matthews (143) [A45]
Beds v Derbyshire SF Minor Counties, 09.06.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Ne2 0-0 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Be3 c5 8.Nbc3 Ng4 9.Bc1 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc5 11.h3 Ne5 12.Nb3 Be6 13.Be3 Rc8 14.Nd4 Nc4 15.Bc1 Qb6 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Qe1 Rf7 18.b3 Qb4 19.Qe2 Bxc3 20.a3 Qb6 21.Qxc4 Bxa1 22.Be3 Bg7 23.b4 Qa6 24.Qa2 Nd7 25.Qxe6 Rd8 26.Rd1 Nf8 27.Qb3 e6 28.c4 b6 29.c5 bxc5 30.Bxc5 Rfd7 31.Be3 Kh8 32.Rc1 Rc8 33.a4 Rxc1+ 34.Bxc1 Qc8 35.Be3 Qc3 36.Qb1 Qa1 37.Qxa1 Bxa1 38.Bf1 e5 39.Bc4 Bd4 40.Bh6 Rc7 41.Bd5 Nd7 42.Kf1 Nf6 43.Ba8 Rc4 44.b5 Rxa4 45.Bc6 Ra2 46.f4 Rh2 47.fxe5 dxe5 48.h4 Kg8 49.g4 Kf7 50.h5 gxh5 51.g5 Ng4 52.Bd5+ Kg6 53.Bf8 Rf2+
Page last updated 23rd June 2007
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