Essex Summer Rapid Knockout 2022

The A Team: (l to r): Philip, Steve, Ashley, John C (back), Partha (front), Mark, Ian. (Not in picture: John H. and Terry Whitton) [Photo: Ian Hunnable – camera operated by Ben Harte]

 

Sims Cup retained

Wanstead A 6-4 Barking A

Our picture shows the A Team squad who represented the Club A team in this year’s competition.

The Final team of John Hodgson, Partha Mulay, John Cawdery, Steve Rix and Ashley Freeman won the showdown with Barking A in the Essex Summer Rapid Knockout Final, on 20 September 2022, held by Wanstead B since 2019, the last year it was held, due to Covid. Full details in the A Team tab below.

 

Well, what can I say…!?
Massive congratulations to you all!  Great squad, great team, great spirit – 100% commitment and 100% deserved winners!
The trophy belongs to each and everyone of you for making it all come true!
– Ashley Freeman

 

A Team

Played 28 June 2022

 WANSTEAD A R1 R2  Barking B
Cawdery, John 2044 (W, B) 1-0 1-0 Naumov, Igor 1727 (B, W)
Rix, Steven JL 2058 1-0 0-1 Saunders, Richard 1784
Freeman, Ashley 1901 1-0 ½-½ Mike J Cresswell, 1743
Hunnable, Ian D 1991 1-0 1-0 Chtym, Vladimir 1458
(Terry Whitton) 1d0 1d0 Default
  5-0 3½-1½  
WANSTEAD A 
8½-1½  Barking B

Barking had notified that they were a player short, so Terry Whitton was not required to attend and Barking’s task, already difficult, was rendered “Mission Impossible”.

Indeed, Wanstead A wrapped up the fixture by winning all four contested games in Round 1, the R2 Default giving the Home team a 6-0 winning score at half time.

Nonetheless, Barking fought hard and presented respectable opposition, which the scoreline hardly reflects. Richard Saunders took Steve Rix all the way to the last knockings of a R&P ending (K+R v K+R+1P). Richard was to turn the tables in R2 to score Barking’s only win, while Mike Cresswell held Ashley Freeman to a R2 draw. Further inconvenience to the Home team’s equanimity occurred on Board 1 where John Cawdery lost his queen in the R2 game, but was fortunate to reach an ending where his R and 3P – all united on the K-side – against Igor’s K+Q allowed John to scramble a win in the last game to finish.

Only two WW A players won both games

WANSTEAD A now have a Bye to the Semi-Finals where they await the winners of the only match in Round 2, when the Round 1 pairings for Matches A and B have been settled. Barking B go into the Plate competition where they have a Bye to the Plate Semi-Finals and await one of the losing teams of Matches A and B, when they have settled their differences in the Plate QF.

Links: Essex Knockout | EKO on ECF LMS

A Team

In R2 (Quarter-Finals) there is only one match which is (Thurrock or WRITTLE) v LOUGHTON. WW A play the winner of these matches.

A Team

Played 24 August 2022, at Writtle

WRITTLE R1 R2 WANSTEAD A*
1 White, Russell P 2111 (B, W) ½-½ 0-1 Hodgson, John H 2185 (W, B)
2 Myall, Ivan J 2009 1-0 0-1 Mulay, Partha 2017
3 Wilson, Edgar 1988 1-0 ½-½ Rix, Steven JL 2057
4 Moore, John C 1973 0-1 ½-½ Freeman, Ashley 1930
5 Mueller, Jens 2019 ½-½ 1-0 Whitton, Terry D 1909
  3-2 2-3  
(BC: 10) WRITTLE 5-5* WANSTEAD A (BC: 7)
* WANSTEAD A win on Board Count

Playing away against the redoubtable Writtle team, Wanstead A came away with a tie-break success in the closest of close encounters.

Identical average ratings of 2020, 5-5 after the two rounds, WW A accrued the critical advantage of winning Boards 1 and 2 in the second round, creating a three point gap in the Board Count totals to take the match.

We await Ashley’s report.

The other semi-final, between BARKING A and BASILDON takes place on 1 September.

WANSTEAD A R1 R2 BARKING A
1 Hodgson, John H 2191 (W, B) ½-½ 0-1 Goldberg, Jeff A 2118 (B, W)
2 Mulay, Partha 2022 ½-½ 0-1 Jaszkiwskyj, Peter 1963
3 Cawdery, John 2030 0-1 1-0 Ismailov, Roman 2076
4 Rix, Steven JL 2045 1-0 1-0 Robinson, James M 1909
5 Freeman, Ashley 1939 1-0 1-0 Ramage, Colin R 1874
  3-2
3-2
 
WANSTEAD A  6-4  BARKING A

Skipper Ashley (right) receives the Sims Cup (and clock) from ECA President Ian Hunnable. [Photo: Mark Murrell]

Skip Ashley assembled his strongest line-up for this Final showdown, while Barking were lacking David Sands.

Matters started peacefully with the draw on Board 1. Soon afterwards, some 45 minutes into the round, this observer noticed that the two games on Boards 3 and 5 had almost identical – and remarkable – clock times: in each case, the Barking player had about 11 minutes left on the clock, while the Wanstead players were each inside their last minute, plus increments; these two games finished in diametrically opposite ways. John C, facing a dangerous passed pawn, overstepped the time limit in trying to find a safe continuation. A few minutes later, in the pairing between the Captains’, Ashley got the better of Colin, having faced down the latter’s Latvian Gambit.

So 1½-1½, with two still in play. On Board 2, moves were repeated for a draw when neither player could safely make progress, both being short of time; 2-2. Just Steve’s game to come and he made sure the Wanstead players would be the ones to enjoy their half-time cuppa by adding the full point to give Wanstead the half-time lead at 3-2. The Wanstead wins having come at the bottom of the team, this one point lead was cruicial, especially with three blacks in R2.

With the first result of the second round, Wanstead extended their lead when Ashley completed a double against Colin’s habitual gambit. More good news from Board 4 as Steve gained a piece and Jim Robinsons’s resignation to bring Wanstead within a half point of the match. But at 5-2 down Barking weren’t out of it, though they now had to win in all three remaining games for what would be a famous Board Count victory. Barking hopes rose when Peter mated Partha; 5-3; shades of Essex U2050’s come-from-behind win against Surrey in the County Final. But John C dashed those hopes when reversing his R1 result on Board 3 to give Wanstead a 6-3 winning margin. John H had to give best to Jeff Goldberg when he couldn’t hold his R and P ending in the last game to finish, but the team was already home. Wanstead had repeated the R1 score, 3-2, for an overall victory by 6-4.

Commiserations to Barking but hearty congratulations to Wanstead on retaining the Sims cup, though in 2019 it was the “Bees” that won! With the cup also comes a digital chess timer.

B Team

Played 30 June 2022

BASILDON R1 R2 Wanstead B
Somogyi, Tamas 2038 (W, B) 1-0 ½-½ Barclay, Paul R 1750 (B, W)
Bara, V Radu 1950 ½-½ 0-1 Jones, Keith S 1705
Kraszewski, David 1960 1-0 1-0 Nickals, Peter A 1641
Gedvilas, Arunas 1915 1-0 ½-½ Sharman, Jay 1596
Laundy, Peter R 1930 ½-½ 1-0 Harte, Ben 1641
  4-1 3-2  
BASILDON 7-3 Wanstead B

B Team

Played 2 August 2022, at Wanstead

Wanstead B R1 R2 Ilford
Barclay, Paul R 1773 ½-½ ½-½ Twitchell, Neville H 1863
Jones, Keith S 1711 0-1 ½-½ Barton, Tom A 1865
Nigrelli, Vittorio 1672 0-1 0-1 Ghose, Rahul 1810
Siddo, Charlton 1660 1-0 1-0 Lowe, Daniel 1485
Rawlings, David J 1645 0-1 1-0 Asif, Rayyan 800
  1½-3½ 3-2  
 Wanstead B 4½-5½  Ilford

C Team

Played 29 June 2022, at Loughton

 LOUGHTON R1 R2  Wanstead C
1 Van Tol, Martin 1758 (B, W) 1-0 1-0 Lataille, Matthias 1579 (W, B)
2 Moth, Simon C 1753 1-0 ½-½ Smith, David 1521
3 Groce, Ken 1645 1-0 0-1 Ryan Colclough 1549
4 Kershaw, Graham J 1750 0-1 1-0 Jestico, John V 1418 (s)
5 Demirdelen, Ozan 1472 0-1 0-1 Green, Alfred 1409
  3-2 2½-2½  
LOUGHTON  5½-4½  Wanstead C

John Jestico substituted for Punit Todi in both Rounds. John was present as he was in the Wanstead side for a rated-friendly match being played at the same time, but switched when Punit did not arrive.

LOUGHTON progress to R2 (QF), Match G (the only contested match in R2), where they will be Away to the winners of Match A between Thurrock and WRITTLE. WW C go into the Plate competition QF and await the losers of Match A (Thurrock v WRITTLE), in Match N, the only match in the Plate QF.

C Team

Played 19 July 2022 at Wanstead

Wanstead C R1 R2 Thurrock
1 Senan, Tu 1817 (B, W) 0-1 ½-½ Sadhasivam, Mangalaram 1645 (W, B)
2 Lataille, Matthias 1576 0-1 ½-½ Baig, Huzaifa 1446
3 Colclough, Ryan 1545 1-0 0-1 Akinyosoye, Banky 1556
4 Smith, David 1525 0-1 1-0 Lawrence, Drew 1589
5 Mukherjee, Aradhya 1491 1-0 1-0 Gannon, Harvey 1475
  2-3 3-2  
(BC 8+9=17) Wanstead C 5-5* Thurrock* (BC 7+3=10)
*Thurrock win on Board Count