An enjoyable time was had by all when a Rest of Middlesex team descended on The Holly Bush to play Hendon. The match was arranged to celebrate the change of venue for the latter and to show the MCCA’s commitment to resuming OTB play after a difficult 18months for this format of chess.
With the entirety of the county
to call upon, The Rest of Middlesex team could be significantly stronger than
that of Hendon but for the sake of fair play it was suggested that the teams for
this maiden match should fall between 1800 to 2300. The suggestion was a good
one as it transpired that both teams were well matched, although Hendon were
slightly stronger towards the tail.
|
Bd |
Hendon |
Grade |
Result |
Rest of Mx |
Grade |
Score |
|
1 |
J. Richardson (B) |
2365 |
0 - 1 |
D. Foord (W) |
2365 |
(2) ½ - ½ |
|
2 |
R. Willmoth |
2220 |
½ - ½ |
B. Eames |
2268 |
(7) 1 - 1 |
|
3 |
G. Senior |
2215 |
0 - 1 |
M. Gallana |
2223 |
(6) 1½ -
1½ |
|
4 |
S. Marin Stoica |
2120 |
½ - ½ |
F. Chin |
2077 |
(4) 2 - 2 |
|
5 |
G. Jain |
2020 |
½ - ½ |
I. Calvert |
1993 |
(1) 2 -3 |
|
6 |
D. Levy |
2013 |
½ - ½ |
L. Fincham |
1900 |
(3) 2 - 4 |
|
7 |
D. Amoir |
1900 |
½ - ½ |
P. Conway |
1855 |
(5) 2½ - 4½ |
|
8 |
J-C. Sartenaer |
1810 |
1 - 0 |
J. Oh (Jr) |
1580 |
(8) 3½ - 4½ |
|
|
Hendon Ave. |
2083 |
3½ - 4½ |
Rest of Mx Ave. |
2033 |
|
The match was played in good spirits even if glory was sought with the bragging rights being claimed by Rest of Middlesex; Marco’s game (Bd3) proved to be decisive difference.
The venture was a novel one for
the MCCA as, at least in their recent past, they had never organised or participated
in a match of this kind. MCCA used to play against a combined London League team for
the Ralph Barnett Trophy on an annual basis but that ceased decades ago and no
other format of allowing a combined MCCA to play was formulated. The occasion clearly
allows players to socialise and warm-up for the respective County and League campaigns;
this benefit cannot be overlooked. It is hoped that matches of this kind will
be a permanent one on the MCCA calendar, if so in time both the D1 Champions
and Rest of Middlesex teams will show their ‘true’ strength and provide
spectacles as entertaining as this initial match.
For a Hendon view of the match see here