Lincolnshire Chess Association

Minor Counties Competition (2018-19)

MCCU Minor Counties Championship
Position Teams Pl W D L Pts
1 Lincolnshire 4 2 1 1 5
2 Nottinghamshire 4 2 1 1 5
3 Warwickshire 4 2 0 2 4
4 Leicestershire 3 2 0 1 4
5 Worcestershire 3 0 0 3 0

MCCU Minor Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
6 Oct Lincolnshire v Nottinghamshire 8-8
17 Nov Worcestershire v Lincolnshire 6½-9½
19 Jan Lincolnshire v Leicestershire 8½-7½
16 Feb Warwickshire v Lincolnshire 9-7

ECF Minor Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
8 Jun Lincolnshire v Norfolk 8-8
13 Jul Lincolnshire v Devon

Lincolnshire v Nottinghamshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire fielded a strong side when they hosted Nottinghamshire in the first match of the new county season. But Nottinghamshire are always difficult opponents and I knew the match would be close. Lincolnshire held the lead all the way through the contest and held a three point lead going into the closing stages but uncharacteristically for us we failed to convert some very promising positions and finish the job. Nottinghamshire dug in and held the positions that were worse for them and also clawed back the three point deficit by winning the games in which they were better. With one game left the match was level at 7½-7½. Jason Dilley looked to have the worst of it in the remaining game but doggedly held on to get a draw which meant that the match finished all square. Lincolnshire have a proud record of being undefeated at the Atrium since I took over the captaincy in 2009 but we came uncomfortably close to losing that record in this match and we will need to improve when we play Worcestershire in our next match on Saturday December 1st.

Date: 6/10/18
Venue: North Hykeham
Lincolnshire (Home team) Nottinghamshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Paul Cumbers Grantham 199 0-1 Jonah Willow West Nottingham 218
2 B Murray Smith Lincoln 198 ½-½ Robert Richmond West Bridgford 183
3 W Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 196 1-0 Alex Combie Newark 176
4 B Samuel Milson Louth 195 1-0 Brian Thompson West Bridgford 174
5 W Nick Stead Grimsby 193 1-0 Florian Biermann Gambit 173
6 B Stephen Prior Grantham 189 ½-½ Mike Naylor Gambit 172
7 W Jason Dilley Grantham 188 ½-½ Steve Burke Ashfield 172
8 B Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 185 0-1 Glenn Halfpenny Ashfield 171
9 W Peter Cusick Grantham 175 ½-½ Andrew George Newark 169
10 B Francis Bowers Lincolnshire 168 ½-½ Andrew Walker Nottinghamshire 167
11 W Ivan David Grantham 167 ½-½ Daniel Broughton West Bridgford 167
12 B Graham Ladds Newark 155 0-1 Richard Truman West Bridgford 167
13 W Chris Holt Grantham 155 ½-½ Drag Sudar Gambit 163
14 B Andy Hebert Grantham 155 ½-½ Shane Bhayat Nomads 162
15 W Keith Palmer Louth 152 ½-½ Armaan Gogia West Nottingham 161
16 B Arya Parnian Grimsby 149 ½-½ Charlie Grainger Gambit 161
8-8

Worcestershire v Lincolnshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to the village of Frolesworth in Leicestershire to play Worcestershire hoping to improve on their result in their opening fixture when they drew with Nottinghamshire. Lincolnshire have generally had the better of recent results against Worcestershire in recent seasons and got off to a great start when David Coates scored an early win against the Worcestershire captain Steve Woodhouse. David has made a return to competitive chess this season after an absence of three years but showed no signs of rustiness with a convincing win. Lincolnshire always led from this point on and further wins from Arya Parnian, Ivan David, Peter Cusick, Joe Kilshaw Nigel Birtwistle and Samuel Milson ensured that Lincolnshire produced a confident and solid performance to win 9½-6½. Samuel’s win was especially impressive. He slowly pushed his opponent back showing great technique and offered his opponent not the slightest chink of light to obtain any sort of counterplay. Our next match is in the New Year when we take on old rivals Leicestershire at home at the Atrium. Leicestershire as always will be difficult opponents but hopefully we will be able to continue our good form in to this match as well.

Date: 2/12/18
Venue: Frolesworth
Worcestershire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Pavel Besedin Worcestershire 191 ½-½ Paul Cumbers Grantham 199
2 B Zbigniew Koncki Stourbridge 184 0-1 Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 196
3 W Peter Kitson Worcester 183 0-1 Samuel Milson Louth 195
4 B Dan Lambourne Redditch 181 ½-½ Nick Stead Grimsby 193
5 W Geoff Marchant Malvern 180 1-0 Stephen Prior Grantham 189
6 B Edward Osbourn Worcester 178 0-1 Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 185
7 W Lee Davis Malvern 177 1-0 Stuart Williams Grantham 180
8 B Brian Turner Malvern 170 0-1 Peter Cusick Grantham 175
9 W John Edge Halesowen 166 ½-½ Francis Bowers Lincolnshire 168
10 B Nigel Towers Redditch 164 0-1 Ivan David Grantham 167
11 W Finlay Bowcott Halesowen 163 1-0 Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 164
12 B Stephen Woodhouse Greenlands 158 0-1 David Coates Lincoln E160
13 W Mihai Zbircea Redditch 156 1-0 Chris Holt Grantham 155
14 B Dustin Bowcott Halesowen 152 ½-½ Andy Hebert Grantham 155
15 W Hossam Aboushady Stourbridge 141 ½-½ Graham Ladds Newark 155
16 B Ian Ellis Greenlands 142 0-1 Arya Parnian Grimsby 149
6½-9½

Lincolnshire v Leicestershire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Matches between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire are usually very keenly contested affairs and this match was to prove no exception. For a change the Lincolnshire captain was the first to finish when he took advantage of a bad slip by his opponent to press home a mating attack. Following the skipper’s example Lincolnshire continued to add further wins to their tally. Leicestershire mounted a late challenge with a few wins of their own but it was too little too late. With a couple of matches left in play Lincolnshire had already won the match. The loss of the last two games gave some respectability to the score line for our opponents but in reality the 8½-7½ victory for Lincolnshire was a lot more comfortable than it looked on paper. This victory preserved Lincolnshire’s long standing unbeaten home record at the Atrium and also ensured that we will qualify for the knockout stages of the Minor Counties competition. Our final match will be in one month’s time against Warwickshire on Saturday 16th February.

Date: 19/1/19
Venue: North Hykeham
Lincolnshire (Home team) Leicestershire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Chris Dorrington Grantham 222 1-0 Martin Burrows Wigston 198
2 W Paul Cumbers Grantham 199 0-1 Shabir Okhai Syston 192
3 B Murray Smith Lincoln 198 1-0 Gheorge Albu Braunstone 182E
4 W Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 196 1-0 Ray Burgess Thurnby 180
5 B Samuel Milson Louth 195 1-0 Sean Sheahan Shepshed 179
6 W Nick Stead Grimsby 193 0-1 Paul Colburn Braunstone 179
7 B Stephen Prior Grantham 189 0-1 John Denton Melton Mowbray 178
8 W Jason Dilley Grantham 188 1-0 Andy Morley Wigston 175
9 B Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 185 ½-½ Tom Dove Ashby 173
10 W Stuart Williams Grantham 180 ½-½ Tom Brown Braunstone 173
11 B Francis Bowers Lincolnshire 168 0-1 Bob Taylor Syston 171
12 W Ivan David Grantham 167 ½-½ Karl Potter Syston 161
13 B David Coates Lincoln 160E ½-½ Graham Booley Heathcote Arms 147
14 W Andrew Hebert Grantham 155 1-0 Patrick Reid Braunstone 140
15 B Chris Holt Grantham 155 0-1 Jim Bingham Braunstone 134
16 W Arya Parnian Grimsby 149 ½-½ Andrew Wilson Ashby 133
8½-7½

Warwickshire v Lincolnshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to Syston in Leicestershire to play their final match in the MCCU stages against Warwickshire. Although Lincolnshire had already qualified for the knockout stages of the Minor Counties competition a defeat would mean the possibility of not qualifying directly for the Quarter Finals and the prospect of maybe having to play an extra preliminary round. Warwickshire on the other hand had nothing to play for except pride as they had only won one of their previous three matches. The two teams looked fairly evenly matched on paper but about halfway through the match it was quite apparent that this was not to be our day. Warwickshire held a three point lead and despite a brave fightback by Lincolnshire we eventually slipped to 9-7 defeat. Our opponents thoroughly deserved their victory which was Lincolnshire’s first defeat in nine matches in the MCCU. We will now have to wait for the outcome of the final two group matches to find out if we go straight through to the Quarter Final stages in May or have to play in a preliminary round match in April.

Date: 16/2/19
Venue: Syston
Warwickshire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Henrik Stepanyan Sutton Coldfield 212 ½-½ Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 200
2 W Tomasz Sygnowski Sutton Coldfield 205 1-0 Nick Stead Grimsby 197
3 B Donald Mason Shirley 197 0-1 Paul Cumbers Grantham 196
4 W Nicholas Walker West Bromwich 186 0-1 Jason Dilley Grantham 196
5 B Tony Hynes Warwickshire 183 0-1 Stephen Prior Grantham 190
6 W Chirag Guha Sutton Coldfield 181 1-0 Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 186
7 B Marcus Walsh South Birmingham 175 ½-½ Peter Cusick Grantham 179
8 W Anthony Sadler Solihull 172 ½-½ Stuart Williams Grantham 176
9 B Keith Escott Sutton Coldfield 168 ½-½ David Coates Lincoln 174
10 W Simon Smith Warley Quinborne 166 1-0 Ivan David Grantham 168
11 B Mark Cundy Olton 164 1-0 Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 163
12 W Sean Ralph South Birmingham 162 1-0 Andy Hebert Grantham 154
13 B Gary Hope Olton 155 ½-½ Chris Holt Grantham 154
14 W Roy Lawrence Sutton Coldfield 151 1-0 Ian McDonald Lincoln 153
15 B Keith Thomas Boldmere St Michael 150 0-1 Arya Parnian Grimsby 150
16 W Golam Ali Sutton Coldfield 148 ½-½ Graham Ladds Newark 148
9-7

Lincolnshire v Norfolk

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to face their old adversaries Norfolk at Peterborough Bridge Club, the venue that has now become our second home. The previous fixtures between the sides have always been tightly contested affairs with this match being the fourth consecutive season that the teams have crossed swords in the competition. Norfolk were victorious in the final of 2016 but Lincolnshire gained their revenge the following season with a win on board count in the semi-final and followed that up with a win in last year’s quarter final. So the scene was set for another epic encounter.

When the team sheets were exchanged both teams looked very strong and the captains agreed that the match would go right down to the wire. And this proved to be the case. Lincolnshire have had a more turbulent season than in recent years with some inconsistent results this time around. With four games left we were 7-5 down and our backs were against the wall. However I knew that a drawn match would be enough for us to go through to the final as the board count would be in our favour.

Peter Cusick who was on crutches following an accident had let slip a promising position and found himself a couple of pawns down in an opposite bishop ending. But tenacious defence meant that he was able to hold the draw. The other games looked more promising. Both Chris Dorrington and Joe Kilshaw were were attempting to grind out wins from better positions and Paul Cumbers was looking his usual solid self.

Chris eventually wove an air tight mating net around his opponent’s king in a bishop and queen endgame to pull a point back for Lincolnshire and then Joe in a more unaccustomed role to his usual hacking style nicely converted his endgame to square the match. By now Paul was looking a little better and although short of time the incremental time control helped him to improve his position to such an extent that his opponent had no choice but to concede the draw. Although the match was level at 8-8 the board count was easily in our favour and it meant that Lincolnshire made it through to a fourth consecutive Minor Counties final.

This was a terrific team performance by Lincolnshire which showed grit, determination and a fantastic will to win. Our opponents in the Final on Saturday July 13th will be Devon. Hopefully we will be able to produce another fighting performance and regain the title that we lost last year.

Date: 8/6/19
Venue: Peterborough
Lincolnshire (Home team) Norfolk (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Chris Dorrington Grantham 221 1-0 Michael Harris Norfolk 219
2 W Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 200 ½-½ Martin Walker Norfolk 207
3 B Samuel Milson Louth 200 ½-½ Gerald Moore Broadland 191
4 W Nick Stead Grimsby 197 ½-½ David LeMoir Fakenham 189
5 B Paul Cumbers Grantham 196 ½-½ Roy Hughes Broadland 185
6 W Jason Dilley Grantham 196 0-1 Ken McEwan Broadland 180
7 B Stephen Prior Grantham 190 1-0 Geoffrey Moore Norwich Dons 180
8 W Joe Kilshaw Grimsby 186 1-0 Jason Leverett Lowestoft 179
9 B Peter Cusick Grantham 179 ½-½ Trevor Ansell Fakenham 170
10 W Stuart Williams Grantham 176 1-0 Jonathan Burrows Norwich Dons 167
11 B Ivan David Grantham 168 0-1 Steve Pullinger Broadland 167
12 W Francis Bowers Lincolnshire 167 ½-½ Cor Dekker Wymondham 165
13 B Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 163 0-1 Steve Moore Norwich Dons 167
14 W Andrew Hebert Grantham 154 ½-½ Terry Turner Norfolk & Norwich 163
15 B Chris Holt Grantham 154 ½-½ Ryan Barnes Norfolk & Norwich 159
16 W Arya Parnian Grimsby 150 0-1 David Payne St John Norwich 154
8-8