Lincolnshire Chess Association

Minor Counties Competition (2023-24)

MCCU Minor Counties Championship
Position Teams Pl W D L Pts
1 Lincolnshire 1 1 0 0 2
2 Worcestershire 1 0 0 1 0

MCCU Minor Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
2 Dec Worcestershire v Lincolnshire 7-9

ECF Minor Counties Championship Match Results
Date Match Result
11 May Lincolnshire v Bedfordshire 13-3
8 Jun Lincolnshire v Somerset 10½-5½
6 Jul Sussex v Lincolnshire 8-8

Worcestershire v Lincolnshire

Report from Nigel Birtwistle

Lincolnshire travelled to Sharnford in Leicestershire at the beginning of December to play Worcestershire which was to be their only match in the Open section of the MCCU Championship. The venue at Sharnford proved an excellent choice to host the match and the comfortable facilities were enjoyed by all. A close match was in prospect especially as our opponents had managed to recruit WGM Katazyna Toma to play but I was still confident of victory as our team still had several players in our ranks who had been a part of our successful teams in recent years. My forecast of a close scoreline proved correct as Lincolnshire won by a 9-7 margin but victory was already secured with four games to play until a late rally from Worcestershire made the match score much closer. The result meant that Lincolnshire retained the MCCU Championship and that both teams qualified for the National Stages of the Minor Counties Competition as our respective counties were the only teams to enter the competition this season. The reluctance of the other MCCU Counties to commit to fielding teams again this year was disappointing. This may be down to a lack of people who are willing to captain the teams, but it seems like there is a definite lack of enthusiasm for county chess in the MCCU. Lincolnshire are one of the least populous counties but we still value county team competitions very highly and we make every effort to field a team. The next match for the Lincolnshire team will be in early May in the Quarter Finals of the Minor Counties Competition.

Date: 2/12/22
Venue: Sharnford
Worcestershire (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Katarzyna Toma Worcestershire 2364 1-0 Craig Whitfield Lincolnshire 2284
2 B Dan Lambourne Redditch 2076 ½-½ Paul Cumbers Grantham 2255
3 W Lee Davis Malvern 2076 ½-½ Jason Dilley Grantham 2189
4 B John Edge Halesown 2055 0-1 Steve Prior Grantham 2184
5 W Joseph Friar Kidderminster 2040 ½-½ Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 2147
6 B Peter Kitson Worcester 2022 0-1 Nick Stead Grimsby 2145
7 W John Wrench Kidderminster 1972 ½-½ Joe Kilshaw Appleby Frodingham 2062
8 B Brian Turner Malvern 1950 ½-½ David Coates Lincoln 2031
9 W Gavin Cartwright Longbridge 1881 1-0 Alex Royle Grantham 2009
10 B Joe Rastall Worcester 1879 ½-½ Robert K Taylor Lincolnshire 1895
11 W Stephen Woodhouse Longbridge 1793 0-1 Graham Ladds Newark 1877
12 B Philip Maddocks Longbridge 1758 1-0 Eric Gibbon Lincolnshire 1865
13 W David Waud Kidderminster 1741 ½-½ Andy Hebert Grantham 1852
14 B Roger Aris Malvern 1711 ½-½ Denis Georgiou Appleby Frodingham 1844
15 W Tony Shaw Worcester 1708 0-1 Stuart MacDonald Grimsby 1808
16 B Kieran Lappin Malvern 1690 0-1 Chris Holt Grantham 1790
7-9

Lincolnshire v Bedfordshire

Date: 11/5/24
Venue: Peterborough
Lincolnshire (Home team) Bedfordshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 B Paul Cumbers Grantham 2187 0-1 Stephen Ledger Bedford 2151
2 W Samuel Milson Louth 2197 1-0 James Gardner Bedford 2097
3 B Stephen Prior Grantham 2165 1-0 Gary Kenworthy Bedfordshire 2099
4 W Jason Dilley Grantham 2162 1-0 Ravi Arulnandhy Bedford 2065
5 B Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 2117 1-0 Adrian Elwin Bedfordshire 2041
6 W Nick Stead Grimsby 2124 1-0 Julian Hudson Luton 2037
7 B Alexandr Klimchik Lincoln 2068 1-0 Paul Habershon Bedford 1974
8 W David Coates Lincoln 2022 0-1 Graham Borrowdale Bedfordshire 2020
9 B Joe Kilshaw Scunthorpe 2016 ½-½ Nick Collacott Bedford 1970
10 W Kevin McCarthy Grantham 2024 1-0 Thomas O'Brien Luton 1946
11 B Alex Royle Grantham 1996 1-0 Brian Valentine Leighton Buzzard 1872
12 W Robert K Taylor Lincolnshire 1903 1-0 Andrew Bowler Bedfordshire 1890
13 B Graham Ladds Newark 1882 ½-½ Ramsey Dairi Bedford 1866
14 W Andrew Hebert Grantham 1869 1-0 Adrian Matthews Leighton Buzzard 1809
15 B Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 1864 1-0 Robert Walker Bedford 1745
16 W Stuart MacDonald Grantham 1855 1-0 Mahmoud Dairi Bedford 1303
13-3

Lincolnshire v Somerset

Date: 8/6/24
Venue: Stratford-Upon-Avon
Lincolnshire (Home team) Somerset (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Samuel Milson Louth 2197 ½-½ Ben Edgell Somerset 2200
2 B Paul Cumbers Grantham 2187 0-1 Arturo Wong snr Chard & Ilminster 2088
3 W Stephen Prior Grantham 2165 0-1 Hugo Fowler Sedgemoor 2084
4 B Jason Dilley Grantham 2162 ½-½ Dominic Gibbs Somerset 2033
5 W Nick Stead Grimsby 2124 ½-½ Kevin Thurlow Sedgemoor 2001
6 B Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 2117 1-0 Andrew Footner Yeovil 1980
7 W Daniel Wells Lincolnshire 2099 1-0 John Waterfield Wells 1940
8 B Kevin McCarthy Grantham 2024 ½-½ Emmanuel Wih Weston-super-Mare 1916
9 W Joe Kilshaw Scunthorpe 2056 0-1 Jamie Beviss Sedgemoor 1867
10 B Alex Royle Grantham 1996 1-0 David Stone Sedgemoor 1855
11 W Robert K Taylor Lincolnshire 1903 1-0 Arnold Acibar Taunton 1808
12 B Andrew Hebert Grantham 1869 1-0 Brandan Read Weston-super-Mare 1716
13 W Stuart MacDonald Grimsby 1855 ½-½ David Neagle Somerset 1706
14 B Eric Gibbon Lincolnshire 1852 1-0 Marshall Panneerselvam Taunton 1647
15 W Chris Holt Grantham 1798 1-0 Guy Greenland Sedgemoor 1543
16 B Allan Marshall Spalding 1610 1-0 Hannie Laurie Glastonbury 1450
10½-5½

Sussex v Lincolnshire

Date: 6/7/24
Venue: Whittlesford
Sussex (Home team) Lincolnshire (Away team)
Board Colour Name Club Grade Score Name Club Grade
1 W Luke Rutherford Brighton & Hove 2257 0-1 Sam Milson Louth 2198
2 B Feliks Kwiatkowski Haywards Heath 2212 ½-½ Paul Cumbers Grantham 2174
3 W Matthew Payne Worthing 2154 1-0 Stephen Prior Grantham 2153
4 B Mikolaj Rogacewicz Brighton & Hove 2143 1-0 Jason Dilley Grantham 2159
5 W Mark Broom Horsham 2130 1-0 Nick Stead Grimsby 2121
6 B Jaimie Wilson Chichester 2144 ½-½ Nigel Birtwistle Grantham 2123
7 W Peter Farr Lewes 2089 ½-½ Kevin McCarthy Grantham 2021
8 B Kit Blades 4NCL Sussex Marlets 2120 ½-½ David Coates Lincoln 2022
9 W Stephen Newman Brighton & Hove 2066 ½-½ Joe Kilshaw Scunthorpe 2002
10 B James Mansson Horsham 2065 0-1 Alex Royle Grantham 1994
11 W Geoffrey James Brighton & Hove 2040 ½-½ Graham Ladds Newark 1882
12 B Paul Batchelor Brighton & Hove 1988 ½-½ Andrew Hebert Grantham 1875
13 W Adrian Pickersgill Hastings & Leonards 1891 ½-½ Denis Georgiou Scunthorpe 1864
14 B James Wheeler Hastings & Leonards 1832 0-1 Daniel Thompson Lincolnshire 1862
15 W Paul Edwards Brighton & Hove 1777 1-0 Stuart MacDonald Grimsby 1862
16 B Paul Selby Brighton & Hove 1764 0-1 Eric Gibbon Lincolnshire 1857
8-8