Hampshire Chess Association

County News

2002 - 2003 West of England County Matches Analysis

The Hampshire A team were competitive in the West of England matches this season. but this did not materialise into many points, with only the one match point from the drawn match against Devon. This was not a true reflection on the improvements in the team, as we only lost by the narrowest of margins against Cornwall and Somerset (7½ - 8½). This was a particularly good result against Somerset, as on paper they were a much stronger team than us. This can be seen in the final results, as Somerset won the Harold Meek (A team) competition, whilst Devon won the Wayling Cup (B teams).

The results against Cornwall and Wiltshire were disappointing though, as these were two matches we could have won. The two defaults in the Cornwall match were decisive, but Wiltshire were a deceptive side, with the normal strong top boards (although not as strong as usual), and improving juniors near the bottom. Still playing at home, we were hoping for a win in this match. The match against Gloucestershire was another kettle of fish, as we were well and truly beaten on the day, with no wins at all! 

The strength of the County team was increased slightly from last season and we did not suffer too badly from defaults (two against Cornwall), If we can get a couple of stronger players back into the fold, it may even see us qualifying for the BCF stages!

The B team did better than last season, with one win, a draw and a loss. The win was the match against Dorset, which as Dorset did not enter an A team this season, was really an Under 150 team. This win meant that Hampshire qualified for the quarter finals of the BCF U150 County Championship, where we again faced Dorset (as they won the preliminary against Leicestershire). This time we played in Dorset and both teams fielded stronger teams. After a close match, we won 9 - 7 and progressed to the semi-finals against reigning champions Lancashire. 

This proved one step to many and we lost  6½ - 9½ in another close match. Lancashire went on to retain the championship and we were the only team that stopped them reaching 10 or more points. So congratulations to the Under 150 team and maybe next year we can progress further! The Under 125 team was less fortunate, as they lost their one match against Devon and therefore did not progress to the BCF stage.

As always the Players Performance is in points scored order, which as we had a number of 150 matches means these players have drifted to the top. Stuart Dean probably had the best season of anyone, but Jon Young, Martin Buckley, David Thompson and Fraser McLeod were not far behind. Other players that played well were David Kinsler, Bill Purkiss, Peter Roberson, Joe Coburn and Andy Carpenter.

Don't forget, if you have a game from the season, which is worth publishing, send to me at News@HampshireChess.co.uk