Portsmouth

Rapidplay 2002/2003 Analysis

Summary

Final Table

Average Grade of Teams

Emsworth

Fareham

Gosport

Portsmouth

Summary

The Rapidplay league was a new development this year, with four teams entering. Although not playing myself, this seems to have been a great success, as it gave ample opportunity for players to play more chess.  The format was four players per team, with 30 moves in a hour and then a 15 minute Quickplay finish. It was also three points for a win and one for a draw. I'm not sure if the scoring system made a lot of difference, but it was another new feature.

Emsworth B ran away with the title, drawing one game with Gosport and winning the rest. This format allowed Emsworth to enter a very strong team as they only used six players, of which five were graded over 150. Gosport on the other hand preferred to use thirteen players, allowing anyone who wanted a game to play. Among these players were a number of A team players which helped Gosport to comfortably finish second. Portsmouth and Fareham were the other teams that entered and on the whole their teams were a lot weaker than Emsworth and Gosport. Portsmouth managed to beat Fareham and one match and draw the other, which enabled them to achieve third place.

As this competition has been a success, hopefully it will grow next season, with more teams entering. 

Final Table

Team

P

W

D

L

GS

Pts

Emsworth

6

5

1

0

20

16

Gosport

6

4

1

1

15½

13

Portsmouth

6

1

1

4

8

4

Fareham

6

0

1

5

4½

1

 

Average Grade of Teams

Team

Average Grade

Emsworth

161.5

Gosport

136.4

Fareham

110.4

Portsmouth

104.4

 

Emsworth had by far the best average, as the team was made up of their A team. In fact this was higher than the average of any team in Division One of the Portsmouth League, but the Rapidplay team was for four, rather than six players. 

Note that I have used the normal grades of people, rather than any rapid graded. This is as not that many players have Rapidplay grades and this made it easier to calculate average grades.

 

 

Emsworth

Name

Grade

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points 

%

Grading Perf

M.G.Buckley

147

6

5

1

0

5.5

91.7

157.5

D.R.Tunks

187

6

3

2

1

4.0

66.7

173.0

M.Body

157

4

4

0

0

4.0

100.0

170.5

M.Krawczuk

165

4

3

0

1

3.0

75.0

172.8

I.Cary

151

3

2

1

0

2.5

83.3

156.0

C.Wood

132

1

1

0

0

1.0

100.0

167.0

Total

 

24

18

4

2

20.0

83.3

 

 

Emsworth only lost two games all season and managed to score 83% as a team. They almost completed a clean sweep in the matches, but Gosport held them to draw in one of their two games.  All players performed well, with only Dominic Tunks scoring less than his expected results. Malcolm Body's result was probably this pick of the bunch and his 100% score included wins S.Isaac and Peter Eales.

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Fareham

Name

Grade

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points 

%

Grading Perf

J.Coburn

146

4

2

1

1

2.5

62.5

158.5

J.Craig

97

1

1

0

0

1.0

100.0

107.0

M.Mitchell

93

5

1

0

4

1.0

20.0

82.8

D.Elliott

141

4

0

0

04

0.0

0.0

114.0

S.Goodrum

u

1

0

0

1

0.0

0.0

97.0

M.Hockey

90

1

0

0

1

0.0

0.0

80.0

B.Massey

89

1

0

0

1

0.0

0.0

79.0

C.Wake

95

2

0

0

2

0.0

0.0

74.0

L.Springthorpe

95

4

0

0

4

0.0

0.0

70.3
M.Springthorpe 81 1 0 0 1 0.0 0.0 53.0

Total

 

24

4

1

19

4.5

18.8

 

With Emsworth scoring over 80% it was inevitable that someone would be at the other end, scoring under 20%. Fareham were that team, as on the whole they were overmatched in most matches. Hopefully if the league expands, Fareham will find the going a bit easier. Joe Coburn had by far the best results, with his two wins including one against D.Saville and he also drew with Ian Cary.

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Gosport

Name

Grade

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points 

%

Grading Perf

M.Ludbrook

u

5

3

1

1

3.5

70.0

164.3

J.H.Jones

158

4

2

2

0

3.0

75.0

183.3

R.D.Marsh

167

2

2

0

0

2.0

100.0

177.0

D.Eland

117

3

2

0

1

2.0

66.7

117.3

B.Gale

113

1

1

0

0

1.0

100.0

145.0

R.F.Smith

103

1

1

0

0

1.0

100.0

131.0

A.Elbourn

91

2

1

0

1

1.0

50.0

91.0

J.R.Wilkinson

160

1

0

1

0

0.5

50.0

147.0

M.L.Newbury

165

1

0

1

0

0.5

50.0

141.0

A.Mills

147

1

0

1

0

0.5

50.0

120.0
S.Pothecary u 1 0 1 0 0.5 50.0 100.0
P.Eales 131 1 0 0 1 0.0 0.0 107.0
J.Jefferson u 1 0 0 1 0.0 0.0 47.0

Total

 

24

12

7

5

15.5

64.6

 

 

As mentioned, everyone who wanted a game, got a game with Gosport in the Rapidplay league this season. Only three players played three or more games, which made the teams on a given night of variable strength. Matthew Ludbook and specifically John Jones had excellent results. John was unbeaten winning two and drawing two games. His draws were probably the betters result, as these were against Emsworth's Dominic Tunks. 

Using as many players as they did, there may be an opportunity for Gosport to enter more than one team next season.

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Portsmouth

Name

Grade

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points 

%

Grading Perf

S.Roberts

u

4

1

1

2

1.5

37.5

92.3

A.Fysh-Foskett

187

1

1

0

0

1.0

100.0

237.0

I.G.Matthew

136

2

1

0

1

1.0

50.0

153.0

S.Isaac

u

3

1

0

2

1.0

33.3

145.0

D.Radford

76

3

1

0

2

1.0

33.3

92.3

P.Eyles

81

6

1

0

5

1.0

16.0

83.0

A.Evens

120

1

0

1

0

0.5

50.0

147.0

D.Saville

141

2

0

1

1

0.5

25.0

130.5

B.V.Cochran

100

2

0

1

1

0.5

25.0

71.5

Total

 

24

6

4

14

8.0

33.3

 

With a team that on average was graded last, Portsmouth did very well to finish above Fareham. The win and the draw against Fareham was the only points that Portsmouth obtained, although in their home match against Gosport they only lost by the narrowest of margins. This was despite Gosport probably having the best team out they had all season.

Ian Matthew and S.Isacc both played well, although the result that sticks out is A.Fysh-Foskett, although he only played the one game.

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