HA2/3 Vs Wigston 1

We were expecting to have to work hard to win this match in the third round of the Minor League Cup. After round two we had reached the top of the table alongside Wigston. There was no handicap since there was only a slight difference in total gradings. We won the toss and opted for the white pieces on the odd boards.


The first result was a draw for Haka Dave against Dennis Wilkins. Then, in a knight endgame, at move 30, i offered a draw and this was accepted. Ray had looked to be holding his own on board 4 when his opponent blundered a rook and then immediately resigned. This meant that Pete needed only a draw or better for us to win the match. A pawn up though, Pete thought that he could do better, however, and when offered a draw - declined it, and then went on to win only a short time later.

25 Jan		Heathcote Arms 2		v	Wigston 1		GD
				3 - 1			7
Handicap				0 - 0
				3 - 1
1	W	138	Harrison, Peter	1 - 0	White, David	113	-25
2	B	102	Ross, Colin	½ - ½	Hammond, Grant	111	9
3	W	99	Ricketts, Dave	½ - ½	Wilkins, Denis	110	11
4	B	90	Beach, Ray	1 - 0	Winterton, Paul	102	12

A fantastic result, putting us in an excellent position in the Minor League Cup with two rounds to go.
Loughborough 2's plan of playing a low graded side, in order to maximise their handicap against Melton, backfired on Wednesday. As a result, we are sure to meet Melton in the next round.

26 Jan		Melton Mowbray 2		v	Loughborough 2		GD
				4 - 0			-213
Handicap				0 - 3½
				4 - 3½
1	B	139	Peters, Simon	1 - 0	Uski, Ville	118	-21
2	W	134	Farquharson, Ian	1 - 0	Gordon, Stewart	60	-74
3	B	128	Cope, Shaun	1 - 0	Trusz, Ashish	60	-68
4	W	110	Toon, Roy	1 - 0	Kohli, Sameer	60	-50

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GPD	Pts
1	Heathcote Arms 2	3	3	0	0	4	6
2	Melton Mowbray 2	3	2	0	1	1	4
3	Wigston 1	3	2	0	1	-1	4
4	Loughborough 2	3	1	1	1	2	3
5	Spinney Hill 2	2	1	0	1	-1	2
6	Hinckley 1	2	0	1	1	-1	1
7	Braunstone 2	2	0	0	2	-1	0
8	Market Harborough 1	2	0	0	2	-4	0

Well done everyone.

Next week: HA2 are at home to Kirby Castlers 1, and on Wednesday, HA3 play away at Red Admiral.

Colin.