Harrod Cup Third Round & County Champs Third Round.

Following wins in the first two rounds, we faced a perfectly selected 500 grade Ashby team on Tuesday. It looked very much like we were going to lose until John pulled off a quite excellent save with only seconds left on his clock.

11 Jul	Heathcote Arms		W	–	B		B	–	W	Ashby 2
			4			–	4
1	182	Sharpe, Graham	0	–	1		1	–	0	Dove, Tom	173
2	127	Manger, John	0	–	1		1	–	0	Gibson, Paul	146
3	109	Ross, Colin	1	–	0		1	–	0	Worrow-Goodin, George	97
4	39	Milner, Gordon	0	–	1		0	–	1	Hart, Jake	84

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GPD	Pts
1	Heathcote Arms	3	2	1	0	2	5
2	Wigston	2	2	0	0	9	4
3	Ashby 1	2	2	0	0	3	4
4	Ashby 2	3	1	1	1	1	3
5	Kirby Muxloe	3	1	0	2	3	2
6	Loughborough	3	1	0	2	2	2
7	Melton Mowbray	2	1	0	1	0	2
8	Syston	2	1	0	1	-2	2
9	Latimer	3	1	0	2	-6	2

On Thursday, several of us were in action in the CCs at Wigston. Ray beat Gordon. Bill lost. Graham S won. I beat John McKiernan, who I last met in the play off for last year's Minor.





Colin

Birstall Cup Match at Loughborough

Already knocked out of the Chapman Cup, things did not go any better in the Birstall. There was no handicap. I lost early to Peter Hickman. Game below:




Ray then lost too. John won, but then Mike was in time trouble in this position with the black pieces. Mike took the pawn on g6 and lost to h7 - it cannot be stopped. Can you see anything better for black?

 

05 Jul		Loughborough 2			v		Heathcote Arms		GD
				3	–	1			-19
Handicap				0	–	0
				3	–	1
1	W	158	Miller, James	1	–	0	Cowley, Michael	148	-10
2	B	119	Adcock, Terry	0	–	1	Manger, John	141	22
3	W	112	Hickman, Peter	1	–	0	Ross, Colin	112	0
4	B	119	Adcock, Michael	1	–	0	Beach, Ray	88	-31

Tuesday, we are home in the Harrod against Ashby and on Thursday it is the County Championship.

Colin

CCs Minor (Round 2) Bill Vs Colin

In Round 2 of the Minor, Bill and I were drawn against each other. I am not around next week, so we played our game early. I was up against it in the middle-game, but hung on. After white's 23rd move, we were equal on material and Bill offered me a draw, but by then I felt I had the edge and was able to convert the point.




Afterwards, we watched the exciting 0 - 1 conclusion of Graham Sharpe Vs Shabir Okhai in the Open. Graham B was around too, playing Sherif Gonem, but I did not get to see any of that game.

Next Thursday, in the Minor, Ray plays Andy Carter and Gordon plays Paul Martin and John is down to play Jez Wells in the Challengers. 

Good luck everyone.

Colin.

Two of Colin's Recent Games

The first below, was my final league game of the season. Kirby Muxloe 3 Vs HA3. I am afraid that I mis-recorded a few moves and even with the aid of opponent's score sheet, I could not quite make sense of the ending. I have entered all the moves that I am certain of here.  What I can say is that I did have the upper hand with around 10 minutes left on the clock, and my opponent with 27 seconds, when I made an illegal move at around move 60. We put the clock back 2 minutes, and then my position disintegrated.

04 May		Kirby Muxloe 3			v		Heathcote Arms 3
				4	–	1
1	B	105	Kruitbosch, Gijs	1	–	0	Ross, Colin	96
2	W	107	Hill, Eddie	1	–	0	Beach, Ray	81
3	B	59	Bowles, Les	0	–	1	Maconnachie, Richard	93
4	W	50	Apgarth, Osian	1	–	0	Roberts, Bill	76
5	B	17	Gonzaga, Edda	1	–	0	Milner, Gordon	38

We finished the season in second place.

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GPD	Pts
1	Ashby 4	16	10	3	3	21	23
2	Heathcote Arms 3	16	9	3	4	9	21
3	Melton Mowbray 4	16	7	5	4	5	19
4	Braunstone 5	16	8	3	5	2	17*
5	Ashby 5	16	6	4	6	4	16
6	Red Admiral	16	4	6	6	-3	13*
7	Melton Mowbray 5	16	6	0	10	-14	12
8	Kirby Muxloe 3	16	4	3	9	-11	11
9	Oadby	16	2	5	9	-13	7*

The County Championships have started. Ray and I know each others games very well and it is always difficult playing him.



Also in the Minor, Bill scored an impressive win against Andy Carter. Gordon had played well, but eventually lost to John McKiernan. 

Colin.

Hi would like to thank all the players  who played for the 3rd team  this season well done all of you 2nd was brilliant thanks ray

A Couple of Colin's Recent Games

I have not been around much for a couple of weeks. My two most recent games. First a draw:

The next was a technical king and pawn draw, but I still managed to lose. My first loss in the league all season. See if you can spot what I should have done to save the half point.
　

With one match to play, HA3 look set for second place in Division 5

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GPD	Pts
1	Ashby 4	15	10	3	2	23	23
2	Heathcote Arms 3	15	9	3	3	12	21
3	Melton Mowbray 4	16	7	5	4	5	19
4	Ashby 5	16	6	4	6	4	16
5	Braunstone 5	15	7	3	5	0	15*
6	Melton Mowbray 5	15	6	0	9	-12	12
7	Red Admiral	15	3	6	6	-5	11*
8	Kirby Muxloe 3	15	3	3	9	-14	9
9	Oadby	16	2	5	9	-13	7*

Colin

HA3 (4-0) Melton 5

21 Mar		Heathcote Arms 3			v		Melton Mowbray 5
				4	–	0
1	B	96	Ross, Colin	1	–	0	Martin, Steve	85
2	W	88	Harbidge, Drew	1	–	0	Smith, Peter	80
3	B	81	Beach, Ray	1	–	0	Freeman, Trevor	80
4	W	76	Roberts, Bill	1	–	0	Walton, Alison	66

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GPD	Pts
1	Heathcote Arms 3	13	8	3	2	10	19
2	Melton Mowbray 4	13	6	5	2	11	17
3	Ashby 4	11	7	2	2	15	16
4	Ashby 5	14	5	4	5	1	14
5	Braunstone 5	13	6	2	5	-1	14
6	Melton Mowbray 5	14	5	0	9	-13	10
7	Red Admiral	12	2	5	5	-5	9
8	Oadby	13	2	4	7	-9	8
9	Kirby Muxloe 3	11	2	3	6	-9	7

We are at the top of the table with three matches to go. Melton 4, Ashby 4 and Braunstone 5 are all within striking distance.

Colin