Saturday has Alex, myself, Gaz, Drew and Steve all out for various Yorkshire teams. Many more from the Huddersfield and Calderdale Leagues were present, as the area continues its staunch support for Yorkshire.
The County put out four strong teams but alas, the 1650s and Open teams did not proceed to the finals. This leaves Alex (u2050s), Isaac and me (u1850s) left from Holmfirth.
County chess is a great experience and returning to playing, from running other teams, I have been taking full advantage. This has involved overnight stays, some great company and meals. Peterborough was no exception and we enjoyed a great Nepalese meal Friday night.
We even found a pub called the Bumble Inn. Peter Mason, who has the Stumble Inn, insisted we go in.
Peterborough itself looks fantastic, with some great architecture. In particular the Churches and Cathedral. Sadly, the City is in decline though via certain problems gaining very prevalent in British cities.
Fortunately, the venue was out the city centre, although we did have to eject one lady and bar the door. The lady in question and her friends had been removed from a number of local premises already.
The Bridge Club though was a great venue. Spacious, good tables and a kitchen area. Parking was decent and free. We got on very well with Suffolk, who beat us last time we played (a lot of years ago). Granville’s opponent recognised him from 30 years ago, although on this occasion Granville won his game.
The end result was 9-7. Yorkshire were largely out graded on 1-5 but three draws and two wins meant the top order did their job well again. The lower boards had the grading advantage and took the match away from Suffolk.
Four Yorkshire teams went out that day, with the Open team losing 10-6 to Surrey and the u1650s 8.5 to 7.5 vs Surrey. The u2050s join the u1850s on final’s day, after defeating Middlesex.
As I like my stats, how are we performing? Excluding those that have only played one match, Dave Patrick and Rupert Jones are our top performer on 2/2. Myself, Granville, Rob Dean and Rob Browne are all on 1.5/2. Compared to the NCCU stages, we had Granville on 3/3, Robin (Browne) on 2/2 and Dave Patrick 2.5/3. Myself, Seth and Charlie with 1.5/2. We are very hard to beat. I love the LMS performance ratings, with Granville 2162 at the NCCU stages, Dave Patrick 2227 and Rupert 2170 for the County Finals stages.
Back on the 5th July!