Torbay Chess League Division 3 Season 2014-15
South Hams Chess Club fields a team in Division 3 of the Torbay Chess League. This entails home and away matches against Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Torquay and Torquay Boys' Grammar School. Games played in the TDCL are submitted to the ECF grading database.
In this division, teams consist of four players, and the maximum team grade is Under 480. The rate of play is 35 moves in 75 minutes, followed by a 15 minute Quickplay finish. The away team has white on the odd-numbered boards.
Please visit the Torbay Chess League web page for the latest team standings, and our fixtures and results page for the team's fixtures for the current season.
League Table
South Hams are the Division 3 Champions for 2014-15, having won 9 of our 10 matches (losing just the home fixture against Torquay by 1½ - 2½). Here is the final league table.
| Division 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|
| South Hams |
10 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
29½ |
10½ |
18 |
| Torquay |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
23 |
16 |
12 |
| Newton Abbot |
10 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
21½ |
18½ |
12 |
| Plymouth |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
23 |
17 |
11 |
| TBGS |
10 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
16 |
23 |
6 |
| Teignmouth |
10 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
6 |
34 |
1 |
Individual Player Statistics
Here are the final player statistics for South Hams players in Division 3 during the 2014-15 season:
| Name | Grade | ECF | P | W | D | L | Ave Op | Perf | % | Points |
|---|
| Levy, Steve | 140 | 134450L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 144 | 169 | 75.0 | 1.5 |
| Best, Barclay | 90 | 233494L | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 145 | 100.0 | 3.0 |
| Wilkinson, Ben | 129 | 162703L | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 149 | 133 | 33.3 | 1.0 |
| Archer, David | 90 | 300734A | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 130 | 100.0 | 3.0 |
| Fowler, James | 105 | 277497F | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 128 | 80.0 | 4.0 |
| Ashby, Ken | 83 | 181837F | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 125 | 100.0 | 3.0 |
| McConnell, Phil | 102 | 285386D | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 105 | 120 | 65.0 | 6.5 |
| Greenhalgh, Roy | 97 | 134641G | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83 | 116 | 83.3 | 5.0 |
| Collins, Tony | 78 | 173334F | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 115 | 100.0 | 1.0 |
| Belli, John | 100 | 300901E | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 100.0 | 1.0 |
| Russell, Dennis | 112 | 214868H | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 131 | 106 | 25.0 | 0.5 |
| Peach, Cliff | 110 | 116851E | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 130 | 80 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Overall Team Statistics
| Matches Played: | 10 |
| Matches Won: | 9 |
| Matches Drawn: | 0 |
| Matches Lost: | 1 |
| Match Points: | 18 |
| Percentage: | 90 |
| Average South Hams Team Grade: | 409.5 |
| Average Opponents Team Grade: | 397.9 |
TCL Division 3: Plymouth v South Hams 13 Oct 2014
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 3 May 2015
A notable win for South Hams, being outgraded by our opponents by 470 to 407.
On Board 4, Barclay thought that he erred early on, but his opponent failed to capitalise and paid the price.
Board 3 was a tight game, with James prevailing in the end. According to Tony Tatam, James "played very well"!
On Board 2, Phil gained a pawn on move 20 at the expense of an exposed King. His opponent then threw the kitchen sink at Phil's King, sacrificing material in order to maintain the attack. Megan declined to force a draw by threefold repetition, and indeed could have forced a win at that point due to some inaccurate play by Phil. However soon afterwards Phil was able to repel her attack - by which time he had a big material advantage and a pawn on c2 threatening Queening with a back rank checkmate.
Board 1 was the last to finish, and it looked like a draw with each player having a King and 5 pawns - but only around 5 minutes each left on the clock. With both players under time pressure, Nicholas played the end game slightly more accurately than Cliff, and was able to Queen a pawn just before Cliff could do likewise, whereupon the tempo advantage plus a being a pawn up was enough to secure Nicholas the win.
I'm hoping to provide more detail on boards 1, 3 and 4 after speaking to the rest of the team.
Phil
TCL Division 3: South Hams v Newton Abbot 16 Oct 2014
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 16 Oct 2014
On Board 4, Barclay established a big material advantage quite early on, and went on to win comfortably.
On Board 3, Roy's opponent allowed him to grab a checkmate on the castled king with Queen on a2 supported by a Knight on b4.
On Board 2 James managed to gain a 1 pawn (and later a 2 pawn) advantage at the expense of a compromised pawn formation. Forcing the win proved tricky, but eventually James managed it (though he says he erred in the process!).
Board 1 was a close tussle, ending up with both players having a Rook and a Pawn. A draw was probably a fair result, but with both players' clocks running down, and moves being made almost instantaneously, in the hurly-burly Jacquie failed to notice that Phil had actually run out of time, and offered a draw with 6 seconds left on her clock. So something of a lucky escape for Phil!
Overall, a cracking start to the season for the Div3 team, following our 3-1 win at Plymouth on Monday. Well played everybody.
TCL Division 3: South Hams v Torquay 20 Nov 2014
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 21 Nov 2014
The first defeat of the season for the South Hams Division 3 team, and a well-deserved win for Torquay.
Board 1 was a tight and complex game, with neither player gaining a significant advantage at any stage. A good draw fro Dennis.
On Board 2, Phil allowed his opponent to develop a Queenside attack (with a strong fianchettoed Bishop controlling the a1-h8 diagonal) before Phil could get anything going down the Kingside. Phil was thoroughly outplayed, in fact.
Board 3 was another game that looked close for a long time, but the accuracy of Barclay's play prevailed in the end. That's 3 from 3 this season from Barclay!
On Board 4, Roy entered the end game a knight down, and although his opponent was starting to get tight on time, Roy couldn't prevent him from queening, after which it was all over.
TCL Division 3: South Hams v Teignmouth 4 Dec 2014
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 5 Dec 2014
Report by Phil McConnell
An excellent 4-0 win.
On Board 1, my opponent struggled after move 10 when he succumbed to a Knight fork on King and Bishop. I was able to exchange off material leading to a straightforward win.
On Board 2, Roy's opponent miscalculated and made a Bishop sacrifice which didn't wok out.
On Board 4, Ken notched up his first win playing for South Hams - the first of many, I'm sure. Ken got a nice Kingside attack going, leading his opponent, under pressure, to blunder a Bishop and then fall for a Knight fork on King and Rook.
Ken's and my games have been posted on the website for viewing/commenting.
I can't say anything about James' win on Board 3 - but will add a comment if he posts the game on the website!
TCL Division 3: Torquay Boys Grammar School v South Hams 6 Jan 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 7 Jan 2015
In their Division 3 match against TBGS, South Hams eventually ran out easy 4-0 winners but it wasn't as comfortable as the score suggests.
It started off well with Ken Ashby winning in less than 2hrs play. Next to finish was Roy Greenhalgh, who got into a few problems in the opening and against a stronger opponent might have had a struggle, but Roy came through and put South Hams 2-0 up.
Everything looked on course for an early finish, but on boards 1 & 3 it was a different story. James Fowler had an 4 pawn and knight end game. James' isolated pawn on the queenside gave him the edge, with the other 7 pawns all tied up on the kingside. James' isolated pawn eventually queened which gave South Hams a 3-0 lead.
The last game to finish went to the wire, with both players having just over a minute on their clocks at the end. The Grammar School lad went all out for a pawn & rook mate but was always just one move away, while Phil McConnell held his nerve and queened his pawn with immediate check, which then really finished the game, with the time being the only thing that could have stopped Phil winning.
A win was deserved, but the 4-0 score line was a bit flattering - until the last 30 minutes it could have gone either way and a draw looked possible. The Grammar School boys in general played with a flair that made their grades look understated. The win keeps South Hams on course for being in with a shout for the Division 3 title.
| Bd |
Torquay Boys Grammar School |
Grade |
Res |
South Hams |
Grade |
PGN |
| 1 |
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TCL Division 3: Newton Abbot v South Hams 29 Jan 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 30 Jan 2015
A rather lucky win for South Hams by 1½ - 2½.
On Board 1, Ben's opponent inadvertently touched his King when intending to move another piece. Ben, quite properly, asked him to move his King, whereupon he resigned as this would have resulted in the loss of a piece.
On Board 4, Roy entered the end game a piece up, and advantage which he easily converted to a win.
On Board 2, Russell lost, we gather after blundering away his Queen.
This meant that Phil needed a draw on Board 3 in order to gain a team win. He ended up in a fairly hopeless position, with 4 pawns against a knight and 5 pawns, but at this stage his opponent only had 110 seconds left on her clock. She opted to offer a draw - which Phil accepted with alacrity!
So, the Division 3 team marches on, topping the table with 5 wins out of 6. Next match: home v Plymouth on 19th February.
TCL Division 3: South Hams v Plymouth 19 Feb 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 20 Feb 2015
With this narrow win, South Hams scored a home and away "double" over Plymouth in Division 3 - when was the last time this happened?
Roy's game on Board 4 was the first to finish, but unfortunately I saw nothing of this game and can't comment on it!
On Board 2, I ended up with a bishop and 7 pawns against my opponent's bishop and 6 pawns. But it was a position where it wasn't obvious how I could break through, and with my clock a bit on the tight side I offered a draw. After consulting his team captain, John accepted.
A couple of minutes later, Steve forced a win - after a tight game - with a strong attack down the centre.
James' game against Tony Tatam was the last to finish, with James up a queen and two pawns in exchange for a rook, two knights and a pawn - an unusual situation. James became desperately tight on time, while Tony played very accurately - and James' position already seemed lost when his clock fell.
So the South Hams Division 3 team now has 6 wins from 7 matches. Our next match (away to Torquay on 4th March) looks as if it could be the Division's "crunch match".
TCL Division 3: Torquay v South Hams 4 Mar 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 4 Mar 2015
First to finish was Board 3, where I got played the Grand Prix Attack, which won me material in several wavess – first a pawn, then my opponent’s rook for a knight, then my opponent’s queen for a rook. My opponent resigned when the loss of a further minor piece became inevitable.
Ben then had a quick word with me before going to the loo. “It looks like your game has a long way to go”, I said. “Dunno, Ben replied – I think my position might implode”. Ben went to the loo, returned to the Board, his opponent made his move, and Ben immediately resigned – his opponent had just trapped his queen on a crowded board!
On Board 4, David was a point down in material – he had 6 pawns, a rook, bishop and knight against his opponent’s 5 pawns, 2 rooks and a bishop – when his opponent blundered one of his rooks (not seeing David’s bishop on a long diagonal) and resigned.
So, we were 2-1 up with Board 1 looking tight. Steve was a pawn down but in a strong position. He checked with me what the match score was, and on that basis decided to force a draw by threefold repetition. He possibly had the better position – but with the match as it was, this was a great result for South Hams.
This result means that Torquay are the only team that can catch South Hams in the race for the Division 3 title. If they are to do this (a) South Hams need to lose both their remaining matches (against Teignmouth and TBGS), and (b) Torquay need to win both their remaining matches (against Plymouth and Newton Abbot), and (c) Torquay need to overhaul South Hams on "goal difference" - where currently South Hams are on +15 and Torquay are on +7. Never take anything for granted!
TCL Division 3: Teignmouth v South Hams 24 Mar 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 24 Mar 2015
This 3-1 win means that South Hams cannot be caught in Division 3 and will be the Division 3 champions this season.
"Is this a joke?" asked Ben when he heard that that he would be playing Alan Brusey (176). No, it wasn't a joke, and Ben put up a valiant fight. Ben gave up a pawn for good compensation, and for a while appeared to have the advantage. However, with accurate play, Alan was able to de-fuse Ben's two-rook attack on a vulnerable-looking king, and shortly afterwards Ben resigned.
On Board 2, Phil built up a winning material advantage in several steps, and his opponent resigned when his remaining rook got trapped with no exit north, south east or west.
On Board 3 David gave up a piece for a pawn and a strong attack, and his attack prevailed.
On Board 4 John had quite a tussle, but gained the edge when his opponent gave up his queen for a rook and a bishop. This advantage became decisive when John forked his opponent's rook and bishop with his queen, and his opponent hen resigned, faced with the prospect of being down by a rook against a queen. Congratulations to John on his first competitive win for South Hams - the first of many, no doubt!
Many congratulations and thanks to all the South Hams members who have contributed to the success of the Division 3 team this season.
| Bd |
Teignmouth |
Grade |
Res |
South Hams |
Grade |
PGN |
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TCL Division 3: South Hams v Torquay Boys Grammar School 16 Apr 2015
Match Report
Author: Phil McConnell
Date: 28 Apr 2015
This was the last match of the season for the South Hams Division 3 team, and it finished in a satisfying win against a team fro Torquay Boys Grammar School tat was much stronger than their grades would suggest. Expect their grades to be considerably higher next year!
Board 1 was a return of the Board 1 away match earlier in the season, which Phil won very narrowly. This time Ben had the better of Phil, in a close game with chances to win for both sides; the game was effectively decided when Phil allowed his opponent to set up a combination winning a knight for a pawn. Ben still had to play accurately to force a win - which he did. Well played, Ben.
On Board 2 David played King's Gambit Declined. After good development on both sides, Black castled queenside which allowed David to capture Black's pawn on f7 with his bishop, and then to move this bishop into a commanding position which was the bedrock of a strong - and winning - attack. "A good game", says David.
Ken summed up his game on Board 3 like this: "I should have won, he should have won, I won. A bit of a comedy of errors, really. A neat ending though - my opponent was one move away from Checkmate, but I got there first".
On Board 4, Tony amassed a strong material superiority which enable him to force a reasonably comfortable win.
So, South Hams are the Division 3 Champions with 18 points (9 wins, 1 defeat); no other team can finish with more than 14 points. Many congratulations to all twelve of the South Hams players who have represented the club in Division 3 and contributed to this outstanding season.
| Bd |
South Hams |
Grade |
Res |
Torquay Boys Grammar School |
Grade |
PGN |
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