Merseyside Chess Association
Division 2
In the end Formby
were comfortable and deserved winners – bouncing back to the top flight
at the first attempt. It was not completely straightforward though. At
Christmas they were 3 points clear and looking safe but a loss against
their nearest rivals,
Widnes
, caused a few moments of anxiety – with
3 matches to go the gap was only 2 points. However, Formby finished in
style with 3 straight wins while the other contenders faltered and at the
finish they were 5 points clear. They may need, though, to improve their
squad to survive in Division 1 after the lamented departure of their
Board1, Peter Bond. However, that is for next year – for this year it is
congratulations to Formby, worthy winners of Division2.
Widnes
had an excellent season and from last
year’s consolidation of 2nd from bottom they became this
year’s 2nd from top. Although they may be slightly
disappointed at not getting closer to the winners (especially losing late
in the season against EEC when the latter had 2 defaulted boards), they
did give them a run for their money and have made impressive progress in
just 12 months. With an anticipated strengthening of their squad they will
be very strong contenders for promotion next season.
Southport
seem to be perpetually the bridesmaid
rather than the bride and again they were comfortably placed near to the
top of the table but never close enough to really challenge the leaders.
On the other hand relegation is never something for them to worry about
and so they can just enjoy their chess without the anxieties suffered by
other clubs – a nice position to be in.
EEC started off slowly
but gradually improved as the season progressed. At Christmas they were 6th,
at Easter 5th and in the final outturn 4th. They
were unable to mount the challenge for promotion that they had in previous
years but again were in no real danger of joining the dog fight at the
bottom. One suspects a similar outlook for next year.
A finish of 5th
would have seemed fantasy for Wallasey B at Christmas when they had only 2
points. Relegation loomed very large over them but whatever they had for
Christmas did them the power of good. In the second half of the season
there was an amazing transformation and 5 wins from 7 matches (with the
only losses being against the top 2 teams) moved them away from bottom
place and in the end they were 6 points clear. Which Wallasey B will we
see next season – the relegation form of the start or the promotion form
of the finish?
The other team from
Wallasey, the C Team, had a Christmas that disagreed with them. In the
first half of the season they were nicely placed with a 50% score but the
second half saw them pick up only 3 points. This was, however, enough to
keep them clear of the perils of the relegation place. The youth of their
top 2 boards should help them to improve next year.
Atticus 3 had a season
that was almost the mirror image of Wallasey B. At Christmas they had 8
points and perhaps a challenge for the title was not impossible. However,
4 straight defeats saw them drift downwards and at Easter they were only 2
points off the bottom. They did rally to achieve their only win, indeed
their only points, of the second half of the season with a crucial win at
Liverpool
that in the end ensured their safety. How they will fare next year will
as always depend upon the demands upon their squad of their 1st
and 2nd teams.
The fate of
Liverpool
2, perhaps again shows that there is a significant step up to be made
for promoted teams. They had come up from the 3rd Division in
some style but ended up bottom of the 2nd by a clear 4 points.
It had started brightly with a 6½-½ thumping of Wallasey B in the first
fixture but that was then their only win until they achieved their other
one in mid March – but then came that vital loss against Atticus 3 that
was to prove the final nail in the coffin. So too strong for Division 3
but not strong enough for Division 2 but the team will benefit from the
experience at the higher level.
Player of the Year
At the time of
producing this report, there is uncertainty about the final outcome of the
Player of the Year award. Paul Stephenson of
Liverpool
has at least a share of the title but
Steve Potter of
Widnes
may join him if an appeal is successful.
The rankings shown are as they stand prior to the appeal and so this
report is based on the prevailing position.
For a large part of
the year, the award seemed to be a 2 horse race, neck and neck between
Paul Stephenson and Chino Atako of Atticus. At the half way point there
was only ½ a point between them. By Easter, though,
Chino
had slipped back after a defeat and then,
although he later beat Paul in their individual encounter, he crucially
missed 3 matches and fell away. Paul looked to have the award comfortably
sewn up but then his loss against
Chino
and also missing the last match of the
season gave a possible opening. Steve Potter came through like a train and
after Christmas had a 100% record where he had an opponent but
unfortunately on 2 occasions he had no one to play and through no fault of
his own missed the chance of an outright win of the award. The appeal is
about one of these ‘no shows’ and therefore I will comment no further
except to commend Steve for an outstanding season and to say that as it
stands he is on 10 points from 14 matches. Also, mention should go to
Andrew Smith of Formby who came through in the final matches to finish on
9½ points, just one behind the leader.
Congratulations,
therefore, go to Paul Stephenson with 10½ points from 13 games. As has
been mentioned at previous AGMs the achievement is so much the greater
when all the matches are played on top board. It is also remarkable that
the team that finished bottom of the league had the Player of the Year on
Board 1.
Please
note that following a decision of the League Management Committee, Steve
Potters appeal was upheld and so he is Joint Player of the Year -
congratulations also therefore to Steve - it was well deserved.
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I
have enjoyed my first season as a divisional controller and would like to
thank the captains for their speedy return of score cards. This enabled me
to keep the website up to date for most of the season – at least until
the vital positions had been decided. The site seemed to be well received
and I will continue with it next year with a few improvements
Dave
Farley
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