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Merseyside Division 2 |
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Christmas 2004 Update Report |
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Season’s greetings to the Captains and all team members. Above is the current league table, half way through the season. Attached are the Player of the Year position; the results of all the matches; and, the individual scores & percentages for the players for each club. The table speaks for itself and tells the full story. Widnes 1 and Hoylake 1 have dominated from the start and although some of their results have been close they have, between them, only dropped one point to the rest of the clubs (this was when Atticus 3 drew at Widnes – which only goes to show that nothing is ever certain!). Hoylake are looking to repeat the pattern of previous seasons when the relegated team from Division 1 has immediately returned while Widnes are hoping to go one better than last year’s runners-up spot. The key result was when Widnes won at Hoylake by 4-3, with the match being decided by the final game where a close rook and pawn ending proved decisive. The return match on 23rd February looks at this point as though it could determine who will be promoted – but you never know, all the other clubs have shown that they can pull off good results. Only 3 points separate the rest of the teams, so there is all to fight for in terms of avoiding the relegation spot. The two Wallasey teams are just ahead of the pack and the C Team, in particular will be pleased with their progress from last season. They are, apart from the top two, the only team to achieve 50% and are just 3 points short of their total for the whole of last year. The B Team have been steady and are on the same percentage points as last season. Southport have slipped somewhat from last year’s comfortable third place but when they can get their full squad out, particularly at home, they are a formidable outfit and should keep clear of real trouble. Atticus 4 have established themselves reasonably well after their promotion and in view of their settled squad (the most stable in the whole division with all but 3 games played by their first choice team) they should avoid the relegation dog fight. This leaves us with the teams who are joint bottom – same points and same board difference – Atticus 3 and EEC. Both have shown that they can get results, for example EEC’s win against Southport and the previously mentioned draw by Atticus 3 at Widnes but it appears possible that the bottom place will be between these two, unless something surprising happens. EEC seem to be more vulnerable because they do not have Atticus’s resources and their position would have been worse without a 7-0 default win against their rivals. However, I am sure that Bill Melia and his team will make every effort to retain their Division 2 status. In order to set myself up for a fall and perhaps provoke some efforts to prove me wrong, here are Farley’s Forecasts of the final league positions – 1. Widnes 1 2. Hoylake 1 3. Wallasey B 4. Southport 1 5. Atticus 4 6. Wallasey C 7. Atticus 3 8. EEC In the Player of the Year competition, the position is extremely tight and while Luke Boumphrey is in the lead with 6 points, there are another 5 players within 1 point and 4 players just a further ½ point behind. I will not attempt a forecast for this – it is too close to call! If Captains can continue to send in their results promptly then I will keep the website up to date. Thanks to all (well almost all) for their punctuality so far. Best wishes for the New Year and carry on enjoying your chess. Regards Dave Farley Division 2 Controller |