The Rules have been updated. They now stipulate use of the current Laws.
OPEN
6 entries (10 last year)
Considering the dearth of entries, the competition has been split into two all-play-all groups with the two winning teams playing off in the Final. The groups will be decided on overall game points (no information about tie-splits). It is confirmed that there is no Plate this year.
The groups are:
Group A
Bedford
Ilford
Mushrooms
Group B
Cavendish
Maidstone
Wood Green
The designations "A" and "B" are ours. [We guessed wrong. We discovered, when a report appeared much later, that the BCF calls them "A" and "B" the other way round. Never mind.] If the Controller was looking for silver linings, he'll have been glad that five of the six teams were from the SCCU and the sixth wasn't a million miles off.
RESULTS
Group A Bedford 3½ 2½ Mushrooms; Ilford 4 2 Bedford; Mushrooms 3 3 Ilford. Ilford qualify for Final. Group B Wood Green 5 1 Maidstone; Wood Green 4½ 1½ Cavendish. Wood Green qualify for the Final, and we fancy the outstanding (and irrelevant) match will not be played. Final 10.7.05 in London: Wood Green 4½ 1½ Ilford
OpenMajorMinorHandicap RapidplayNoteshome MAJOR U160
21 entries (20 last year) Round 1 (by 19th December) Rose Forgrove 1½ 3½ Loughborough; Gloucester 2 3 Cosham; Brown Jack 4 1 Pentyrch; South Norwood scr w/o The Holt; Bourne End 3 2 Kings Head; Metropolitan Knights* 2½ 2½ Hastings & St Leonards; Bedford 2½ 2½ *Metropolitan Rooks; Milton Keynes 3 2 Tunbridge Wells; Wood Green 3½ 1½ Maidstone; Hounslow 1½ 3½ Writtle; Wanstead & Woodford v Bye Eighth-finals (by 6th March) Cosham 2 3 Wanstead & Woodford; The Holt 1 4 Metropolitan Knights; Metropolitan Rooks 2½ 2½ *Milton Keynes; Byes Bourne End, Brown Jack, Wood Green, Writtle, Loughborough Quarter-finals (by 1st May) Bourne End 1½ 3½ Loughborough; Brown Jack 1 4 Wood Green; Writtle 3 2 Metropolitan Knights; Wanstead & Woodford 3½ 1½ Milton Keynes Semi-finals (by 12 June) Loughborough 1½ 3½ Wanstead & Woodford; Wood Green 1½ 3½ Writtle Final 10.7.05 in London: Writtle 3 2 Wanstead & Woodford
PLATE Eighth-finals Gloucester 3½ 1½ Pentyrch; rest byes Quarter-finals Kings Head* 2½ 2½ Rose Forgrove; Maidstone 1½ 3½ Tunbridge Wells; Hastings & St Leonards ½ 4½ South Norwood; Hounslow 3 2 Gloucester Semi-finals Tunbridge Wells 2 3 Hounslow; South Norwood 3 2 Kings Head Final 10.7.05 in London: Hounslow 3 2 South Norwood. This one looked headed for five draws and the prescribed 30-30 Rapid replay, until an unexpected blunder spared them the necessity.
OpenMajorMinorHandicap RapidplayNoteshome MINOR U125
28 entries (30 last year) Round 1 (by 19th December) Barton Upon Humber 0 5 Alwoodley; West Leeds 1½ 3½ Lancaster; Creda (Staffs) 2 3 Buckley/Mold; Aberystwyth 2 3 Forest of Dean; Chipping Camden 5 0 Milton Keynes; Rainham 3½ 1½ Westcliff; Shell 3 2 Chislehurst; Hammersmith 3 2 Cosham; Hesperides (Surrey) 5 0 Willesden & Brent; Tunbridge Wells 1½ 3½ Woodpushers (Sussex. There is also Woodpushers Norfolk and Woodpushers Cleveland); Hastings & St Leonards 3 2 Maidstone; Syston II 2½ 2½ *Yorks Copperworks; Littlethorpe* 2½ 2½ Newark; Ashfield (Notts) 5 0 Syston I
We do not know if any of the 5-0 wins were defaults. Eighth-finals (by 6th March) Alwoodley 2 3 Lancaster; Forest of Dean 3 2 Chipping Camden; Copperworks 3 2 Ashfield; Hesperides 1 4 Rainham; Woodpushers 2 3 Hastings & St Leonards; Shell 2 3 Hammersmith; Byes Littlethorpe, Buckley/Mold Quarter-finals (by 1st May) Lancaster* 2½ 2½ Buckley/Mold; Littlethorpe 5 0 Copperworks (not a default), Rainham 2 3 Hastings & St Leonards; Hammersmith 3½ 1½ Forest of Dean Semi-finals (deadline not stated) Lancaster beat Littlethorpe, or so we assume from what follows; Hastings & St Leonards 2½ 2½ *Hammersmith Final 10.7.05 at Queniborough Leics 10.7.05 Lancaster* 2½ 2½ Hammersmith
PLATE Eighth-finals West Leeds 4 1 Barton Upon Humber; Aberystwyth 5 0 Syston II; Milton Keynes 0 5 Cosham; Westcliff w/o scr Willesden & Brent; Byes Newark, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Creda. We do not know if either "5-0" result was a default. Quarter-finals Newark* 2½ 2½ West Leeds; Creda 3 2 Aberystywth; Cosham 2½ 2½ *Tunbridge Wells; Westcliff lost to Maidstone (score not known: possibly a default) Semi-finals Creda lost to Newark, or so we must assume; Maidstone 1½ 3½ Tunbridge Wells Final 10.7.05 in London: Newark 4 1 Tunbridge Wells
OpenMajorMinorHandicap RapidplayNoteshome HANDICAP RAPIDPLAY
John Philpott writes:
This year's competition took place on Sunday 24th April 2005 at Magdalen College School, Oxford and was sponsored by Clever Cloks Products. 13 teams of 4 entered, but Kings Head and Guildford failed to arrive: the odd number of teams was dealt with through a 2 point bye in each round. There were 5 rounds, with each player having 20 minutes to complete the game. Placings were determined through the normal CFWJ handicap system [rjh: which one?] for such events based on average grades.
Final places, showing handicap adjustments:
1 (£200) Milton Keynes (ave 115.75) 9½ + 4 = 13½; 2 (£100) Wanstead & Woodford (156.5) 14 - 1 = 13; 3-4 (£25 each) Crowthorne (144.7) and Cardiff (149) 10½ - 1 = 9½; 5-6 Magdalen College School 2 (120) 8 + 1 = 9 and Old Bradfordians (178.25) 13 - 4 = 9; 7 Magdalen College School 1 (149) 9.5 - 1 = 8½; 8-9 Cowley 2 (146.25) 9 - 1 = 8, Bath (192) 15 - 7 = 8; 10 Cowley 1 (158.5) 8.5 - 1 = 7½; 11 Syston (78) 2½ + 4 = 6½
Milton Keynes seemed unlikely winners when they lost 4 - 0 to Wanstead & Woodford in the first round. A 3 - 1 second round defeat left them with the round 3 bye. On rejoining the competition they beat back markers Syston 4 - 0 and then Cowley 1 by 2½ - 1½ in the last round, a result which of itself, given the grading disparity, deserved to win the title.
Cyril Johnson controlled and Roy Heppinstall was the arbiter (with a couple of interesting QPF decisions to make).
CONTROLLERS Open
Neil Beasley, 7 Sharnbrook Gardens, Sharnford, Hinckley, Leics LE10 3QD 01455 27 4663 neilbeasley@care4free.net Major U160 mean grade
Mike McNaughton, Bryn Goleu, Rhosesmor Rd, Halkyn, Flints CH8 8DL mikemcnaughton@onetel.net
Mike was out of action at the start of the season, for health reasons, but is now back in harness. His email address is new (introduced start of February 2005).
Minor U125 mean grade
Julie D Johnson, 105 Central Avenue, Syston, Leics LE7 2EG juliedjohnson@yahoo.com Handicap Rapidplay for teams of four
G Kendall, 5 Sycamore Close, Broughton, Brigg, Lincs DN20 0UB 01652 659497 geoff.kendall@btopenworld.com
ENTRY FEE, all competitions: £25
PRIZE FUND to be announced.