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News
Monday 30 January 2012
Glastonbury 2.5 Chard &
Ilminster 1.5
Last week Glastonbury continued their current domination of
the Somerset Division 3 West with a battling victory over
Chard & Ilminster.
Roger Fenton secured a quick "Grandmaster" draw, before
Bernard White just failed to capitalise on a promising early
position; losing out in a tight endgame.
The 1.5 - 0.5 deficit would have been worrying had not the
Thorns held clear advantages in each of the remaining games
to finish. In both contests the visitors staged strong
rearguard actions, but first Dave Wood and then team captain
Martin Willis forced their opponents to a point where
resignation was inevitable.
This match success maintains Glastonbury's 100% league
record and, even at this early stage of the season, they are
now closing-in on the Division 3 West title.
Monday 23 January 2012
Glastonbury 3 Taunton 3
Glastonbury very nearly pulled-off a major Somerset Division
1 shock last week. But the eventual result, a 3-3 draw
against current league champions Taunton, still represented
an outstanding achievement.
In the past two years Taunton have been by far the strongest
chess team in the county and in that time have won every
league match played. They also arrived for the contest at
virtual full strength, out-grading the Thorns by a massive
average of 26 ranking points per player.
On what proved to be a night of heroic chess by the
Glastonbury side, the Thorns achieved a pair of sensational
victories in less than two hours of play.
First, 14 year-old Yasmin Sadykova demonstrated astonishing
composure to inflict the first defeat Taunton's Dave
Littlejohn has suffered for several seasons. Then team
captain Paul Moody secured the best result of his career as
he totally outplayed an opponent who had a 35 grading point
advantage.
From a lead of 2-0 Glastonbury edged closer to victory when
Nikita Ayvazan agreed a draw on top-board against leading
county player Ben Edgell. Though a lost game reduced the
advantage to 2.5-1.5, as the match went into the final 30
minutes the remaining two games to finish saw Neville Senior
and Tim Wallis both in good positions for the Thorns.
Finally, during a period of amazing pressure and tension,
Willis made just a slight error that was enough to turn a
possible win into defeat. But Senior, in a position of
dangerous complexity, held firm against German international
Mike Richhardt to gain a crucial draw.
Never has a drawn match seemed more like a victory.
Monday 16 January 2012
Sedgemoor 3 Glastonbury 3
Glastonbury's Division 2 team had a busy and successful time
last week with matches against two of their closest rivals.
The more creditable of their performances was a battling 3-3
draw away to strong league favourites Sedgemoor.
The Thorns knew that a difficult evening was in prospect
and, on arrival at the venue, were not surprised to find
themselves clearly outgraded on five of the six boards.
Early results went badly as two defeats and only a single
draw by Martin Willis left the visitors facing a precarious
2.5 - 0.5 deficit.
However, the pattern of events began to change when an
exceptional personal performance by Roger Fenton produced a
major surprise in the form of a victory over leading county
player Steve Green. Then, in the final two games to finish,
Paul Moody and Roger Morgan also delivered excellent results
with a win and draw respectively.
The shared spoils keeps the Thorns in touch with the leaders
in what is proving to be a close race for the 2011-12 title.
Earlier in the week Glastonbury gained a narrow 3.5 - 2.5
success over Chard & Ilminster. Again Roger Morgan and Paul
Moody contributed toward the victory, aided by a fine
"trademark" endgame win for Dave Wood.
Monday 9 January 2011
Weston B 1 Glastonbury 3
Glastonbury began 2012 with a potentially difficult Division
3 West fixture away to Weston-super-Mare B. But the Thorns
proved more than able to cope with the challenge, coming
home with a comfortable 3-1 victory.
The evening began with solid draws for Roger Fenton and
Ralph Carver, before team captain Martin Willis
comprehensively outplayed his opponent to establish a 2-1
match advantage.
In the final game to finish Tim Wallis only needed a draw to
secure both league points but, ignoring any thoughts of
caution, he attacked strongly throughout and eventually
forced an unstoppable checkmate.
Glastonbury therefore added to their 2011 successes,
maintaining an impressive 100% winning record with half of
the season's matches played.
Somerset Division 3 (West)
| Team
|
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points |
| Glastonbury |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
| Weston B |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
| Taunton |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
| Weston A |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
| Chard & Ilminster |
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
| Sedgemoor |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
Monday 19 December 2011
Glastonbury 2.5 Yeovil 1.5
Glastonbury maintained
their current domination of
both Somerset Division 3
leagues with a narrow win last week over a strong team from
Yeovil.
The Thorns developed a promising early lead in the match as
first Roger Fenton secured a rapid draw and then Dave Wood
gained a well-controlled victory. But, with less than 30
minutes remaining, Yeovil had levelled the overall score at
1.5 - 1.5 and all depended on the final game being played by
team captain Stuart Marsh.
Marsh was significantly out-graded by his opponent and at
first sight seemed to have some difficulties in what was a
fiendishly complex position. However, at the crucial moment,
the Glastonbury man found a stunning counter-attack that led
to a brilliant forced checkmate. The final winning moves
were not only a shock to the losing Yeovil player but also a
complete surprise to all of his watching colleagues.
The Thorns therefore end 2011 as leaders of both the
Division 3 West and Division 3 Central with 100% winning
records in each league.
Monday 12 December 2011
Yeovil 3.5 Glastonbury 2.5
12 months ago Glastonbury
suffered a 6-0 Division 2 defeat at the hands of Yeovil; the
worst result in the history of the club . Last week the
Thorns missed out on an excellent opportunity to take
belated revenge for this embarrassment by failing to turn
middle-game superiority into sufficient wins.
Last year's result was still on the minds of both teams as
the evenings contest began, but it was Glastonbury who
approached the match with greater determination. In five of
the individual games clear positional advantages were
secured and, at the two-hour stage, a decisive match victory
seemed highly probable.
However, for too many of the Thorns sextet the winning moves
not only proved elusive, but endgame blunders led to defeat.
Eventually only Dave Wood and Martin Willis delivered
full-point successes and this, with the addition of only a
single draw from newcomer Barry Thornely, was not enough.
Also last week, Glastonbury's Division 3 Central side had
better fortunes with a solid victory away to Gillingham.
Wins for Tim Wallis and Barry Thornley (the latter on his
debut for the Thorns), plus a draw by Roger Fenton resulted
in a 2.5 - 1.5 winning margin.
Monday 5 December 2011
Taunton 0.5 Glastonbury 3.5
Glastonbury tightened
their grip on Somerset league Division 3 last week with two
victories in successive days.
The first success came against a strong visiting team from
Sedgemoor. Here, following a surprise default on bottom
board and a solid draw from Roger Fenton, the outcome of the
evening depended on the final game played by team captain
Martin Willis.
This proved to be a very open contest with winning chances
on both sides. However, it was the Glastonbury man who
eventually found the decisive move combination that
delivered a narrow 2.5 - 1.5 scoreline in favour of the
Thorns.
The following evening saw the same side travel to Taunton
where a much easier evening of chess was completed.
Glastonbury cruised to success with wins by Tim Wallis,
Roger Fenton and, again, Martin Willis. It was only a
desperate stalemate in the final contest that prevented an
embarrassing whitewash for the shell-shocked Taunton
quartet.
The emphatic 3.5 - 0.5 result means that, with almost half
the season gone, the Thorns retain a 100% winning league
record.
Monday 28 November 2011
Glastonbury 4
Weston-s-Mare 2
Glastonbury's Division 2
team returned to winning ways last week after a fluctuating
battle with Weston-super-Mare.
The evening started well as Tim Wallis comprehensively
outplayed his opponent in less than an hour. But the
Seasiders then struck back with two wins of their own,
leaving the Thorns with a 2-1 deficit and only a maximum of
30 minutes play remaining.
In two of the three outstanding contests Glastonbury
appeared to hold a clear advantage, but it required careful
play from both Martin Willis and Dave Wood to convert their
superior positions into forced victories.
Now 3-2 ahead, whether or not the Thorns took two league
points from the evening depended on the final game played by
Nikita Ayvazan.
Nikita has only just passed his 12th birthday and is often
noticeably tired by the late-night finishes of league chess.
He was also battling against leading Somerset county player
Peter Chaplin who, only 48 hours earlier, had achieved a
notable Board 4 success in a match against Hampshire.
However, the young Glastonbury master retained his focus and
proved more than able to cope with the stresses of the
situation. As the match reached a climax, he coolly rejected
the tempting offer of his opponents queen in order to
deliver an unstoppable final attack entirely on his own
terms.
A second Division 2 encounter took place a few days later,
this time away to Wellington. Here, aided by wins from Roger
Morgan and Martin Willis, the Thorns earned a creditable 3-3
draw.
Monday 21 November 2011
Glastonbury 7.5 Norton
Radstock 0.5
Glastonbury cruised into
the next round of the Somerset Cup last week with a crushing
demolition of visitors from Norton Radstock.
A rapid victory by Paul Moody set the Thorns on their way
and this was soon followed by debut wins for two teenagers,
Yasmin Sadykova and Carlos Guzman.
A further success by Dave Wood combined with a solid draw
for Tim Wallis ensured the evening's spoils, but the
victories kept coming. Though made to work harder than their
earlier-finishing colleagues, Roger Morgan, Martin Willis
and Rhys Cumming completed the rout of a hopelessly
out-gunned east Somerset club.
While Glastonbury enjoyed this night of overwhelming success
all team members were in little doubt that much greater cup
challenges lie ahead.
Monday 14 November 2011
Glastonbury 2.5 Weston-s-Mare
(A) 1.5
Glastonbury took an early
lead in this season's Division 3 (West) league last week
following a narrow victory over Weston-super-Mare (A).
Tim Wallis delivered an early success for the Thorns when he
out-thought his opponent over the consequences of a major
exchange of pieces. After a period of carnage on the board
it was clear to both players that the Glastonbury man was
now clearly winning and a Weston resignation soon followed.
Ralph Carver was fortunate to receive a welcome gift in the
form of his opponent's queen. However, instead of giving up,
his Weston competitor fought on against the odds with such
skill that a draw was eventually agreed.
In the final game to finish Roger Fenton was involved in a
closely-fought encounter that looked a likely draw. But, as
the 3 hour time limit approached, Fenton found a forced
breakthrough that proved to be the decisive point of the
evening's contest.
Therefore, after some tough matches, Glastonbury maintain
the league's only 100% winning record.
Monday 7 November 2011
Glastonbury 2 Frome 4
Unlike some sports, there
is very little movement between teams in the Somerset Chess
league. Yet recently Glastonbury lost the services of two of
their best players who, by coincidence, both moved to
historic town of Frome.
So, when the teams were declared for the Division 1 match at
Tor Leisure last week, it was a bitter-sweet experience for
the Thorns to see Megan Owens and Graham Steer on Boards 1
and 2 for the opposition.
As the evening progressed all six games became
closely-fought affairs but, ultimately, Frome's newly
acquired strength in depth proved decisive.
Only Matthew Turner, who prevailed in a master v ex-pupil
encounter with Megan Owens, gained a full point for
Glastonbury, though team captain Paul Moody and George
Galliano came close to winning their games before settling
for creditable draws.
Therefore a match that last season would have been a very
likely victory for the Thorns was won by the visitors
because two of their team members were sitting at the wrong
side of the table!!
Monday 31 October 2011
Glastonbury 2.5
Taunton 3.5
It was almost "The Great Escape". But,
at the last moment, Glastonbury's Division 2 match against
Taunton last week became a story of "so near yet so far".
The evening could scarcely have begun more badly for the
Thorns. A late withdrawal by Dave Wood meant that most of
the team were forced to move up one board, thereby playing a
more highly rated opponent than expected. Many of these
promoted players soon found themselves in difficulty and
three rapid defeats saw Glastonbury with an alarming 0-3
scoreline.
However, instead of a possible capitulation, the home side
began an admirable fightback.
First, in a complex middle-game, Martin Willis found a
superior tactical strategy to secure a forced resignation.
Then the consistently greater fire power of Paul Moody
proved too much for the stubborn defences of the Taunton
captain Martin Worrall.
So with the match score now back at 2-3, all depended on the
final game being played by Tim Wallis. At first sight all
the signs looked good for the Thorns. Wallis had built-up a
strong advantage, winning a rook and pawn for the loss of
only a single knight.
But, concerned by some defensive weaknesses, the Glastonbury
man unexpectedly decided to accept the offer of a draw and
therefore, by the skin of their teeth, the evening's spoils
went to Taunton.
Monday 24 October 2011
Chard & Ilminster 1.5
Glastonbury 2.5
Glastonbury made a belated start to
their 2011-12 Somerset chess season last week, with matches
for the Division 1 and Division 3 (West) teams. Both faced
challenging contests, away from home against the respective
current league champions.
In the event it proved that success came in the lower league
with a revenge victory against Chard & Ilminster.
After an early reverse for Ralph Carver against the talented
13 year-old Arturo Wong Jnr, Roger Fenton gained what proved
to be a vital half-point from a game where an agreed draw
was the only option.
Then, after well controlled play by Tim Wallis delivered a
first win for Glastonbury, team captain Martin Willis
secured the spoils with a decisive checkmate following a
wildly fluctuating battle.
In Division 1 the Thorns had an exceptionally difficult
evening against a Taunton side that has formidable strength
in depth. Despite a brilliant success for Rhys Cumming on
top board and a determined draw by Neville Senior, losses in
all the remaining contests resulted in a 1.5 - 4.5 defeat.
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