Poulton needed to win 6.5 - 1.5, so go through.
As anticipated Preston 1 comfortably retained the Division A title with a match in hand and still unbeaten. Morecambe were unbeaten before this match - they put up fierce resistance before going down to the 1.5-3.5 score line.
Not as one sided as it looks from the score line. Preston 2 probably had the advantage on boards 1,2,4,5 at some point! Considering the reigning Fylde Champion, Malcolm Peacock, was on board 4 its a wonder the second string scored any points at all! (DSL)
Lytham had to win by 6.5-1.5 or better because of their superior grading aggregate of 169. Bispham had a new player on board 2, Brant Nuttall, who has moved here from Norfolk. Brant played really well in the first game against John Cooper and won a rook with a family fork. Blaine McGrady followed up with a devastating attack on Colin Liddle's king forcing mate. These 2 surprise wins were, of course, enough to win the match for Bispham, a tremendous achievement, and take them into the final. So the match was over at half-time! Lytham managed to recover some ground in the 2nd half, but Harry Batty made a draw with Phil Raynor and Peter Wallace should have had one against Abigail Pritchard.
Poulton 2 2.5-1.5 Lytham 2
Preston won this competitive match thanks to wins with White. Board 2 was first to finish, Kenny Quinn taking the opportunity to attack Black`s uncastled king in a Ruy Lopez. On Board 1 Blaine McGrady had a space advantage and exerted some pressure but Dave defended solidly and a draw ensued. A draw also on Board 3 where Andy de Sanots had an advantage but was short of time. On Board 4 David Tuke won a piece but faced a solid Black pawn formation. The winning method was to give the piece back for two pawns and win the rook endgame.
Following wins on boards 2 and 4, two battling performances by Ricky Lord and Pat Coleman to secure draws clinched the match for Lytham.
| Board | Poulton 2 | Lytham 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamsby, Steve | 1 - 0 | Robinson, Geoffrey W |
| 2 | Gamsby, Steve | 0 - 1 | Robinson, Geoffrey W |
| 3 | Rogers, Simon N | 1 - 0 | Sansom, Keith |
| 4 | Rogers, Simon N | 1 - 0 | Sansom, Keith |
| 5 | Gorman, Ken | 1 - 0 | Campbell, Michael |
| 6 | Gorman, Ken | 1 - 0 | Campbell, Michael |
| 7 | Pouncy, John | 1 - 0 | Thomas, Anne |
| 8 | Pouncy, John | 1 - 0 | Thomas, Anne |
| 7-1 |
| Board | Preston 1 | Morecambe 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lund, D Brett | Draw | Heald, Carl |
| 2 | Peacock, Malcolm R | Draw | Boyd, David |
| 3 | Jowett, Peter E | 1 - 0 | Blade, Norman T |
| 4 | Nefyodov, Pavlo | Draw | Horman, Paul A |
| 5 | Bukels, Antons | 1 - 0 | Jameson, Nick |
| 3½-1½ |
| Board | Preston 1 | Preston 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lund, D Brett | 1 - 0 | Taylor, Phillip J |
| 2 | Jowett, Peter E | Draw | Rutlidge, Cliff H |
| 3 | Taylor, Robert K | Draw | Reaney, Conor |
| 4 | Peacock, Malcolm R | 1 - 0 | Pidcock, Alan |
| 5 | Bukels, Antons | 1 - 0 | Kumar, Arulvel |
| 4-1 |
| Board | Lytham 1 | Bispham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liddle, Colin | 0 - 1 | McGrady, Blaine |
| 2 | Liddle, Colin | 1 - 0 | McGrady, Blaine |
| 3 | Cooper, John G | 0 - 1 | Nuttall, Brant R |
| 4 | Cooper, John G | 1 - 0 | Nuttall, Brant R |
| 5 | Pritchard, Abigail | 1 - 0 | Wallace, Peter |
| 6 | Pritchard, Abigail | 1 - 0 | Wallace, Peter |
| 7 | Raynor, Philip N | 1 - 0 | Batty, Harry |
| 8 | Raynor, Philip N | Draw | Batty, Harry |
| 5½-2½ |
| Board | Poulton 2 | Lytham 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamsby, Steve | 1 - 0 | Ainsworth, Leo R |
| 2 | Rogers, Simon N | 0 - 1 | Raynor, Philip N |
| 3 | Gorman, Ken | Draw | Morrison, Lynne GP |
| 4 | Wright, Ian P | 1 - 0 | Regan, John |
| 2½-1½ |
| Board | Blackpool | Poulton 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell, Martin | 1 - 0 | Cukovs, Oleg |
| 2 | Coward, Neil | Draw | Gamsby, Steve |
| 3 | Davies, Dennis | 1 - 0 | Hartley, Dave C |
| 4 | Wright, Jon M | 1 - 0 | Gorman, Ken |
| 3½-½ |
| Board | Poulton 3 | Lytham 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bennett, Judd | 0 - 1 | Pritchard, Abigail |
| 2 | Lewis, Jordan | 0 - 1 | Ainsworth, Leo R |
| 3 | Heelis, Connor | 0 - 1 | Raynor, Philip N |
| 4 | Lewis, Dominic | Draw | Regan, John |
| ½-3½ |
| Board | Blackpool | Poulton 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell, Martin | 1 - 0 | Lewis, Jordan |
| 2 | Coward, Neil | 1 - 0 | Bennett, Judd |
| 3 | Davies, Dennis | 1 - 0 | Lewis, Dominic |
| 4 | Wright, Jon M | 1 - 0 | Bennett, Gary |
| 4-0 |
| Board | Preston 3 | Bispham 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramsey, Dave L | Draw | McGrady, Blaine |
| 2 | Quinn, Kenny | 1 - 0 | Nuttall, Brant R |
| 3 | De Santos, Andrew R | Draw | Wallace, Peter |
| 4 | Tuke, D | 1 - 0 | Batty, Harry |
| 3-1 |
| Board | Lytham 3 | Bispham 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lord, Richard | Draw | Wallace, Peter |
| 2 | Regan, John | 1 - 0 | Batty, Harry |
| 3 | Coleman, Patrick N | Draw | Wolstencroft, Gary |
| 4 | Sansom, Keith | 1 - 0 | Smith, John Anthony |
| 3-1 |
| Board | Poulton 4 | Lytham 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wright, Ian P | Draw | Sansom, Keith |
| 2 | Pouncy, John | 1 - 0 | Garcia Lucas, Diego |
| 3 | Bennett, Gary | 1 - 0 | Campbell, Michael |
| 4 | Wilson, William | 0 - 1 | Thomas, Anne |
| 2½-1½ |
Report on the Fylde Championship Round 4
| White | Black | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Oleg Cukovs (2½) | ½ | ½ | Michael Parker (2½) |
| Colin Liddle (2) | 1 | 0 | Dennis Davies (2) |
| Phil Raynor (2) | 0 | 1 | John Cooper (2) |
| Jon Wright (2) | 0 | 1 | George Ellison (2) |
| Malcolm Peacock (1½) | 1 | 0 | Abigail Pritchard (1½) |
| Liam Bromley (1) | 0 | 1 | Pat Coleman (1) |
| Les Hughes (1) | 0 | 1 | Richard Lord (½) |
| John Regan (½) | 1 | (bye) |
Before this round started, the lead was shared by two players, Oleg and Michael, but now it is shared by five players all with 3 points. An amazingly close situation which guarantees a tight finish in the final round with all to play for.
After the exchange of queens Michael had to defend accurately against Oleg before reaching a drawn king and pawns endgame after some 50 moves. Dennis opened up very aggressively but neglected his development against Colin and lost material following an oversight which forced his resignation after only 18 moves.
After active play by black in the opening Phil overlooked a threat which prevented him from castling. Phil's king was caught in the middle and he could not survive the attack from Black's major pieces. George had a much closer game against Jon, adjourning after 42 moves, but his passed pawn was the deciding factor in the ensuing rook and pawns ending.
Abigail held out for a long time against the current Fylde Champion, Malcolm, but blundered the exchange in time trouble when only slightly worse. In a close game with Pat, Liam also got into serious time trouble and succumbed to Pat's two advanced pawns. The remaining game between Les and Ricky was defaulted in favour of Ricky.