A much closer match than the score suggests. For Poulton, George Ellison and Oleg Cukovs won both games. For Bispham, Brant Nutall and Ron Broxson managed draws against strong opposition and provided proof of the great improvement in strength of Bispham chess club.
An exciting match Poulton owe their success to their 3 bottom boards which finished fairly quickly. Rick Lord was winning against Simon Rogers and Pat Coleman was ahead against Judd Bennett. Michael Parker played very actively against Colin from the start and won the exchange in a kingside attack. Roy launched an attack on John Cooper's kingside which he escaped from by castling long. Subsequent exchanges saw John win B+N v R+P but a drawn endgame resulted. Lytham's successes came in the middle order, including an impressive attacking display from Leo. George blundered against in-form Phil Raynor after having developed a strong kingside attack. The last game to finish saw Ben O'Rourke win on time in the allegro against one of Poulton's promising juniors, Jordan Lewis, after a very close and exciting game.
This match was defaulted by Bispham.
A match that was much closer than the score suggests. There were several interesting games. But the key game, and the last to finish, was Jordan Lewis versus Paul Horman. The young Poulton player had been winning for much of the game but ran short of time, while Paul defended resiliently. Jordan could have taken a draw but played on to try to save the match, only to lose on time. Perhaps it was an unnecessary personal sacrifice, in that even if he had won, Morecambe would have won the drawn match on board count anyway, but Jordan's commitment to his team left a strong impression anyway.
Preston players were on form today.
This match was played on 27th April to avoid Poulton's Challenge Cup tie of 4th May. Poulton 2 outgraded Poulton 3 on all boards so with the handicap system needed to win 5-3 or better. Poulton 3 juniors however scored 5 to retain the Rapidplay Plate.
| Board | Poulton 1 | Bispham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cukovs, Oleg | 1 - 0 | McGrady, Blaine |
| 2 | Parker, Michael L | 1 - 0 | Nuttall, Brant R |
| 3 | Ellison, D George | 1 - 0 | Wallace, Peter |
| 4 | Hartley, Dave C | Draw | Broxson, Ron |
| 5 | Cukovs, Oleg | 1 - 0 | McGrady, Blaine |
| 6 | Parker, Michael L | Draw | McGrady, Blaine |
| 7 | Ellison, D George | 1 - 0 | Wallace, Peter |
| 8 | Hartley, Dave C | 1 - 0 | Broxson, Ron |
| 7-1 |
| Board | Poulton | Lytham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellames, Roy | Draw | Cooper, John G |
| 2 | Parker, Michael L | 1 - 0 | Liddle, Colin |
| 3 | Ellison, D George | 0 - 1 | Raynor, Philip N |
| 4 | Gamsby, Steve | 0 - 1 | Ainsworth, Leo R |
| 5 | Lewis, Jordan | 0 - 1 | O'Rourke, Ben |
| 6 | Rogers, Simon N | 1 - 0 | Lord, Richard |
| 7 | Gorman, Ken | 1 - 0 | Regan, John |
| 8 | Bennett, Judd | 1 - 0 | Coleman, Patrick N |
| 4½-3½ |
| Board | Preston | Bispham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Default | ||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 8 | |||
| 8-0 |
| Board | Poulton | Morecambe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parker, Michael L | Draw | Lyth, John D |
| 2 | Ellison, D George | 1 - 0 | Boyd, David |
| 3 | Cukovs, Oleg | 0 - 1 | Heald, Carl |
| 4 | Gamsby, Steve | 0 - 1 | Blade, Norman T |
| 5 | Lewis, Jordan | 0 - 1 | Horman, Paul A |
| 6 | Rogers, Simon N | 0 - 1 | Jameson, Nick |
| 7 | Bennett, Judd | 1 - 0 | Jackson, Paul Robert |
| 8 | Hartley, Dave C | Draw | Parker, Sean |
| 3-5 |
| Board | Preston | Morecambe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lund, D Brett | 1 - 0 | Lyth, John D |
| 2 | Jowett, Peter E | 1 - 0 | Boyd, David |
| 3 | Peacock, Malcolm R | 1 - 0 | Heald, Carl |
| 4 | Taylor, Robert K | 1 - 0 | Horman, Paul A |
| 5 | Nefyodov, Pavlo | 1 - 0 | Jameson, Nick |
| 6 | Bukels, Antons | 1 - 0 | Parker, Sean |
| 7 | Kumar, Arulvel | 1 - 0 | Metcalfe, Neal |
| 8 | Hanson, Robert | Draw | Rees, Ben K |
| 7½-½ |
| Board | Poulton 2 | Poulton 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamsby, Steve | 0 - 1 | Lewis, Jordan |
| 2 | Rogers, Simon N | 0 - 1 | Bennett, Judd |
| 3 | Gorman, Ken | 1 - 0 | Lewis, Dominic |
| 4 | Pouncy, John | 0 - 1 | Heelis, Connor |
| 5 | Gamsby, Steve | 0 - 1 | Lewis, Jordan |
| 6 | Rogers, Simon N | 1 - 0 | Bennett, Judd |
| 7 | Gorman, Ken | 0 - 1 | Lewis, Dominic |
| 8 | Pouncy, John | 1 - 0 | Heelis, Connor |
| 3-5 |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 29.5 | 10.5 | 15 |
| Morecambe 1 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 20.5 | 19.5 | 10 |
| Poulton 1 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 23 | 6 |
| Preston 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17.5 | 22.5 | 5 |
| Lytham 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15.5 | 24.5 | 4 |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston 3 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24.5 | 15.5 | 15 |
| Blackpool | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 11 |
| Poulton 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 11 |
| Lytham 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 10 |
| Bispham 1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 24 | 8 |
| Poulton 3 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14.5 | 25.5 | 5 |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lytham 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 9 | 13 |
| Morecambe 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 12 |
| Lytham 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 17.5 | 14.5 | 7 |
| Bispham 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 13.5 | 18.5 | 6 |
| Poulton 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 2 |
| Poulton 2 | 1 | Blackpool | 2.5 | Poulton 1 | 7 |
| Blackpool | 7 | ||||
| Poulton 1 | 7 | Poulton 1 | 5.5 | ||
| Lytham 2 | 1 | ||||
| Lytham 1 | 8 | Lytham 1 | 5.5 | Bispham | 1 |
| Poulton 3 | 0 | ||||
| Bispham | 8 | Bispham | 2.5 | ||
| Bye | 0 |
| Preston | 8 | Preston | 8 | Preston | 7.5 |
| Bye | 0 | ||||
| Bispham | 8 | Bispham | 0 | ||
| Bye | 0 | ||||
| Poulton | 4.5 | Poulton | 3 | Morecambe | 0.5 |
| Lytham | 3.5 | ||||
| Morecambe | 8 | Morecambe | 5 | ||
| Bye | 0 |
| Poulton 2 | 7 | Poulton 2 | 3 |
| Lytham 2 | 1 | ||
| Poulton 3 | 8 | Poulton 3 | 5 |
| Bye | 0 |
Report on the Fylde Championship following the 5th Round
| White | Black | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Liddle (3) | ½ | ½ | Oleg Cukovs (3) |
| John Cooper (3) | ½ | ½ | Michael Parker (3) |
| George Ellison (3) | 0 | 1 | Malcolm Peacock (2½) |
| Phil Raynor(2) | 1 | 0 | Jon Wright (2) |
| Pat Coleman (2) | 0 | 1 | Dennis Davies (2) |
| John Regan (1½) | 0 | 1 | Abigail Pritchard (1½) |
| Les Hughes (1) | 1 | 0 | Liam Bromley (1) |
| Richard Lord (1½) | 1 | (bye) |
Colin missed a win in a strong position against Oleg and had to settle for a draw. John Cooper had a slight advantage early on against Michael but he soon equalised. They adjourned with level material in a fairly blocked position after 42 moves and later agreed a draw without continuing.
These draws at the top meant that if George could beat the current Champion, Malcolm, he would regain the Fylde Championship which he last won two years ago. However Malcolm won this game and thereby joined the four leaders on 3½ points.
In-form Phil benefitted from a mutual oversight early on against Jon to reach a better ending where his rooks dominated the seventh rank. Phil's victories this season over some very strong players suggest that his grade may increase even further.
Dennis Davies has also achieved a plus score for the second year running after beating Pat Coleman. Abigail Pritchard proved to be too strong for clubmate John Regan.
Liam Bromley has faced some strong opponents in his first year in the event.