Chess Scotland Team Finals 2008-2009
Stirling University
The Finals of the Richardson Cup, Spens Cup and the Jack Campbell Rosebowl team tournaments took place on Saturday, April 25th 2009 on the Stirling University campus.
The Richardson Cup was a hard-fought affair between the closely-matched Glasgow Polytechnic and Hamilton A teams. On top board for Poly, GM John Shaw overcame Hamilton's (IM) Andy Muir: the latter's weak pawns proved to be too much of a liability in the rook end-game. Adrian Stalker playing on Board 7 for Hamilton was the last to finish: after nearly five hours play, he drove his opponent's king all the way to the 7 th rank to deliver checkmate with queen and rook. Although this result drew the match 4-4, Poly emerged clear winners on tie-break, having taken three of the top four boards.
In the Spens Cup, Wandering Dragons were the clear favourites over Irvine , out-grading them by an average of 200 points. But it was not to be. Three of the six games were drawn; honours were shared in the next two, but an epic battle ensued on the remaining (third) board. With Q, R & (opposite coloured) Bishop each, the outcome depended on whose king was the most vulnerable to attack. Well into extra time, the answer emerged. A remarkable victory then for Irvine by 3½ - 2½, against the odds.
In the Jack Campbell Rosebowl, Bon Accord had a significant paper advantage over Hamilton B, particularly on Board 1. Nevertheless, the 6-0 drubbing was as unexpected as it was swift. Only on Board 5 did Hamilton B put up prolonged resistance; indeed, it seemed that the Hamilton player had the better of the game for quite a while.
The handsome and historic Spens Cup and Jack Campbell Rosebowl were presented to the winning team captains but, regrettably, the Richardson Cup was unavailable on the day. Members of all the winning teams were presented with individual engraved trophies. The excellent (if pricey) venue was a very satisfactory stage for this most prestigious of all Scottish team events.
On behalf of all participants, I'd like to thank Sam Collins for organizing these tournaments: unfortunately, due to work commitments, he was unable to be present at the very end to witness the outcome of all his work.
Trevor Davies
Richardson Cup Final
Board
No |
Glasgow Polytechnic |
Hamilton |
Colour |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
1 |
W |
J Shaw |
2509 |
1 |
A Muir |
2347 |
0 |
2 |
|
E Davis |
2237 |
1 |
P Coffey |
2222 |
0 |
3 |
|
P Biro |
2189 |
0 |
J Redpath |
2207 |
1 |
4 |
|
L Turlej |
2137 |
1 |
S Tweedie |
2226 |
0 |
5 |
|
L Kirk |
2127 |
0 |
C Sreeves |
1923 |
1 |
6 |
|
I Swan |
2070 |
0 |
C MacDonald |
2066 |
1 |
7 |
|
F Zhang |
2058 |
0 |
A Stalker |
2092 |
1 |
8 |
|
N Reid |
2000 |
1 |
D Walker |
1953 |
0 |
|
|
|
Total |
4 |
|
Total |
4 |
|
Spens Cup Final
Board
No |
Wandering Dragons |
Irvine |
Colour |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
1 |
W |
A Minnican |
2071 |
½ |
T Barrett |
1819 |
½ |
2 |
|
G Hamilton |
1989 |
1 |
P Walsh |
1799 |
0 |
3 |
|
E Sloan |
1850 |
0 |
G King |
1730 |
1 |
4 |
|
D Heron |
1833 |
½ |
A Thomson |
1678 |
½ |
5 |
|
E Campbell |
1767 |
0 |
R Loughran |
1542 |
1 |
6 |
|
E Taylor |
1796 |
½ |
J Shankland |
1443 |
½ |
|
|
|
Total |
2½ |
|
Total |
3½ |
|
Jack Campbell Rosebowl
Board
No |
Bon Accord |
Hamilton B |
Colour |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
Name |
Grade |
Score |
1 |
W |
R Lothian |
2128 |
1 |
R Montgomery |
1668 |
0 |
2 |
|
J Clifford |
1776 |
1 |
A Mulholland |
1614 |
0 |
3 |
|
E Davidson |
1725 |
1 |
J Montgomery |
1539 |
0 |
4 |
|
A Egbaiyelo |
1650 |
1 |
L Greenslade |
1524 |
0 |
5 |
|
I McDonald |
1490 |
1 |
W McIntosh |
1574 |
0 |
6 |
|
D Maxwell |
1318 |
1 |
L Freel |
1492 |
0 |
|
|
|
Total |
6 |
|
Total |
0 |
|
*****
Finals preview by Sam Collins
This years Chess Scotland team tournaments will be held on Saturday 25th April 09 at:-
STIRLING MANAGEMENT CENTRE, UNIVERSITY of STIRLING , STIRLING FK9 4LA
All games will start at 1.00pm.
ALL FINALS ARE AS FOLLOWS
RICHARDSON CUP
GLASGOW POLYTECHNIC v HAMILTON A
SPENS CUP
WANDERING DRAGONS v IRVINE
JACK CAMPBELL ROSEBOWL
BON ACCORD v HAMILTON B
In the Richardson Cup Sec1 Edinburgh West set Hamilton a hard task. They had to win 8-0 against Kilmarnock in order to reach the Richardson Cup Final in thier last game. Guess what?
In the Richardson Cup Sec2 Polytechnic secure their place in the final with a better games points from Dundee Victoria who did not lose a match.
In the Spens Cup Sec1 Irvine won both their games to reach the final, with Hamilton going through to the final of the Jack Campbell Rosebowl as runner-up.
In the Spens Cup Sec2 there was still a lot to play for. The last game between Edinburgh CS v Bon Accord would decide the placings. However ECS defaulted their match.
Richardson Cup Section One Results as at 22 MAR 09
HA EW ED KM GN P W D L F A - Pt
Hamilton A ** 3 5½ 8 3 2 0 1 16½ 7½ 0 4
EdinburghWest 5 ** 3 8 3 2 0 1 16 8 0 4
Edinburgh 2½ 5 ** 4½ 3 2 0 1 12 12 0 4
Kilmarnock 0 0 3½ ** 3 0 0 3 3½ 20½ 0 0
Glenrothes Withdrawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Richardson Cup Section Two Results as at 22 FEB 09
PY DV CC OB CH P W D L F A Pt
Glw Polytechnic ** 3 6 6 3 2 0 1 15 9 4
DundeeVictoria 5 ** 4 4 3 1 2 0 13 11 4
Cathcart 2 4 ** 5 3 2 1 1 11 13 3
Oban 2 4 3 ** 3 0 1 2 9 15 0
Castlehill Withdrawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spens Cup Section One Results as at 16 MAR 09
IR HA GM DF P W D L F A - Pt
Irvine ** 4½ 3½ 2 2 0 0 8 4 0 4
Hamilton 1½ ** 5 2 1 0 1 6½ 5½ 0 2
Glw Monrtrose 2½ 1 ** 2 0 0 2 3½ 8½ 0 0
Dumfries & Dist Withdrawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spens Cup Section Two Results as at 16 MAR 09
WD BA CS CH P W D L F A - Pt
W Dragons ** 3½ 3 2 1 1 0 6½ 5½ 0 3
Bon Accord 2½ ** 6d 2 1 0 1 8½ 3½ 0 2
Edinburgh C S 3 0d ** 2 0 1 1 3 9 0 1
Castlehill Withdrawn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0