Author: kieran

With Oxford’s tremendously successful first season at the 4NCL completed, thoughts turned to both consolidating what had been achieved and pressing for further success.

The summer recruitments of the Oxford City duo Matt Rose and Nigel Moyse and current and former University players Dave Shaw and Mel Buckley, together with several other keen new players only served to bolster what was already a very strong squad. It is always a very pleasing problem for a captain when the number of strong and enthusiastic players available for a fixture exceeds the number of places in the team. In fact, for the first weekend of the new season we could easily have fielded three teams as we hope to do next year. Even the extended trek to Telford didn’t seem to deter the troops.

Oxford 1 began their division three season with a potentially tricky looking fixture against AD’s 2. However, we entered the game with confidence as a successful summer’s chess for Ben Savage had made him our second FM. But last year had certainly taught us that ratings don’t count for everything and sure enough events soon took a turn for the worse. A couple of hours into the new season we found ourselves staring down the barrel of an embarrassing shock defeat. Dave Shaw’s debut on board 6 had left him with a pretty grim looking defensive task while Aidan Rawlinson on board 7 turned down a chance of clear extra material in favour of what he had wrongly calculated to be an even easier win. And Merim Bilalic’s Colorado on board 1 for all its undoubted merits never inspires total confidence for a nervous team captain. With the other boards showing little promise of full points, prospects looked somewhat bleak.

The second team’s division 4 fixture against new team the Conquistadors showed no signs of being any more straightforward. Kevin Henbest accepted a cramped position for an extra pawn while Dave Bruce took a typically aggressive approach on board 5. Meanwhile probably Oxford’s smoothest win of the day was taking shape on board 2 where Nigel Moyse belied his low FIDE rating to effortlessly outplay strong opposition. Alex Milovanovic also seemed to have things under control on top board. When Ian Webster sealed a solid draw and Dave Bruce’s attack petered out to a half point, it seemed likely that we had done enough. But unfortunately Kevin Henbest’s battling first 4NCL win was cancelled out by an unlucky time pressure induced reverse on board 1. By now Chris Duggan’s previously solid position had deteriorated beyond repair and we were forced to settle for 3-3 and a share of the spoils.

Attention returned to the first team match where James Coleman had diffused some mild pressure to draw and impressive debutant Vygante Milasiute was easing to victory on bottom board. Rawlinson was trying desperately to find a saving tactical shot, while Matt Rose found both his position and his clock to be firmly against him. When both these games were lost and Savage could only secure a draw on board 2, we really looked up against it. Fortunately some neat trickery from Shaw had turned his game right round, but with Kemal Ozeren heading for a draw at best we needed to secure the full point on top board. Cometh the hour, cometh the man and Bilalic drummed up a whole mountain of counterplay to go from two pawns down to a pawn up in what seemed like a matter of moments. So often does Merim achieve such feats that we will soon cease to be surprised by them. Ozeren’s draw was soon agreed and a dramatic, nerve-wracking 4.5-3.5 win was secured.

The next challenge of the day was to locate our lodgings for the night in nearby Ketley . We had been assured that the guest house was only 5 minutes drive from the venue and within easy stumbling distance of the local hostelries. In fact, contrary to many expectations, the accommodation proved most satisfactory and we even located a pub which offered two for one meal deals to almost match those at the legendary West Bromwich Wetherspoons . We did get a few suspicious looks from the locals, but perhaps in the light of Chris Duggan’s remarkable achievement in downing an entire bottle of vinegar, such an air of reservation could be said to be justified. It seems unlikely that the good folk of Telford have often seen such iron-stomached performances in their midst.

It can’t be many teams who have the luxury of being able to cater for a late withdrawal by bringing in a substitute FM, but so it was when an early trip to the venue was necessitated by captain Kieran Smallbone’s unexpected absence. After the previous day’s uncertain first team performance, however, Ben Savage’s steadying influence in the final line up to take on Wessex 2 was probably a blessing. Once again much of the early action centred around Aidan Rawlinson’s board where a complex theoretical opening line gave his young opponent strong attacking opportunities in return for a tricky material imbalance. Dave Shaw’s early position was a little unconvincing once again, but Dave Hackett showed signs of developing a powerful attack. The top four boards all got off to a fairly steady uneventful start.

The second team had a score to settle with Cheddleton who had hammered them 5.5-0.5 last season. And things got off to the best possible start when the non-appearance of Pete Harrison’s opponent on board 6 gave us an early advantage. Rumour has it that he is still driving around West Bromwich wondering where the 4NCL has gone. A tough match was still on the cards however, as Cheddleton’s top two boards are amongst the strongest in the league. But a solid start to Jon Smith’s 4NCL debut and an early extra pawn for Ian Webster boded well for a good day.

Fortunately for the supporter’s blood pressure, Wessex 2 were not presenting quite the same threat as AD’s 2. Once Rawlinson on 7 had secured a battling draw and Shaw on 6 had equalised, no-one really looked like losing. A calm efficient win for James Coleman set the ball rolling and Kemal Ozeren secured a second comfortable draw of the weekend. The fireworks came from Dave Hackett whose comprehensive win on board 5 was probably the performance of the day. Vygante Milasiute completed a fine 100% debut weekend with a win which, if not quite as smooth as Saturday’s, never really looked in doubt. All of which left our two FMs playing for wins with the draw very much in hand. Neither could quite pull off the full point, but for this day at least enough had been done and a 5.5-2.5 win was safely completed.

The second team had suffered a setback when the usually solid Ray Starkie went down on board 4. But Webster put us back in front with an easy win against a strong opponent. And Jon Smith took advatage of some inaccurate play by his opponent to extend the lead to 3-1. Just half a point needed then from those tough top two boards. Gerard O’Reilly on 2 was always struggling to contain his opponent after an enterprising opening choice, but Alex Milovanovic’s position on 1 showed a deal more promise. O’Reilly eventually had to give best, but Milovanovic, while being a little unlucky not to win, did at least manage to bring home the vital half point. So 3.5-2.5 to the seconds and revenge for last season exacted.

All in all, another superb weekend for Oxford 4NCL. Three wins and a draw from our four matches represented a great start to the season and there were also some fine individual performances. Everyone contributed to a great team effort, right from Merim’s silky smooth performance at the top of the first team to Kevin’s hard fought point at the bottom of the second team. Alex deserved much more that half a point for two impressive displays, Moyse and Hackett both produced vital wins and Dave Shaw found a really nice tactical finish when the first team most needed it on Saturday. But my player of the weekend is Vygante Milasiute whose two out of two having stepped in at short notice might well prove decisive when the final reckoning comes in May. A great addition to a great squad.

Pete Harrison

Saturday 19th June, the first day of the final 4NCL weekend of the season, always seemed likely to go a long way to deciding Oxford 1’s promotion fate. Not only were they themselves seeking to boost their game point total against Grendel’s Mother, but Oxford 2 had the chance to help them out by taking game points off their main challengers Poisoned Pawns 2.

Despite being without Kemal Ozeren and Chris Duggan, two of the season’s stars to date, we were able to field very strong teams for both Saturday matches. Grendel’s Mother are a team without any big stars, but still presented a tough challenge from top to bottom with a consistently strong line-up. Indeed in the early stages, things did not appear to be going entirely to plan for the firsts. James Coleman on board 3 took advantage of his opponent’s opening inaccuracy to win spectacularly within an hour’s play, but the rest were not having it all their own way. Ben Savage’s opponent blundered a pawn, but then stumbled upon some useful counterplay , while Kieran Smallbone , Gerard O’Reilly and Ray Starkie were slowly eking out slight advantages on the bottom 3 boards. Perhaps the decisive moment in the match was the touch of tactical genius which saw Merim Bilalic seal victory on board 1, after which the result, at least, was never in doubt. But game points were still important and smooth if unspectacular wins for Ben and Kieran edged us ever nearer to promotion. The bottom two boards were not so clear-cut, however, and Ray’s opponent on board 6 had equalised from a tough position. The resulting half point was no disaster, and Gerard, having seemingly let his edge slip was once more pressing for victory. And when the Cowley man finally brought the full point home, a 5.5-0.5 win seemed likely to be enough.

Fielding their strongest team of the season, the on-form seconds needed to rack up a couple of points against Poisoned Pawns to all-but confirm Oxford 1’s promotion. But forewarned by the previous weekend’s fine result against Brown Jack, the Pawns were themselves fielding their strongest team of the season – hard-earned respect for Oxford 2. But sooner or later, after such a great season, the second team had to have an off-day, and sadly this was it. Against powerful opponents, none of the second team boys really got into the game, with Matt Ludbrook slowly crushed in a French on bottom board and Aidan Rawlinson worse from an early stage at the opposite end of the team. Will Burt failed to find his characteristic resources from an exotic looking position and Dave Bruce looked ill-at-ease in a rare outing with the Black pieces. Ian Webster battled hard to rescue an ending from a pawn down, but found himself undone by his opponent’s solid technique. The nearest Oxford 2 came to salvaging a half point was from a fine defensive effort in a tricky queen ending by Alex Milovanovic on board 2. Even this game ultimately slipped away, however, leaving the second team with a disappointing 6-0 defeat.

With the division’s top two, Cambridge University and Brown Jack also winning, the equation for Sunday was now simple – Oxford 1 needed a 4-2 win or better to guarantee promotion. Anything less would leave them relying on results elsewhere going their way. The draw was relatively kind, yielding a fixture against the Braille CA whose weak lower boards would surely offer some easy points. And so it was to prove, as a tough struggle for Merim against Tyson Mordue on board 1 and a much worse position for James on board 2 against Chris Ross were counter-balanced by quick wins for Ben, Aidan and Alex on the bottom 3 boards. Promotion was soon sealed as Merim halved out, Kieran produced a typically hard-fought win on board 3 and James miraculously rescued half a point on board 2. So a comprehensive 5-1 victory to conclude a tremendously successful first 4NCL season for Oxford 1.

Meanwhile Oxford 2’s final fixture against ADs 3 was to prove a tough struggle. The previously weak ADs were considerably stronger than in previous weekends, and Oxford 2 were without Chris Duggan, Dave Bruce and Will Burt. Kevin Henbest faced an under-rated junior on bottom board and was unlucky to get the worse of a tight battle, while Sean Terry was unfortunate to have to settle for a draw from an initially promising position. Matt Ludbrook completed a disappointing personal weekend with a second reverse. And Ian also moved to 0/2 after once again narrowly failing to hold a tricky ending. Pete Harrison defended well to win after his opponent’s dangerous but unsound sacrifice, while Chris McIntosh won smoothly and efficiently. But these results were not enough to avert a 3.5-2.5 defeat. So Oxford 2 ended a fine season in slightly disappointing fashion to conclude with a record of 5 wins, 6 defeats and 12th position in the division – not quite a true reflection of the performances they produced.

Oxford 1’s final position was in fact better than we could have expected, since Brown Jack who had been top of the table from an early stage were cruelly denied promotion by a shock last round defeat. So Oxford 1 picked up £100 for finishing second in the division – a fine all-round performance from a committed, focussed and tight-knit team. And after so many superb efforts from second team players earlier in the season, this weekend’s plaudits must sit firmly with the men who led us to promotion – the classy Merim, battling James and 100% performers Ben and Kieran.

Pete Harrison

As the Oxford players travelled to the pivotal fourth 4NCL weekend of the season in West Bromwich, we all knew that the next three days of tension filled chess would go a long way to determining the ultimate fortunes of Oxford 1 and Oxford 2. Saturday’s pre-determined fixtures saw Oxford 1, strengthened by the recruitment of new star man Merim Bilalic , facing the old enemy Cambridge . And Oxford 2 had a key mid-table clash with the enigmatically named Grendel’s Mother.

We had anticipated that Cambridge would be boosted by Karl Mah’s first appearance of the season, but were pleased to see on arrival that his name did not appear on the team sheet. However, their team was still very strong and a close match was in prospect. As the match began to take shape, Cambridge seemed to be gaining an edge on the top 3 boards, while Ben Savage had the advantage on board 5 and Kieran Smallbone on 4 and Aidan Rawlinson on 6 had finely balanced positions. Aidan turned down a draw offer in what looked a pretty level position, a decision which soon proved justified as he pulled out a spectacular winning tactic – quite a way to end his previous run of four successive draws. Indeed one fellow team member who was watching the game at the time described the winning move as a ‘near-orgasmic experience’. High praise indeed. So Oxford had the early lead, but things were not looking so good elsewhere and before long Kemal Ozeren succombed to David Moskovic’s marauding b pawn on board 2. When the first time scramble approached, Ben, who had comprehensively outplayed David Garner, seemed on the verge of victory with a huge material plus. But tragically he dropped his queen in the scramble and Garner gained the luckiest of victories. Kieran, who had also run pretty short of time, sacrificed the exchange against Rohan Churm and found himself left with a worse ending. Meanwhile, Merim on 1 and James Coleman on 3 were battling hard to hold endings from a pawn down. James showed fine defensive skills to hold the draw, but when Kieran’s ending slipped away, the writing was on the wall. The match did end on a high note, however, as Merim managed to turn his game against Nathan Alfred around to such an extent that he actually had chances to push for a win in the queen and pawn ending. Ultimately he had to settle for a draw which made the final result 4-2 to Cambridge . Still a creditable effort by the Oxford boys, but a result which left no further room for error in the promotion push.

The second’s game against Grendel’s Mother had to take something of a back-seat by comparison to Oxford 1’s top of the table clash. Nonetheless, Oxford 2 were putting in some fine performances. Kevin Henbest played a speculative sacrifice on bottom board, but unfortunately couldn’t quite find a conclusion to the attack and the material advantage told. Dave Bruce was also undone after his attack failed to break through, while Alex Milovanovic, making his long-awaited debut made a solid draw on top board. But wins for form man Chris Duggan and the Oxford City connection of Will Burt and Sean Terry sealed a narrow but well-deserved 3.5-2.5 victory.

Much speculation now surrounded the draw for round 8. Most of the top teams in the division had already played each other, so it was likely that Oxford 2 would face challenging opponents from the upper reaches of the table. And on our return from the by now traditional visit to Wetherspoons , the draw which we’d all feared had become reality. Oxford 1 v Oxford 2. Much debate ensued about the respective board orders, since we were intent, despite the difficult circumstances, on both sides playing for the win. If the seconds could pull off a shock result, then so be it. Eventually we arrived at the aim of pairing up opponents who didn’t know each other too well and letting events take their course. Indeed in the early stages, the seconds were very much holding their own on all boards and a close match looked in prospect. But gradually, the firsts began to exert their authority, as Kevin Henbest against Aidan Rawlinson and Pete Harrison against James Coleman finally succumbed after closely contested struggles. In fact, Aidan was quite close to defeat in the early stages of his game. Kemal on board 1 produced the latest in a succession of classy 4NCL performances to see off a valiant challenge from Alex. Ben bounced back from his disappointment of the previous day to slowly outplay Chris McIntosh, but on board 4 things were less clear as Matt Ludbrook seemed to gain a small plus from the opening against Kieran. Subsequent quality play from Matt and a slight miscalculation from Kieran combined to create the day’s first and ultimately only upset. For in the final game of the day Ian Webster narrowly failed to overcome a vast grading deficit against Merim. So a 5-1 win for the first team, but not without a few shaky moments along the way.

This result left Oxford 1 in third place – the last promotion position – but only by half a game point from Poisoned Pawns and with a potentially tough match against Cheddleton still looming on the horizon. After spending the previous evening at Wetherspoons , we decided to cast our net further afield and dined at a very pleasant Indian restaurant , the only downside of which was their refusal to serve tap water. It was ironic that the neighbouring table was occupied by the table-topping Brown Jack outfit who still remained unbeaten for the season. The draw for round 9 awaiting us at the hotel saw Oxford 1 with their expected game against Cheddleton and Oxford 2 with the toughest possible fixture against Brown Jack. A relatively early night ensued as we all looked forward to the day which could make or break our season.

When the team lists went up in the morning, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the previously strong Cheddleton team had evidently given up all aspirations of a high finish in the division. Most of their best players seemed to have simply jumped ship. Aidan was first to rack up a full point as he easily dispatched his opponent and moved to 3/3 for the weekend. James wasn’t far behind and it was soon evident that the match was heading inexorably Oxford ‘s way. Dave Hackett made a solid season’s debut with a draw on board 3 and Merim halved with a tough opponent in the form of Robert Shaw on board 1. Kemal yet again effortlessly disposed of decent opposition on board 2, while highlight of the match was the way Ben on board 4 toyed with his unsuspecting opponent. Well if you don’t resign when several pieces down and with zero compensation, what can you expect?

And so to the second’s match. Of course there was little hope of victory, but at least we could put up a decent fight. Indeed things started well enough, as Sean and Pete secured early draws on boards 5 and 6. By this time the other games were beginning to take shape and things were looking fairly promising. Chris Duggan had survived a pretty ropey position in the early stages to reach a level middlegame , while Matt on board 3 and Alex on board 1 were battling hard to hold off 200 strength players with the Black pieces. On the plus side, Ian on board 2 seemed to have an edge against Richard Haydon , turned down a draw offer and proceeded to go an exchange up. When Alex lost and Matt’s kingside began to look increasingly fragile, it seemed that another narrow but honourable defeat was on the cards. As the time scramble arrived, Chris had gone a pawn up against Jonathan Bourne, but it was still looking tough to convert. Until Bourne, under extreme time pressure, dropped his queen to take the match score to 2-2 . For the first time, an upset seemed genuinely on the horizon. There was a hum of anticipation amongst the Oxford squad in the bar as Tim Headlong somewhat surprisingly decided that his attack had no future and agreed the draw with Matt on board 3. Surely now at least a drawn match was secured. Ian had no intention of settling for a half, however, and when he added an unstoppable passed pawn to his exchange, Haydon offered the handshake which sealed a remarkable 3.5-2.5 victory for the seconds.

These results left Cambridge and Brown Jack at the head of the table with 14 points each, one point ahead of Oxford 1 and Poisoned Pawns, whose narrow 3.5-2.5 win on Monday left them a couple of game points down on the firsts. So two big wins next weekend will guarantee promotion for Oxford 1, while another shock result for Oxford 2 against Poisoned Pawns on the Saturday would smooth the path still further.

After such a successful weekend I’m spoilt for choice in selecting a man of the weekend: Merim and Kemal showed their class on the top boards of the first team; the City boys Sean and Will produced fine performances; and Aidan deserves special commendation for his perfect score of 3/3. But I simply can’t split the second team’s three heroes. Ian: dynamic and determined, Chris: 2/2 against powerful opposition and Matt: surely two of the best results of his career, are my men of the weekend. If they can produce similar performances next weekend, then a place in the top 5 for Oxford 2 and much-deserved promotion for Oxford 1 may not be beyond us. Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June could be momentous days for Oxford chess.

Pete Harrison