4NCL - The Four Nations League

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Four Nations Chess League

Press Release

2005/06 season
Weekend 2
Divisions 1,2 & 3

The second weekend of the 2005/06 season saw Division 1, 2 and 3 resume battle at the Paragon Hotel, Birmingham. With plenty of close matches in all three divisions, the 4NCL has a very competitive feel this season.

In Division 1, perennial favourites Wood Green 1 and Guildford-ADC 1 top the table again – will everything be decided by their final round match-up as in previous seasons? Guildford’s narrow win over Slough Sharks 1 demoted the Sharks to fifth place behind Hilsmark Kingfisher 1 and Barbican 4NCL 1. The top of the league may see a further shake up in Weekend 3, when Sharks play Barbican and Wood Green tackle Hilsmark.

In Division 2, Bristol 1 are the only team with a 100% record. Their early rivals Cambridge University 1 slipped up with a draw against White Rose and a 5.5-2.5 defeat to Oxford 1. Cambridge’s difficulties have allowed Wood Green 3 and South Wales Dragons 1 to move into the promotion positions, hotly pursued by Warwickshire Select 1.

Division 3’s top of the table clash saw Slough Sharks 2 overcome Hilsmark Kingfisher 2 by a 5-3 margin. The Sharks now head the table with a 100% record, with Wessex 2 moving up to share second place with Hilsmark.

After 4 rounds, the "Big Hitters" table is beginning to take shape. Two players have 4 wins from 4 games – Slough Sharks’s Czech Grandmaster David Navara and Bristol’s Jack Rudd. There are 8 players with 3.5:- Keith Arkell (Hilsmark Kingfisher), Chris Beaumont (Bristol), Daniel King (Guildford-ADC), Chiedu Maduekwe (Wood Green), Daniel Rosen (Poisoned Pawns), James Sherwin (Bristol), Robert Taylor (Slough Sharks) and Andrew Whiteley (King’s Head).

Selected games

Simon Williams vs. John Littlewood
Hilsmark Kingfisher 1 vs. North West Eagles 1, board 3
Division 1, round 3

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Qc7 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. f4 Bg4 13. f5 gxf5

Williams vs. Littlewood

14. Bxf7+ Kh8 15. exf5 cxd4 16. cxd4 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 Nxd4 18. Qh5 Qe5 19. Rce1 Rd6 20. Bg5 Qc5 21. Kh1 Black resigns

Alan Walton vs. Gawain Jones
3Cs Oldham 1 vs. Slough Sharks 1, board 5
Division 1, round 3

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Qd2 d6 7. Bc4 a6 8. a4 Qg6 9. f3 Nd7 10. Kf1 e5 11. Nge2 exd4 12. Nxd4 Ne5 13. Be2 O-O 14. f4 Nc6 15. f5 Qf6 16. Nf3

Walton vs. Jones

16... Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Qxc3 18. bxc3 Re8 19. Bd3 b6 20. Kf2 Bb7 21. g4 Ne5 22. h3 Nxf3 23. Kxf3 Re5 24. a5 b5 25. Rab1 Rae8 26. Rhe1 d5 and White resigns

Graeme Buckley vs. David Coleman
Guildford-ADC 2 vs. Barbican 4NCL 2, board 4
Division 1, round 3

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 d6 6. Qc2 O-O 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. Nd2 c6 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. a3 Ba5 12. b4 Bc7 13. Bb2 Bd7 14. Rc1 Ng6 15. O-O Ng4 16. Bf5 Nh6 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 18. Rfd1 f5 19. f3 Qe7 20. Nf1 Rae8 21. Qa4 Qg5 22. Qxc6 Bb8

Buckley vs. Coleman

23. c5 dxc5 24. bxc5 f4 25. Ne4 Qh5 26. exf4 Nxf4 27. Nfg3 Qh4 28. Rd7 Re6 29. Qb7 Rg6 30. c6 Nf5 31. Qb3+ Kh8 32. Rf7 Rxf7 33. Qxb8+ and Black lost on time

Alan Potts vs. David Moskovic
White Rose vs. Cambridge University 1, board 3
Division 2, round 3

1. e4 c5 2. g3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Bg2 Qe6+ 6. Kf1 Nc6 7. h3 Bh5 8. a3 Nf6 9. b4 cxb4 10. axb4 Nxb4 11. Nc3 Nc6 12. g4 Bg6 13. d3 Qd7 14. Bf4 e6 15. Nb5 Nd5 16. Bg3 Bb4 17. Ng5 O-O 18. h4 f6

Potts vs. Moskovic

19. h5 fxg5 20. hxg6 Ne3+ and White resigns

Alan Crombleholme vs. Graeme Kafka
Hilsmark Kingfisher 2 vs. Slough Sharks 2, board 7
Division 3, round 3

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nh4 Nbd7 10. f3 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Qb3 Qa5 13. e4 Nb6 14. Be2 c5 15. Na2 Bd2 16. dxc5 Qxc5+ 17. Kh1 Rfd8 18. Bxd2 Rxd2 19. Rac1 Qd4 20. Nc3 Nxa4 21. Qxb7 Rd8 22. Nxa4 Rxe2 23. Rc8 Rxc8 24. Qxc8+ Kh7 25. b3

Crombleholme vs. Kafka