So, after “X” years of trying, Oxford’s top team makes it to the x-rated Premiership league of UK chess, and though the weekend had its fair share of unfair scares, a fully merited success for the guys and gal. Three out of three for the team, and plenty of excitement for the crowd (who as it happened were stuck 2.5 miles down the roundabout-strewn motorway), but no matter.
Fuller report to follow so here are some of the end-of-seasonal awards:
Top Oxford Tactics
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Champagne on Ice moment
As Ben goes overboard in a minor piece ending, his team-mates gets over-bored, leaving Tom to perform the bedside vigil – and the journalist goes native with the cold bitter that cooleth
Top Quote
“Ben... you know you’re my hero ... but you really are a bit of a wa**er”
Sophie Tidman captures the mood after Ben delays his title-winning draw offer for 2 hours on Monday evening
Top Chess Composition
Kieran goes underground with the well-dressed captaincy camouflage look
Top Stat
Tom Eckersley-Waites who hasn’t drawn a game since Round 4 of a 4NCL so far back that it was in the heady days of Perceptron Youth. The 4NCL are rumoured to be investigating his win on Sunday, however...
Top of the Flops
... goes to Sean Terry, who joins the 4NCL darkside with:
Terry - Doran
White to play
13.Nd3 Bd4 14.Bd2 Qf6 15.Rh3 Nxd3+ 16.Rxd3 Qxf2# 0-1
Round 9
| Oxford 1 | 7 - 1 | Wessex 1 | ||||
| 1 | b | Rose, Matt | 2259 | 1 - 0 | Simons, Martin | 2225 |
| 2 | w | Savage, Ben | 2330 | 1 - 0 | Lock, Gavin | 2227 |
| 3 | b | Rawlinson, Aidan | 2242 | ½ - ½ | Rutter, Nicholas | 2181 |
| 4 | w | White, Mike | 2265 | 1 - 0 | Yeo, Michael | 2147 |
| 5 | b | Smallbone, Kieran | 2235 | 1 - 0 | Jenks, Bruce | 2141 |
| 6 | w | Eckersley-Waites, Tom | 2224 | 1 - 0 | Kawuma, Steven | 2168 |
| 7 | b | Shaw, Dave | 2228 | ½ - ½ | de Coverly, Roger | 2070 |
| 8 | w | Tidman, Sophie | 2093 | 1 - 0 | Moore, Gillian | 1935 |
| OXFORD 2 | 3½-2½ | LITTLETHORPE 2 | ||||
| 1 | w | Bruce, Dave | 2091 | ½ - ½ | Gibson, Christopher A | 1964 |
| 2 | b | Chapman, Graham W | 2080 | ½ - ½ | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter | 2020 |
| 3 | w | Burt, Will | 2050 | 0 - 1 | Ireland, David J | 1997 |
| 4 | b | Lang, Heather | 2059 | ½ - ½ | Hewitt, Sean D | 1995 |
| 5 | w | Duggan, Chris | 2044 | 1 - 0 | Deacon, Paul | 1930 |
| 6 | b | Ludbrook, Matt | 2011 | 1 - 0 | Mapletoft, Alexander J | 1925 |
| OXFORD 3 | 3½-2½ | SCS | ||||
| 1 | w | Hadi, Justin | 2015 | ½ - ½ | Baptie, Justin P | 2101 |
| 2 | b | Jeffries, Majid | 1997 | 0 - 1 | Gedvilas, Arunas | 1950 |
| 3 | w | Zhang, Marco | 1975 | 1 - 0 | Fonseca, Antonio | 1875 |
| 4 | b | 0 - 1 | Bogoda, Sagara T | 1870 | ||
| 5 | w | Terry, Sean | 1870 | 1 - 0 | Lutton, J Arnold | 1847 |
| 6 | b | Henbest, Kevin B | 1795 | 1 - 0 | Hardy-Wallace, Daniel | 1820 |
Round 10
| Oxford 1 | 5 - 3 | Guildford-A&DC 3 | ||||
| 1 | w | Savage, Ben | 2330 | 0 - 1 | Povah, Nigel | 2320 |
| 2 | b | White, Mike | 2265 | ½ - ½ | Thompson, Ian | 2250 |
| 3 | w | Rose, Matt | 2259 | 1 - 0 | Cooksey, Paul | 2292 |
| 4 | b | Rawlinson, Aidan | 2242 | ½ - ½ | Richardson, Keith | 2188 |
| 5 | w | Shaw, Dave | 2228 | 1 - 0 | ||
| 6 | b | Smallbone, Kieran | 2235 | 0 - 1 | Stimpson, Philip | 2076 |
| 7 | w | Eckersley-Waites, Tom | 2224 | 1 - 0 | Hill, David | 2063 |
| 8 | b | Tidman, Sophie | 2093 | 1 - 0 | Hunt, Daniel | 1923 |
| BRISTOL 2 | 2½-3½ | OXFORD 2 | ||||
| 1 | w | Collier, David O | 2083 | ½ - ½ | Dickinson, Timothy R | 2160 |
| 2 | b | Humphreys, Jerry | 2076 | ½ - ½ | Starkie, Ray | 2125 |
| 3 | w | Bass, John W | 2101 | ½ - ½ | Bruce, Dave | 2091 |
| 4 | b | White, Martin | 1980 | ½ - ½ | Stembridge, Ed | 2062 |
| 5 | w | Varley, Ed | 1910 | ½ - ½ | Duggan, Chris | 2044 |
| 6 | b | Taylor, John Paul | 1395 | 0 - 1 | Ludbrook, Matt | 2011 |
| LITTLETHORPE 2 | 3½-2½ | OXFORD 3 | ||||
| 1 | w | Gibson, Christopher A | 1964 | 0 - 1 | Burt, Will | 2050 |
| 2 | b | Jaszkiwskyj, Peter | 2020 | 1 - 0 | Hadi, Justin | 2015 |
| 3 | w | Ireland, David J | 1997 | 0 - 1 | Zhang, Marco | 1975 |
| 4 | b | Hewitt, Sean D | 1995 | 1 - 0 | Jeffries, Majid | 1997 |
| 5 | w | Deacon, Paul | 1930 | ½ - ½ | Terry, Sean | 1870 |
| 6 | b | Mapletoft, Alexander J | 1925 | 1 - 0 | Henbest, Kevin B | 1795 |
Round 11
| Oxford 1 | 4½ - 3½ | Kings Head | ||||
| 1 | b | Savage, Ben | 2330 | ½ - ½ | Slavin, Alexei | 2308 |
| 2 | w | White, Mike | 2265 | ½ - ½ | Kwiatkowski, Feliks | 2227 |
| 3 | b | Rawlinson, Aidan | 2242 | ½ - ½ | McMichael, Richard | 2284 |
| 4 | w | Eckersley-Waites, Tom | 2224 | 1 - 0 | Okike, David | 2202 |
| 5 | b | Smallbone, Kieran | 2235 | 0 - 1 | Thomas, Richard | 2202 |
| 6 | w | Shaw, Dave | 2228 | 1 - 0 | Ward, Julian | 2190 |
| 7 | w | Tidman, Sophie | 2093 | 1 - 0 | Forbes, Cathy | 2119 |
| 8 | b | Dickinson, Tim | 2160 | 0 - 1 | Stevenson, James | 2092 |
| OXFORD 2 | 3 - 3 | WHITE ROSE 2 | ||||
| 1 | w | Hackett, David G | 2148 | 0 - 1 | Arnott, Jonathan W | 2117 |
| 2 | b | Stembridge, Ed | 2062 | ½ - ½ | Shaw, Peter | 2123 |
| 3 | w | Burt, Will | 2050 | 1 - 0 | Lewyk, Ihor | 2146 |
| 4 | b | Hadi, Justin | 2015 | 1 - 0 | Faulkes, Nick | 2084 |
| 5 | w | Duggan, Chris | 2044 | ½ - ½ | Webb, Matthew | 2035 |
| 6 | b | Ludbrook, Matt | 2011 | 0 - 1 | Whitaker, Thomas R | 1995 |
| HALESOWEN | 4 - 2 | OXFORD 3 | ||||
| 1 | w | Lee, Darren | 1950 | 1 - 0 | Zhang, Marco | 1975 |
| 2 | b | Doran, Michael J | 1855 | 1 - 0 | Terry, Sean | 1870 |
| 3 | w | Asbury, Jon A | 1865 | 0 - 1 | Foster, James M | 1945 |
| 4 | b | Llewelyn, John D | 1815 | 0 - 1 | Harvey, Marcus R | 1905 |
| 5 | w | Peck, Windsor W | 1845 | 1 - 0 | Bruce, Dave | 2091 |
| 6 | b | Pitt, Christopher | 1780 | 1 - 0 | Foster, Chantelle | 1600 |