Match report by Matthew Carr:
With just 5 minutes to go before the 1:30 start time there was just 6 players in the room then by 1:40 the place was packed. With the players ready to go Nottinghamshire won the toss and had white on the odd boards. Tony Meakin's opponent was a no show so we had a point in our favour from the word go. There was action all the way, Barry Smith elected for a Caro Kann against his opponent and David Moleneux chose to throw the French Defence at his.

An hour in and we were still no closer to seeing a winner, the boards looked had all passed the opening and strategies were beginning to show themselves. David Buckley was the first to finish and as captain he certainly set a good example. Simon Jones was playing well until he made one careless move and that gave his opponent the game. Manpreet Sangha's game attracted a lot of attention. There was plenty of action and in the end when both players queened a pawn it was Manpreet to move and got a position where it would have been his Queen and 3 pawns vs a King.

With only three boards left to go Nottinghamshire had managed to pull it back to 4½ each. Then with just board 1 left playing it was even again (5½ each) and right at the end there was a bit of contravercy regarding score sheets but the result was a win for Barry and a win for Staffordshire. It has been a great pleasure to be an observer at this game today and hope they and our counterparts the Terriers have done equally as well.

Matthew Carr.

30 March, 2009
The U100 inter-county section is for players graded under 100. Following an objection, the MCCU County Match Controller has ruled that although the player on board 3 for the Bulldogs was ungraded, his level of skill makes him too good to play in the under 100 section. Because of that, the result on board 3 has now been awarded as a default win for the Nottingham team and a further penalty point deducted from the Staffordshire team's score. That makes the final result 6½ - 4½ to the Nottingham team. (Results of several recent league matches etc were used to estimate the player's grade.)

The actual result of the game on board 3 will still be sent for grading as a win for the Staffordshire player.

Bd Grade Bulldogs Score Score Nottinghamshire Grade
1 99 Barry Smith 1 0 Alan Brown 98
2 95 Phil Jackson 0 1 Benjamin Hobson 95
3 Default Def 1 Christopher Sargeant 95
4 91 Richard Dawson 1 0 Edwin Justice 91
5 90 Robert Brodie 0 1 Peter Gorecka-Marshall 90
6 88 Peter Crozet 0 1 Richard Dawson 90
7 87 David Moleneux ½ ½ Lenard Morrell 83
8 84 Anthony Meakin 1 Def Andrew Garside 80
9 75 Simon Jones 0 1 Paul Todd 74
10 75 Paul Guest 0 1 Arun Maini 71
11 75 David Buckley 1 0 Kenneth Heath 62
12 68 Peter Evans 1 0 Dorothy Blampied 60
TOTALS 4½ 6½

Leicestershire 6 - 6 Bulldogs
Match played 7 March 2009 at Wigston Chess Club, Leicester.

Bd Grade Leicestershire Score Score Bulldogs Grade
1 97 Barrie Cooper ½ ½ Peter Broomhall 99
2 97 Dave White 1 0 Manpreet Sangha Ung
3 94 Ian Farquharson 1 0 Paul Jackson 95
4 95 Frank Hulford 0 1 Mike Page 93
5 94 Charles Eastlake 1 0 Richard Dawson 91
6 88 Mike Thornton 0 1 Robert Brodie 90
7 87 Stevan Preocanin 1 0 Tony Meakin 84
8 80 Michael Adams ½ ½ Simon Jones 75
9 73 Colen Ross 0 1 Paul Guest 75
10 78 Robert Stone 1 0 David Buckley 68
11 65 Neal Roberts 0 1 Peter Evans 68
12 52 Aaron Engels 0 1 Andrew Davies 52
TOTALS 6 6

David phoned me at 10 yesterday morning to find out if I could play in this match. My game against Aaron Engels was one of the first to finish, but he was distracted - his wife is due to give birth soon. As the games finished, the scores remained close. With just board 9 to finish and several players looking on, Leicestershire had a 6 - 5 lead. There was still plenty of material on the board and about an hours playing time left. It could have gone on for a long time, but Paul Guest's win secured a tie for the team.

With three national places available, the Bulldogs might still be able to qualify - it all depends on the results of those three matches due to be played on 28 March.

Bulldogs 8 - 4 Shropshire
Match played 10 January 2009 at Bushbury Community Centre, Wolverhampton.

Bd Grade Bulldogs Score Score Shropshire Grade
1 99 Peter Broomhall 1 0 Peter Mellor 85
2 91 Ravi Patel ½ ½ Athar Mehmood 78
3 90 Robert Brodie 0 1 Nathaniel Paul 65
4 90 Paul Walters 0 1 Mark Richards 59
5 88 Peter Crozet 1 0 Huw Davenport 56
6 83 John Fenby ½ ½ Francis Rooney 49
7 84 Tony Meakin 1 0 Jonathan Newey 49
8 79 Kevin Moore 1 0 Matthew Best 37
9 75 Paul Guest 1 0 Jamie Allen 35
10 75 Simon Jones 1 0 Joe Mellor 29
11 68 Peter Evans 1 0 Matthew Mellor 23
12 Ung Siddharth Singh 0 1 Angelica Dean Ung
TOTALS 8 4

David Buckley tells me it was a very good game against the team of young players from Shropshire. Well done to all the players (on both teams).

In one very notable game, Ravi Patel played against Shropshire's Athar Mehmood. Their game was one of the last games to finish. Both players played extremely well and earned a very good draw. Last week, Athar scored a perfect 5 out of 5 in the minor section of the Wrekin Congress. Also competing for Staffordshire was Siddharth Singh, who lost a fast but interesting game against Angelica Dean.

Other players from Shropshire who deserve a mention here include Nathaniel Paul and Mark Richards for their wins, and Francis Rooney for the draw.

Bulldogs captain (David Buckley) told me that many of the Shropshire team who played yesterday, were also part of their team twelve months ago. David added that the Shropshire players did better than last year, and shows how much they are improving.

Well done everyone!

Warwickshire 7 - 5 Bulldogs
Match played 13 December 2008 at Warley Quinborne Chess Club, Birmingham.

Bd Grade Warwickshire Score Score Bulldogs Grade
1 99 Kegan Harrison 0 1 Peter Broomhall 99
2 99 Malcolm Phipps 0 1 Darren Bell 93
3 99 Joe Rourke 1 0 Ravi Patel 91
4 97 Steven Bowen 1 0 Richard Dawson 91
5 95 Medhi-Al-Samir ½ ½ Robert Brodie 90
6 93 Paul Hardstaff 1 0 Peter Crozet 88
7 92 Peter Hodgkinson ½ ½ John Fenby 83
8 91 Dennis Horsley ½ ½ Kevin Moore 79
9 89 John Green 1 0 Chris Bateson 77
10 88 Ken Wise 1 0 Simon Jones 75
11 84 Graham Gee ½ ½ Paul Guest 75
12 84 Pauline Woodward 0 1 Peter Evans 68
TOTALS 7 5
Ung Barry French 0 1 Matthew Greenwood 67

This was an away match with a difference - two Staffordshire teams were playing against two Warwickshire teams: The Bulldogs were playing at one end of the room while our Open team were playing at the other end. Mince pies etc were available to make all the players welcome.

Due to a mix up, David Buckley found himself with 13 players arriving for the 12 board match against Warwickshire. After a quick discussion (and an apology), it was agreed that the lowest graded player would play a game against a player keen to be part of the Warwickshire team. In that extra game, Matthew Greenwood confirmed he has been having a good season. Well done Matthew! The result of that game will be sent for grading but does not count towards the team's score.

The two teams were level early on: One player lost, two players drew then Peter Evans won. The next three games all went to Warwick, giving them a 5-2 advantage. The remaining 4 games were close, but the team ended with a 7-5 loss.

Well played to all the players - especiallly young Ravi Patel, who had a very good game.

One notable absentee was Paul Walters. He wanted to play but yesterday was his 40th birthday, and his family wanted to celebrate it properly. Happy birthday Paul!

Terriers 5½ - 6½ Bulldogs
Match played 8 November 2008 at Newcastle Chess Club, Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Bd Grade Terriers Score Score Bulldogs Grade
1 99 John Day 0 1 Peter Broomhall 99
2 99 Peter Shaw ½ ½ Michael Page 93
3 99 Steve Burndred 0 1 Manpreet Sangha Ung
4 96 Denis Nesbitt 0 1 Richard Dawson 91
5 94 Ray Dolan 0 1 Robert Brodie 90
6 93 John Montague ½ ½ Paul Walters 90
7 92 Paul Shelley ½ ½ Peter Crozet 88
8 85 Matthew Wyza 1 0 Kevin Moore 79
9 83 Dave Tindley 1 0 Simon Jones 75
10 83 Oliver Horrocks 1 0 Paul Guest 75
11 80 Carl Mustafa 1 0 David Buckley 75
12 Ung Richard Mansell 0 1 Peter Evans 68
TOTALS 5½ 6½

For this match, the Bulldogs travelled to Newcastle Bridge Club to face their Staffordshire rivals (the Terriers). For anyone who hasn't played at Newcastle chess club, they have a really nice venue.

The first result of the afternoon came after just 6 moves: As part of the King's gambit, one player made what he thought was a good developing move, overlooking one fatal reply - ouch!! As for which players were involved (and which team gained the point) - I'm saying nothing.

Elsewhere in the room, Manpreet Sangha was Playing Steve Burndred. Manpreet recently won the under 16 section in the junior congress. Here he was playing board three for the Bulldogs. It looked like an interesting game. Well done Manpreet.

With just the game on board one to finish, the scores stood level at 5½ - 5½. John Day (white) was playing Peter Broomhall. Material was level, and both players had about ½ an hour left on their clocks. A combination put Peter a rook ahead. One of John's pawns reached the 7th rank but a check from Peter left it stranded.

This was a very good afternoon of chess. Well played to all the players on both teams!

Worcestershire 8 - 4 Staffordshire
Match played 25 October 2008 at Webheath Village Hall, Webheath.

Bd Grade Worcestershire Score Score Bulldogs Grade
1 98 Ashley Davis 1 0 Peter Broomhall 99
2 92 Peter Banks 1 0 Barry Smith 99
3 92 Maureen Clark ½ ½ Robert Brodie 90
4 91 Rob Bricknell 1 0 Paul D Walters 90
5 89 Michele Clack 1 0 David Molineux 87
6 88 Richard Collett 1 0 Kevin Moore 79
7 87 John Clark 1 0 Christopher Bateson 77
8 Ung Krzystof Krowicki 0 1 Simon A Jones 75
9 63 John Holmberg 0 1 David I Buckley 75
10 62 Tony Taylor ½ ½ Andrew Davies 51
11 33 Joyce Evans 0 1 B Walkers Ung
12 33 David Curzon 1 Def Default
TOTALS 8 4

With many of last season's better players unavailable (for various reasons), the Bulldogs travelled to the picturesque Webheath village for their U100 tie against Worcestershire yesterday. A defaulted board gave Worcester an early 3 - 2 lead. As the games finished, that was gradually consolidated into a decisive 8 - 4 victory for the home team. One of the last players to finish was Paul Walters. Despite the result, he made a very good inter-county debut.

The catering (which included home-made sultana and apple cake cooked by one of Worcester's players) was richly enjoyed.

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