4NCL (Nations Chess League) Round 3 report!
SEASON 2023-24
4NCL (Nations Chess League)
Tues 20th Feb 24 – 7:30pm
Season 9 – Round 3
Time-Controls – 45 minutes + 15 seconds increments
Dundee City teams is a joint venture between Castlehill Chess Club Dundee and Dundee Chess Club.
RESULTS
Div 1 – Group A
Hertford 1 (1932) 1 – 3 (2232) Dundee City A
No match is ever comfortable, regardless of grading, and so it proved as Hertford 1 were up for the fight! The two middle boards drew their matches, but Dundee City A had two “Super Hero`s” on boards 1 & 4 with an IM and a Scottish Champion! Job done!
Dundee City A sit proudly at the top of Group A on the full 6 points!
Div 1 – Group B
Dundee City B (1931) 2½ – 1½ (2032) Oxford 1
Once again, Dundee City B prove they are not out of their depth in division one, with a superb win against Oxford 1! Stephen Hogg on board one, always performs miracles for his team and did so again! Theodoros Vasiliadis draw was really a winning performance, while what the hell can you say about Dariusz Kosznik, but, masterly performance! Another great win!
Dundee City B in Group B, are in 2nd place on 5 points, alongside, Shropshire & Friends 1. Amazing!
Div 2 – Group A
Heffalump Hunters (1823) 3 – 1 (1857) Dundee City C
The Heffalump Hunter have been quickly moving towards division one since they arrived on the scene. Dundee City C did put up a battle, and on another day, you just never know.
Dundee City C, in Group A are on 3 points and 5th place, but still in striking distance of those teams above them!
Div 2 – Group B
Ashfield Anonymous A (1912) 3 – 1 (1654) Dundee City D
Ashfield Anonymous A were deserved winners, with Dundee City D, out graded and out played, but not without showing they were no pushovers! Ross Brennan on board one, and James Anderson deserve all the plaudits after getting draws against very, very, very, very, very strong players!
Dundee City D are finding it tough, but given the opposition, it`s no surprise! Bottom at the moment, but top in fighting spirit and heart!
Div 3 – Group B
Streatham B (1682) 2½ – 1½ (1557) Dundee City E
Oh, so near, but just out of reach! What a performance by Dundee City E, especially from Trevor Harley and Sir Philip Cohen! The difference was the top two boards, with Dundee City players out graded by 300+ points! As I have said before already, on another day…
Dundee City E, like Dundee City D, are having a hard time of it! But the performances deserved more and if they keep it up, I am sure they will move up the group table.
Div 4 – Group B
Cozy Tomatoes (1620) 3 – 1 (1528) Dundee City F
Conor Kelly, on board 2, once again proved what a chess player he is becoming with a great win! Our other players were not so lucky, but that`s chess sometimes!
This was Dundee City F teams first loss, and leave them in 5th place, but only 2 points behind the leaders. They just need to keep playing the way the have and they can still reach the play-off`s!
Div 5 (Swiss)
Dundee City G (1341) 1½ – 2½ (1661) North Norfolk Dolphins
Well, not sure how, but Dundee City G team nearly pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament with a sublime performance against a side that out ranked them by a county mile! Cosmo Bobak and Ed Walton against 1700+ players, put in a shift and a half to get two “oxymorons” with two draws, but winning performances! Tom Wardlaw just had one of those night`s we all get, playing well, but just missing one move!
But, while the plaudits normally go to our top players for good reason, the performance of the night in my humble opinion, has to go to Norman Waugh (992), up against a 1455 player on board 4. Norman played nothing like a 992 player, more like a 1550 player on the night! It was an outstanding performance at this level and more than worthy of all the praise he deserves! Yes, I think Norman did have the winning chances near the end and lost it a bit in the end game, but Norman is a 992 graded player! It was a performance worthy of more than a draw! Norman Waugh, I award you, “the game of the night”!
Dundee City H (N/A) L – W (1552) Colchester JFF A
This was disappointing as we did not have enough players to field a team and had to default. Eight teams are a lot to cover, but we do have enough players in the squad to fill 9 teams, but not to be on this night due to one thing or another! Hopefully, this was a one off.
Dundee City G & H teams sit 13th & 21st respectively on 3 points. Still a long way to go and both teams still in with a chance to make the promotion places!
Bring on round 4!