Mixed Fortunes this Season for Highcliffe Teams
As we approach the final few matches of the season, our teams had mixed fortunes in the season so far. The A team has had a very tough season, currently bottom of Division 1. We have been unlucky in many matches, narrowly losing 2.5 – 1.5 on many occasions.
In contrast, the B-team currently top Division 2 and it is quite possible that the 2 teams will switch places at the end of the year. Best of luck to both teams in the remaining matches.
Our C team currently lie 5th in Division 3 and the D team are 4th in Division 4.
Club Swiss Building Up for Close Finish.
The club Swiss has been an interesting competition this year with players of all standards taking part and enjoying the games. Adam Ursell currently leads on 4/4 with 2 rounds to go, closely followed by his Dad, Richard Ursell, and James Forster on 3.5/4.
AGM Marks End of Successful Season!
Our yearly Annual General meeting was held at Greystones on 12th June and marked the end of Highcliffe Chess Club’s most successful season ever. Besides celebrating 2 league division titles, there was a lot of other business to discuss and decide ahead of the 2022/3 season. Some of the key points are listed below:
- Ken Smith became club chairman, replacing the irreplaceable Richard Ursell who is standing down.
- We will enter 4 teams in the Bournemouth League and 2 in the Dorset League. We will currently not be entering a team in the Bacchus League this season.
- We will be serving Team and Coffee on club nights, any volunteers to help with the making and distributing of this will be greatly appreciated!
The club trophies were distributed at the end of the meeting, winners and photos are given below!
Club Champions: C. Westrap and R. Ursell (Left) with Handicap Trophy Winner: A. Manson
It has to be said that Andy finished the championship on the same number of points as the winners but agreed to take the handicap trophy as he hadn’t played either of the other winners in the competition!
The best performances in our B-team, C-team and Bacchus League Team were, left-to-right: Richard Ursell, Roger Howell, and Robert Powell. The best performance in the A-team was by Richard’s son, Adam Ursell, who was on a beach in Brighton while these awards were being given out! (To be fair, Adam was actually working in Brighton on the day of the AGM.)
Bruce Jenks picked up 2 awards, one for best performance in the Dorset League and one for the Best Game prize for his win over Kevin Goater. A superb performance as Kevin is not an easy player to beat!
Most Improved Player of the Year was Thomas Trach who scored excellently in every league he played in! Well done Tom and here’s hoping you can continue to improve next year as well!
Highcliffe B Claim Division Title in Close Finish to Season!
Our B team have won the Division 3 title in a nail-bitting finish to the season. A 3-1 win over Wimborne C put us top but Poole C could have overhauled us by winning their last game too. Luckily for us they lost 1-3 too Bournemouth and although both us and Poole finished tied on 16 points, we were able to claim the title due to a better ‘goal difference’.
There were many outstanding performances over the season but particular mention should go to Richard Ursell who put in a captain’s shift with 7/9. Also Thomas Trach scored a 100% with 3/3 and Robert Powell had an excellent league debut season, scoring 4/7.
Congratulations all round!
Highcliffe A Win Division 1 with a Game to Spare!
Our A team capped off a fantastic season by clinching the Division 1 title with a 2-2 draw at Southbourne. As we were 4 points clear going into the match a draw was all that was needed and this was achieved with draws on all 4 boards.
Bruce’s game on board 2 was the first to finish when he and Martin Simons agreed to share the point, followed by Richard holding Southbourne’s dangerous board 4, Jamie Doyle, to a draw in an Exchange French. Adam’s game appeared complicated with Len Laker on board 3 but Len, clearly unhappy with his position, offered a draw which Adam was happy to accept, given the match situation. That left board 1 where Christian was a pawn up in an ending against Russell Pegg but offered the draw to seal the title.
Well done to everyone concerned on a fantastic achievement. This is the 1st time the division 1 title has gone to Highcliffe and here’s hoping we can build on this success next season.
Our title winning team, from left to right, Bruce Jenks, Adam Ursell, Richard Ursell and Christian Westrap.
Club Swiss Ends in 3-Way Tie!
Our club Swiss competition ended in a 3-way tie as neither Christian Westrap or Richard Ursell could win their last round game and so both ended on 4/5 points. Andrew Manson managed to win his last round game and so joined the leaders on 4/5.
Rather than play a rapid or blitz play-off all parties concerned agreed to share the spoils with Andrew generously offering to take the handicap trophy while Christian and Richard will share the club championship trophy.
For the hard-fought round 4 draw between the 2 eventual winners, see Members Games.