Birmingham League Trophies 2004-05

Round 1
Division 1 eventually won on board count in the Terrill Trophy match against Warley I. They were struggling early on, but Alan Lloyd won his adjournment on top board to level the match.

Division 2 had an easier victory against Shirley IV, not losing a board. There were draws for Robert Reynolds and Dave Stockwin and wins for everyone else.

In the Townshend Trophy, Division 6 had a good win against Warley V. They only dropped one point in the match, as most players scored victories.

Round 2
All three cup teams had byes to the next round.

Round 3
Division 1 beat Boldmere III in the third round. Dave Cheshire and Jim McDonald drew, but all the other eventually won to achieve the necessary 5-1 scoreline over the boards.

Division 2 lost their round 3 Terrill Trophy match against Birmingham Settlement IV. There were draws on the top two boards and Rob Wallman lost on three, but the three reserves all won well.

Division 6's Townshend Trophy round 3 match against Boldmere VII has been won by default.

Round 4
The Division 1 team faced Mercia III in Terrill Trophy round 4. Derek Price won by default and there was also a win for Mark Cundy in a double Rook & Pawns ending. Phil Holt played a speculative sacrifice and won quickly when it was declined. Meanwhile, Robert Reynolds drew in a game apparently played to the laws of draughts and the remaining two games were adjourned. Dave Cheshire has now won his game and Alan Lloyd agreed a draw to take the team to the next round.

Division 6 played Wolverhampton V in Townshend round 4, but were on the receiving end from a stronger team. Dave Stockwin managed a win and John Clulee drew on board five, but the rest were beaten.

Round 5
The team reached the Terrill Trophy final, after a nerve-wracking match against Warley Quinborne III. Alan Lloyd won on top board, after grabbing a few pawns. Phil Holt had a quick win on two, while Dave Gostelow's opponent dropped a piece and lost. Dave Cheshire lost on time to give the team a scare on board 4, but Derek Price had an easy win on five. Mark Cundy had a complex game, but came out on top to win the match, despite the 3½ points handicap.

Leamington League Knockout Cups

Round 1
The Open Cup team had an easy victory over a weak Leamington side. Only half a point was dropped in the match, the result of which was never in doubt.

The Under 625 team just scraped through the first round. They were 2-0 down after Dave Brown's quick loss and a slower deterioration in Jim Gillespie's position. Andy Cottom's draw against Phil Wood steadied the ship, but put pressure on the remaining two. However, a good win from Gary Hope and careful play by John Asbury squared the match and Olton won on board elimination.

Round 2
The second round against Solihull was switched to Olton's venue. Richard Reynolds and Mark Cundy lost on boards 3 and 5 and Derek Price drew on four. However, Alan Lloyd and Phil Holt won on the top boards to level the match and win on board elimination.

The Under 625 Cup match against Chipping Campden was lost. Martin Pope won quickly on board 4 and Andy Cottom scraped a draw on board 1. The other three were well beaten by a strong visiting side.

Summer Tournament 2004

The Olton Summer Tournament has now been completed. Final standings and pictures are shown below. There were 22 entrants this year competing in a single pool, split into three grading groups. The previous champion, Phil Holt, took a break this time, although Alan Lloyd did take part.

Final Standings

Open Winner : Richard Reynolds - 6/7
Open Runners-up : Robert Reynolds, Trevor Holt & Matthew Tapp - 5/7

Major Winner : Frank Jimenez - 4½/7 (On tie-break)
Major Runner-Up : Dave Shurrock - 4½/7

Minor Winner : Jim Gillespie - 4/7
Minor Runner-Up : Dave Stockwin - 3/7

Birmingham League AGM

The Birmingham League AGM was held at Warley Quinborne's venue. Olton had one trophy to collect, the Lightning Team Tournament trophy. Robert Reynolds was again on hand to receive it from the League President, Pauline Woodward.

Leamington League AGM

The Leamington League AGM took place on 13th May. Robert Reynolds collected his trophy from Jonathon Rashleigh, for winning the League Lightning Tournament. This was Olton's only success in the Leamington League this season. More details of the event appear below.

BDCL Lightning Tournament 2004

This took place at Olton's venue on Tuesday 16th March. 15 teams played in three sections, with 4 teams entered by Olton. Olton A won section A, while Olton C won section B. Olton B were 3rd= in section A, but Olton D were last in section C. Click here for pictures.

Team Scores
Section A
Olton A (Phil Holt, Dave Cheshire, Robert Reynolds & Derek Price) - 12 points
Olton B (Richard Reynolds, Mark Cundy, Robert Wallman, Richard Liszewski & Dave Shurrock) - 7 points

Section B
Olton C (Jim McDonald, Andy Cottom, Jim Gillespie & Bill Yeomans) - 10 points

Section C
Olton D (Laurence Edwards, Bramwell Garner, Pete Singh & John Clulee) - 4½ points

Another win for Olton at Lightning Chess

OIton have scored a treble this season, by winning two sections in the Birmingham Lightning Team Tournament and now, the Leamington League Individual Lightning Tournament. The Leamington League's individual 5-minute competition took place this week at Solihull's venue, the Blossomfield club.

Robert Reynolds was declared the winner of the Open section, after tieing with defending champion, Phil Holt and Solihull's Andrew McCumiskey. All three scored 7/9 and it was Robert who came out on top. His early form proved decisive, as both the other two top scorers were well beaten.

Thanks to Phil Holt for these photos, courtesy of his mobile phone.

Olton players have won this event eight times in the last nine seasons. Phil Holt has won it five times, with Alan Lloyd scoring two titles.

Olton Scores

Club Announcements

Congress Success

Trevor Holt has come equal second in the Under 160 section of the Exmouth Congress. He scored 5/7, with only one loss. Click here to see the end of a game Trevor thinks he should have won.

Inter League Match

Dave Cheshire and Phil Holt took part in the Birmingham / Coventry / Leamington Inter-League match recently, which was held in Coventry. The match was part of the BCF's Centenary celebrations and Olton were representing the Leamington League. Phil drew with Keith Ingram, while Dave Cheshire beat Gordon Christie.