South Hams Chess Club
South Hams Chess Club

Torbay Chess League Division 2 Season 2016-17

South Hams Chess Club fields a team in Division 2 of the Torbay Chess League. This entails home and away matches against Newton Abbot and Teignmouth. Games played in the TDCL are submitted to the ECF grading database.

In this division, teams consist of four players, and the maximum team grade is Under 540.  The rate of play is 35 moves in 75 minutes, followed by a 15 minute Quickplay finish.  The away team has white on the odd-numbered boards.

Please visit the Torbay Chess League web page for further information on Division 1, and our fixtures and results page for the team's fixtures for the current season.

Individual Player Statistics

Here are the current player statistics for South Hams players in Division 2 during the 2016-17 season:

NameGradeECFPWDLAve OpPerf%Points
Levy, Steve177134450L431015719587.53.5
Wilkinson, Ben131162703L2200141191100.02.0
Willcox, Chris114308555H1100101151100.01.0
Archer, David151300734A210114114150.01.0
McConnell, Phil126285386D421112313662.52.5
Peach, Cliff96116851E21109211775.01.5
Belli, John72300901E1001101510.00.0
 

Overall Team Statistics

Matches Played:4
Matches Won:3
Matches Drawn:0
Matches Lost:1
Match Points:6
Percentage:75
Average South Hams Team Grade:538.5
Average Opponents Team Grade:517.3

TCL Division 2: South Hams v Newton Abbot 20 Oct 2016

Bd South Hams Col Grade ECF Result Newton Abbot Col Grade ECF PGN
1 Levy, Steve B 177 134450L 1-0 Ramesh, Vignesh W 154 276543D View
2 Archer, David W 151 300734A 0-1 Kinder, Andrew B 140 162701G View
3 McConnell, Phil B 126 285386D 0-1 Allen, John W 141 264751F View
4 Belli, John W 72 300901E 0-1 Hussey, Michael B 101 277498H View
Overall Match5261-3536
Bd South Hams Grade Res Newton Abbot Grade PGN
1 Levy, Steve 177 1-0 Ramesh, Vignesh 154 View
2 Archer, David 151 0-1 Kinder, Andrew 140 View
3 McConnell, Phil 126 0-1 Allen, John 141 View
4 Belli, John 72 0-1 Hussey, Michael 101 View
Overall Match5261-3536
 

Match Report

Author:  Phil McConnell

Date:  20 Oct 2016

The Division 2 team started the season with a defeat against a strong Newton Abbot team.

Commander-in-Chief Steve was first to finish with a win on Board 1, captialising unerringly on a mistake by his opponent.

Next to finish was David, who had what looked like a strong attack defended by a tactic which David had overlooked, after which his attack - and position - gradually unravelled.

Next, John fought out a very even tussle against an opponent who outgraded him by 29 grading points, but just lost out in the end game.

So, it fell to Phil on Board 3 to salvage a match draw. In a close game, he appeared to have the advantage, but, with both players under time pressure, his opponent was able to play the quick moves more acurately, especially when Phil blundered a crucial pawn.

Congratulations to Newton Abbot on a good win - but South Hams can console themselves with the thought that the result could easily have been different.






TCL Division 2: Newton Abbot v South Hams 19 Jan 2017

Bd Newton Abbot Col Grade ECF Result South Hams Col Grade ECF PGN
1 Howard, Charles B 150 113071H 0-1 Levy, Steve W 177 134450L View
2 Allen, John W 141 264751F 0-1 Archer, David B 151 300734A View
3 Blackmore, Joshua B 138 290737K 0-1 McConnell, Phil W 126 285386D View
4 Hussey, Mike W 101 277498H 0-1 Willcox, Chris B 114 308555H View
Overall Match5300-4568
Bd Newton Abbot Grade Res South Hams Grade PGN
1 Howard, Charles 150 0-1 Levy, Steve 177 View
2 Allen, John 141 0-1 Archer, David 151 View
3 Blackmore, Joshua 138 0-1 McConnell, Phil 126 View
4 Hussey, Mike 101 0-1 Willcox, Chris 114 View
Overall Match5300-4568
 

Match Report

Author:  Phil McConnell

Date:  5 May 2017

A decisive win against Newton Abbot, avenging our defeat earlier in the season.

First to finish was Board 3, where Phil's kingside attack led to him winning the exchange, whereupon his opponent resigned. With hindsight, Joshua should have played on - Phil is more than capable of throwing away such an advantage!

On Board 1, Steve's opponent made an error resulting in the loss of a key pawn, after which his position unravelled rapidly.

According to David, Board 2 was a complicated game. "Just the king of game I like", he said.

Fnally, Chris, in his first Division 2 match, got a good win on Board 4 - by the time all the pieces had been exchanged off, his pawn majority was decisive and his opponent quickly resigned.

This season Division 2, with only 3 teams, is a tight competition which could well be decided on "goal difference". So this was a really good result for South Hams.


TCL Division 2: South Hams v Teignmouth 16 Mar 2017

Bd South Hams Col Grade ECF Result Teignmouth Col Grade ECF PGN
1 Levy, Steve B 177 134450L 1-0 Ingham, Bill W 162 173310C View
2 Wilkinson, Ben W 131 162703L 1-0 Doidge, Charles B 124 109767C View
3 McConnell, Phil B 126 285386D 1-0 Landricombe, David W 102 300007C View
4 Peach, Cliff W 96 116851E 1-0 Webster, Alan B 82 275966E Submit
Overall Match5304-0470
Bd South Hams Grade Res Teignmouth Grade PGN
1 Levy, Steve 177 1-0 Ingham, Bill 162 View
2 Wilkinson, Ben 131 1-0 Doidge, Charles 124 View
3 McConnell, Phil 126 1-0 Landricombe, David 102 View
4 Peach, Cliff 96 1-0 Webster, Alan 82 Submit
Overall Match5304-0470
 

Match Report

Author:  Phil McConnell

Date:  16 Mar 2017

On Board 3, Phil gained a minor piece early on, which was enough to secure a comfortable win.

On Board 2, Ben gained a strong position from a c3 Sicilian, and finally managed to convert the win.

On Board 1, Steve gained the exchange in the middle game, but his opponent's knight became a "monster" and Steve, under considerable time pressure, had to survive a very tricky end game position before prevailing.

On Board 4, Cliff gained a pawn early on, and he increased his advantage to three pawns. Then came that rarest of events - a Cliff Peach attack with two rooks on the sixth rank!!!

So, a very satisfactory 4-0 win, admittedly against a somewhat weakened Teignmouth team.


TCL Division 2: Teignmouth v South Hams 11 Apr 2017

Bd Teignmouth Col Grade ECF Result South Hams Col Grade ECF PGN
1 Ingham, Bill B 162 173310C ½-½ Levy, Steve W 177 134450L View
2 Wilson, Matthew W 158 128713J 0-1 Wilkinson, Ben B 131 162703L View
3 Rickard, Macey B 111 268158E ½-½ McConnell, Phil W 126 285386D View
4 Landricombe, David W 102 300007C ½-½ Peach, Cliff B 96 116851E View
Overall Match5331½-2½530
Bd Teignmouth Grade Res South Hams Grade PGN
1 Ingham, Bill 162 ½-½ Levy, Steve 177 View
2 Wilson, Matthew 158 0-1 Wilkinson, Ben 131 View
3 Rickard, Macey 111 ½-½ McConnell, Phil 126 View
4 Landricombe, David 102 ½-½ Peach, Cliff 96 View
Overall Match5331½-2½530
 

Match Report

Author:  Phil McConnell

Date:  11 Apr 2017

This terrific win against a strong Teignmouth team means that South Hams are the Division 2 champions for 2016-17. In fact we only needed a 2- 2 draw to secure the title, so the match win was a bonus.

On Board 1, Steve and Bill Ingham agreed on an early draw, with neither player offering the other anything to bite on.

Next to finish was Board 3. In an even game, Phil, who could see that Cliff was up on the adjacent Board 4, was happy to settle for a draw by 3-fold repetition.

Board 2 was a cracking game - another Ben Wilkinson game which is candidate for South Hams "Game of the Season". Ben sacrificed a bishop for two pawns plus the opportunity to launch a brutal attack on his opponent's king. Matthew Wilson was unable to fend off Ben's attack, and despite Ben's time pressure, he won both rooks before chasing Matthew's king across the board a securing checkmate. Great stuff, Ben.

That left Cliff needing a draw to secure the match win. Cliff had gained a minor piece for a pawn early on in the game, and he still had this advantage, though with lots of moves still to be played, when he sportingly offered his opponent a draw. David accpeted gratefully.

So - our second Torbay League title in consecutive weeks. Very well played, everybody - especially Ben.