U150Season 20042005

Herewith final result of our U150 match in the BCF QF against Nottinghamshire.

This was a close match between two evenly matched sides that for a long time looked as though it could go either way, before Notts pulled clear in the last two games to win 9 - 7. However, in the final analysis, Notts had two or three rapidly improving young players in their team, who took on and beat Herts players who had hitherto been unbeaten in county matches this season, and this was probably the crucial difference between the teams.

Thank you to all who made the journey to Nottingham, especially those who provided the transport, and those who forsook the opportunity to watch the FA Cup Final !

The U150 adventure is therefore over for another season, but it has on balance been a successful season. Apart from the home defeat by Kent, the team more than lived up to expectation, and the wins away to Surrey and Sussex were crucial to the team's qualification for the BCF national knock-out stages. When we consider that in every match we played, the majority of the team were graded closer to 125 than 150, our performance is put in perspective. We should also remember that six of this year's U150 team also won the Southern Counties U135 Jamboree in April.

A total of 24 players were used in the six matches. During the course of the season, the following players qualified for county ties: Paul Kenning, Paul Lawrence, Dick House, Steve Weston, Mike Price. These will be awarded (to players who have not previously been awarded a tie) at the Herts AGM to be held at Holy Trinity Parish room (the Stevenage venue) on Friday 17th June from 7.30 pm. Dick House again won the Tom Wright trophy for the most successful player, with four wins from five games.

Thank you to all who supported the U150 team this season.

Board	Nottinghamshire	Result	Hertfordshire
1	Keith Bramfeld	0.5 - 0.5	Paul Kenning
2	Tony Wright	0 - 1	Brian Judkins
3	Tim Lane	1 - 0	Ian Mutton
4	Mike McBeth	1 - 0	Roger Gordonsmith
5	John Tassi	0.5 - 0.5	Bruce Toper
6	Kevin Harvey	0 - 1	Richard House
7	Phil Morgan	0.5 - 0.5	Simon Morris
8	Dave Flynn	1 - 0	Mark Harris
9	Kishan Lakhani	1 - 0	Mark Topham
10	Richard Edwards	0.5 -0.5	Ian Cross
11	Brian Hayward	0.5 - 0.5	James Aldred
12	George Murfet	0.5 - 0.5	Mir Wali
13	Drag Sudar	0 - 1	Simon Charles
14	Keith Roper	0 - 1	Steve Weston
15	Amisha Parmar	1 - 0	Mike Price
16	Sean Foreman	1 - 0	Alan Gore
Total		9 - 7

Herts U150 have qualified for the national BCF stages by finishing second in the Southern Counties. This was achieved with a crucial 9.5 - 6.5 win away to Sussex.

The day did not make a promising start when we lost our top board who was stranded in Copenhagen, and we had an abortive attempt to obtain a last minute replacement. However, a generous gesture from the Sussex captain Paul Watson allowed us to apply the default on the top board. The match soon took a turn for the better with an early win for Simon Morris. Over the last two seasons, we are unbeaten when Simon wins, so this was an encouraging sign. The bottom boards swung Herts way, and with a succession of solid draws, Herts were not to be denied their victory. Although Surrey were beating Essex to also finish with three points, Herts earlier win against Surrey was decisive in sending Herts through in 2nd place.

This has been a considerable achievement by this team. In grading terms the squad was not as strong as last year's squad, and faced three away matches. Yet in bad weather, the players have shown real commitment in journeys round the M25 to secure wins away to strong teams from Surrey and Sussex.

The team will now play in the BCF quarter-finals on 21st May the Midlands Counties winners, which are expected to be Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire.

Horsham 6th March 2005

Board	Colour	Sussex	Score	Herts
1	B	P Watson	1 - 0	Default
2	W	G W Bucher	0.5 - 0.5	Brian Judkins
3	B	L J Cannon	0 - 1	Ian Mutton
4	W	A R J Higgs	0.5 - 0.5	Paul Lawrence
5	B	R Welford	0.5 - 0.5	Roger Gordonsmith
6	W	A H Palmer	0 - 1	Richard House
7	B	K Davies	0 - 1	Simon Morris
8	W	J L A Stone	1 - 0	Mark Harris
9	B	W H Partridge	0.5 - 0.5	Mark Topham
10	W	A L Tucker	0.5 - 0.5	Dane Young
11	B	P N Kington	0.5 - 0.5	James Aldred
12	W	D L Roberts	0.5 - 0.5	Mir Wali
13	B	R D Hirsch	1 - 0	Simon Charles
14	W	R Fisher	0 - 1	Steve Weston
15	B	T J Woods	0 - 1	Mike Price
16	W	E J Hillier	0 - 1	Alan Gore
			6.5 - 9.5

A bad day for the Herts U150 team. After three defeats, Kent appointed a new captain who brought a competitive team to Rothamsted. Strangely, it was not until the last two games in progress that Herts finally registered a win, long after many of the team had departed for home.

Essex have now won the Southern Counties title, but Herts will finish second and qualify for the BCF stages if they win their final match against Sussex.

Rothamsted 5th February 2005

Board	Colour	Herts	Score	Kent	Score
1	B	Paul Kenning	0	David Bland	1
2	W	Brian Judkins	0	Andrew Heard	1
3	B	Ian Mutton	0.5	David Helsby	0.5
4	W	Paul Lawrence	0	Richard Cheeseman	1
5	B	Roger Gordonsmith	1	Miguel Jimenez	0
6	W	Bruce Toper	0	Mark Finch	1
7	B	Ken Castle	0.5	Roger Winterburn	0.5
8	W	Simon Morris	0	John Cordner	1
9	B	Mark Harris	0	Paul Rutland	1
10	W	Dane Young	0	Geoff Steele	1
11	B	Mark Topham	0.5	Paul Challis	0.5
12	W	Ian Cross	0.5	Derek Davis	0.5
13	B	Default	0	Alan Sherriff	1
14	W	Mir Wali	0	Geoff Bishop	1
15	B	Steve Weston	1	Peter Childs	0
16	W	Mike Price	0.5	Michael Jones	0.5
			4.5		11.5

Mike Price writes:

A vital away win for Herts against a strong Surrey team, with the middle boards again emphasising strength in depth. County chess often provides moments of fluctuation and entertainment, and today was no exception, as an experienced Herts campaigner, not satisfied with his mate-in-two position, went pawn grabbing, and secured stalemate !

Coulsdon 20th November 2004

Board	Colour	Surrey	Score	Herts	Score
1	W	Jinwoo Song	1	Paul Kenning	0
2	B	Paul Barnard	0.5	Brian Judkins	0.5
3	W	Roy Reddin	1	Ian Mutton	0
4	B	Chantal Sirisena	0	Paul Lawrence	1
5	W	Simon Wrigley	0.5	Roger Gordonsmith	0.5
6	B	Roly Piggott	0	Bruce Toper	1
7	W	Jon Eckert	0	Richard House	1
8	B	John Wilcox	0	Simon Morris	1
9	W	Graham Goodwill	0	Mark Harris	1
10	B	Eric Brodie	0.5	Mark Topham	0.5
11	W	Yan Fan Zhou	1	Ian Cross	0
12	B	David Bryant	0.5	Laurie Mercer	0.5
13	W	Krishna Mehendale	0.5	Mir Wali	0.5
14	B	Howard Curtis	0	Simon Charles	1
15	W	Patrick O'Mara	1	Steve Weston	0
16	B	Anuk Sirisena	0	Mike Price	1
			6.5		9.5

Mike Price writes:-

Thank you to all who journeyed through some foul weather and assorted motorway hold-ups to Upminster. A special thank you to David and Keith for stepping up from the U125 team at short notice, and ensure that we had a full team.

A strong Essex side, and a time handicap for a number of our players from their journey problems, was a tough assignment. Nevertheless, it was a close match, which for a long time was in the balance, before Essex secured the winning half point in the penultimate match.