West Midlands Area Online League Spring 2020
Worcester City club entered two teams, one in each division of the West Midlands Area Online League when it was formed in April. Rob Sutton took the captaincy after the first two matches. At each event there were two four-board matches played on the same night using the chess.com platform. That platform determined the team order based on games played by the players using chess.com. Players had two rapidplay games against the same opponent with colours reversed. Time control in the league was 15 minutes plus 10 seconds from move 1. The Spring season was played between the end of April and the beginning of June.
For these matches Droitwich joined forces with Worcester City with Arnold Kirkland and David Cleak playing useful roles mostly in the Division 2 team.
Link for Summer 2020 season
Worcester 1 in Division 1
| WMA Online Rapidplay League Division 1 Spring 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | Points* |
| South Birmingham 1 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 16 | 24 |
| Sutton Coldfield 1 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 29½ | 16½ | 22 |
| Solihull 1 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 27½ | 18½ | 19 |
| Rugby | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 21½ | 26½ | 11 |
| Redditch | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18½ | 29½ | 11 |
| Worcester 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 29 | 8 |
| Greenlands | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 28 | 8 |
| *Teams receive 2 match points for each won 4-board match, and an extra 1 point for an aggregate win for two matches played on the same evening. A draw in a 4-board match gains 1 match point. |
|||||||
30 Apr. Worcester 1 drew one and lost one against Rugby. Stephen Mellor won both of his quickplay games and Ed Osbourn made 1½ points.
7 May. Redditch won one and drew one against Worcester 1 who were a player down due to an IT glitch.
14 May. Worcester lost both matches against Sutton Coldfield.
21 May. Worcester lost both matches against Solihull.
28 May. Worcester drew one and lost one against Sutton Coldfield.
4 Jun. Worcester beat Greenlands in both matches.
| Board | Colour | Rugby | Thu 30th Apr 2020 | Worcester 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Vishwanath Natraj, Ganesh | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob |
| 2 | W | Badley, Christopher | 0 - 1 | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 3 | B | Riley, David | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 4 | W | Malka, Nigel | ½ - ½ | Osbourn, Ed |
| 2½ - 1½ | ||||
| 5 | W | Vishwanath Natraj, Ganesh | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob |
| 6 | B | Badley, Christopher | 0 - 1 | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 7 | W | Riley, David | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 8 | B | Malka, Nigel | 0 - 1 | Osbourn, Ed |
| 2 - 0 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 1 | Thu 7th May 2020 | Redditch |
| 1 | W | Holmes, Matthew A | 0 - 1 | Morales, Miles |
| 2 | B | Mellor, Stephen D | 1 - 0 | Towers, Nigel S |
| 3 | W | Sutton, Rob | ½ - ½ | Smith, David |
| 4 | B | Default | 0 - 1 | Not Named |
| 1½ - 2½ | ||||
| 5 | B | Holmes, Matthew A | 0 - 1 | Morales, Miles |
| 6 | W | Mellor, Stephen D | 1 - 0 | Towers, Nigel S |
| 7 | B | Sutton, Rob | 1 - 0 | Smith, David |
| 8 | W | Default | 0 - 1 | Not Named |
| 2 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Colour | South Birmingham 1 | Thu 14th May 2020 | Worcester 1 |
| 1 | B | Pitcher, John | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob |
| 2 | W | Dighton, Simon | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 3 | B | Walsh, Marcus | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray A |
| 4 | W | Hazelhurst, Cory | 1 - 0 | Vernon, Colin G |
| 4 - 0 | ||||
| 1 | W | Pitcher, John | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob |
| 2 | B | Dighton, Simon | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 3 | W | Walsh, Marcus | ½ - ½ | Collett, Ray A |
| 4 | B | Hazelhurst, Cory | 1 - 0 | Vernon, Colin G |
| 3½ - ½ | ||||
| Board | Colour | Solihull 1 | Thu 21st May 2020 | Worcester 1 |
| 1 | W | McCumiskey, Andrew P | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 2 | B | Summerfield, Julian H | 1 - 0 | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 3 | W | Gibbon, Eric | 0 - 1 | Sutton, Rob |
| 4 | B | Joy, Praveen | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray A |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| 1 | B | McCumiskey, Andrew P | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 2 | W | Summerfield, Julian H | ½ - ½ | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 3 | B | Gibbon, Eric | 1 - 0 | Sutton, Rob |
| 4 | W | Joy, Praveen | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray A |
| 3½ - ½ | ||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 1 | Thu 28th May 2020 | Sutton Coldfield 1 |
| 1 | B | Mellor, Stephen D | 0 - 1 | Stepanyan, Henrik |
| 2 | W | Holmes, Matthew A | ½ - ½ | Owen, Neil J |
| 3 | B | Sutton, Rob | 1 - 0 | Soszynski, Marek J |
| 4 | W | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Mesesan, Mircea-Marius |
| 2 - 2 | ||||
| 1 | W | Mellor, Stephen D | 1 - 0 | Stepanyan, Henrik |
| 2 | B | Holmes, Matthew A | 0 - 1 | Owen, Neil J |
| 3 | W | Sutton, Rob | 1 - 0 | Soszynski, Marek J |
| 4 | B | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Mesesan, Mircea-Marius |
| 2 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Greenlands | Thu 4th Jun 2020 | Worcester 1 |
| 1 | B | Stern, Robert C | ½ - ½ | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 2 | W | Woodhouse, Stephen V | 0 - 1 | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 3 | B | Dance, Joseph | 0 - 1 | Sutton, Rob |
| 4 | W | Truscott, Ian M | 0 - 1 | Collett, Ray A |
| ½ - 3½ | ||||
| 1 | W | Stern, Robert C | 1 - 0 | Mellor, Stephen D |
| 2 | B | Woodhouse, Stephen V | 0 - 1 | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 3 | W | Dance, Joseph | 0 - 1 | Sutton, Rob |
| 4 | B | Truscott, Ian M | 0 - 1 | Collett, Ray A |
| 1 - 3 |
Worcester 2 in Division 2
| WMA Online Rapidplay League Division 2 Spring 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | Points* |
| Warwick University | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 48 | 24 | 36 |
| South Birmingham 2 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 44 | 26 | 31 |
| Isle of Wight | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 39½ | 32½ | 26 |
| Stourbridge 1 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 35½ | 34½ | 22 |
| Coventry Chess | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 37 | 35 | 21 |
| Stourbridge 2 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 32½ | 37½ | 21 |
| Mutual Circle | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 32 | 40 | 19 |
| Sutton Coldfield 2 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 34½ | 35½ | 15 |
| Worcester 2 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 42 | 13 |
| Solihull 2 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 49 | 11 |
| *Teams receive 2 match points for each won 4-board match, and an extra 1 point for an aggregate win for two matches played on the same evening. A draw in a 4-board match gains 1 match point. |
|||||||
23 Apr. Worcester 2 drew one and lost one against Warwick University. Matthew Holmes, playing top board won both his games and Simon Berry on board 4 was unlucky not win his games but was out-played in the endings of both, ending with just a single draw. In these on-line matches, Most players, including our opponents, were still finding our pawns in the debut match of the newly formed online West Midlands Area League.
30 Apr. Worcester 2 lost both matches against Mutual Circle. Matt Holmes won both his games on board 1, while Arnold Kirkland and Colin Vernon achieved a draw from their games. The pattern of results shows that Stephen, Matt, Colin and Rob who have played extensively on-line have a surer touch and their performance has been more in line with their over-the-board strength. The club hopes that with more practice, players new to online chess will show their true form.
7 May. Worcester 2 drew one and lost one against Isle of Wight.
14 May. Worcester lost both its matches against Stourbridge.
21 May. Worcester 2 beat Coventry Chess in both matches.
4 Jun. Worcester 2 drew one match and lost the other against Stourbridge in spite of our opponents being a player down.
11 Jun. Worcester won both matches against Solihull 2 to finish the season on a high note. A Solihull player was prevented by the chess.com platform from joining the match and Solihull conceded a double default.
18 Jun. Worcester 2 fared badly against a strong South Birmingham 2 team losing both matches. The first match was lost ½-3½ and the second 1-3. Junior Dillan Duke was the only player to win a game and Robin Hayles scored a creditable draw against his formerly highly graded board 1 opponent.
25 Jun. Worcester 2 came off worse against Sutton Coldfield 2. There were only three boards because the chess.com platform did not allow one of the Solihull players to join the match.
| Board | Colour | Worcester 2 | Thu 23 Apr 2020 | Warwick University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Holmes, Matthew A | 1 - 0 | Munns, James |
| 2 | W | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Goodall, Jaspar |
| 3 | B | Vernon, Colin G | 0 - 1 | Coldwell, Matthew |
| 4 | W | Berry, Simon | 0 - 1 | Huffer, Jack |
| 1 - 3 | ||||
| 5 | W | Holmes, Matthew A | 1 - 0 | Munns, James |
| 6 | B | Kirkland, Arnold G | ½ - ½ | Goodall, Jaspar |
| 7 | W | Vernon, Colin G | 0 - 1 | Coldwell, Matthew |
| 8 | B | Berry, Simon | ½ - ½ | Huffer, Jack |
| 2 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Mutual Circle | Thu 30 Apr 2020 | Worcester 2 |
| 1 | W | Wells, Phil | 0 - 1 | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 2 | B | Evans, Christopher J | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 3 | W | Singhal, Sumeet | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 4 | B | Ishaq, Wahhaab | ½ - ½ | Vernon, Colin G |
| 2½ - 1½ | ||||
| 5 | B | Wells, Phil | 0 - 1 | Holmes, Matthew A |
| 6 | W | Evans, Christopher J | ½ - ½ | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 7 | B | Singhal, Sumeet | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 8 | W | Ishaq, Wahhaab | 1 - 0 | Vernon, Colin G |
| 2½ - 1½ | ||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 2 | Thu 7 May 2020 | Isle of Wight |
| 1 | B | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Williams, AD (Tony) |
| 2 | W | Cleak, David | 1 - 0 | Clark, Seth |
| 3 | B | Hayles, Robin | 0 - 1 | Stritton, Louis (Sandy) |
| 4 | W | Berry, Simon | 0 - 1 | Pither, N |
| 1 - 3 | ||||
| 1 | W | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Williams, AD (Tony) |
| 2 | B | Cleak, David | 1 - 0 | Clark, Seth |
| 3 | W | Hayles, Robin | 0 - 1 | Stritton, Louis (Sandy) |
| 4 | B | Berry, Simon | 1 - 0 | Pither, N |
| 2 - 2 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Stourbridge 1 | Thu 14 May 2020 | Worcester 2 |
| 1 | B | Humphries, Jeremy | ½ - ½ | Cleak, David |
| 2 | W | Scriven, David | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 3 | B | Foxall, John | ½ - ½ | Hayles, Robin |
| 4 | W | Seeley, Peter | 1 - 0 | Duke, Dillan |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| 1 | W | Humphries, Jeremy | ½ - ½ | Cleak, David |
| 2 | B | Scriven, David | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 3 | W | Foxall, John | 1 - 0 | Hayles, Robin |
| 4 | B | Seeley, Peter | 0 - 1 | Duke, Dillan |
| 2½ - 1½ | ||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 2 | Thu 21 May 2020 | Coventry Chess |
| 1 | B | Kirkland, Arnold G | ½ - ½ | Johnson, Mike J |
| 2 | W | Cleak, David | 0 - 1 | Goodwin, Ed H |
| 3 | B | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Sanchez, Margarita |
| 4 | W | Duke, Dillan | 1 - 0 | Weaver, Simon |
| 2½ - 1½ | ||||
| 1 | W | Kirkland, Arnold G | 0 - 1 | Johnson, Mike J |
| 2 | B | Cleak, David | 1 - 0 | Goodwin, Ed H |
| 3 | W | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Sanchez, Margarita |
| 4 | B | Duke, Dillan | 1 - 0 | Weaver, Simon |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Stourbridge 2 | Thu 4 Jun 2020 | Worcester 2 |
| 1 | B | Fallowfield, Nicholas | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 2 | W | Wilson, Julie C | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 3 | B | Woodall, Colin | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 4 | W | Default | 0(def) - 1 | Duke, Dillan |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| 1 | W | Fallowfield, Nicholas | 1 - 0 | Kirkland, Arnold G |
| 2 | B | Wilson, Julie C | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 3 | W | Woodall, Colin | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 4 | B | Default | 0(def) - 1 | Duke, Dillan |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Worcester 2 | Thu 11 Jun 2020 | Solihull 2 |
| 1 | W | Kirkland, Arnold G | 1 - 0 | Byrne, Nigel |
| 2 | B | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Mitchell, George |
| 3 | W | Berry, Simon | 0 - 1 | Green, John |
| 4 | B | Duke, Dillan | 1 - 0 | Default |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| 1 | B | Kirkland, Arnold G | ½ - ½ | Byrne, Nigel |
| 2 | W | Hayles, Robin | 1 - 0 | Mitchell, George |
| 3 | B | Berry, Simon | 1 - 0 | Green, John |
| 4 | W | Duke, Dillan | 1 - 0 | Default |
| 3½ - ½ | ||||
| Board | Colour | South Birmingham 2 | Thu 18 Jun 2020 | Worcester 2 |
| 1 | B | Kasafir, Nathanael | ½ - ½ | Hayles, Robin |
| 2 | W | Lane, Tim A | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 3 | B | Little, Matthew | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 4 | W | Nalabotu, Viswamedha | 1 - 0 | Duke, Dillan |
| 3½ - ½ | ||||
| 1 | W | Kasafir, Nathanael | 1 - 0 | Hayles, Robin |
| 2 | B | Lane, Tim A | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 3 | W | Little, Matthew | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 4 | B | Nalabotu, Viswamedha | 0 - 1 | Duke, Dillan |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| Board | Colour | Sutton Coldfield 2 | Thu 25 Jun 2020 | Worcester 2 |
| 1 | W | Mildenhall, John | 1 - 0 | Hayles, Robin |
| 2 | B | Czopek, J Wojciech | 1 - 0 | Collett, Ray A |
| 3 | W | Oliver, Peter J R | 0 - 1 | Cleak, David |
| 4 | B | Marks, Robert | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 3 - 1 | ||||
| 1 | B | Mildenhall, John | 1 - 0 | Hayles, Robin |
| 2 | W | Czopek, J Wojciech | 0 - 1 | Collett, Ray A |
| 3 | B | Oliver, Peter J R | 1 - 0 | Cleak, David |
| 4 | W | Marks, Robert | 1 - 0 | Berry, Simon |
| 3 - 1 |