Inverclyde Extend Lead in Glasgow Chess League Division 2

Inverclyde Chess Club extended its lead in Division 2 of the Glasgow Chess League to four points with a pair of comprehensive wins against Hamilton C and Stepps B.

Having beaten Hamilton's B team 5-1 earlier in the season, Inverclyde were strong favourites going into the match v Hamilton C. The grading advantages of Inverclyde's players were overwhelming at over 500 points per board, and they duly bettered the team's result against Hamilton B, conceding only one draw for a 5.5-0.5 win.

Against Stepps B Inverclyde again had significant grading advantages, but at closer to 300 points per board an upset loss was more likely than against Hamilton C. Inverclyde's players delivered another impressive performance, however, winning 5-1 without losing a game.

Inverclyde now have a perfect 6 wins from 6 with 3 games to play, and have given themselves and excellent chance of promotion and first ever Division 2 title win. While Inverclyde are in a superb position, there is still some work to be done to secure one of the two promotion places, as its final games are against the teams Cathcart B and Polytechnic B, both of which could still overtake Inverclyde by winning against them and scoring heavily in their remaining matches.


Division 2  Table

								Boards
			Matches					Played			Defaults			Score
Pos	Team	Team Name	P	W	D	L	Pts	W	D	L	W	D	L	Boards	%
1	8	Inverclyde	6	6	0	0	12	25	9	2	0	0	0	29½	82
2	1	Cathcart B	6	4	0	2	8	14	8	13	0	0	1	18	50
3	3	East Kilbride A	5	4	0	1	8	12	11	7	0	0	0	17½	58
4	10	Stepps B	7	3	1	3	7	10	20	12	0	0	0	20	48
5	5	Glasgow Polytechnic B	4	3	0	1	6	11	6	6	1	0	0	15	63
6	6	Hamilton B	6	2	1	3	5	11	10	14	0	0	1	16	44
7	2	Dalmuir	5	1	1	3	3	10	8	10	1	0	1	15	50
8	4	East Kilbride B	5	1	1	3	3	8	9	11	2	0	0	14½	48
9	9	Phones B	4	1	0	3	2	6	7	11	0	0	0	9½	40
10	7	Hamilton C	6	0	0	6	0	4	6	25	0	0	1	7	19
			54	25	4	25	54	111	94	111	4	0	4	163

Inverclyde Score 2 Wins in National Chess League

Inverclyde Chess Club scored two important wins in rounds 3 and 4 of the Scottish National Chess League.

Having opened their campaign with a win and a draw in the first two rounds, Inverclyde were keen to advance their challenge for promotion to Division 1 with two victories. First up was a match against Edinburgh 2. Inverclyde had cause to be optimistic as the capital club's team had lost its first two matches, and were heavily outgraded on each board by the strong Inverclyde team. The match was much closer than expected though, as Edinburgh scored upset wins on the top and bottom boards. Fortunately, Inverclyde's Kevin McDonald, John Calder and Stephen Hilton held their nerve to score three critical wins on the middle boards to give the team a narrow 3-2 victory.

The second match was against Dundee City B, and Inverclyde again had significant grading advantages on each board. This time though the match was not close , as four wins and a draw gave Inverclyde an emphatic 4.5-0.5 win. The wins take Inverclyde to second place in the table with three rounds to play and two teams to be promoted. While this is a good position to be in, promotion is far far from assured, as Inverclyde have yet to play Stepps and Thistles, arguably the strongest teams in the division, as well as a formidable Kilmarnock.

Full Results:

Bd	Grade	Edinburgh 2	(7)	vs	(4)	Inverclyde	Grade	Comments
1	1876	Sykes, Chris	1	–	0	Montgomery, Jim	2178	Home Win
2	1605	McGillivray, Calum	0	–	1	McDonald, Kevin	1982	Away Win
3	1449	Zamvar, Vipin	0	–	1	Calder, John	1902	Away Win
4	1468	Platts, William G C	0	–	1	Hilton, Steve H	1796	Away Win
5	0	Patras, Paul	1	–	0	Curran, Andrew D	1694	Home Win
			2	–	3

Bd	Grade	Inverclyde	(4)	vs	(6)	Dundee City B	Grade	Comments
1	2178	Montgomery, Jim	1	–	0	Groves, Carey A (WFM)	1887	Home Win
2	1982	McDonald, Kevin	1	–	0	Kosznik, Dariusz	1690	Home Win
3	1902	Calder, John	½	–	½	Rose, Keith S	1646	Draw
4	1796	Hilton, Steve H	1	–	0	Chalmers, Martin M	1512	Home Win
5	1694	Curran, Andrew D	1	–	0	Kosior, Pawel	0	Home Win
			4½	–	½

Inverclyde Top Glasgow League Division 2

Inverclyde soared to the top of Division 2 of the Glasgow Chess League with a pair of emphatic victories.

The first match was away to East Kilbride A, a team which had been relegated from Division One alongside Inverclyde and were expected to be one of the main challengers for the the Divison 2 Title. Inverclyde had a grading advantage on each board, but the differences were no so large as to make any of the games uncompetitive.

A comfortable win for Stephen Hilton gave Inverclyde an excellent start, which they quickly followed up with David Logue taking advantage of his opponent's mistake in a wild French Defence to give Inverclyde a 2-0 lead. From there further wins for Jim Montgomery, Kevin MacDonald and John Calder and a draw from Stephen Doherty gave Inverclyde a surprisingly comfortable victory.

Inverclyde's next game was at home versus Phones B. On this occasion they held large grading advantages on every board and were therefore strong favourites. They were able to live up to this status with four wins and two draws, winning 5-1.

These results give Inverclyde a 100% record so far in Division 2, with four wins out of four. With two teams to be promoted, Inverclyde have given themselves an excellent chance of bouncing back from relegation at the first attempt.

Full Results:

Bd	Grade	East Kilbride A	(3)	vs	(8)	Inverclyde	Grade	Comments
1	1870	Koehn, Lennart	0	-	1	Montgomery, Jim	2178	Away Win
2	1840	Jelfs, Alan	0	-	1	McDonald, Kevin	1982	Away Win
3	1807	Dunlop, Anthony	0	-	1	Calder, John	1902	Away Win
4	1788	Dobbie, Graham M	0	-	1	Hilton, Steve H	1796	Away Win
5	1660	McDonald, Duncan	½	-	½	Doherty, Stephen	1695	Draw
6	1581	Brisbane, Tom	0	-	1	Logue, David	1684	Away Win
			½	-	5½

Bd	Grade	Inverclyde	(8)	vs	(9)	Phones B	Grade	Comments
1	2178	Montgomery, Jim	1	-	0	Findlay, James	1692	Home Win
2	1982	McDonald, Kevin	1	-	0	Skettos, Nicolas	1562	Home Win
3	1902	Calder, John	½	-	½	Paterson, Colin C	1505	Draw
4	1796	Hilton, Steve H	1	-	0	Barroso, Agustin	0	Home Win
5	1695	Doherty, Stephen	½	-	½	Ostrowski, Przemek	0	Draw
6	1684	Logue, David	1	-	0	Galbraith, Allon	1199	Home Win
			5	-	1

Positive Start to Scottish National Chess League for Inverclyde

Inverclyde Chess Club made a positive start to their campaign in Division 2 of  Scottish National Chess League by winning one game and drawing another in the first two rounds of the competition.

The team were handed an unexpected bonus in the first game was versus Cumbernauld, as their opponents were short of a player and defaulted a board. In addition to this bonus, Inverclyde had significant grading advantages on the other boards, and were strong favourites. Victory proved more difficult than expected though, as Inverclyde only won won of the four games. Despite this, two draws on boards 2 and 3, alongside the default win were enough to give the team a 3-2 win.

Inverclyde's round 2 opponents, Giffnock and Clarkston, presented more formidable opposition, as the two teams were closely matched in grades. This was reflected in the match, which featured 3 draws, a win for Giffnock's FIDE (International Chess Federation) Master on board one, and a crucial win for Inverclyde's John Calder on board 3.

While Inverclyde may be disappointed not to have won both games, the points gained provide a good platform upon which to build, with games against strong opponents Dundee City B and Edinburgh 2 in the next two rounds.

Full Results
Round 1 :

Bd	Grade	Cumbernauld	(3)	vs	(4)	Inverclyde	Grade	Comments
1	1801	Kelly, J Steven	0	–	1	Montgomery, Jim	2178	Away Win
2	1775	Mayo, Kevin	½	–	½	Calder, John	1902	Draw
3	1543	Thomson, George	½	–	½	Hilton, Steve H	1796	Draw
4	1524	Pearston, John M	1	–	0	Bolln, Carsten	1735	Home Win
5	0	DEFAULT	L	–	W	DEFAULT	0	Loss by Default
			2	–	3

Round 2 :

Bd	Grade	Inverclyde	(4)	vs	(5)	Giffnock & Clarkston	Grade	Comments
1	2178	Montgomery, Jim	0	–	1	Giulian, Philip M (FM)	2067	Away Win
2	1982	McDonald, Kevin	½	–	½	Thomson, Neil	1976	Draw
3	1902	Calder, John	1	–	0	Floros, Antonios	1930	Home Win
4	1796	Hilton, Steve H	½	–	½	Giulian, Rosie A	1831	Draw
5	1735	Bolln, Carsten	½	–	½	McDonald, David	1301	Draw
			2½	–	2½

Two wins to start the season for Inverclyde

Inverclyde Chess Club got its Glasgow Chess League season off to an excellent start with wins in its first two matches. Having been relegated to Division 2 last season, the Inverclyde players were keen to make a good start in their quest for promotion. 

The first match was away against Hamilton B. Inverclyde held significant grading advantages on five of the six boards, and made these count in a 5-1 victory. They had to work hard for the some of the wins though, with Jim Montgomery winning a difficult endgame on board one, and David Logue eventually overcoming his opponent's vigorous counterplay on board five.

Inverclyde's second match, versus Dalmuir, was much more closely contested. 

Inverclyde again held grading advantages on each board, and were able to convert these advantages to wins on boards one and two. However, a win for Dalmuir on board 6 reduced Inverclyde's advantage to one point. The remaining 3 games were drawn, with Inverclyde's players doing just enough to secure a 3.5 - 2.5 overall victory. 

Full Results are shown below:

Bd	Grade	Hamilton B	(6)	vs	(8)	Inverclyde	Grade	Comments
1	1714	Mulholland, Arthur L	0	-	1	Montgomery, Jim	2178	Away Win
2	1543	Greenslade, Luke	0	-	1	McDonald, Kevin	1982	Away Win
3	1517	Mulholland, Tony J	0	-	1	Calder, John	1902	Away Win
4	1447	Paterson, Gerry	0	-	1	Hilton, Steve H	1796	Away Win
5	1413	Mulholland, David	0	-	1	Logue, David	1684	Away Win
6	1315	McAloon, Paul	1	-	0	Smith, Andy	1408	Home Win
			1	-	5

Bd	Grade	Inverclyde	(8)	vs	(2)	Dalmuir	Grade	Comments
1	2178	Montgomery, Jim	1	-	0	Mollison, Jamie	1827	Home Win
2	1982	McDonald, Kevin	1	-	0	Myall, Andrew	1714	Home Win
3	1796	Hilton, Steve H	½	-	½	Aird, Ian	1685	Draw
4	1695	Doherty, Stephen	½	-	½	Tait, Thomas	1463	Draw
5	1684	Logue, David	½	-	½	Taylor, Fraser	1443	Draw
6	1303	Fisher, Alex	0	-	1	McCartan, John	1182	Away Win
			3½	-	2½

Blitz start to Inverclyde's Chess Season

Inverclyde Chess Club's 2015-16 season began with a Blitz Tournament which produced a surprise winner.

Carsten Bolln finished narrowly ahead of hot favourite Kevin McDonald with an outstanding 9 wins in 10 games. The competition involved players having only 5 minutes each to complete all of their moves - run out of time and you lose the game. Quick-thinking and coolness under pressure were required! 

The club plans to hold more Blitz tournaments later in the season.

New Season Announcements:

• The club meeting night has changed to Tuesdays at 7.45pm, at the Royale Social Club, Royal St, Gourock.
• Entries are still being accepted for the Club Championship and Allegro Championship which are due to begin in October. New members are very welcome to take part.
• The club will commence its Glasgow Chess League campaign away to Hamilton B on the 22nd of October.

End of Season Roundup

The end of the 2014-15 chess season brought very mixed results for Inverclyde Chess Club. On the positive side, Inverclyde finished as runners up in the Third  Division of the Scottish National Chess League. This was the club's best ever finish in the competition, and secures promotion to the Second Division.

SNCL Division Three			Matches					Played			Defaults			Score
Pos	Team	Team Name	P	W	D	L	Pts	W	D	L	W	D	L	Boards	%
1	8	Thistles	7	6	1	0	13	19	11	4	1	0	0	25½	73
2	6	Inverclyde	7	6	0	1	12	20	8	7	0	0	0	24	69
3	7	Stepps Warriors	7	5	1	1	11	20	7	8	0	0	0	23½	67
4	2	Dumfries and District	7	3	1	3	7	18	4	13	0	0	0	20	57
5	4	CSBOS 1	7	1	3	3	5	9	13	12	0	0	1	15½	44
6	5	Lanark	7	1	2	4	4	6	10	19	0	0	0	11	31
7	3	Forth Valley B	7	1	1	5	3	9	7	19	0	0	0	12½	36
8	1	Pentland Hills	7	0	1	6	1	3	10	22	0	0	0	8	23

On the negative side, an unusual sequence of results saw Inverclyde relegated from the First Division of the Glasgow Chess League on board count  (the chess equivalent of goal difference), despite beating two of the teams which finished above it.

Glasgow League Division One			Matches					Played			Defaults			Score
Pos	Team	Team Name	P	W	D	L	Pts	W	D	L	W	D	L	Boards	%
1	8	Paisley A	9	7	1	1	15	30	23	15	1	0	3	42½	59
2	2	Cathcart A	9	5	2	2	12	29	19	22	2	0	0	40½	56
3	10	Stepps A	9	5	2	2	12	27	24	20	1	0	0	40	56
4	5	Glasgow Polytechnic A	9	5	0	4	10	29	21	18	2	0	2	41½	58
5	6	Hamilton A	9	4	2	3	10	25	17	26	1	0	3	34½	48
6	9	Phones A	9	4	0	5	8	24	27	20	1	0	0	38½	53
7	4	Giffnock A	9	3	1	5	7	15	30	23	2	0	2	32	44
8	1	Bearsden A	9	2	2	5	6	23	23	26	0	0	0	34½	48
9	7	Inverclyde	9	3	0	6	6	17	21	34	0	0	0	27½	38
10	3	East Kilbride A	9	1	2	6	4	16	25	31	0	0	0	28½	40

In the club's internal competitions, the  Club Championship was jointly won by Carsten Bolln and Stephen Doherty. The Allegro Championship, which featured 30 minute games, was won by Kevin McDonald, who also won the Rapidplay Tournament.

The club is now closed for the summer, but will reopen on 8th September 2015. Please note club nights have now changed to Tuesdays, at the Royalle Club, Gourock.