TWIC is 30. First issue 17th September 1994.
London Chess League (Final Round)
London League hosts strongest ever match
Mark Crowther - Wednesday 20th April 2011
Pub chess is the staple of the UK league scene. Photo © John Saunders. | http://www.theweekinchess.com
Wood Green put out a team in the London League with 10 Grandmasters and two IMs in order to beat the Drunken Knight's first team in the London League. The Knights have concluded their season now Wood Green have to beat Athenaeum 1 for the title. The pub league is the staple of competitive chess in this country, I play all my chess in this scene which has some pretty strong players throughout the country. Photos from John Saunders plus the tables and games in the article below.
Short report on Wood Green vs Drunken knights league decider from non-playing captain Nevil Chan
Drunken Knights had led the London League Division 1 since the start of the season going into the final match against Wood Green which was played on Monday night at a room above The Plough pub in Central London.
Jonathan Rowson against Eddie Dearing. Photo © John Saunders http://www.www.chess.co.uk/twic.
Wood Green assembled what is believed to be the strongest twelve board team ever assembled in the history of British chess. Ten GMs and two IMs, having an average English Chess Federation grade of 234 and an average FIDE rating of 2509! This was also the best ever Drunken Knights team by far, with an average 214 ECF rating / 2346 FIDE.
Chris Ward and Krisztian Szabo. Photo © John Saunders http://www.www.chess.co.uk/twic.
The match was much closer than the final score (Wood Green: 10 - Drunken Knights 2) suggests.
A general view of the venue Photo © John Saunders http://www.www.chess.co.uk/twic.
With twenty minutes left to play, Wood Green were leading just 1½-½. Both Eddie Dearing and Ben Savage were winning, but the anticipated two points evaporated in the inevitable time scrambles. Blair Connell turned down an early draw offer, but then overpressed his position.
The venue "The Plough" Photo © John Saunders http://www.www.chess.co.uk/twic.
The sole winner from Drunken Knights, David Moskovic, outplayed his GM opponent with some John Travolta-like moves.
It was a memorable evening for players and the many spectators alike.
| London League Match 18th April 2011 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bd | DRUNKEN KNIGHTS 1 | 2 | 10 | WOOD GREEN | ||||||
| 1 | Conquest, Stuart C | GM | 2529 | ENG | 0 | 1 | McShane, Luke J | GM | 2683 | ENG |
| 2 | Dearing, Eddie | IM | 2412 | SCO | 0 | 1 | Rowson, Jonathan | GM | 2576 | SCO |
| 3 | Mah, Karl C C | IM | 2428 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Speelman, Jon S | GM | 2521 | ENG |
| 4 | Sowray, Peter J | FM | 2340 | ENG | ½ | ½ | Lalic, Bogdan | GM | 2474 | CRO |
| 5 | Quillan, Gary | IM | 2383 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Pert, Nick | GM | 2570 | ENG |
| 6 | Bisby, Daniel L | FM | 2306 | ENG | 0 | 1 | McDonald, Neil | GM | 2460 | ENG |
| 7 | Moskovic, David M | FM | 2293 | ENG | 1 | 0 | Berczes, David | GM | 2535 | HUN |
| 8 | Merriman, John | 2253 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Emms, John M | GM | 2475 | ENG | |
| 9 | Savage, Ben D M | FM | 2289 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Szabo, Krisztian | GM | 2517 | HUN |
| 10 | Duncan, Chris R | FM | 2314 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Ward, Chris G | GM | 2449 | ENG |
| 11 | Connell, Blair N | 2263 | ENG | 0 | 1 | Pert, Richard G | IM | 2457 | ENG | |
| 12 | Crouch, Colin S | IM | 2343 | ENG | ½ | ½ | Buckley, Graeme N | IM | 2394 | ENG |
| London League Table with 1 match to be completed | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Mpts | Bpts | |||||||
| 1 | DRUNKEN KNIGHTS 1 | 10 | 94½ | |||||||
| 2 | WOOD GREEN | 9½ | 92½ | |||||||
| 3 | HACKNEY 1 | 7 | 69½ | |||||||
| 4 | ATHENAEUM 1 | 6½ | 68 | |||||||
| 5 | CAVENDISH 1 | 6 | 64½ | |||||||
| 6 | STREATHAM 1 | 5 | 56½ | |||||||
| 7 | KINGS HEAD 1 | 4 | 49½ | |||||||
| 8 | ILFORD | 4 | 49 | |||||||
| 9 | DRUNKEN KNIGHTS 2 | 3 | 47½ | |||||||
| 10 | RICHMOND | 2½ | 46½ | |||||||
| 11 | METROPOLITAN 1 | 1½ | 45 | |||||||
| 12 | ATHENAEUM 2 | 0 | 31 | |||||||
View the games on this Page
Download the PGN from this page
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