4NCL Online Final Round – Wessex Results, Tables and Game

Results

Last night saw the final round of Season 3 of the 4NCL Online. The most critical matches for Wessex Some Stars were those featuring the D and E Teams, so we will start with those.

Before the round the D Team were in 7th place, level on match points with Watford Juniors but behind on game points. The D Team was playing 5th placed Wigston 2 whilst Watford Juniors were up against the bottom placed side. To avoid relegation the D Team needed a better match result than Watford Juniors, so it seemed like a tall order and was not entirely in their hands. The Wessex Some Stars team was 2-1 up with Adam Ursell last to finish. His game was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. In a won position he blundered a bishop (it looked like a mouse slip) and was completely lost. He fought his way back to a position where he could force a perpetual but declined to do so and was once again lost. However, a few moves later his opponent blundered a rook and this time Adam made no mistake and went on to win, securing the match victory. Watford Juniors did their bit, losing their match, so it turned out that Adam’s game was not critical after all! The D Team will remain in Division 4.

The E Team were also in the drop zone but their fate was entirely in their hands – they had to beat the team above them, Hackney Hungry, to avoid relegation. Unfortunately, despite a nice victory by Tim Joyce, they went down 1.5-2.5 so will be relegated to Division 7. Tim’s game is at the end of this report.

The A Team went down 0.5-3.5, with Gavin Lock securing the draw on top board.

The B Team needed to win to come top in its group but had already secured promotion. This was just as well as they lost 0-4, in a match that was looking very promising at one stage.

The C Team won, finishing third in their group, just outside the promotion places.

In Division 7, the F and G Teams won and the H Team lost.

With no teams in the play-offs for division titles the season is over for the Wessex Some Stars teams. In summary the B Team will be promoted to Division 1, the E Team will be relegated to Division 7, and there is no change for the other 6 teams.

From all the players, once again thanks to Keith Gregory for his excellent organisation.

Peter Anderson 21/4/21

Tables

Just a quick reminder of the format. Each of Divisions 1 – 6 consist of four groups of 8 teams with a 7 round all play all format. Two teams get promoted and two teams relegated from each group. Below are the groups featuring Wessex teams.

Division 7 consists of one huge Swiss pool, again played over 7 rounds.

Division 1