EPSCA U11 Team Championships

EPSCA Under 11 Final (12 May 01)

Sussex scored their highest points total ever in this event, but it was still not quite enough to win the competition, coming only 3½ points behind the strong Richmond team. It was always hoped that the players would be more consistent than in the zonal, and being only half a point behind after round one pointed toward a tight finish, but an indifferent second round in which 7½ points were lost made the task in the final round impossible. However, the team rallied and stormed through to win the third round with an amazing 17 out of 20. In the end Richmond had done enough in the previous rounds to secure their win. Well done to them and all the Sussex players for their fantastic performances.

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Team Positions:

Pos		Points
1	Richmond	49.5
2	Sussex	46
3	Essex	39.5
4	Wey Valley	38.5
5	Oldham	32
6	Hampshire	31.5
7	Somerset	30
7	Wiltshire	30
9	Kent	28.5
10	Gt Manchester	28
11	Devon	27
12	Lincolnshire	25.5
13	Northants	23
14	Yorkshire	21
15	Solihull	20.5
16	Bedfordshire	20
17	Cheshire	19.5

EPSCA Under 11 Zonal (17 Mar 01)

The Sussex Scorpions are 2nd in the South East Zonal and qualify for the final.

The Sussex Scorpions (Under 11) team gathered at Basildon, Essex on Saturday 17th March with every hope of qualifying for the final in defence of their under 11 title. The first round went reasonably well, with the team putting up a score of 12½ out of 20. Notable performances were from Andrew Tucker in taking a point off the first round leaders, Richmond (15½ points) and Joe Fraser playing with the speed of Fritz (Spitz ?). Joe was first back in the team room with a point after only 10 minutes.

In the second round, the Scorpions were a team of two halves. The top ten amassing a remarkable 8½ points, with the lower ten only scoring 2. This time it was Joe’s turn to take a point off Richmond, and yet again he was first back to the team room ! After this disappointment, the top secret weapon was invoked – the Simon and Jonathan “riot act” duet. Working the same magic as at the final last year, the team then scored their best round (13) to qualify a point clear in second place with a total of 36, and no prizes for guessing who was first back to the team room !!

Special mention needs to be made of three other players. The two under 8’s Farris Ziyada and Christopher Linnett, both of whom scored 2 out of 3, and also to Avinoam Baruch who was substituted into the main team from the first reserve board for the last round and scored 2½ out of 3, including playing Richmond twice ! Well done also to Joe for scoring 3 points in a total of about half an hours play for the whole day.

Team Results

Team	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Position
Richmond	15½	12½	11½	39	1
Sussex	12½	10½	13	36	2
Wey Valley	11	9½	14½	35	3
Essex	11	13	10	34	4
Barnet	12	11	10	33	5
NW London	8½	12	10	30½	6
Kent	6½	6	5	17½	7
Hertfordshire	3	5½	6	14½	8

Board	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Sebastian Pozzo	½	1	½	2
		Richmond	Herts	Wey Valley
2	Stephanie Barraclough	1	1	0	2
		Essex	NW London	Barnet
3	Charles de Nicolay	0	0	0	0
		Kent	Richmond	Herts
4	Grant Bucher	1	1	½	2½
		Wey Valley	Essex	NW London
5	Joe Richardson	1	1	1	3
		Barnet	Kent	Richmond
6	Daniel Khoo	1	½	1	2½
		Herts	Wey Valley	Essex
7	Alex Cook	1	1	0	2
		NW London	Barnet	Kent
8	Andrew Tucker	1	1	1	3
		Richmond	Herts	Wey Valley
9	Eleanor Hayden	½	1	½	2
		Essex	NW London	Barnet
10	Joe Fraser	1	1	1	3
		Kent	Richmond	Herts
11	Harry Mayhew	0	0	1	1
		Wey Valley	Essex	NW London
12	Sarah Linnett	0	0	0	0
		Barnet	Kent	Richmond
13	Farris Ziyada	1	0	1	2
		Herts	Wey Valley	Essex
14	Trevelyan Harper	0	½	1	1½
		NW London	Barnet	Kent
15	Stephen Wrathall	0	0	1	1
		Richmond	Herts	Wey Valley
16	Elliot Kafetz	½	1	1	2½
		Essex	NW London	Barnet
17	Christopher Linnett	1	0	1	2
		Kent	Richmond	Herts
18	Kajtek Skowronski	1	0	0	1
		Wey Valley	Essex	NW London
19	Elliot Smith (Rnd 1 & 2 ) Avinoam Baruch (Rnd 3)	0	½	½	1
		Barnet	Kent	Richmond
20	Harry Hawkins	1	0	1	2
		Herts	Wey Valley	Essex
	12½	10½	13	36

Reserves:

Board	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
21	Avinoam Baruch (Rnd 1 & 2) Elliot Smith (Rnd 3)	1	1	½	2½
21	Avinoam Baruch (Rnd 1 & 2) Elliot Smith (Rnd 3)	Richmond	Herts	Wey Valley	2½
22	Jolyon Palmer	0	1	0	1
22	Jolyon Palmer	Essex	NW London	Barnet	1
23	Mark Carter	1	0	1	2
23	Mark Carter	Kent	Richmond	Herts	2
24	Adam Hart	0	1	0	1
24	Adam Hart	Wey Valley	Essex	NW London	1

4 Counties Friendly (11 Feb 01)

In preparation for the defending their EPSCA title, Sussex took a ‘Possible’ team of 24 under 11 players to Reading for a 4 county match with Hampshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. With most of the pre-selected top boards rested, the match was seen by the management as an opportunity to resolve the remaining places and board order. All the players rose to the task and put in a wonderful performance, nearly taking the spoils from a strong Hampshire team.

Match Results

		Hampshire	Sussex	Bucks	Berkshire	Total
1	Hampshire	–	10½	9	17	36½
2	Sussex	9½	–	11½	14	35
3	Bucks	11	8½	–	13½	33
4	Berkshire	3	6	6½	–	15½

Board	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
		Berkshire	Bucks	Hampshire	Total
1	Charles De Nicolay	½	1	1	2½
2	Alex Cook	1	1	½	2½
3	Joe Fraser	1	0	1	2
4	Harry Mayhew	1	1	1	3
5	Elliot Kafetz	0	0	1	1
6	Elliot Smith	0	0	½	½
7	Trevelyan Harper	1	0	1	2
8	Christopher Linnett	0	0	0	0
9	Sarah Linnett	1	0	1	2
10	Stephen Wrathall	0	1	½	1½
11	Avinoam Baruch	1	½	0	1½
12	Abi Fryer	1	½	0	1½
13	Mark Willsher	1	½	0	1½
14	Kajtek Skowronski	1	0	1	2
15	Jolyon Palmer	1	1	0	2
16	Harry Hawkins	1	1	0	2
17	Mark Carter	0	1	0	1
18	Sam Maidment	1	1	0	2
19	John Ryan	½	1	0	1½
20	Adam Hart	1	1	1	3
	Total	14	11½	9½	35

Reserves

Board	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
		Berkshire	Bucks	Hampshire	Total
21	Alex Masters	0	1	0	1
22	Ng Lung Kit	1	1	1	3
23	Nick Fraser	½	1	1	2½
24	Jed Kafetz	1	1	1	3