Lancashire's U140 team were our sole representatives at the English Chess Federation County Championship Finals Day. The event was held at Moat Community College in Leicester on Saturday 7th July 2012. Unfortunately after a great run this season the team fell at the last hurdle, beaten by Hertfordshire in a very close contest. Hard luck to captain Dave Almond and his players.
Dave reports that the match could have gone either way. It was left perhaps rather unfairly to Pete Logan and Brant Nuttall to save our bacon. Losing by 6½ to 7½ with only their games in play, they both had to win or we lost on board count. Pete had the advantage and could have accepted a draw but instead played on valiantly for the team looking for the win. Unfortunately he slipped up at the end, under time pressure. Brant with a totally drawn endgame somehow went on to win. None of the Lancashire players was outplayed, the team were just unlucky on the day. Dave is already planning next season's campaign, hoping to go one better.
| Board | Lancashire | ECF Code | Grade | Score | Hertfordshire | ECF Code | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennant-Smith, Jim | 120219E | 136 | 0 | Golding, Sidney | 285945C | 139 | 1 |
| 2 | Innes, Dave M | 273264G | 135 | ½ | MacLaren, Andrew | 265407G | 128 | ½ |
| 3 | Straszak, James | 261858J | 138 | 0 | Dicks, Stephen | 250077C | 137 | 1 |
| 4 | Reyes, John | 275294D | 131 | 0 | Ruddick, Gary | 204731H | 134 | 1 |
| 5 | Stanfield, Dave (snr) | 240185L | 135 | 0 | Woodhouse, Keith | 164418L | 134 | 1 |
| 6 | Morrison, Lynne | 253122H | 131 | ½ | Claret, Ray | 108384D | 134 | ½ |
| 7 | Dean, Angelica | 273523E | 125 | 0 | Adams, Alan | 105473K | 130 | 1 |
| 8 | Reeves, Danny | 256457K | 135 | 1 | Leake, John | 114204F | 131 | 0 |
| 9 | Logan, Pete | 240931J | 130 | 0 | Wali, Mir | 122071J | 127 | 1 |
| 10 | Nuttall, Brant | 170300G | 133 | 1 | Cook, Chris | 225231E | 124 | 0 |
| 11 | Jerzynek, Neil | 231485L | 134 | 1 | Cage, Simon | 194673A | 139 | 0 |
| 12 | Almond, Dave | 278458A | 129 | 1 | Magee, Edward | 253234H | 131 | 0 |
| 13 | Taylor, Derrick | 256841L | 130 | ½ | Belton, David | 106568D | 132 | ½ |
| 14 | Hartley, Dave | 112250C | 122 | 0 | Williams, Graham | 204727F | 125 | 1 |
| 15 | Flaherty, Steve | 110640F | 128 | 1 | Kearns, Roger | 127358K | 121 | 0 |
| 16 | Horne, Michael | 166452K | 120 | 1 | Marshall, Duncan | 234988H | 120 | 0 |
| Total | 7½ | Total | 8½ |