Newcastle Chess Club’s B team is leading Division 6 of the Northumbria Chess League, winning all four of its matches so far!

The match results have been:

Round 1 – Newcastle B: 3-1 (away) v Gosforth Otterburns, Monday October 12

Round 2 – Newcastle B 2.5-1.5 (home) v South Shields D, Monday November 6

Round 3 – Newcastle B 2.5-1.5 (at Morpeth) v Alnwick C, Wednesday November 22

Round 4 – Newcastle B 4-0 (away) v Newcastle University C, Thursday November 30

This means we are runaway leaders of the division, with 8/8. In equal second place are Tynedale (4/6) and Gosforth Otterburns (4/10).

Here’s the Division 6 table, from the ECF’s League Management System: CLICK HERE

Round 1

In Round 1, Newcastle B defeated Gosforth Otterburns 3-1 on Monday October 12 after some exciting games.

Scores:
1. Daniel Atcheson 1-0 Alex Baggaley
2. Bill Penny 1-0 Alex Piercy
3. Didrik Levidal 1-0 Andrew Brown
4. Otto Nemeth 0-1 Steve Armstrong

The most surprising results were Bill’s and Didrik’s, as both players luckily managed to turn around big disadvantages to win against the run of play. Bill was queen for rook down when his opponent allowed a shock back-rank checkmate, while Didrik was two bishops down in an endgame when his opponent missed a trick that allowed Didrik to queen a pawn.

Round 2

In Round 2, on November 6, the B team beat South Shields D by the narrow margin of 2.5-1.5.

Scores:
1. Keith Marshall ½ Alan Johnson
2. Daniel Atcheson 1-0 Steven Nesworthy
3. Bill Penny 0-1 Alan Blackburn
4. Didrik Levidal 1-0 Alan Smith

Round 3

In the next round, the B team travelled as far as Morpeth to play against Alnwick C. Even though the match was billed as a home one, all Alnwick matches (home and away) are played at Morpeth Rugby Football Club, due to the long distances between Alnwick and Tyneside clubs.

The match was another cliffhanger, with the B team eventually winning 2.5-1.5, despite Matthew Heslop losing his first-ever league game on Board 4.
On Board 2, Didrik Levidal won a spectacular miniature, trapping his opponent’s queen in the opening, and then on Board 3, Otto Nemeth played an amazing perpetual check that involved sacrificing his own queen.
It all came down to Danny’s game on Board 1, and after some endgame adventures he eventually won, leaving us the narrow winners.

Scores:
1. Daniel Atcheson 1-0 Daniel Birt
2. Didrik Levidal 1-0 Charles Greer
3. Otto Nemeth ½ Andrew Hardy
4. Matthew Heslop 0-1 Ben Borthwick

Round 4

Round 4 saw our best result of the season so far, with a 4-0 clean sweep over Newcastle University C.

This match saw the debuts for Newcastle of George Gazis on Board 1, and James Phillips on Board 4.
James’s win was particularly well deserved, as he turned the tables tactically on his older opponent after being under severe pressure earlier in the game.

Scores:
1. George Gazis 1-0 Dominic Swan
2. Bill Penny 1-0 Viktorija Bezganovic
3. Didrik Leivdal 1-0 Ryan Fallon
4. James Phillips 1-0 Igor Skapski

The top individual scorers so far for the B team are Didrik Leivdal, with 4 wins out of 4, and Danny Atcheson with 3/3.

What’s next?

Our fifth round match takes place at the Tyneside Irish Centre at 6:45pm on Monday 4th December. All team members and spectators are welcome!

We hope to continue our fine run of form as the season continues, and to give as many club members as possible the chance to play league matches.

We are offering opposing teams the option of playing extra boards for rating, to give our new and upcoming players a chance to try league chess.

If you would like to play some games for the B team, just drop a line to: timpeterwall@gmail.com or text/WhatsApp: 0750 372 2366 and we will make it happen.