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The Photo was taken on the 21/04/08 moments after Fenton won the 2007/08 U110 Cup against holmes Chapel, the winning team from left to right front were-Robert Taylor and Steve Emmerton, back row-non playing Captain Stuart Hull, Danny Griffiths, Geoff Yates, Abdul BK Kabiri.
Photo kindly supplied by Holmes Chapel Chess Club. |
| 2007/08 U110 Cup Final Report by Mark Whitby. |
Sometimes there are games where you just think that there is a clear winner and other times you sit and think that it's a shame that there has to be a winner. This final was the latter. Two teams battling it out in a match which you genuinely had no idea who was going to win until Rob Taylor and Paul Clifford shook hands on a draw on board 4, giving Fenton the win. All throughout the evening, all 5 boards went one way and then the next, so much so that Fenton captain Stuart Hull sat in the corner for long periods, because he couldn't stand the tension! I had to go and watch the cricket for a few times just so that I could calm down. It was incredibly tense and close and even though I'm obviously delighted that Fenton won, it is harsh on Holmes Chapel who gave as good as they got, despite losing their original board 5 because of an accident on the M6 holding up traffic.
I don't think it was a surprise to anyone that none of the boards had finished before 9:30pm. In fact, I don't think anyone could have guessed which board would finish first, although it was a surprise that board 1 between Ian Chesters and Steve Emmerton was the first to go! It was a tight match, with Steve struggling to impose himself due to Ian's excellent response as white to the French Defence from Steve, and he had a good attack going. However, Steve had built up a stable, if a little cramped, defence and a draw did look likely. One blunder from Steve though cost him the match and Ian was able to check with his Knight, leaving Steve's king with little room to move to and forcing the resignation. Fenton 0 Holmes Chapel 1
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Next to finish was board 2 between Abdul Kabiri and Richard Blackwell. It was a tense game, in which Abdul gained the upper hand when he went a Rook for a Bishop up in the exchange. He used this to great effect, gaining a dangerous passed pawn which was threatening to Queen at any time. This though was after Richard had come close to queening with his own passed pawn. In both instances though, each player was able to see off the threat and by the time all the pawns were off the board it was Abdul's rook and king vs Richard's bishop and King. With no way past Richard's defence, both players agreed a draw and Holmes Chapel remained in the lead.Fenton ½ Holmes Chapel 1½
Next to fall was board 5, where Geoff Yates was taking on Holmes Chapel's late sub, Joe Morris. It started off as a pretty close game, with Geoff able to see off Joe's early attacks before then gaining a piece for a pawn advantage with a solid attack. However, Joe then allowed his rooks to be pinned by Geoff's bishop and Geoff went a rook for a piece up, and was looking good for the win at that point with Joe's time running down fast. However, Joe fought back and an exchange for Geoff went wrong, allowing Joe to gain the piece back, but leaving Geoff with the pawn advantage still. Geoff was able to win the game though when he forked Joe's Bishop and Rook with his own rook, and with time running out Joe resigned and gave Geoff the win, pulling the match back to all square. Fenton 1½ Holmes Chapel 1½
That left Fenton needed at least 1½ from their last two games. Just one point would be enough for Holmes Chapel as they would have the board count advantage. It was on board 3 where the match for the first time turned in Fenton's favour. It was a close match all the way through, with Sandra Blackburn giving as good as she got against Danny Griffiths. The game was pretty tight all the way through and while Danny in the end game had a pawn advantage, Sandra had very dangerous rooks doubled up and had a good defence of the pawns. However, a Knight fork from Danny, forking one of Sandra's rooks and her King, finally gave Danny the advantage and he was able to wip off Sandra's rooks in exchange for one of his rooks and knight, leaving him a knight for a rook up with a passed pawn that Sandra couldn't stop Queening. So Danny took the win and the game turned in Fenton's advantage. Fenton 2½ Holmes Chapel 1½
That just left board 4, with the match now turning slightly towards Fenton. Paul Clifford needed the win while Rob Taylor could take a draw and Fenton would win the cup. It was a very tactical game, with both players throught the game looking like they had an advantage. only for the other player to come in with a solid defence. The advantage always lay with Rob though as he was a pawn up and was forcing the pace. It was turning into a tight game with both players having a Queen and two Rooks each, until they traded a rook and pawn each to open the game up. This allowed Paul to attack Rob's passed pawn but he always had the defence and had time on his side. Once Danny won his game though, Rob offered the draw. While he was winning the match he put the team first and Paul accepted, knowing he would struggle to win the game. This confirmed Fenton's first ever win in a North Staffs League cup competition and meant Stuart Hull would be lifting a trophy as captain for the second consecutive season, following his Withnall success last season. Final score - Fenton 3 Holmes Chapel 2
So it was a tight game with a thrilling climax, and as Fenton Chess Club secretary I'd like to thank everyone who played in the game for making it so fantastic to watch, and congratulations to both captains for leading their side to the final. I'd like to say commiserations to Sandra and congratulations to Stuart as the two captains, but I think the real winner in this game was the game of chess. It was a fantastic game to watch, a great advert for the North Staffs league and if you're into chess, really entertaining. I doubt somehow I will enjoy the Champions League in football half as much. |
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