Glorney Cup report 2012 – from Peter Purland
Published on July 20-23, 2012

This report includes comments on the Gilbert (U18 girls), Robinson (U14) and Stokes (U12) Cups. The event was held at Daventry Court Hotel which is one of the Puma Hotels chain and the venue for some of the 4NCL events. The venue was definitely hailed as the best in 20 years and if we have to go back to student accommodation it will be. Playing conditions were spacious and quiet, rooms were very comfortable and the food was good and at sensible prices. Unfortunately England is the only country with more than three of this chain and where they are only in the main cities they tend to be considerably more expensive. However, we can but hope for the future!

Now to the chess –

This year the competition proved much closer with England certainly not having everything their own way, although at the end of day two they were leading in three of the four tournaments. In the Glorney the first round saw 3-2 wins for England and Scotland but in round two England defeated Scotland 4-1 whilst Ireland accounted for Wales 3½ – 1½. On the second day Wales defeated Scotland 3½ – 1½ whilst England got a whitewash against Ireland. The second day saw the first of the reverse games with Scotland and Wales doing better but going down 3-2 to England and Ireland respectively. This left England on 15 points, Wales on 9, Ireland 8½ and Scotland 7½. In the Gilbert we have had a lot of draws with 13/24 games ending even. Again things are fairly tight with England leading on 8, Scotland on 6½, Ireland on 5 and Wales on 4½.

The Robinson Cup is even closer. On day one Wales defeated England 4½ – 1½ and Ireland 4-2 but did not keep this pace up drawing with Scotland and losing 2-4 to Ireland. Scotland meanwhile lost 2½ – 3½ to England in their first meeting but gained revenge by the same margin in the return. They also won 5-1 against Ireland whilst England beat Ireland 3½ – 2½. This left Scotland leading narrowly with 14 points from Wales 13½, England on 11 and Ireland on 9½. The Stokes Cup is looking like an English victory although their total of 16½ is only 5 ahead of Ireland with Scotland a further point behind and Wales on 9½. Again almost all the games have been close with England’s 5-1 win in round 4 pushing them well ahead.

To date the tournament has been played in a friendly, sporting manner and we look forward to some exciting chess in the final two rounds …

… continued from the previous report
We started the last day at 0900 to facilitate departures and the morning proved decisive in two tournaments but left the other two open. In the Glorney a 3½ – 1½ win for England over Wales gave England an unassailable lead although only one point separates the other three countries so there is still a lot to play for. The Gilbert saw 4/6 games and both matches drawn leaving England still 1½ points ahead. In the Robinson Scotland and Ireland drew whilst Wales lost 2½ – 3½ to England and entered the final round 1 point behind Scotland but with the better tie break. Finally England built up an unassailable lead in the Stokes beating Wales 4½ – 1½ whilst Scotland beat Ireland 3½ – 2½ leaving both countries tied on 14 points.

The first section to be completed was the Stokes where England saw off Ireland leaving Scotland, who had beaten Wales 4-2 in second place. The final tally was England 27, Scotland 18, Ireland 14 and Wales 13. The Robinson which all through had been the most exciting, went down to the last game with Scotland needing a win to clinch the title. England came third after drawing with Ireland. The final game finished 20 minutes from time with Rhys Bennett holding his nerve to clinch a 4-2 victory for Wales and with it the Robinson Cup: The final scores being Wales 20 points, Scotland 19, England 17½ and Ireland 15½. This is the first time Wales have ever won any section in this competition! The Gilbert also went down to the wire but a draw against Ireland ensured a win for England with 11 points followed by Scotland 10 pts, Ireland on 8pts and Wales 7pts. England had secured the Glorney with a round to go but the battle for second place went down to the last minute. England defeated Ireland 3½ – 1½ whilst James Thomas won a mad time scramble to gain a 3-2 win for Wales and second place. The final scores being England 22, Wales 13½, Scotland 13 and Ireland 11½ thus ending an excellent tournament with good chess and good sportsmanship throughout. After the prize giving we all departed for our various homes with many meeting in the North East the following week.

Running from the 18th – 20th July 2012 at the Daventry Court Hotel, Sedgemoor Way, Daventry, Northamptonshire NN11 0SG [MAP] Contact ECF Director of Junior Chess & Education Phil Ehr at director.juniorchess@englishchess.org.uk or visit the website at http://www.glorneycupchess.org/

List of players —

England coaches for the event are GM Nick Pert and David Levens