England won three world titles in the World Senior Chess Teams Championships yesterday in Acqui Terme, Italy. England’s men won both the World Over 50 Championship and the World Over 65 Championship, the latter with a round to spare. England Women won the Women’s World Over 50 Championship, making it a triple success. England didn’t have a team in the Women’s World Over 65 Championship, so it was a clean sweep from our three top teams.
England’s over 50 team was superbly led by two of England’s greatest ever players, Michael Adams and Nigel Short. Michael Adams, who made his debut in seniors chess, established a record as the highest-rated player to have ever played at this level.
England’s over 65 team was equally well-led by former British champions John Nunn and Paul Littlewood, with John Nunn making his over 65 debut and scoring an impressive 6½ out of 7 on top board.
England’s Women’s team was headed up by WGM Sheila Jackson and achieved some notable successes in the Open competition against Norway and Poland in particular.
It is also worth noting that England are the first nation to have won both age groups simultaneously.
England 50+ 1st team are nearly there!
The England 50+ 1st team beat the third seeds Georgia Winery Khareba by 2.5-1.5, thanks to wins by Mickey Adams and Keith Arkell, whilst the USA only managed a 2-2 draw with the strong Hungarian team, so England now have an extra match point and 3 extra game points over the USA, as they enter the last round and only need to draw with Canada in the last round to take the Gold. England 2 beat England 3 by 3.5-0.5 with Stephen Homer managing to defy Chris Duncan and get the half point. England 4 beat Wales Cymru by 2.5-1.5 thanks to a win by Bob Kane on board 2.
England Women lost to Germany 3.5-0.5, with Petra Nunn securing the half point against the strong German team.
England 65+ 1st team are World Champions!
The England 65+ 1st team beat Switzerland 3-1 in a match where three of the Swiss players withdrew due to Covid and England chose to concede the fourth board. With Germany 2 defeating Germany 1 by 2.5-1.5, England 1 have won the world title with a round to spare, which we believe has never happened before. England 65+ 2 drew 2-2 with Norway’s Golden Oldies.
So hopefully round 9 will see England capture all three world titles with the England 50+ 1st team joining the England 65+ 1st team and the England 50+ Women’s team as World Champions!
Read what Leonard Barden has to say about the team’s current success – https://www.ft.com/content/76aa134b-231d-4ccc-9a3e-9d043d4bfc75
Round 7
The quest for the World titles continues.
The England 50+ 1st team racked up a 3.5-0.5 score against the Dutch team, Still Active NL, thus increasing their game points advantage over the USA to 2.5 points. England 2 lost 3-1 to Hungary, with a couple of solid draws from Glenn Flear and Russell Granat. England 3 lost 2.5-1.5 to Canada, despite an impressive win from Edgar Wilson defeating his first FM. England 4 lost by the same score to another Italian side, Asti Sempre Uniti.
England Women had the bye.
England 65+ 1 beat Hungary by 2.5-1.5 thanks once again to a win from John Nunn, with three draws from his team mates. England 65+ 2 lost 2.5-1.5 to Danish team, Skvat.
The England 50+ 1st team is still leading their section with 2.5 extra game points and the England 65+ 1st team retains its lead with an extra match point and 2.5 extra game points. So round 8 promises to be a huge occasion for both teams, as they aim to maintain their advantage.
Round 6
A great day for England!
The England 50+ 1st team managed to secure a tough 2.5-1.5 victory against Italy, thanks to impressive wins from Mickey Adams and Mark Hebden, maintaining the two game points advantage over the USA, who beat Iceland by the same score. England 2 beat Sweden 2.5-1.5 thanks to wins from Steve Dishman and Russell Granat. England 3 beat Ireland 3-1 and England 4 beat the local Acqui Terme team by the same score.
England Women lost 3-1 to the Dutch team, Still Active NL.
England 65+ 1 beat Israel 2 by 3-1, thanks to good wins on the top two boards from John Nunn and Paul Littlewood. England 65+ 2 drew 2-2 with four draws against the German team Rochade Bielefeld.
The England 50+ 1st team is still leading their section with two extra game points and tomorrow they have the opportunity to improve their situation. The England 65+ 1st team retains the lead, with an extra match point and the better game score.
Round 5
Another good day.
The England 50+ 1st team won 3-1 against Hungary to retain their lead with 2 extra game points ahead of the USA, thanks to wins from Adams and Hebden. England 2 suffered a heavy defeat to the strong Italian team by the score of 3.5-0.5, with Glenn Flear drawing on board one to avoid the whitewash. England 3 beat England 4 3-1.
England Women managed to get a 2-2 draw with Wales Silures, thanks to a win from Ingrid Lauterbach.
Rain stopped play!
The England 65+ first team’s crunch match against France, was disrupted when the match had to be suspended for a short period, whilst the organisers had to deal with rain dripping on one of the boards in the match causing an understandable distraction. However, play was quickly resumed and England emerged victorious by the score of 2.5-1.5, thanks to wins from John Nunn and Tony Stebbings. England 65+ 2 had a convincing win against the Germany Women’s team by the score 3.5-0.5.
So, the England 50+ 1st team is still leading their section on game points, whilst the England 65+ 1st team is now the sole leader, with an extra match point and a better game score. Tomorrow is a rest day and combat resumes on Sunday.
Round 4
A good day for England! The England 50+ 1st team drew with the USA with Mickey Adams managing to win an impressive Knight ending against GM Kaidanov to level the match after Mark Hebden’s unfortunate defeat. This keeps England 1 in the lead with an extra 2.5 game points, over the USA. So all to play for! England 2 had a most impressive 2-2 draw with Georgia Winery Kharbe, who were led by 3GMs, with draws from Glenn Flear and Steve Dishman on the top two boards and a good win by Clive Frostick on board 4 beating IM/WGM Nana Ioseliani. England 3 went down 3-1 to Sweden and England 4 lost 3.5-0.5 to Polish Amateurs.
England Women put up a really good fight against Iceland’s 4 GMs in a hard fought match but to no avail, with it ending 4-0.
England 65+ 1 had a very successful 3.5-0-5 victory over Germany 1, which made up for the disappointment of only drawing with their second team yesterday. John Nunn beat GM Rainer Knaak, getting revenge for a loss to him 31 years ago! Paul Littlewood and Nigel Povah also won to –make it a convincing victory. England 65+ 2 lost 3.5-0.5 to Switzerland.
So, the England 50+ and 65+ first teams are both joint leaders in their sections and both enjoy the advantage of better game scores. However, the pressure is still on and both teams have big matches tomorrow in round 5, with England 50+ 1 facing a strong Hungary side and England 65+ 1 facing joint leaders, France.
Round 3
The England 50+ 1st team managed to beat a strong Iceland team 3-1, thanks to wins by Mickey Adams and Nigel Short on the top two boards. England 2 also beat the USA 5 Brothers by 3-1, as did England 3 against Italy Asti Sempre, whilst England 4 received the bye.
England Women continued their winning streak with a 2.5-1.5 victory over Polish Amateurs, thanks to a win by Natasha Regan on board 3.
England 65+ 1 had a 2-2 draw against Germany 2, with all four games being drawn and England 65+ 2 beat Italia Alessandria 3-1.
In general it was an excellent day for England. England 1 are still leading the 50+ section along with the USA and the crunch match between the two will take place in round 4 tomorrow. In the 65+ section, England1 have slipped into joint second behind Germany 1, who they face tomorrow, so it promises to be a big day for both of the top England teams.
Round 2
The England 50+ 1st team managed to overcome the second team 3.5-0.5, although Mickey Adams found Glenn Flear in fighting form on board one, with Glenn earning a creditable draw.
England 3 suffered a close defeat by 2.5-1.5 to the USA 5 Brothers team, – yes they really are all brothers! England 4 succumbed to the Wales Silures (their 1st team) by the score of 3.5-0.5, whilst England Women had an impressive 3.5-0.5 victory over Oslo Schachselskap.
England 65+ 1 beat SC Kreuzberg of Germany by 3.5-0.5 and England 65+ 2 lost 2.5-1.5 to Latvia Women.
So after two rounds, the England 50+ and 65+ first teams are leading their sections.
Round 1
Seven England teams comprising 34 players have gathered for the World Senior Team Chess Championship in Acqui Terme, Italy. The seven teams are as follows —
England 50+ 1
1. Mickey Adams 2. Nigel Short 3. Mark Hebden 4. John Emms 5. Keith Arkell
England 50+ 2
1. Glenn Flear 2. Steve Dishman 3. Chris Duncan 4. Russell Granat 5. Clive Frostick
England 50+ 3
1. Chris Fegan 2. Nigel White 3. Stephen Homer 4. Edgar Wilson 5. Bill Ingham
England 50 + 4
1. John Hickman 2. Bob Kane 3. Kevin Winter 4. Rob Merriman 5. Matthew Ball
England 50+ Women
1. Sheila Jackson 2. Ingrid Lauterbach 3. Natasha Regan 4. Petra Nunn
England 65+ 1
1. John Nunn 2. Paul Littlewood 3. Tony Stebbings 4. Nigel Povah 5. Ian Snape
England 65+ 2
1. Mark Page 2. Geoff James 3. Kevin Bowmer 4. Stewart Reuben 5. Peter R. Wood
The England 50+ 1 and 2 teams both had convincing 4-0 victories and are now paired to meet each other in round 2. England 50+ 3 lost 3-1 in a match they might well have won and England 4 lost 3.5-0.5 against much stronger opposition as did England 50+ Women, who also lost 3.5-0.5.
England 65+ 1 and 2 were paired together and the 1st team emerged victorious by 2.5-1.5 in a hard fought contest, thanks to victories by John Nunn and Ian Snape.
Follow this link for Leonard Barden’s take on things — https://www.ft.com/content/e0b4e137-ceed-42a0-9848-c1c1954d719f