ECFOCC Group Stage 20th June
The dust has settled after the events of the first round of group matches. As the words go, things can only get better! Now many would naturally think of D-Ream's song which was used by the Labour Party as a rallying cry after 18years of Conservative rule, however, traditionally it is the chorus that is played. It is understandable that such a song would be used with its' up tempo beat and words that could be used to promote a particular slant. Your author however thinks that taking something out of context demeans the whole and when one truly listens to the song in full one realises it is actually a love song. Was the circumvention of its' meaning a reason why it never charted higher than #19 when re-released despite its' earlier chart success? Yes it is a message of hope but it is the hope of the lovelorn. Since chess.com and the many players and organisations involved in the ECFOCC had a bad time maybe a song that uses the same words but has a different overtone may apply. One could suggest Howard Jones who's selfsame titled song was designed to address the occasions when people go through bad times. It's great sometimes to have somebody say, 'Come on, even if it gets so you lose everything and everything goes horribly wrong, you can still pick yourself up and go forward, and you can make it right, you can make things get better" (Howard Jones). I'll leave you to judge. If you think you can do better do post.
Musical discussions aside the second round of the group stage is due to get underway and yes things can only get better. Last Saturday must be considered the nadir so there is only one direction; UP - can't miss opportunity to make a another reference to popular culture. Many chess players when participating in tournaments, leagues, etc. after experiencing a loss they often say to themselves got the bad one out of the way. Should this thinking not equally apply to organisers? The ECFOCC has gotten off to a shaky start but now that the bad one is out of the way there is scope for the competition to go from strength to strength culminating in a glorious finale! Now some may say that your author is being overly optimistic but there has to be some out there who see that the glass is half full rather than half empty. If we go into the 2nd round with the innocence of youth and hope in our heart we should see the smooth running of this round of group stage matches.
With all eyes now turned to the next set of group matches Mx fixtures on 20th June are:
Mx A vs. Yorkshire
This is clearly the tie of the round. The two heavyweight counties in recent years have met a number of times in the National County Championships. Yorkshire have the upper hand as Middlesex have not been able to field a truly representative team, competitive yes but not as strong as they could do. This has therefore seen Yorkshire have the hoodoo over Mx. If the players selected for their previous matches do not bail out and are willing to give competition second chance a contest of epic proportion should ensue. Since article is already full of clichés another wouldn't hurt, doesn't everybidt deserve a second chance?
Mx. B vs. Gloucestershire
Mx face a tougher proposition in Gloucestershire. This fixture is what some would say is what the Mx team will be consistently facing with no disrespect to Derbyshire. Gloucestershire are genuine 1st team but are maybe a Minor County in terms of the OTB version of county competition. Notwithstanding Mx's 2nd team face Gloucestershire for the first time and will look forward to an interesting tussle.
Mx u1825 have a rest week
The fixtures for Mx are certainly tougher than the aborted first round but these matches will go a long way to determining the final group standings. In fact in the case of the Mx A vs. Yorkshire match the mind games begin as there is a good possibility that this group match is the appetizer for the grand final on the 22nd August. Time will tell!
Full match report to come.
