MxB vs. Warwickshire - Match Report

A GIANT AMONG MEN!

MxB matches have been billed as David vs. Goliath as they are the sole 2nd team amongst 1st teams thus in principle should struggle or have to punch above their weight to succeed. They have only been tested once and that was in their last encounter against Oxfordshire which saw an age old question posed, 'Can (should?) a minor county's 1st team defeat a strong county's 2nd? It was answered with a close MxB victory! 'The 2nd's have it! The 2nd's have it!' MxB's defeat of Oxfordshire sees them as the only team in the division with a 100% record so sit atop the table. It can be safely said that David is having the better of it although to be fair the teams MxB have fielded in comparison to all but Oxfordshire would suggest that they are indeed a Goliath! A case of a wolf in sheep's clothing? Instead of being Gulliver walking in Brobdingnag is it more of a case of Gulliver among the Lilliputians and the Lilliputians are doing all they can to try and tie Gulliver down? Your author apologises as he waxes lyrical with Biblical references along his admiration of Aesop and Swift. Returning to the point, performances so far would suggest the latter especially having despatched the team considered their most serious of rivals to top the division. MxB could now expect to be less pressurised for the remainder of the Group Stage beginning with the match against Warwickshire. 

Technically the Open match between MxB and Warwickshire is a first. In the past Mx's contests against Warwickshire would be as expected, Mx Open vs. Warwickshire Open (last QF 2012-13 cycle) and Mx 2nd/u175/u180 vs. their counterpart (last SF 2017-18 cycle) but this meeting was the first between a Mx 2nd and a Warwickshire 1st. This pairing therefore should be a no-brainer with the latter seen as firm favourites. However the question must be asked why are Warwickshire in Open D2 rather than D1? On paper or history if Warwickshire ought to be considered a genuine Open county a comfortable win on the cards but their is still the nagging question, why D2? With respect to the Online County Championship they have been anything but as they have struggled to either field teams of 12 or more pertinently teams of strength hence participating in D2 and sitting in joint second with a host of other teams. Going into the group match Warwickshire once again struggle to field a team of significant strength (team average 138). Although top boards relatively competitive they fall away very quickly. Conversely, MxB have consistently fielded teams averaging 160+ and maintain this standard when fielding a team that averages 166. Thus confidence would be high in despatching a third 1st team. Par score Mx win 9.5-2.5

The match did not get off to the most auspicious of starts for Warwickshire as they had a late withdrawal. Bill has not had the best of it in the last two matches. Firstly against Oxfordshire, he expects a default, plays against a late attending opponent and loses. Then when expecting a comfortable victory against his Warwickshire adversary he does not get to play! Notwithstanding a tough match for Warwickshire was already made tougher as they start one down. The assurance of the first point on the board didn't mean the team should rest their laurels as victory is achieved with a score of 6.5+ not 1-0! Mx lead 1-0

Despite falling behind due to a default it is in fact Warwickshire who score the first win of the match with actual play. This stung Mx into action as Jason, Yogit and Jack all record wins that not only restores but extends Mx's lead. Mx lead 4-1

Warwickshire however were going to be stubborn. If they were going to lose they would go down fighting thereby avoid the thrashing the teams averages suggested should be the case. Mx's seemingly easy stroll too victory was interrupted as Warwickshire split the next three games to finish. Mx still lead but have been unable to pull ahead as expected. Warwickshire were still hanging in there. With pride the main thing to play for this was at least achieved as they had reached their par score of 2.5. Mx lead 5.5-2.5.

Four games to finish and if Mx were to achieve par score they had to win them all. However they were to just fall short as despite wins for Sacha and Leon, another Warwickshire victory coupled with Ian's draw meant Mx just fell short but nevertheless achieve a hefty win. Mx win 8-4

Well done guys on a thoroughly professional job.

The games link are provided for your enjoyment

Bd1 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169020867

Bd2 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169011601

Bd3 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5168995417

Bd4 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169016633

Bd5 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169010124

Bd6 https://www.chess.com/live#g=5169012216

Bd7https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169014380

Bd8 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169017518

Bd9 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5168991908

Bd10 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5168971604

Bd11 https://www.chess.com/live/game/5169023489

Warwickshire default Bd12

With Mx outgunning another opponent is it now time to put aside thoughts that MxB are an underdog? Over and above being an alpha dog, is there argument that MxB should have been placed in the 1st Division? Would they be any less disgraced than the 1st Division's Cheshire & NW (168) or Leicestershire (163)?  How about the 2nd Division's Surrey (156), Greater Manchester (177) or Essex (178)? Certainly there would be a stiffer test but you can only play who is put in front of you!

Other results:

Berkshire vs. Derbyshire Berkshire win 8.5-2.5

Gloucestershire vs. Oxfordshire Gloucestershire win 6.5-5.5

The surprise of the round must be Gloucestershire's defeat of Oxfordshire. Having run MxB close it would be expected that Oxfordshire would comfortably finish second. However their unexpected defeat may mean things are closer for chasing pack than at first thought!

League table

For full list of match results see here

MxB maintain their 100% record so still sit top of the table and must be confident of at least qualifying for the KO stage even if at this stage it is only for the Minor Championship (teams finishing 3rd or 4th). Of course they will want to play in the Challengers Competition so will be pushing on for a 1st or 2nd place finish. The job is yet to be done!

Next fixture 25th July:

MxA vs. Berkshire

Derbyshire vs. Oxfordshire

Gloucestershire vs. Warwickshire

Before bring this report to an end it was stated in Devon match report that player performance would be added. Your author therefore must be true to his word!

In the physical version of county chess Mx's Open players vie for the Martin Blaine Best Performance Cup (MBBPC). The u180 similarly compete for the eponymously named George Dickson Shield (GDS). The MBBPC  was instituted in 1974 as the then Mx Open Captain Frank Batchelor had found it nigh impossible to get teams of representative strength for away matches. This lack meant that Mx failed to win any trophy of note. Frank expressed his dissatisfaction and as a result a weighted competition was introduced. Players would accumulate points for representing team and scoring positive results (Wins/Draws). The player with most points won cup. By doing this Mx began to get truly representative teams to turn out which the next Mx Captain, Dave Foley-Comer benefitted. Under his stewardship Mx lifted numerous SCCU and National titles but even more impressive was the undefeated streak they established. The MBBPC has undergone some revisions to allow for the developments in county chess but when reintroduced after Mx's return to top-flight chess in 2007 current Mx players demonstrate they are as fiercely competitive for the internal trophy as they are for external ones! Although there is no trophy to play for it is worth keeping track of player performance as the top performing player will at least have bragging rights! The GDS competition mirrors the MBT. The leading players are:

1st Leon 3/3

2nd Jason 2.5/3

3rd= Fraser & Jack 2/3

5th Manmay 1.5/3

6th Sacha 1/3

Bragging rights at present are with Leon who has played in all 3 matches and like the team achieved a 100% record. Can both he and the team maintain?