Ashby 2 Share The Points With Anstey

Ashby 2 held title chasing Anstey 3 to a 2.5 - 2.5 draw in last night's Division 2 match. Anstey fielded 3 juniors, whose ability far exceeded their official rating, on boards 3 to 5. There was another win for Tom on board 2 and draws for Paul, Chris and Steve on boards 1, 3 and 5. Larry disgraced himself on board 4, where the game was briefly interrupted while his opponent's mother changed his nappy !! Our recent slide down the table continues and we now sit third from bottom of the table, just a point ahead of Shepshed, who have a match in hand.

There were also two games played in the Club Championship, with Tom Dove starting his title defence with a win against IM Ian Maskery, and Roy Evans beating Ric Dawson.

Ashby 4 Beaten At Latimer

Ashby 4 cemented their position at the bottom of Division 4 following a 3 1/2 - 1/2 loss last night at fellow strugglers Latimer. Only a draw from Paul Mayer on board 4 prevented the whtewash.

Current Ashby ECF Ratings

I haven't had time to publish the Ashby ratings as at the 1st March, and I probably won't do so now until the 1st April List is published so, for now, it is still showing the ratings as at the 1st February.

Another Pointless Week

This time it was Leicester University's turn to inflict two defeats on us in the space of two days.

On Wednesday Ashby 2 travelled to high flying Leicester University 1 in Division 2 and were on the wromg end of a 3.5 - 1.5 scoreline. With Steve dropping out with flu on the morning of the match, GM Mick Brown stepped into the breach with a very creditible draw on board 5.  There was another good win for Andrew Wilson on board 1, but we  fell short on boards 2, 3 and 4, despite outrating our opponents on every one of those boards. This win sent the students 3 points clear at the top of the table, whilst we continue to languish in the bottom half.

Ashby 4 were at home against Leicester University 2 on Thursday and were beaten 3-1 by the students, who now top the table, whilst we remain bottom. GM Mick Brown, playing his second game in the space of 2 days, got another good draw against a higher rated opponent on board 2, as did Nick Wyld on board 1. Unfortunately, IM Ian Maskery and Team Captain Ric Dawson failed to make any impression on boards 3 and 4.

There were 2 games played in the Club Championship, with Paul Harrison unexpectedly beating Paul Gibson, and Patrick Buckley beating Neil Robets.

Loughborough 2 Ashby 0 !!!

The Club had two matches against Loughborough last week, losing both of them.

Ashby 4 were beaten 3 1/2 - 1/2 at Loughbough 3 on Wednesday. Despite a good draw from Nick Wyld on board 1, our two titled players, GM Brown and IM Maskery, and Team Captain, Ric Dawson, were unable to contribute to our score.

Ashby 2 were at home against Loughborough 2 on Thursday, going down by 3 - 2. There was an excellent win for Paul Gibson on board 1, and draws for Tom Gerrard and Chris Tipper on boards 2 and 4. Steve's miserable 2026 continued with a loss on board 5 and Patrick Buckley, not to be oudone, suffered the same fate on board 3.

In other games, Tyler Rowney beat Paul Harrison in the U1450 Championship and Larry Hayden beat Graham Bird in the Club Championship.

Last Week's Results

A depleted Ashby 1, with Tom Dove and Reece Whittington both unavailable, were beaten 3-2 at Market Harborough last Wednesday. We more than held our own on the top 3 boards, with Gheorghe and Richard both drawing, and Tom Gerrard winning. Unfortunately we couldn't sustain it on the bottom boards. Steve was unlucky on board 5. In a drawish looking endgame he had Rook, Knight and 5 Pawns against Rook, Bishop and 5 Pawns, but with just under a minute on his clock the pressure got to him and he blundered his Rook.

Ashby 3 were held to a 2-2 draw at Wigston 3 last Thursday, with Tom and Larry winning on the top two boards, and Steve and Nick disgracing themselves on boards 3 and 4. However, we still have games in hand of the teams just above us so a top half finish is still a realistic proposition.

There were also games played in both the Club Championship and the U1450 Championship.

In the Club Championship, Richard Vann beat GM Mick Brown and Chris Tipper beat Ben McDermott.

In the U1450 Championship, Ian Maskery beat Peter Anderton, Paul Mayer beat Graham Bird and Neil Roberts beat Ivan Hallam.

Ashby 4 Still Propping Up The Table

 Ashby 4 continue to prop up the Division 4 table following a 3-1 home loss against title chasing Kirby Muxloe 1 on Thursday evenng. It was a massive mis-match, with Ashby being outrated by 1277 points in total.

Aspiring GM Mick Brown found himself up against an opponent rated over 2000 on board 1 and, not surprisingly, failed to cause an upset. 

IM Ian Maskery, on board 2, fared little better against an opponent rated 445 points higher and also went the same way.

It was better news on board 3 where Ric Dawson put in a Captain's performance to beat an opponent rated 168 points higher.

Recent recruit Paul Harrison on board 4, although not outrated by as much as the rest of the team, went the same way as boards 1 and 2.

Athough bottom of the table we have 2 matches in hand of the two teams just above us, so we could possibly avoid the Wooden Spoon.

Points Shared At Thurnby

Ashby 2 drew 2.5 - 2.5 at Thurnby on Wednesday evening. With Chris, Steve and Nick all drawing on boards 2, 4 and 5, and Tom losing on board 1, it was left to Larry to save the day with a win on board 3 - a rare departure from his usual draw !!