Ely Friars retained the RG title. This continues the club's dominance in this competition. In the final against the Cambridge Porters, the teams were finely balanced on paper, but Ely won convincingly 3.5-0.5.
The new Rapid play competition proved interesting and players from both teams took part. We managed to rise above Canons and Cambridge and only just lost to Ipswich in the final. The atmosphere was more informal with with a chance for a chat during the break. Two games being payed each night , and we still got back home sooner ! Great result too!
THE BEET ROOTS came third having been strengthened by some new players to the club making the job of captain much easier with less strain on some individuals having to turn out regularly for both teams. It gave a very optimistic ending to the season which started with us missing a key player due to long term illness. Thanks particularly to Mike Bradley for his frequent games and support to both teams.
It was a disappointing season for the Beet Bishops. We came last out of seven teams in Division One, with just two wins and a draw from twelve matches.
On paper, we really should have done better. The average grade of the team, at full-strength, was over 155, and our four strongest players were all able to play in nearly all the games, with Mike Bradley commendably being ever present.
The season started brightly enough. In our first fixture, we demolished a full strength Bury Cannons A side, even though we were out-graded on every board. Although defeats in the next three matches brought us sharply down to earth, we bounced back to form at the end of November with a convincing win against Bury Cannons B. A draw in our next fixture meant that we finished the first half of the season in a comfortable mid-table position, just half a point behind Bury Cannons A. Notable individual performances included wins for Martyn against both Ed Player and Hans Richter; and for Mark against his old adversary Steve Ruthen.
The second half of the season was a disaster. We lost all six matches: one by a clean sweep on all four boards; and in three others we picked up just a solitary half point on the night. Mark, Mike and Richard struggled to pick up the points, but not through any lack of either effort or opportunities on the board. In fact, the team spirit was one of the most inspiring features of the season, with Mark in particular making sterling efforts to be available for almost all matches. On the few occasions when we were not at full strength, players such as Fraser Jones, John Morgan and Geoff Moss were happy to step up to the plate, even at short notice.
The best example of the Ely team spirit was on the disastrous night in March when Martyn (claiming pressures of work) had completely forgotten about the match. An enquiry from Mark the night before, as to who was playing, meant that a team had to be dragged from their fire places at short notice, with (in Martyn’s absence) everyone playing higher than their normal board. Even so, Richard was all over Hans Richter on top board, but sadly found just about the only move to lose in a winning position. Mark drew on board two against the almost certainly under-rated Stefan Doci; and John and Mike went down after both apparently getting comfortable positions.
So it was another disappointing season in terms of results; but an enjoyable one to play in, with everyone getting as much strong chess as they wanted.