Warwick University lived up to their tag as one of the favourites to win all their games and thus seal victory in the UK wide 2020 Chess Championships. Having qualified in style they kept their form running into the finals despite some tough challenges and will be delighted to take home the 'Purling NUCC Trophy' with them after a long but enjoyable day for all!
There were a total of 16 teams competing at the Grand Final having qualified from ahead of a whopping 58 sides, and the standard was incredibly high; Warwick's ECF grade average was well over 200 showing a considerable display of strength. These 16 teams were extremely dedicated to the cause as well, travelling massive distances from Scotland, Wales and London to the birthplace of the 2020 Chess concept at the University of York, and they were rewarded with a thoroughly entertaining tournament.
Each team was placed into two groups seeded by their performances in the qualifiers, but Sheffield B didn't get a copy of the script as they stunned Queen Mary's and 'Club R2D2'and they were subsequently rewarded with the 'Best B team' prize in the competition. Strathclyde also punched well above their weight, earning them the 'Best seeding performers' award which was thoroughly merited.
Meanwhile at the top end things went pretty much according to expectations, although Warwick had to put in a hell of a fight to narrowly prevail 2.5-1.5 against LSE in round three but eventually eased their way into the final having topped group one. In group two the hosts York dominated proceedings, but nearly fell to a shock defeat to Sheffield B but eventually came through 2.5-1.5, their 4-0 thumping the next round over Manchester was crucial as it won them the group ahead of their rivals earning them the right to face Warwick in the Grand Final.
It was a tough battle, all the games finished in the final five minutes with the Mayor of York looking on, but Warwick converted their chances after building on their earlier advantages to win 3.5-0.5 over York to deservedly claim the 2017 2020 Chess Title.
At the conclusion of the tournament we had the closing ceremony, with the Right Honourable Mayor of York Barbara Boyce very kindly attending in order to give out the prizes to the winners and commend all the competitors, sponsors and volunteers who all helped make this tournament such a success.
We look forward to the 2018 season!
Prizes!
Winners: Warwick
Runners-up: York
Third Place: LSE
Best performers relative to seedings: Strathclyde
Top club: York Vikings
Highest 'B' Team: Sheffield B
Best school: Ampleforth College A
Individual performances:
6/6 Gold:
Dimiter Daskalov Warwick Board One ECF 233
5.5/6 Silver:
Martin Brown York Board One ECF 223
Louise Head Warwick Board Four ECF 191
Kene Nwegbu Sheffield A Board Four
Gregor Anicic Manchester Board Four
5/6 Bronze:
Peter Batchelor Warwick Board Two ECF 224
Tommaso Penna LSE Board Three ECF 176
Paulina Orejuela Manchester Board One
Round One:
Group A
Sheffield A 2-2 Durham Alumni
LSE 4-0 York Vikings
Reading 3-1 Ampleforth A
Warwick 3.5-0.5 Leeds
Group B
R2D2 2-2 Strathclyde
Queen Mary's 1-3 Manchester
Aberystwyth 2-2 Sheffield B
Ampleforth B 0-4 York
Round Two:
Group A
Ampleforth A 0-4 Durham Alumni
Reading 0-4 LSE
Leeds A 2.5-1.5 York Vikings
Sheffield A 0.5-3.5 Warwick
Group B
Strathclyde 1-3 Aberystwyth
R2D2 1-3 Sheffield B
Ampleforth B 0-4 Queen Mary's
Manchester 0-4 York
Round Three:
Group A
LSE 1.5-2.5 Warwick
Durham Alumni 4-0 Leeds
York Vikings 3-1 Ampleforth A
Sheffield A 4-0 Reading
Group B
Aberystwyth 2-2 Manchester
Queen Mary's 1-3 Strathclyde
York 2.5-1.5 Sheffield B
R2D2 4-0 Ampleforth B
Round Four:
Group A
Warwick 4-0 Durham Alumni
Leeds 3-1 Ampleforth A
York Vikings 4-0 Reading
LSE 1-3 Sheffield A
Group B
Manchester 3.5-0.5 R2D2
York 4-0 Aberystwyth
Queen Mary's 0-4 Sheffield B
Strathclyde 4-0 Ampleforth B
Round Five
Group A
York Vikings 1-3 Sheffield A
Durham Alumni 1.5-2.5 LSE
Ampleforth A 0-4 Warwick
Reading 0-4 Leeds
Group B
Strathclyde 1-3 York
Sheffield B 1-3 Manchester
R2D2 2-2 Queen Mary's
Ampleforth B 0-4 Aberystwyth
Group A Standings
Team Wins Draws Defeats Score
Warwick 5 0 0 15
LSE 3 1 1 10
Leeds 3 0 2 9
Sheffield A 2 2 1 8
Durham Alumni 2 1 2 7
York Vikings 2 0 3 6
Reading 1 0 4 3
Ampleforth A 0 0 0 0
Group B Standings
Team Wins Draws Defeats Score
York 5 0 0 15
Manchester 3 1 1 10
Aberystwyth 3 0 2 8
Sheffield B 2 1 2 7
Strathclyde 2 1 2 7
R2D2 1 2 0 5
Queen Mary's 1 1 4 3
Ampleforth A 0 0 0 0
Final and the Play-offs
1st:
York 0.5-3.5 Warwick
3rd:
LSE 2*-2 Manchester (LSE win on higher boards)
5th:
Leeds 3-1 Aberystwyth
7th:
Sheffield A 2-2* Strathclyde (Strathclyde win on higher boards)
9th:
Sheffield B 0-4 Durham Alumni
11th:
York Vikings 2*-2 R2D2 (*York Vikings win on higher boards)
13th:
Queen Mary's 2.5-1.5 Reading
15th:
Ampleforth A 3.5-0.5 Ampleforth B
FINAL STANDINGS FOR THE 2020 CHESS 2017 SEASON!
1st: Warwick
2nd: York
3rd: LSE
4th: Manchester
5th: Leeds
6th: Aberystwyth
7th: Strathclyde
8th: Sheffield A
9th: Durham A
10th: Sheffield B
11th: York Vikings
12th: Team R2D2
13th: Queen Mary's
14th: Reading
15th: Ampleforth A
16th: Ampleforth B
http://2020chess.com/superfinal.html
Wonderful Warwick Win 2020 Chess Championships!
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Wonderful Warwick Win 2020 Chess Championships!
Founder and Director of 2020 Chess
www.2020chess.com
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Re: Wonderful Warwick Win 2020 Chess Championships!
Great to see the old place keeping a strong team going
Also York doing well of course.
Also York doing well of course.