4ncl 2022-23

[Mick Norris]

Leonard's piece in the FT

[Matt Mackenzie]

I was pleased to see people belatedly joining this thread until I realised that it in danger of becoming yet another discussion of rating inflation. No more, please! It should suffice to respond to Joey's absurd comment to say that Speelman was in the world top five and made the semi-final of the candidates' in 1988/9. It is great that he still plays at all.

Indeed, nobody who actually recalls those days will be in any doubt as to how strong he was then.

[LawrenceCooper]

An eventful day in Division 1 today with Manx, White Rose & Celtic Tigers winning 4.5-3.5.

[Jonathan Rogers]

It was a much closer day. Wood Green Youth seemed likely to make a result, being comfortably with White on all four boards, but three of them fizzled out to draws and White Rose won with just two victories. We are used to Wood Green Youth and Celtic Tigers having close matches, essentially because they are both wrongly seeded and have been playing their peers, whilst everyone else has been playing teams of a different strength; but not many - all right, no one - would have expected a close match yesterday between Manx Liberty and White Rose 2.

[Jonathan Rogers]

About the updating of results on the 4NCL website: in Sussex Martlets v North East England (div 2), were seven games of the eight really still in play at 7.45pm, after almost six hours of play? Of course it might simply have been an unusual match that way, but it would probably be of record breaking proportions if so.

[LawrenceCooper]

About the updating of results on the 4NCL website: in Sussex Martlets v North East England (div 2), were seven games of the eight really still in play at 7.45pm, after almost six hours of play? Of course it might simply have been an unusual match that way, but it would probably be of record breaking proportions if so.

I don't think they were. I had 6 players still going at the time our meal was starting but there weren't many other games in progress, unless the match you mention was out of view.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Oh! Now there's a shot (14.Ng5! in Zulfic v Kalaiyalahan, board eight in Celtic Tigers' last realistic chance to make any matchpoints).

[Jonathan Rogers]

... and Lawrence will have to tell us what happened on board five ... maybe agreed draw rather than the Black win showing on chess24?

[Jonathan Rogers]

Mobile phone ring. Celtic Tigers might achieve safety this weekend after all!

[Jonathan Rogers]

Well, North East England must be invisible this weekend. Now there are no results showing at all as their match reaches its five hour mark.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Ah, apparently the whole match suddenly concluded in the last ten minutes. Worth waiting for though, if one is a NE England supporter.

[Jonathan Rogers]

rather unexpected margin for Wood Green Youth in the end, and Celtic Tigers back in trouble. I don't remember 5 points being enough in the old days of 12 team round robins.

[Keith Arkell]

Arguably the best way to discover whether you have beaten a record is to claim it and see what happens.

Nobody has yet challenged my claim to have the record in most amount of 1sts in an international open - 25 in the Paignton Prem -, so let's go with this one:
Yesterday I won in div 1 of the 4N CL for the 8th consecutive time. A 4N record? A 4N div 1 record? A 4N div 1 barring bd 8 record? ( for bd 8 I'm thinking of eg a Mark Hebden for Guildford).

[Nick Ivell]

That must be a record!

I managed 6 consecutives in Div 2 a few years ago; a hot streak, but I doubt it's a record.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Impressive ...!

It would have to be a div 1 record, if anything. Greet made 11/11 in one season in div 2 (2005/6) and David Coleman made eight in a row in 2008/9, albeit mixing div 2 games with div 1 games.

I take your point about excluding board eight, but by a similar token it might be said that you have not met fully representative div 1 opposition, since the first six rounds of your season have all been against the lesser sides, some of which are hardly stronger than many div 2 sides.

Unlikely, but I wouldn't be wholly surprised if Hebden matched eight wins when playing on a higher board for Beeson Gregory in 2000/1!

Are you allowing for gaps between appearances? If so, maybe Adams?