English Chess Forum

Div 2, Pool B - check it out. Anyone care to predict the eventual qualifiers?!

I will take the first stab and say The Ads will qualify

It should be the ADs, Bradford, SW Dragons and one other. It is remarkable that all the scores are so close.

http://4nclresults.co.uk/static/4ncl/xtab-div2b.html

A link, though that will not be any use after the next rounds are played. The complete results service, with bells and whistles on, would include being able to generate and view cross-tables after each round. The promotion and relegation pools are decided after seven rounds, so still three rounds to go.

Div 2, Pool A - Things are a little more predictable

http://4nclresults.co.uk/static/4ncl/xtab-div2a.html

The carry over must be potentially terrifying random with things like that. I hope no one ends up dumped into the relegation pool with 5/6 match points and no carry over.

Quite. It seem entirely possible that all four in the relegation pool will have made matchoints against the four which make the promotion pool, and little likelihood that the incidents will be evenly spread.

Exciting though. If you are not one of the affected captains

In the first division pools, the top three qualifiers already seem reasonably clear but there is room for a prolonged struggle for fourth in each.

Matthew Turner wrote:It should be the ADs, Bradford, SW Dragons and one other. It is remarkable that all the scores are so close.

In terms of general strength and resources, you would expect BCM Dragons to make it as well as ADs - and even though they will regard themselves as having started slowly, they still haven't lost to anyone but ADs - but I see no particular reason to tip SW Dragons and Bradford ahead of the other four. What a pool!

BCM Dragons did win the second division with 11/11 two years ago, though - Kings Head did similarly well last year annd I also expect them to come nowhere near emulating that when they return to the second division next season. It is amazing how often teams can have utterly one-off brilliant seasons in the second division. SW Dragons in 1999/2000, Perceptron Youth in 2001/2 each had around 10/11 too.

I was basing my comments on the teams that I'd seen in the second division and I hadn't seen much of BCM. Looking at their registrations, then if they can get the majority of their players out then they should have a very good chance.

We have a long way to go to be top half .

Still need 1/3 and have 2 professional sides to play.

Hardly a shoe in .

Of course you are right not to be complacent, but you just had a great weekend and you still have Kings Head to play, so you are not really a "long way" to go if your main aim is just to make the championship pool.

I suppose Kings Head is a morning game, mind. Goodness, Sharks v Kings Head in the morning ...

We have oxford who are currently on 4 . Not easy at all

Ah, my mistake. Still happy to swap places, mind

Off topic but I notice Guildford 1, 2 and 3 have 24 match points out of 24 so far.

EDIT: Just notice there's a Guildford 4 languishing on a mere 6 points in Div 3 South.

Jonathan Rogers wrote:
In the first division pools, the top three qualifiers already seem reasonably clear but there is room for a prolonged struggle for fourth in each.

Spoke too soon? Barbican 1 in the relegation pool (it's out of your hands and reliant on other results, I think) causes unexpected complications... I sense a massive dogfight looming over the last relegation spot. Or last two if Cambridge University manage to get their act together for the final matches.

(just out of interest, in the rather unlikely, yet possible, event of Barbican 1 being relegated with Barbican 2 preserving their position - do the rules allow (or even require?!) the designation of the respective teams to be switched?)