4NCL so far this season
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:41 pm
To kick start some discussion (hopefully!) -
First Division
Pool A
The weaker pool in terms of depth and the four qualifiers are already known. Given Wood Green's well known troubles, those qualifiers come as no surprise: Guildford 2, Blackthorne Russia (having a good start for a change) Barbican 1 and White Rose. None of them will carry more than 4/6 into the championship pool, though.
But the most impressive team has actually been Wood Green, if you make allowances for their lack of depth and bad luck with defaults and so on! The form of their IMs and GMs has been superb, and has carried a team which has been virtually absent on the bottom boards to two wins and a draw. It will carry 4/4 into the relegation pool, and 6/6 if it beats SW Dragons. They have, in my view, shown more spirit in recent adversity than they did in fighting for the title the last two years.
Pool B
The stronger pool both in terms of the top two teams and much more so in terms of depth.
Guildford 1 will win this with 100%, and will doubtless proceed to the title. Cheddleton gave them a couple of scares on two White boards but it was not enough. Cheddleton will carry 4/6 but we still don't know whether they will now coast to second; the teams which are just below them in terms of strength are all in Pool A.
The standout team of the pool and perhaps the whole 4NCL so far has been Oxford. Reprieved from relegation at the end of last season after the withdrawal of Wood Green 2, they have recruited more experienced players of 2300 calibre, giving themselves more depth and are reaping the benefits of their young talents Justin Tan and Marcus Harvey - but they still lack an experienced woman player and before the start of the season one would have assumed that avoiding relegation would be their limit. But they have now won their last three matches, making what somehow seems like their first ever win v Cambridge in 4NCL, in round four; and a crushing win against the odds against a specially beefed up Grantham Sharks 1 in round five. They are now in the championship pool for the first time ever and if we still had awards for captain of the year, Tim Dickinson could be given it already.
Second Division
Pool A
The stronger pool both in terms of the top teams and in terms of depth. (I have been saying for years, since 2000 in fact, that predicting the performance of teams for seeding purposes is a disastrous enterprise, which is why I was opposed to the pool system introduced in 2009 which puts particular reliance on it. Sometimes the pools look roughly even and turn out not to be so but in this case, it was surely always obvious that this was the stronger pool).
3Cs had a solid weekend and now know that they will drop their earlirt loss to KJCA Kings. They will carry 5/6 to the promotion pool, which they will be favourites to win. Guildford 3 are starting to show the results which one would expect from a team of their resources and will also expect to make the promotion pool, though their round seven opponents, Anglian Avengers, will take their place if they win. If Guildford 3 do take their place, they will still be ineligible to be promoted because only the rules disallow three teams from the safe squad in the same division.
The surprise package of this pool has been Sussex Smartlets, who have grown in confidence (I remember them agreeing draws in excellent positions just to get over the line v Guildford 3 in the first weekend) and, in their debut season, they have now edged out three very experienced second division sides. This is example 94 of just how unpredictable the second division can be. Cambridge 2 have also had an excellent season and earned a place already in the promotion pool, in their case repeating last year's good form. At the bottom of the pool stand KJCA Kings and Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg, who will both be very concerned that their single win each (v 3Cs and Guildford 3 respectively, no less) is likely not to carry and their seventh round clash will be a somewhat anxious one.
Pool B
Three teams have already qualified for the promotion pool: White Rose 2, Barbican Youth and (barring something quite extraordinary) Spirit of Atticus. White Rose 2's success could be predicted from previous years, but Barbican Youth had only escaped relegation on the final day in the last two seasons, whereas Spirit of Atticus went down and had to be repromoted. Both teams could claim to be the surprise package of the pool, and their drawn round six match (yesterday) was easily among the best matches that I have seen in the second division - a fighting match with six games going strong in the fifth hour and some complicated games with uncanny similarities on boards one and three which had everyone baffled. The fourth spot is in the hands of BCM Dragons but they next play Spirit of Atticus and so Grantham Sharks 2, due to play bottom team MK Phoenix, will entertain hopes of overtaking them. There is much for these teams to play for; if Barbican 2 survive in the first division, then (because of the rule disallowing three teams from the same squad in the same division, mentioned above) only six of the eight teams in the promotion pool will be eligible for the four promotion spots.
Third Division
No idea. Anyway, I am unpaid and tired! Many others on this forum will know about divison 3, however - so what have we missed?
First Division
Pool A
The weaker pool in terms of depth and the four qualifiers are already known. Given Wood Green's well known troubles, those qualifiers come as no surprise: Guildford 2, Blackthorne Russia (having a good start for a change) Barbican 1 and White Rose. None of them will carry more than 4/6 into the championship pool, though.
But the most impressive team has actually been Wood Green, if you make allowances for their lack of depth and bad luck with defaults and so on! The form of their IMs and GMs has been superb, and has carried a team which has been virtually absent on the bottom boards to two wins and a draw. It will carry 4/4 into the relegation pool, and 6/6 if it beats SW Dragons. They have, in my view, shown more spirit in recent adversity than they did in fighting for the title the last two years.
Pool B
The stronger pool both in terms of the top two teams and much more so in terms of depth.
Guildford 1 will win this with 100%, and will doubtless proceed to the title. Cheddleton gave them a couple of scares on two White boards but it was not enough. Cheddleton will carry 4/6 but we still don't know whether they will now coast to second; the teams which are just below them in terms of strength are all in Pool A.
The standout team of the pool and perhaps the whole 4NCL so far has been Oxford. Reprieved from relegation at the end of last season after the withdrawal of Wood Green 2, they have recruited more experienced players of 2300 calibre, giving themselves more depth and are reaping the benefits of their young talents Justin Tan and Marcus Harvey - but they still lack an experienced woman player and before the start of the season one would have assumed that avoiding relegation would be their limit. But they have now won their last three matches, making what somehow seems like their first ever win v Cambridge in 4NCL, in round four; and a crushing win against the odds against a specially beefed up Grantham Sharks 1 in round five. They are now in the championship pool for the first time ever and if we still had awards for captain of the year, Tim Dickinson could be given it already.
Second Division
Pool A
The stronger pool both in terms of the top teams and in terms of depth. (I have been saying for years, since 2000 in fact, that predicting the performance of teams for seeding purposes is a disastrous enterprise, which is why I was opposed to the pool system introduced in 2009 which puts particular reliance on it. Sometimes the pools look roughly even and turn out not to be so but in this case, it was surely always obvious that this was the stronger pool).
3Cs had a solid weekend and now know that they will drop their earlirt loss to KJCA Kings. They will carry 5/6 to the promotion pool, which they will be favourites to win. Guildford 3 are starting to show the results which one would expect from a team of their resources and will also expect to make the promotion pool, though their round seven opponents, Anglian Avengers, will take their place if they win. If Guildford 3 do take their place, they will still be ineligible to be promoted because only the rules disallow three teams from the safe squad in the same division.
The surprise package of this pool has been Sussex Smartlets, who have grown in confidence (I remember them agreeing draws in excellent positions just to get over the line v Guildford 3 in the first weekend) and, in their debut season, they have now edged out three very experienced second division sides. This is example 94 of just how unpredictable the second division can be. Cambridge 2 have also had an excellent season and earned a place already in the promotion pool, in their case repeating last year's good form. At the bottom of the pool stand KJCA Kings and Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg, who will both be very concerned that their single win each (v 3Cs and Guildford 3 respectively, no less) is likely not to carry and their seventh round clash will be a somewhat anxious one.
Pool B
Three teams have already qualified for the promotion pool: White Rose 2, Barbican Youth and (barring something quite extraordinary) Spirit of Atticus. White Rose 2's success could be predicted from previous years, but Barbican Youth had only escaped relegation on the final day in the last two seasons, whereas Spirit of Atticus went down and had to be repromoted. Both teams could claim to be the surprise package of the pool, and their drawn round six match (yesterday) was easily among the best matches that I have seen in the second division - a fighting match with six games going strong in the fifth hour and some complicated games with uncanny similarities on boards one and three which had everyone baffled. The fourth spot is in the hands of BCM Dragons but they next play Spirit of Atticus and so Grantham Sharks 2, due to play bottom team MK Phoenix, will entertain hopes of overtaking them. There is much for these teams to play for; if Barbican 2 survive in the first division, then (because of the rule disallowing three teams from the same squad in the same division, mentioned above) only six of the eight teams in the promotion pool will be eligible for the four promotion spots.
Third Division
No idea. Anyway, I am unpaid and tired! Many others on this forum will know about divison 3, however - so what have we missed?