Event: Bloodworth Juniors

2018-19 Bloodworth junior team competition Thursday 7th February 2019 This year’s competition saw the return to the fray of a Plymouth team for the first time in several years, but was then hit by the withdrawal of Broadclyst. This was a slight relief to Trefor, Julian & myself as producing 3 rounds of jamboree pairings for 5 teams had threatened to become a headache. Round 1 Normal service is resumed Colyton arrived unbeaten since 2017 in 8 matches & were soon inflicting damage on the boys from Torquay, winning by a clear 3 points with only Aritra able to rescue a draw. Plymouth had been hit by a late withdrawal & played the entire evening one player short; Newton Abbot were too good for them, though the margin was kept to 3-1. Round 2 No letting up Colyton steam-rollered Newton Abbot with a maximum win. Plymouth seemed to be getting in to the swing a bit better, losing only on account of the default & holding Torquay on the three boards played. Round 3 A sign of things to come? The traditional grudge match between Trefor’s 2 teams this year went, by the narrowest of margins, to Torquay. Niranjana produced a win for Newton to maintain the tension, but Thomas & David shaded the match. Meanwhile, the 3 Plymouth players (total grade 98) were getting stuck into their Colyton opponents (total grade 380). Edmund kept his cool, picking off pawns at regular intervals, but both Caleb C (7 years younger than his opponent) & Ayush found back-rank weaknesses to tie the match. So Colyton managed to retain their unbeaten record – now 11 matches & with Edmund heading to University & Nicky probably out of the reckoning on grading limit – it will be interesting to see whether they can extend this next year. Trefor continues to produce combative sides from both his clubs, while the Plymouth manager will attempt to field a full side in future. A very well-contested evening, with only one 4-0 result. Thanks as always to Trefor Thynne for premises & half the teams & to my sparring partner Julian Bacon for transporting the Colyton team. Also the Plymouth parents for whom this was a new experience. Match points: Colyton 5, Torquay 4, Newton Abbot 2, Plymouth 1 Game points: Edmund 2.5/3, Ollie 2/2 (only 100%), Nicky & Benny [all Colyton], Thomas {TBGS], Niranjana [Newton Abbot] & Ayush [Plymouth] 2/3 Nick Butland