A very intense night of chess saw the top 2 teams in Division 1 fight it out to take the premier position. Liverpool coming out on top with an conclusive 5-2 victory. With 3 matches to go this now makes them favourites to take this years title.
Both sides had very impressive line-ups with FM and professional coach Jonathan Blackburn and Giovanni Sala joining the Atticus Team.
Liverpool recruiting the European Junior Champion Ukrainian Svyatoslav Bazakutsa, Svyatoslav has recently recorded a score of 6.5/8 in the Hastings Open. A special mention should go to Emily Vernon the Principal of Liverpool North Academy for bringing him along.
Atticus generally held their own on the higher boards but were struggling a bit lower down. Steve Kee maintained his push for player of the season with a draw against Roger and also fine draw for Jonathan against IM Gary Quillan. Giovanni was straight back to his best with a win over Colin Horton.
The team will now have to rely on Liverpool slipping up to have any chance of retaining the title this year.
| Board | Home | Atticus 2 | Liverpool 1 | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (B) | 2273 (2289) |
G
Blackburn, Jonathan LB |
½ - ½ |
G
Quillan, Gary |
2401 (2395) |
| 2 (W) | 2131 (2135) |
B
Stancak, Andrej |
0 - 1 |
N
Bazakutsa, Svyatoslav |
0000 (2278) |
| 3 (B) | 2070 (2120) |
S
Kee, Steve |
½ - ½ |
G
Williamson, Roger G |
2235 (2219) |
| 4 (W) | 0000 () |
N
Sala, Giovanni |
1 - 0 |
B
Horton, Colin D |
2049 (2071) |
| 5 (B) | 2011 (2032) |
B
Boumphrey, Luke S |
0 - 1 |
S
Griffin, Michael |
2036 (2026) |
| 6 (W) | 2012 (2009) |
B
Odunaiya, A David |
0 - 1 |
S
Korsinskij, Marek |
1953 (1989) |
| 7 (B) | 1841 (1790) |
B
Ewart, Brian R |
0 - 1 |
G
Erskine-Pereira, Jack |
1932 (1968) |
| Total | 12338 | 2 - 5 | Total | 12606 |