Suffolk Chess

It was close, but Suffolk managed to win both matches today in the EACU County Championships, at the Turner Hall in Newmarket.

On paper, Suffolk should have won both matches easily, as they outgraded opponents Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire by some margin.

Top Suffolk scorers were:

Shaun Munson   2
Rob Sanders   2
Nick Savage   1½
Ian Wallis   1½
Phil Hopkins   1½
Andrew Shephard   1½

Suffolk beat Hertfordshire 9½ - 6½ in the morning, and scraped home 8½ - 7½ against Bedfordshire in the afternoon. At one stage it appeared that Suffolk would lose the PM match, but last-to-finish Steve Gregory managed to eke out a win both for himself and the team.

Three counties - Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk - now have nine match points from their six matches.   But Suffolk are third when game points are taken into consideration.   The final matches on 8 March are crucial, with Suffolk facing Hertfordshire as well as current league leaders Cambridgeshire.

Suffolk are current Minor Counties Champions.