Today is a rest day, but after five rounds (out of nine), Adam is well-placed (and unbeaten) on 3½ points. Tomorrow he faces the second seed which will be a tough test. Sister Amy (pictured below) is on 2 points.
The results of all twelve England juniors can be followed here.
The website for the event can be seen here.
The Suffolk team included two juniors - Alex Sheerin and Jaden Jermy, who both won. In fact, Suffolk were unbeaten on the bottom seven boards, despite being outgraded on every one of those boards. Jaden's win on board 16 was crucial; had he lost, the team would have lost the match on board count.
Other Suffolk winners were Alan Merry (Board 1), Ian Wallis (4), Ted Matthewson (10), Steve Ruthen (12) and Phil Hutchings (13).
The Open section was predictably won by top seed IM Alan Merry, who scored 4½/5. He drew with FM Terry Chapman in Round 4 and needed to win his final game to ensure the title. This he achieved, with a win against Ipswich's Graham Moore.
There were five players on 3½ points sharing first place in the u170 section. These included Tim Lunn (Ipswich) and Phil Hutchings (Manningtree). Also sharing first place was 11-year old Julia Volovich, from Cambridge.
The Under 130 section was won on 4½ points by 12-year old Jaden Jermy, of the Bury St Edmunds and Bury Knights clubs. He quickly drew his final game against the section's top seed to guarantee the title.
"It was a very close match, despite Broadland turning up with a stronger than expected team. Grading-wise the teams were evenly matched, however I thought with the given board orders Broadland were favourites. Ipswich won the toss and had White on odds.
Mine was the first game to finish. I played an inferior line in the opening and gave my opponent an advantage which he duly converted. Nick was next, taking a draw in a balanced position but one that could have gone wrong if playing too hard to win.
Shaun obtained a winning position with a neat combination that forced a win of the queen for two minor pieces. The result was never in doubt although his opponent stubbornly played on to the end, no doubt not wanting to resign for the sake of the team. I'm sure he would have resigned earlier in an individual game.
This left the match evenly poised 1½ - 1½ with three games to go.
Silas on top board was being outplayed despite putting up valiant resistance. Steve was gradually improving his position and had a slight edge but with plenty for both sides to play for. Graham's game was still unclear.
Steve finally obtained a better position and went on to checkmate. We were ahead for the first time.
Silas resistance ran out and he resigned. So. with the match all square again the result hinged on the final game. A win, or a draw, would give victory to Ipswich as the first tie-break rule for this competition is, rather unusually, board elimination rather than board count. Had it been board count a draw would have favoured Broadland.
Both players were down to a couple of minutes. Graham had sacrificed his last minor piece for some pawns and was playing R + 4/5 against R + N + P. And then catastrophe; with at least a draw in sight he stumbled into a mate in the middle of the board. Thus Broadland won the match 3½-2½."
| Ipswich | Grade | Result | Broadland | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silas Peck | 186 | 0 - 1 | Richard Polaczek | 216 |
| Graham Moore | 193 | 0 - 1 | Ken McEwan | 199 |
| Shaun Munson | 193 | 1 - 0 | Roy Hughes | 190 |
| Nick Savage | 186 | ½ - ½ | Gerald Moore | 185 |
| Steve Gregory | 186 | 1 - 0 | Daniel Frean | 175 |
| Ian Wallis | 188 | 0 - 1 | Ieysaa bin-Suhayl | 176 |
