Team Blitz Results

The annual team blitz was once again contested by the teams of Bideford, Holsworthy, Barnstaple A and Barnstaple B. All these teams had a constant set of four players playing, except for Barnstaple B; they had a squad of five players from whom they picked four each round. It was a double-round all-play-all, and the results went as follows:

Round 1: Bideford managed a 3-1 victory over Barnstaple A; Holsworthy managed a victory by the same scoreline over Barnstaple B.

Bideford, Holsworthy 3; Barnstaple A, Barnstaple B 1

Round 2: Barnstaple A beat their B team 3-1; Bideford beat Holsworthy on the top two boards and lost on the bottom two.

Bideford, Holsworthy 5; Barnstaple A 4; Barnstaple B 2

Round 3: Bideford beat Barnstaple B 4-0; Barnstaple A and Holsworthy drew 2-2.

Bideford 9; Holsworthy 7; Barnstaple A 6; Barnstaple B 2

At this point, we stopped for refreshments, including Steve Knight's famous egg sandwiches. One of the Barnstaple B players had to leave at this point, so the remaining four players played all the remaining games.

Round 4: Barnstaple A beat Bideford 2½-1½; Holsworthy beat Barnstaple B 3-1.

Bideford 10½; Holsworthy 10; Barnstaple A 8½; Barnstaple B 3

Round 5: The crucial deciding result came in this round, as Bideford managed to beat Holsworthy 4-0, with Barnstaple A beating Barnstaple B 3½-½. These results meant Bideford only needed 2 points against Barnstaple B to take the title.

Bideford 14½; Barnstaple A 12; Holsworthy 10; Barnstaple B 3½

Round 6: Bideford wrapped up the title by beating Barnstaple B 3-1; Barnstaple A got second place with a 3-1 win over Holsworthy.

Final scores: Bideford 17½; Barnstaple A 15; Holsworthy 11; Barnstaple B 4½

Leading scorers for each team:
Jack Rudd (Bideford, board 1) 6/6
Peter Marriott (Barnstaple, board 2) 6/6
Theresa Garrett (Holsworthy, board 3) 5/6
John Howard (Barnstaple B; two games on board 3 and three on board 4) 2½/5

I would like to thank my team-mates Roger Neat, Jon Munsey and Peter Sandon for their contributions to our victory, and everyone, particularly organizer Richard Nash, for making it a fun evening.