SNCL (Scottish National Chess League) Sunday 24th November 24 Round 3 & 4 Report
SEASON 2024-25
SNCL (Scottish National Chess League)
Sunday 24th November 24
Round 3 & 4
Dundee City teams are a joint venture by Castlehill CC & Dundee CC.
On Match Day 2, our 4 Dundee City teams set about a long arduous day of chess. Dundee City A and B had a tough day ahead in Division 1 while our C and D teams were battling it out in Division 3. Your author was not able to be present to witness any of the events that unfolded but some were truly spectacular. Two things stand out in particular: first the performance of the B team against Stepps and second the remarkable achievements of our young players.
MATCH REPORT
ROUND 3 – 10am
Division One
Dundee City A (2131) 3½ – 1½ (1900) Forth Valley A
In the morning, Dundee City A proved far too strong for Forth Valley A. The top three boards were drawn but on Board 4 a win by Ed Spencer over William Spiers and on Board 5 a win for George Vayanos over Pranav Hariharan proved to be the decisive factors in a 3.5-1.5 victory.
Bon Accord (1836) 2 – 3 (1916) Dundee City B
Dundee City B were up against Bon Accord. The latter team is not as strong as it has been in recent years but still represented a significant obstacle. As it turned out all the boards were drawn with the exception of Board 5 where Matthew Deighan was up against Michael Adam. Michael is a strong player who has recently returned to playing chess after a long absence. It was no surprise therefore that the game was going to be tight. As the game came to its conclusion and with checkmate threats abounding across the board, fortune favoured Matthew who held his nerve to gain full points for the team, the winning score being 3-2.
Division Three
Dundee City D (1180) 2 – 3 (1578) Dundee City C
While the above dramas were unfolding, across the hall in Division 3 the cards fell unfortunately for Dundee City C and D who were paired to play against each other. Several of our young players were involved, most notably Matthew Hunter (J16) who recently tied 1st equal in the Dundee Congress Challenger event. Add to that Ana Seijas Otero who is becoming a stronger and stronger chess player as each season progresses. Then, Nour Afeneh was playing his first day of SNCL chess while on Board 5 for the D team was Katarina Tanzerova who was also having her first day of chess at the SNCL. As the games unfolded, Alisdair McLeod of the C-team proved too strong for Kam Wan. However, for the D-team, Matthew Hunter overwhelmed Jan Klingelhoefer (1715)- a remarkable performance. Then Ana won for the C-team over Franscesco Polignano while Nour Afeneh fell victim to veteran Tom Wardlaw. Then on Board 5, Katarina Tanzerova of the D-team proved victorious over Steve Thomson (1415). When the scores were finally added up, the Dundee City C-team had scraped home as winners by 3-2 – but what outstanding performances from Katarina, Ana and Matthew.
ROUND 4 – 3pm
Division One
CSBOS 1 (1807) 1 – 4 (2131) Dundee City A
In the afternoon, the Dundee A team juggernaut continued to overwhelm all those put in its path. This time it was CS-BOS 1 who were the losers by 1-4. On this occasion David Findlay and Andrew Wright drew on Boards 2 and 3 respectively but the remaining Boards were all won -in this case by Jacques Ophoff (Board 1), Ed Spencer (Board 4) and George Vayanos (Board 5). It should be highlighted that Ed and George won both of their games. In particular, this is showing that young George is proving to be a valuable part of the A-team squad. If this win for the A-team was not in itself significant, one could not have imagined was happening in the B-team games.
Dundee City B (1880) 3 – 2 (2007) Stepps
Dundee City B were paired against Stepps and clearly out graded by more than 200 points on Boards 1 and 2. The remaining 3 Boards were much closer in playing strength. The sense before the game was that there was little chance of the B-team securing a victory – but this is exactly what happened. On Board 1 Stephen Hogg was always going to have a difficult time against IM Douglas Bryson and so it proved. However, on Board 2, Andre Babin pulled out all the stops and ended victorious against Chukwuka Allor (2113) – a phenomenal achievement. Then on Board 3, Joshua Crofts beat William Hulme (1934), the current captain of Scotland’s Senior B-team. On Board 4, Matthew Deighan struggled against an in-form Ian Marks who had just a week earlier came 3rd = in the Oban Congress Open. Finally, but no less significant was Alisdair McLeod’s win over Ian Brownlee – meaning that the B-team had beaten Stepps by 3-2.
Division Three
Dunfermline Rooks (1381) 2½ -2½ (1519) Dundee City C
Dundee City C had to fight tooth and nail against an up for it, Dunfermline Rooks to get the draw! All credit once again to Ana Belen Otero Seijas and Tom Wardlaw for making it two wins each at the SNCL. Fantastic battling chess! Credit also to Steve Thomson on board 5, who finally gets some reward for his chess with a draw that secured the draw!
Stonehaven (1295) 2½ – 2½ (1180) Dundee City D
Dundee City D pulled off a great draw against Stonehaven with Matthew Hunter and Katarina Tanzerova both winning for the second time! Nour Afaneh in only his second match, got a draw which was a very important result, securing the match draw!
LEAGUE TABLES
Dundee City A lead division one by 1 point, Dundee City B sit in equal 3rd place on match points, but 5th on board points.
In division three, Dundee City C sit in 6th on 5 points, while Dundee City D sit in 12th place on 3 points.
EPILOGUE
So, at the end of play, by far and away the best team performance was by the B-team with its win over Stepps. Individual performances of the day have to go to Andre Babin for his win over Chukwuka Allor and Matthew Hunter for his victory over Jan Klingelhoefer. Overall, our young Dundee City players were the ones who stood out with their high standard of play – and wins. Notable amongst these were George Vayanos for the A-team, Joshua Crofts (yes Joshua you still count as ‘young’!) and Matthew Deighans for the B-team, Ana Seijas Otero for the C-team and Katarina Tanzerova together with Matthew Hunter for the D-team.
What an amazing set of performances from our Dundee City players – very well done!
Alastair Dawson
Rounds 5 & 6, Sunday 23rd February 2025
For all the results and standings, click “HERE“