50+: England finish unbeaten to take gold

The European Senior Team Chess Championships concluded in Hersonissos, Crete, with England 1 winning the 50+ section and Slovenia taking first place in the 65+ competition. The tournaments were held at the Royal Belvedere Hotel from 27 August to 4 September, with around 150 players competing across the two age categories. Both sections consisted of 9-round Swiss tournaments, with four boards per match and a classical time control.

England 1 entered the 50+ tournament as the top seeds and finished with 17/18 match points, having won eight matches and drawn one. Their only dropped point came in round four, when they drew 2-2 with second seeds Italy in a match which featured four draws. At the halfway stage, the two teams were still level on 9/10, with England ahead on tiebreaks.

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From that point, England won all four of their remaining matches to secure the title outright. Italy also remained undefeated, but another drawn match left them one point behind the champions on 16/18. The Netherlands and Slovakia both finished on 13 points - the Dutch team took bronze thanks to the Olympiad Sonneborn-Berger tiebreak.

England's final tally of 29½ game points was also the highest in the section, 3 points more than Italy. The champions fielded Stuart Conquest, Daniel Gormally, Mark Hebden, John Emms and Graeme Buckley during the event.

Three members of the English squad collected individual board medals. Gormally, who turned 50 this year, won gold on board two, while Emms took first place on board four and Buckley topped the reserve-board standings. Conquest was third on board one and Hebden second on board three. Italy's Michele Godena was the leading performer on board one, while Fabrizio Bellia took gold on board three.

The all-women England team, which competed in the same 50+ section, was meanwhile awarded the European Women's Senior Team title.

• Board 1: 1.Michele Godena (ITA); 2.Lubomir Ftacnik (SVK); 3.Stuart Conquest (ENG)
• Board 2: 1.Daniel Gormally (ENG); 2.Alberto David (ITA); 3.Mark Van Der Werf (NED)
• Board 3: 1.Fabrizio Bellia (ITA); 2.Mark Hebden (ENG); 3.Martin Martens (NED)
• Board 4: 1.John Emms (ENG); 2.Carlo D'Amore (ITA); 3.Claudiu Andrei Zetocha (SVK)
• Board 5: 1.Graeme Buckley (ENG); 2.Clive Frostick (ENG); 3.Giulio Borgo (ITA)

The all-women English squad | Photo: Zetta Grapsa

Malcolm Pein (England 2) 0-1 Daniel Gormally (England 1)

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The top performers on board two: Mark van der Werf from the Netherlands (third place), Daniel Gormally from England (first place) and Alberto David from Italy (second place) | Photo: Zetta Grapsa

Final standings

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Over 150 players meet in Hersonissos

The 65+ section produced an even closer finish. Slovenia and England 1, the top two seeds, both ended the tournament with 16/18 match points, and the title was decided by the first tiebreak criterion, Olympiad Sonneborn-Berger. Slovenia prevailed with 266.5 tiebreak points to England's 254.5, while Italy took bronze with 15 match points.

Slovenia went through the tournament unbeaten, recording seven victories and two draws. England actually won one more match, finishing with eight victories, but their sole defeat proved crucial: it came against Slovenia in round four. The Slovenian team won that direct encounter thanks to victories by Leon Mazi and Vojko Mencinger on boards three and four.

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After five rounds, Slovenia and England were already level on 8/10, although they had reached that score differently: Slovenia had three wins and two draws, while England had four wins and the loss to their main rivals. Both sides subsequently won each of their final four matches, leaving them tied on match points at the end.

Slovenia's team was led by Alexander Beliavsky on board one and captain Adrian Mikhalchisin on board two, but their strongest individual performances came lower down the order. Mazi won the board-three gold medal, while Mencinger finished first on board four.

England, whose top board was John Nunn, also collected several individual medals. Nunn finished second on board one, Anthony Kosten took silver on board two, and Peter Large won the reserve-board gold. Large had already started the tournament with four wins from four appearances and maintained his position at the top of the board-five standings.

Italy finished only one match point behind the leading pair. Carlos Garcia Palermo and Lexy Ortega won the individual gold medals on boards one and two respectively, but the team had to settle for third place behind the two pre-tournament favourites.

• Board 1: 1.Carlos Garcia (ITA); 2.John Nunn (ENG); 3.Alexander Beliavsky (SLO)
• Board 2: 1.Lexy Ortega (ITA); 2.Anthony Kosten (ENG); 3.Paul Townsend (ENG)
• Board 3: 1.Leon Mazi (SLO); 2.Markky Henttinen (FIN); 3.Mario Sibilio (ITA)
• Board 4: 1.Vojko Mencinger (SLO); 2.Ivano Ceschia (ITA); 3.Edgar Wilson (ENG)
• Board 5: 1.Peter Large (ENG); 2.Olivier Tassi (ITA); 3.Mats Lindgren (SWE)

The podium of the 65+ section | Photo: Zetta Grapsa

Final standings

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Links

• European Chess Union
• Full technical information on Chess-Results: 50+ section | 65+ section