— from Chris Baker ( a fuller report will appear in ChessMoves for April)
Held in Swidnica 4th April to 14th April 2025 featuring 50+ and 65+ teams. This is a four player team event whilst having the option of a 5th player to enable teams to maintain flexibility and allow players to have rest days should they wish. Unfortunately, and almost certainly due to the World Senior Championships taking place only 6 weeks prior, entries were greatly reduced combined with last minute withdrawals causing great organisational problems.
At the technical meeting late on the 4th it was decided to run the over 50s, as it had only 8 entries, with a unique solution. It would be run as a 7 round all play all followed by 1 vs. 2 (double rounder for Gold/Silver placings), 3 vs. 4 (on the same basis for Bronze/4th place) 5 vs. 6, 7 vs.8. The over 65s with 9 entries was simpler, a 9 round event with each team getting a bye in different rounds.
Final squads
England 1 – 1. Michael Adams; 2. John Emms (Captain); 3. Glenn Flear; 4. Nigel Davies; 5. Stephen Dishman
England 2 – Graeme Buckley; Neil Dickinson; Chris Duncan; Philip Crocker (Captain); Robert Noyce
England 50+ Women – 1. Susan Lalic; 2. Ingrid Lauterbach; 3. Natasha Regan; 4. Sheila Jackson; 5. Petra Fink-Nunn (Captain)
England 65+ team – 1. John Nunn; 2. Tony Kosten; 3. Jonathan Mestel; 4. Peter Large; 5. Chris Baker (Captain)
Round 1
So to round 1. In the over 50s, England 1 and Germany the top two seeds clashed with the only decisive game being Mickey Adams winning as Black against Grandmaster Klaus Bischoff in a hard fought game, ensuring a 2.5-1.5 victory. Meanwhile, the English ladies team secured a 2-2 draw against a local Swidnica side with Petra Fink-Nunn being the sole English victor, while England 2 wiped out another local side 4-0!
In the over 65s England 1 had an unbeaten 3-1 victory against the third seeds from Belgium with an impressive win by Jonathan Mestal and a win by Chris Baker. The English second team narrowly lost to the second seeds from Germany which had four FMs – two of these draws came with the Black pieces. As the original second seeds in the over 65s withdrew very late, there were some changes made to the original intended squads and a special mentions should go to international master Graeme Buckley, grandmaster Glenn Flear and John Quinn, who put England’s interests above their own.
Round 2
In the over 50s England 1 continued to show good form with a 4-0 win against the England women’s team with the game Adams (White) Lalic being the last to finish. Meanwhile England 2 had to have a default on board 2 after Neil Dickenson was taken ill, we wish him a speedy recovery. This resulted in the Welsh team winning 2.5-1.5 with Chris Duncan being the only English winner.
In the over 65s England won 3-1 in what seemed a very tight match and despite two relatively quick draws Peter Large won a nice Q+P ending while Chris Baker converted despite missing an earlier opportunity. Meanwhile England 2 beat Finland with Kevin Bowmer landing the fatal blow and John Quinn securing a draw against Grandmaster Heikki Westerinen.
Round 3
In the Over 50s England won 3.5-0.5 against the local team from Swidnica with Nigel Davies being held as Black to a draw. Mickey Adams equalised as Black but found it difficult to push for a win until his opponent blundered on move 26 with f4?? When 26. Rf1 seemed to maintain equilibrium although Mickey would have no doubt played on hoping for an error. Meanwhile John Emms and Stephen Dishman had nice wins. England 2 lost 3.5-0.5 against the four German Grandmasters but the score was deceptive with the match looking tight until the final hour. Philip Crocker’s advantage slipped and the games turned against our second team. It was good to see the return of Neil Dickinson after his night in hospital and he was doing well before 22. Nde2. The English women’s team lost a very match 2.5-1.5 despite a fine win by Sheila Jackson.
In the Over 65s England 1 won with by a consistent 3-1 margin when Tony Kosten won a game that always appeared in his favour but where his opponent had resources and Black finally collapsed towards the time control. Jonathan Mestel couldn’t quite managed to push through his opponents quiet opening variation while Peter Large once again blasted through his with a prepared Rook sacrifice and when his opponent blundered with 18…Ke8?? (had he played 18…Kc6 he was still worse and been under tremendous pressure, I have no doubt Peter would have still dispatched him). Meanwhile England 2 lost a very tight match to the Belgium side, John Quinn again had a fine result drawing as Black against International Master Jan Rooze, Brian Hewson had a steady draw, Charles Higgie drew from what looked a dubious opening and Ian Reynolds lost from a good position once missing a difficult move 15. h4 (… a computer like move rather than 15. Bg5?).