Kent U14 win the SCCU Open event (report by Rohan Shiatis)
Team members: Rohan Shiatis, Girinath Haridas, Alexander Selway, Jackson Wen, Michael Gilbert, James Meredith, Anantha Anilkumar and Francesco Bernardini.There is always that special story to tell with every hard fought victory. Every county and virtually every player will talk about that elusive half point that evaded them or that they managed to grind out through sheer obstinacy, or that victory which somehow turned to defeat or that win from a completely lost position. This tournament had it all and more.
The counties entered were Kent, Essex, Surrey, Berkshire and Sussex and excitement mounted as all counties were still within a shout of winning going into the last round.
Kent were equal first with Berkshire. Surrey were just a point behind and Essex a seemingly distant fourth. Then for Kent, three early losses in the last round started the heart racing. Perhaps it was not to be our day after all. Berkshire were out in front, but Essex were churning out win after win and were soon leading the way. Surrey were quietly creeping up in the background. Kent finally rallied with three successive wins and nosed themselves in front once more.
It came down to the last five boards playing. I watched anxiously as each game practically went the distance; with Kent locked in a must win game against a talented Berkshire player.
In order to lift the trophy, we needed the following to happen in 3 of the remaining 4 games: Essex to beat Berkshire, Surrey to beat Berkshire and Sussex to at least avoid a defeat against Essex. Gradually, gradually the results started filtering through. Sussex got the draw we needed, Essex got the win we needed, Surrey the win against Berkshire and finally Kent the win which ensured we came out as Champions; based on number of wins after a three way tie on points with Surrey and Essex.
A thrilling and exciting finale!
All players played exceptionally well and for a team which were all under 12 playing in a under 14 tournament this was truly commendable. We were very proud to lift the trophies. A big well done to all the players and a thank you to the parents. Thank you to Sussex for hosting the event. A special thank you to Anil Anilkumar for organising the team and bringing everyone together.
Final points were:
Kent 13.5
(12 wins), Essex and
Surrey 13.5 (10 wins), Berkshire 12 and Sussex 7.5.