European Championships ...
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3Cs' performances in the 2017 & 2018 4NCL competition resulted in the club qualifying to represent Great Britain in the European Club Championships and against the best teams from the continent.
2018 - Halkadiki, Greece ...
2018 European Club Cup - 3Cs' results
Round 1 SK 1911 (Norway) Lost 0.5 - 5.5
Round 2 Aatos (Finland) Lost 2 - 4
Round 3 Caissa Chania (Greece) Won 4 - 2
Round 4 Dudelange (Luxembourg) Won 4.5 - 1.5
Round 5 Rehovot (Israel) Lost 1.5 - 4.5
Round 6 Team Viking (Sweden) Lost 2 - 4
Round 7 Viking Chess Club (Norway) Lost 2.5 - 3.5
An overall score of 2 / 7 was itself an excellent performance by the team considering that the FIDE rating of each player was far below the average of the seven opponents they faced. However, they all contributed valuable game points throughout the competition, as follows ...
Adam Ashton 2 (1 win, 2 draws)
Alex Longson 3 (3 wins)
Rhys Cumming 3.5 (2 wins, 3 draws)
Sarah Longson 3 (3 wins)
Alan Walton 3 (2 wins, 2 draws)
Phil Adams 2.5 (5 draws)
It is a testiment to the strength of 3Cs as a club that while the leading sides in the event have enticed players from all over the world to just play together as a team for this particular tournament, the Oldham side, apart from the enforced late inclusion of Rhys Cumming, all have genuine connections with the club.
The team were also competing without the services of Grandmaster Stephen Gordon, International Master Andy Horton, FIDE Master Daniel Abbas as well as two other regular first-team players John Bentley and Jamie Horton, all of whom have come through via the 3Cs' junior ranks.
Fri 12 - Thr 18 October 2018. Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece
3Cs' team:
Board 1 FM Adam Ashton
Board 2 FM Alex Longson
Board 3 Rhys Cumming
Board 4 WFM Sarah Longson
Board 5 CM Alan Walton
Board 6 Phil Adams
The 3Cs' team in Greece.
(l to r) Rhys Cumming, Sarah Longson, Alan Walton, Adam Ashton, Alex Longson, Phil Adams
3Cs suffered a blow to their chances of glory at the European Club Cup even before the competition began. French Grandmaster Fabien Libiszewski, who has played several seasons for 3Cs in the UK 4NCL and was due to be on the top board for the club in the European event, had to withdraw due to an injury which occured just hours before he was due to travel to Greece for the tournament.
However, 3Cs managed to obtain the services of experienced 4NCL player Rhys Cumming, with the team now ranked 45th out of 61.
To give an idea of 3Cs' tremendous effort to even be playing in the event, the top 27 teams each have an average FIDE rating for their six players which is more than any of the individual ratings for all of the 3Cs' side.
1st round action from the 2018 European Club Cup in Greece. The 3Cs' team can be seen centre left of the photo (unfortunately with backs to the camera - maybe the best view of them !!!) From left to right - Phil Adams, Alan Walton, Sarah Longson, Rhys Cumming, Alex Longson, Adam Ashton.
Adam Ashton pictured playing on top board for 3Cs in Greece. Adam is a product of the club's successful youth policy and was representing 3Cs for the second time in the European event.
As the 3Cs' player on the top board Adam faced some of the best players in Europe during the tournament including one Grandmaster and four International Masters.
The venue for the 2018 European Club Cup ... with Phil Adams just arriving (left) and finding that the rest of the 3Cs' team have taken all the parking spaces !
2017 - Antalya, Turkey ...
October 2017
The 3Cs' first team played for the first time in the European Club Championships to which they qualified by finishing in the top 4 of the 2016-17 national 4NCL league.
Qualification itself was an outstanding achivement for 3Cs, whose team mostly comprised of players who have come through the club's junior ranks yet were competing against opposition to whom some of the country's top players had been enticed to represent them.
Even greater opposition faced 3Cs in the European event, staged at Antalya, Turkey, with the very strongest teams fielding full squads of Grand Masters, one of whom being former World Champion Vladamir Kramnik.
Of the 34 teams involved in the competition 3Cs began as 23rd seed yet several outstanding individual performances saw the team winning 4 of the 7 matches they played to finish 14th, thus being the top English club in the tournament and just 4 points behind the eventual Champions, Globus of Russia.
3Cs in action during the 2017 European Club Cup in Turkey.
Some of the team are shown here - facing the camera in the foreground
(left to right)
Adam Ashton
Gary Quillan
Alan Walton
Courtesy of "The Telegraph" and "Sunday Telegraph"
SARAH and ALEX LONGSON who both played for 3Cs in the 2017 European Club Cup in Turkey.
FIDE Master Alex is one of the many players to have progressed from the 3Cs' junior ranks and having also won the 1997 British under-14s' Championship.
His wife Sarah is a Womens' FIDE Master and won the 2013 British Ladies' Championship whilst she also organises the annual Delancey UK Schools' Chess Challenge in which many of our 3Cs' youngsters compete.
3Cs Team
Board 1 FM Daniel Abbas
Board 2 FM Alex Longson
Board 3 FM Adam Ashton
Board 4 IM Gary Quillan
Board 5 CM Alan Walton
Board 6 WFM Sarah Longson
Daniel Abbas (right) ... Dazzling his opponent !!!
