Premier League Results 2022/23
Our top team pool has a number of titled experienced players but real life commitments keep many away from league chess. We are fortunate to have Hamish Olson and Mark Orr heading up our core pool with Tom Leah, Elliot Sloan, Richard Kynoch and Jim O'Neil committed on the lower boards. In the table below, the first score (in bold) is the Dragon‘s.
| Opposition | H/A | Date | Res |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh West 1 | A | Oct 26 | 2-4 |
| Edinburgh 2 | H | Nov 1 | 4½-1½ |
| Badgers Brook | A | Nov 28 | 4-2 |
| Bank of Scotland 1 | H | Dec 6 | 3-3 |
| Edinburgh 1 | A | Jan 11 | 1½-4½ |
| Edinburgh West 1 | H | Jan 24 | 5-1 |
| Edinburgh 2 | A | Feb 6 | 4½-1½ |
| Badgers Brook | H | Feb 21 | 4½-1½ |
| Bank of Scotland 1 | A | Mar 7 | 3½-2½ |
| Edinburgh 1 | H | Mar 21 | 1-5 |
Our first team had already secured second spot in the Premier and faced the winners of the Premier in the last game.
The gradings were heavily weighted against the Dragons and the result reflected that, although the two draws were excellent results.
| Wandering Dragons 1 | 1‑5 | Edinburgh 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Orr, Mark J L (2126) | ½‑½ | Ruxton, Keith (2316) |
| Leah, Tom (1951) | 0‑1 | Berry, Neil M (2308) |
| Browning, Isaac (1934) | ½‑½ | Thomson, Craig S M (2193) |
| Sloan, Elliot S (1916) | 0‑1 | MacQueen, Calum (2153) |
| O`Neil, Jim (1836) | 0‑1 | Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick (2123) |
| Heron, Donald (1797) | 0‑1 | Bremner, Adam (2127) |
It was easier than it looked, as we were 3-0 up. Jim won quickly when his opponent blundered a whole piece without any compensation. Elliot dropped a piece, to go level on material, but the opponent's king was in such a perilous position, Elliot was still able to convert quickly. It helped that his opponent missed a queen sac for a mate threat. Isaac won at a canter.
Tom was better, a pawn up, but it went to opposite bishops, so ended in a safe draw. David seems to disintegrate rather quickly, losing 2 pieces for a rook, it was in the balance but then he lost another exchange and ended up with 2 rooks versus queen and 5 pawns! Mark was exchange up, but then got outplayed before the time control to be 1 pawn down with a poor position and eventually lost on time in a lost position.
| Bank of Scotland 1 | 2½‑3½ | Wandering Dragons 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Blanco, Jorge (2139) | 1‑0 | Orr, Mark J L (2126) |
| Chisholm, Mike (1958) | ½‑½ | Leah, Tom (1951) |
| Mollison, Jamie (1839) | 0‑1 | Browning, Isaac (1934) |
| Lamarque, Hugh (1816) | 0‑1 | Sloan, Elliot S (1916) |
| Chapman, Nigel (1796) | 0‑1 | O`Neil, Jim (1836) |
| Ballantyne, Stuart (1442) | 1‑0 | Wallace, David (1727) |
Another fine win.
| Wandering Dragons 1 | 4½‑1½ | Badgers Brooke |
|---|---|---|
| Orr, Mark J L (2126) | 1‑0 | Newton, Andrew (2007) |
| Minnican, Alan W (2098) | ½‑½ | McGeoch, Kenny R (1998) |
| Leah, Tom (1951) | ½‑½ | Cooke, Mark (1887) |
| Sloan, Elliot S (1916) | ½‑½ | Will, Douglas (1833) |
| Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) | 1‑0 | Rowney, Jonathan (1612) |
| O`Neil, Jim (1836) | 1‑0 | McGilvary, David (1513) |
The dragons continue to reap the rewards of the top boards quality chess. Jim lost on 6 to an inform and up and coming Junior.
| Edinburgh 2 | 1½‑4½ | Wandering Dragons 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Rutherford, Willie (1994) | 0‑1 | Olson, Hamish (2370) |
| Bhopal, Raj (1974) | 0-1 | Orr, Mark J L (2126) |
| Kristjansson, Snorri (1917) | 0‑1 | Leah, Tom (1951) |
| Ridge, Michael (1870) | ½‑½ | Sloan, Elliot S (1916) |
| Dawson, Euan (1865) | 0‑1 | Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) |
| Blackford, Ross (1827) | 1‑0 | O`Neil, Jim (1836) |
A brilliant team performance from our A Team, not losing a single game, giving us the best result of the season. Many games were close but the dragon fire was there to get the results.
| Wandering Dragons 1 | 5‑1 | Edinburgh West 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Olson, Hamish (2370) | 1-0 | Grant, Jonathan (2164) |
| Orr, Mark J L (2126) | 1‑0 | Farrell, Neil R (2188) |
| Minnican, Alan W (2098) | ½‑½ | Neave, George (2085) |
| Leah, Tom (1951) | 1‑0 | McLean, Ian (1921) |
| Sloan, Elliot S (1916) | ½‑½ | Walker, Duncan (1696) |
| O`Neil, Jim (1836) | 1‑0 | Robinson, Martin E (1663) |
Dragons 1 managed to bring out a strong team to face the toughest opponents in the league.
Our top guys held the line with three draws but our bottom guys were soundly beaten,
facing an overall grade deficit of 675 ELO points in total.
Jim was probably the closest but lost out in a drawn B+P ending.
| Edinburgh 1 | 4½‑1½ | Wandering Dragons 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Ruxton, Keith (2316) | ½‑½ | Olson, Hamish (2370) |
| Thomson, Craig S M (2233) | ½‑½ | Orr, Mark J L (2126) |
| Walden, Petros (2199) | ½‑½ | Minnican, Alan W (2098) |
| MacQueen, Calum (2153) | 1‑0 | Sloan, Elliot S (1916) |
| Bremner, Adam (2127) | 1‑0 | Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) |
| Brechin, Hugh R (2013) | 1‑0 | O`Neil, Jim (1836) |
Our strongest team of the season so far. Hamish had a convincing win, the rest of us had winning positions but failed to convert.
Some very nice chess from our Dragons despite not getting the full points.
| Wandering Dragons 1 | 3‑3 | Bank of Scotland 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Olson, Hamish (2370) | 1‑0 | Blanco, Jorge (2139) |
| Orr, Mark J L (2126) | ½‑½ | Chisholm, Mike (1958) |
| Leah, Tom (1951) | 0‑1 | James, Chris (1853) |
| Sloan, Elliot S (1916) | ½‑½ | Mollison, Jamie (1839) |
| O`Neil, Jim (1836) | ½‑½ | Chapman, Nigel (1796) |
| Wallace, David (1727) | ½‑½ | Murray, Findlay R (1629) |
Dragons on good form except Jim who had an off night. Great away victory in Mid-Lothian.
| Badgers Brooke | 2‑4 | Wandering Dragons 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Newton, Andrew (2007) | 0‑1 | Orr, Mark J L (2126) |
| Cooke, Susan G (1969) | ½‑½ | Leah, Tom (1951) |
| Bell, Alan D (1953) | ½‑½ | Sloan, Elliot S (1916) |
| Cooke, Mark (1887) | 0‑1 | Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) |
| Will, Douglas (1833) | 1‑0 | O`Neil, Jim (1836) |
| Ward, Stuart (1746) | 0‑1 | Wallace,David (1727) |
Elliot sacs a queen and wins on 2 while Jim sacs and wins on 4.
| Wandering Dragons 1 | 4½‑1½ | Edinburgh 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Leah, Tom (1951) | 0‑1 | Kristjansson, Snorri (1917) |
| Sloan, Elliot S (1916) | 1‑0 | Ridge, Michael (1870) |
| Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) | ½‑½ | Dawson, Euan (1865) |
| O`Neil, Jim (1836) | 1‑0 | Irving, Neil (1831) |
| Burnett, Walter (1795) | 1‑0 | Antunes, Andre (1802) |
| Wallace, David (1727) | 1‑0 | Aitchison, A Keith (1678) |
Despite some tough play from our top boards, the grading differences showed. The bottom half were a bit rusty but managed to score two points out of three.
| Edinburgh West 1 | 4‑2 | Wandering Dragons 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Grant, Jonathan I M (2164) | 1‑0 | Leah, Tom (1951) |
| Farrell, Neil R (2188) | 1‑0 | Sloan, Elliot S (1916) |
| Neave, George (2085) | 1‑0 | Kynoch, Richard J P (1866) |
| McLean, Ian (1921) | ½‑½ | O`Neil, Jim (1836) |
| Walker, Duncan (1696) | ½‑½ | Burnett, Walter (1795) |
| Robinson, Martin E (1663) | 0‑1 | Wallace, David (1727) |