Mike Botteley has won the county individual championship with an almost perfect score (5.5/6). He won his first five games only conceding a draw in the last round when victory was assured.
33 hopefuls started the first round in January at Milton Keynes, Mike was actually 11th strongest based on his rating. After winning his first four games, the 5th round game v James Gardner, who was half a point behind, was decisive. After a long, tough struggle with James trying everything throughout the middle game and into the ending and having a small advantage at one point but with both players on the increment with each having only a few seconds remaining, James dropped a pawn and then lost on time.
It is worth noting that last year the title was shared with four players having 4.5 points, which makes Mike’s achievement particularly noteworthy.
Wins v Julian Hudson and Adrian Elwin are shown below with notes by Mike
Thanks to Thomas Evans for controlling efficiently as usual.
Richard Bodily, 27th May 2024