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Tournament: 119th Varsity Match • Venue: RAC Club, Pall Mall, London • Date: 3 March 2001
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Monday February 19, 2024 7:09 PM
John Saunders reports: The 119th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, London on 3 March 2001. The match sponsors were Tony Buzan, the Buzan Group and Henry Mutkin. Match arbiters were IM Bob Wade - the 50th anniversary of his first time as officiator - and David Sedgwick.
| 2000« 2001 Varsity Chess Match »2002 | |||||||
| Bd | Oxford University | Rating | Nat | 2001 | Cambridge University | Rating | Nat |
| 1b | Kieran Smallbone (New) | 2147 | ENG | 0-1 | Karl Mah (Pembroke) | 2404m | ENG |
| 2w | Joel Eklund (University) | 2130 | SWE | 1-0 | Jack Rudd (Girton) | 2178 | ENG |
| 3b | Melanie Buckley (St Hilda's) | 2114 | ENG | 0-1 | James Vigus (Clare) | 2281f | ENG |
| 4w | Shashi Jayakumar (Balliol) | (2104) | SIN | ½-½ | Eddie Dearing (Peterhouse) | 2274 | SCO |
| 5b | Tim Chesters (Balliol) | (2096) | ENG | 0-1 | David Moskovic (Queens') | 2252 | ENG |
| 6w | Oliver Rosten (Somerville) | 2050e | ENG | ½-½ | Joe Conlon (Christ's) | 2170 | ENG |
| 7b | Heather Lang (St Anne's) | 2058 | SCO | 0-1 | Nathan Alfred (King's) | 2208 | ENG |
| 8w | James Clifford (New) | (1888) | ENG | ½-½ | Iva Anguelov (St Catharine's) | 2062 | ENG |
| Av. Rating 2073.2 | 2½-5½ | Av. Rating 2228.6 | |||||
Ratings in brackets are derived from national (BCF) grades.
This match marked two milestones: the 90th anniversary of the host venue's RAC Chess Circle and the 50th anniversary since IM Bob Wade shared arbiter's duties at the match.
Oxford were outrated on every board, but put up a spirited fight. Grandmaster onlookers felt that a score of 4-4 had been a probability until the final phase of play. The last games to finish were boards 3 and 7 where Oxford's two women competitors succumbed after a hard fight, to leave Cambridge victors by the slightly flattering margin of 5½-2½. Cambridge now leads the overall series by four wins.
File Updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| March 2001 | First uploaded. |
© 2001 John Saunders, all photos and text - not to be used without permission