Match Report: Downend C vs Horfield B (13 October): Better players, more players

Taking three players to play a much stronger team seemed bold as a strategy but always do what your opponent least expects…

I was quite relieved that by 8.30 we were all still playing. I had an equal middle game position against Peter, Mike looked a little under pressure against Stephen with white’s pieces much more active and black already feeling compelled to play loosening pawn moves, and Scott had lost a pawn but was still in the game.

The first to finish was Scott. Ash had seen a bishop skewer on Scott’s queen and rook but overlooked the bishop was not defended allowing Scott to simply take the piece. From there Scott liquidated pieces and won his first game of the season with a nice revealed queen takes rook, queen takes queen, revealed check wins queen tactical sequence. My game finished next; we had entered a queen and pawn ending; Peter had a passed pawn on the queenside against my 4-3 majority on the kingside. The computer tells me I should have held it but it didn’t feel like that over the board and in the end his calculation was better than mine. Finally Mike had held on nicely into an almost even rook + opposite coloured bishop ending. However Stephen gave up the exchange to win a pawn and create two passed connected pawns which proved to be too strong.

3-1. On another day we might have held the top two boards but the results are more evidence (as if you need it) that stronger players are stronger because they are better!