Match Report: North Bristol B vs Horfield B (9 December): Victory in Yate.

Off to Yate to play North Bristol. Our hosts were a man short so I sat out the match and we promoted everyone up a board so Remi and Owen got matches whilst I counted ceiling tiles waiting for the games to finish and the pleasure of chauffeuring the team back into the city.

Piotr established a small but enduring positional advantage early on against Jason, Remi and Arnav were playing what looked like a highly tactical game with a lot of loose pieces and Remi’s king in the centre and Owen lost a piece to an opening trap Pete set.

Owen finished first and turned the game round in the ending. Pete maintained his material advantage to the end but Owen had two passed pawns and black was not able to halt the progress of both of them with his knight nor start his own passed pawn moving. A good and unexpected result. Remi finished next; Arnav had won a piece in a tactical sequence where an intermediate move with check left one of black’s bishops hanging and Arnav then very nicely combined his material advantage to mate white’s king. Finally on board one Piotr continued to slowly increase his advantage winning a pawn and once exchanges took place his king was better placed to see it through to victory.

3-1 flattered us somewhat based on the play on the boards but a good way to round off the first half of the season.