The B team were without Derek meaning a shuffle up for all players and an entirely inadequate substitute on board 5. Downend conversely were at full strength meaning we were giving away an average of 200 points a board. A tough night looked likely but we rose to the challenge.
On board 1 Peter came up against an opening from Oli that I imagine did not take him by surprise. It looked like he had equalised with more space and quite a comfortable position but the thing with Oli is he keeps on playing and playing so there was no doubt it would be a long haul for black to prove equality or better. Phil drifted into a difficult position out of the opening against Mike on board 2 and black’s bishops looked well placed to pressure white’s kingside. Board 3 looked reasonably even as did board 4 where Rob had the luxury of being the only Horfield player to be within 100 points of their opponent; clearly our banker that one. Graham did have some initiative against the queenside pawns but it was a calm looking game. On board 5 Reinhold and I were equal into the middle game but I was struggling to find much of a plan. Finally on 6 Judd hadn’t got what he wanted out of the opening and Aldrin had control of the centre but it certainly wasn’t game over.
Board 5 finished first; I missed some tactics after a series of exchanges against Reinhold to lose the exchange and a pawn. From there it was a matter of time and Downend were 1-0 up. Judd succumbed to Aldrin’s pressure on board 6; a slightly speculative sac from black unnerved white and when white didn’t accept the material the game turned against him; six more moves and it was over. On board 1 a locked pawn centre arose, with one open c-file. Peter looked to play down the c-file but it didn’t amount to much and he was stuck with a bad bishop. Eventually Oli managed to increase queenside pressure and win a pawn which was enough to push through to promotion and take the game.
However on boards 2, 3, and 4 it was a different story. Phil began to find a bit of play as the position opened up and then assessed an exchange sacrifice would result in one fewer bishop pointed at his king. As it turned out, the two bishops with extra pawn held the balance. Mike missed the chance to win a pawn and then got his rook in a passive position. In time trouble he failed to secure the draw by giving the exchange back, allowing white to push through his passed central pawn supported by the bishops. On board 3 Mike sacrificed a piece for a handful of pawns and to blast open Max’s king. White tried to counter with his extra piece but black defended well and the end game was totally winning; an excellent win for Mr Levene. Finally on board 4 Rob had manoeuvred his rook to the B file threatening to force the exchange of two rooks for a queen. Graham accepted the challenge but in time trouble white’s queen proved much more dangerous than black’s rooks. Rob managed to win a crucial pawn with a series of checks, giving him two passed pawns, and Graham wasn’t able to conjure enough threats with his rooks to counterbalance them. In dreadful time trouble black allowed white’s queen in and Rob securing the point.
A 3-3 draw. A really good result for the B team
| 1 | Peter Kirby (2031) | 0 | Oliver Stubbs (2213) | 1 |
| 2 | Phil Nendick (1984) | 1 | Mike Ashworth (2115) | 0 |
| 3 | Mike Levene (1879) | 1 | Max Walker (2070) | 0 |
| 4 | Rob Attar (1907) | 1 | Graham Iwi (2002) | 0 |
| 5 | Pete Marks (1750) | 0 | Reinhold Heinlein (2055) | 1 |
| 6 | Judd Chidwick (1723) | 0 | Aldrin Malibiran (1974) | 1 |
| Horfield B | 3 | Downend B | 3 |
The D team played on the same night and secured a good win against South Bristol. Alan emerged from the opening comfortably, possibly with a slight edge. From there Gareth wasn’t able to find a plan and was concerned about protecting his d pawn from attack. White eventually decided to open the h file but black’s pieces were better placed to exploit the opening and with the white king vulnerable Alan was able to win material and completely tie down white’s pieces to secure the point. Nicely played. On boards 2 to 4 Scott, Mike, and Graham secured solid draws which always looked like draws against Rod, Ed, and Simon respectively. On board 5 Joe’s win over Vicky gave us enough points to be sure of victory and finally Kana lost material early in his game against John and slipped to a rare defeat this season.
| 1 | Alan Clarke (1740) | 1 | Gareth Cullen (1712) | 0 |
| 2 | Scott White (1586) | .5 | Rod Taylor (1481) | .5 |
| 3 | Mike Jennings (1489) | .5 | Ed Swann (1350) | .5 |
| 4 | Graham Strickland (1464) | .5 | Simon Hall (1480) | .5 |
| 5 | Joe Fearnhead (1305) | 1 | Vicky Sherley-Price (1333) | 0 |
| 6 | Kana Balasubramaniam (1370) | 0 | John Robinson (1585) | 1 |
| Horfield D | 3.5 | South Bristol B | 2.5 |
Horfield & Redland Chess Club 