Three matches this week. Two wins and a loss.
A team report: 16 Sep away to Clevedon A
Match preparations focussed on the perils of the unheated venue. Some heeded the warnings, bringing various fleeces and coats, but the September weather was kind and it was nice to see the cricket club in daylight for the first time. We put out our full team for the first match of the season and enjoyed a healthy rating advantage on most boards.
Peter drew first blood on board three when Matt created a position where both sides had desperado pieces attacking each other’s queens, looking to engineer the exchange. But he’d overlooked that white could move his queen, defend his desperado piece, and attack his piece at the same time. It was all over on move 15. Elsewhere we all seemed to be going pretty well.
On board one Matias made a bold decision to give up a pawn for some play, which looked to be in the balance. Derek was nursing a positional edge on board two vs Oleksii. On board 4 David had decided to give up a pawn for a big lead in development and decent play as compensation against Steve. On five Tom was steadily building pressure and on six Phil accepted a gambit and more accurate play enabled black to push some of Jack’s pieces back.
As the evening drew to a close the results came in quickly. Derek invaded Oleksii’s position and a hung queen just hastened the unavoidable outcome. David had played imaginatively to trap Steve’s queen on the kingside at the cost of a rook and bishop but Steve got some play by giving up a pawn but in the end it boiled down to a position where neither could make progress. Tom’s game had followed its seemingly inevitable course and Stuart’s position crumbled (although Stuart did note he got a lovely chat after the game as compensation). On six, Phil was just about managing to keep the initiative and stop Jack from fully coordinating his pieces which paid dividends when white, down to his last minute, ended up with too much to work out and board six went the way of most of the others. Phil notes this gave him his first win of 2024 (and yes he does mean the calendar year).
All eyes now turned to board 1 where, at first glance, it seemed to be a formality for Rob, having a bishop and pawn against Matias’s 2 a pawns. The long thinking suggested otherwise and the whispered consensus was now for a draw. Our on the ground report (Mr P Nendick) missed how, but somehow the bishop departed and both sides queened, with Matias still having another pawn. Rob’s body language told me that he was severely regretting not having forced a draw, but that was the final outcome.
D team report: 17 Sep home to Yate B
A good win against a higher-ranked Yate team kept the Horfield charabanc rolling. Joaquim won early and well on board 2; he won a rook after Kevin got in a defensive mess with his pieces in each other’s way and a dangerously un-castled king. White then stayed patient as the game played out. Ashish made it 3 out of 3 with his win on board 4. The match swung back into uncertain territory as Piotr got the wrong side of time-trouble in an even position against James. Finally Mike (yes, also in time trouble) gratefully accepted Rob’s draw offer at 10.35 to win the match. Black had all the advantages but with just the increment as a friend he sensibly took the offer. Six match wins out of six!
C team report: 18 Sep away to South Bristol B
South Bristol have a new venue. Very good it is too (although no bar…). The evening started well with straightforward wins for Scott on board six and Pete on board three. Although it was always looking like 2-1 as Joe had got flummoxed in the opening to lose material and whilst he battled it was an inevitability. So 2-1 with the three remaining games in the balance. Judd’s game against John looked like a draw and was a draw but we came up short on the top two boards with Thuvaragan, with a significant time buffer, navigating the end game better than Nigel and on two David getting the better of James in a slow burn pressure-building game where white’s straightforward plan came to fruition.
Our club winning streak over. Better start another one.
Horfield & Redland Chess Club 