Another Narrow Defeat
The Mighty Bees hosted Northwich A on 3 May and even though neither team had much to play for from a League perspective it was a vigorously contested match which ended in a 3-2 defeat for us. The fact that after 9 Division One games our points deficit is only 9 is testament to how narrow most of our defeats have been.
The first game to finish was Alex’s on Board 4. With all due respect it was something of a comedy of errors and rather chaotic. Alex won a pawn early on and thought he saw a chance to win another one with a temporary Knight sacrifice. However, his idea was tactically flawed and should have lost him the Knight – but his opponent missed this. Despite his King being caught in the middle Alex looked to have the upper hand but then ended up losing the exchange for a pawn which handed his opponent the advantage. Something approaching justice was done when they agreed to draw. 0.5 – 0.5
On Board 3 Andy, playing Black, achieved a solid set up in a Kings Indian Defence against White’s g3 set up. Unfortunately he attempted a Q-side pawn break which was unsound and shortly thereafter he lost the exchange by force. In adversity Andy played actively but his experienced opponent held firm and converted his material advantage into a win. 0.5 – 1.5
My heart sank when I realised that I would be playing a junior on Board 5. Ever since I won against an 8 year-old many years ago in a congress in South Wales who burst into tears and had to be comforted by his father, I always feel that such games are unwinnable no matter what the outcome. Not that my 15 year-old opponent ever looked likely to become tearful or upset – not least because he scarcely put a foot wrong in game that remained very even throughout. He offered me a draw on numerous occasions, and after repeating moves and being utterly bereft of a plan to make progress, I agreed. 1.0 – 2.0
On top board Rob was playing a different opponent to the one for whom he had prepared – but one that he had played once before. Quite by chance he repeated the opening line he had played in their previous encounter varying slightly on move 7. Both players traded minor inaccuracies to reach a tense middlegame where Rob put into operation a plan to pressurise and break through on the Q-side with strong central pawn support. With both players running short of time Rob’s opponent went astray on move 34 losing a pawn and effectively the game. Rob’s active Rook and central pawn roller succeeded in delivering checkmate. 2.0 – 2.0
Breakspear V Furness on Larger board link
And so the match result all hinged on the outcome of Ilya’s game on Board 2 – which was a real ding-dong battle arising from the quiet beginnings of a Caro-Kann. Playing in his typically aggressive style Ilya’s pieces were very active and his opponent’s King was not able to castle. But his opponent had counter-attacking chances of his own on the K-side which Ilya neutralised with a well-considered exchange sacrifice leaving him with a almighty dark-squared Bishop. Wisely his opponent returned the exchange to get rid of this Bishop and the game remained very much in the balance. Once again the clock played a major role in the outcome as Ilya, very short of time, blundered a Rook. 2.0 – 3.0
