Leighton Buzzard A 4½-½ Bedford B (narrative added)

Tuesday 1st March 2016

Tuesday night saw the B Team make the trip to Leighton Buzzard as the last two remaining unbeaten teams in the league faced off.  To add to the excitement there was a last minute panic with Chris being stuck in a major traffic incident meant that Peter Gill had to be drafted in to play chess rather than enjoying a quiet sherry in front of Happy Valley.

Initially things seemed to be going well, but it ultimately proved to be one of those evenings.

Marc was first to finish, having been provoked into opening up the kingside, but John Sharp found a neat combination which was winning a piece.

Meanwhile, on board 5 Peter was probably wishing he had not been so generous.  Andy Tinker won a pawn out of a Sicilian opening and Peter had very little for it and his position continued to worsen.

On board 2, Steve had a lively opening from the French and had his queen sitting in the guts of his opponent’s position.  However, once queens came off the board the position slightly favoured Steve Law, who had more space and the bishop pair.  However, Steve defended well and secured a draw (although the Leighton Buzzard board one had time to wander over from his game to demonstrate that it was a clear win for his opponent (which me and my non-Russian friend Fritz hotly dispute – Ed) ).

I had a game of two halves against Peter Hunt on board 4.  Out of the opening I managed to generate a good attack on white’s king.  However, I probably opened the position too early and was left with 2 rooks and 8 pawns v rook, knight, bishop and 6 pawns.  In trying to opening up some lines for the rooks I let Peter open up the long diagonal for his black-squared bishop and the position quickly collapsed.

Nick faced the biggest battle on board one up against a 203 opponent.  For much of the game he seemed to be doing well and holding the position well.  In a knight and pawn ending his opponent possibly had a slight advantage with a queenside majority, but it was not clear.  In time trouble the position slipped away, so another loss.

All in all a brave fight, and the 4.5-0.5 score line was perhaps a little harsh. 

Alex Taylor – 4th March 2016