Bedford A dropped their first league point of the season following a tight local derby against Bedford B on Feb 6th :
| Board | Rating | Bedford A | V | Bedford B | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2125 | Ledger, Stephen CG | 1 – 0 | G Botteley, Michael T | 1949 |
| 2 | 2103 | Gardner, JamesB | ½ – ½ | B Bodily, Richard T | 1953 |
| 3 | 2065 | Arulnandhy, RaviN | 0 – 1 | G Dairi, Ramsey | 1856 |
| 4 | 1970 | Collacott, NickB | ½ – ½ | B Pike, Steve C | 1862 |
| 5 | 1957 | Habershon, Paul FG | ½ – ½ | G Walker, Robert S | 1745 |
| Total | 10220 | 2½ – 2½ | 9365 |
As per usual, I was fully focussed on my own game so am reliant on comments passed on for much of the match analysis !
My game on Board 1 was quite lively. I seem to have the Indian sign over Mike lately and, once again, wriggled out of a tight spot to win (see game below).
Board 2 was somewhat less lively. James punted e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 g3 !? But didn’t really get anywhere and peace was agreed after 18 moves.
Back to liveliness on Board 3, as Ravi ran into some Ramsey prep / walked into a known-ish trap and ended up with 3 pieces for a Q & 2 pawns with his K stuck in the open.
Apparently he fought back well but eventually succumbed (see game below).
On Board 4, Nick probed away with a small white edge but could never quite find the decisive breakthrough and a draw was finally agreed.
A missed chance for the A team on board 5 as Paul was doing well ( +2.4 sort of well ) and ended up 2 pawns up in a queen ending but, running short of time, he allowed Rob to force a perpetual check.
Steve Ledger, 8th February 2025