Bedford B (still champs!) headed to Luton looking for the 1 game point required to remove any relegation fears. Historically we have struggled, so another close match was expected.
In the event, it proved a rather one-sided affair.
Mike was first to finish his game. He always had all of the play and after pressurising the queenside, he then pushed on the kingside and broke through with ease, and Mike assured me he was restrained!
Marc built up pressure against Andrew in his game and prevented his opponent castling. This provided him with a sustained attack, which firstly led to the win of a pawn, and subsequently Andrew blundered in the ending dropping a rook.
Qais was looking for revenge for his defeat against Peter in the reverse fixture. Sustained pressure on the queenside gave him space and pressure, which led to the win of a pawn and later on the exchange, which proved enough for victory.
I payed Samir on board 2 and quickly went into an endgame. I was lucky to get control of the b file before my opponent, and once I achieved this I trapped one of his rooks on a3 and then manoeuvred my rooks to form a deadly mating net.
James was last to finish. Out of a Queen’s Gambit opening Damon looked to have the slight edge, although James did not have any obvious weaknesses. In trying to be active, Damon trapped his bishop on e4, allowing James to re-group and then play f3 winning it. After that a win was assured.
An unexpected 5-0 victory gave us our first victory of the season and guaranteed Division 1 chess for next season.