I have been very lazy with regards to writing reports for the C team this season, which is harsh because, after a frustratingly slow start, my esteemed colleagues have started putting some results together and we’re beginning to climb the table. So, very belatedly, here’s a catch-up service.
Going all the way back to the dark foreboding time commonly known as January, the C team hosted Luton B. Having already lost to their C team we expected this one to be an uphill struggle, but in actuality it was quite the opposite. Only your good captain failed to take the full point from his game, my opponent popping a nice exchange sacrifice which led to a forced draw by perpetual check. Apart from that, it was wins all round, including a couple against higher-rated opponents – all in all an excellent performance. A shout-out to Mahmoud, who put the team over the top with a nice attacking game, featured below. Mahmoud in general seems to have embraced a more dynamic style of play recently, which he tells me is both more fun for him and achieving better results, which is good to see.
In early February we faced the D team. Once again I must observe how evenly the teams were picked at the beginning of the season – the top three boards were all drawn, with wins for Mahmoud on 4 and Rishik on 5 cancelling each other out. The pick of the games this time might have been George (who else?) and James’s scuffle on board 3, which I hear swung this way and that before eventually finishing even after a sharp fight to the end. My own contest was a somewhat anaemic affair against the ever-solid Peter, though apparently I did miss a sneaky forced win which I was annoyed to discover later.
Finally, last week represented our last local derby of the season. Callum and Lucian finished all square in a game where neither player ever looked to have much of an advantage and the material came off rather quickly. Daniella lost to David, and then James Grimditch rode his luck against Nigel (who looked at one point to have a potentially decisive advantage) to bring it back to all square. Which left my and Mahmoud’s game with the clocks rapidly dwindling – the tension not helped by an interruption at a crucial phase as Mahmoud had to move his car! Eventually, he succumbed to James Goodman, though I was too focused on my own game to know what was going on over there. I might have had a small edge for most of it but nothing decisive – then as time ticked down I felt the urge to push my advantage. Richard sought counterplay but it was just one tempo too slow, ending with his king being driven well up the board and elegantly mated. I was so flustered it took me around two minutes to see a very simple mate-in-one – but I did get there eventually (I might have had to give chess up forever if I hadn’t!) Richard was magnanimous and bought drinks afterwards – game below.
Bedford C V Luton B | ECF League Management System
Bedford D V Bedford C | ECF League Management System
Bedford C V Bedford E | ECF League Management System