Richard won the club championship in dramatic fashion on Thursday. Despite dominating the tournament from the start, Alex found himself needing a draw with white against Richard in the last game of the Division 1 season in order to win the title himself. Richard played a good opening and Alex felt he had to sacrifice a rook for a knight and two pawns. The fact that he only needed a draw may have led to Alex playing a little passively and Richard activated his rooks and gained the upper hand. In a desperate ending Alex tried every trick possible to force a draw but Richard found all the answers and having created a passed h pawn, forced Alex to sacrifice his knight but in vain as the position was lost.
The game is now available for perusal.
A very good win for Richard, whose late season push has seen him go from relegation candidate to champion in two games – many congratulations!
Richard’s win is by the narrowest of margins (indeed it should be confirmed by the TD because the website’s maths could be shakey?), Alex and Steve also finishing on 4½ points but quarter of a point down on SB! Then came four players on 3 and Nick on 2½.
In division 2, Ben capped a good season to claim a share of third place, with an efficient victory over Joe in a king and pawn ending after some middle game complications.