A rather disappointing start to the new season as we lost 1.5 – 3.5 to a strong Milton Keynes Team ( nominally MK B but actually their first team ).
My thanks to Ramsey for stepping in when Nick Collacott was not available and to Mahmoud for transporting most of the team to/from MK.
My own game needed plenty of thought so I didn’t see much of the other games but garnered from a few chats after the match (in finishing order) :
Ramsey thought he was doing well but Rob Whiteside found a way to force most of the pieces off and a draw was agreed.
Paul’s was a fairly miserable game 🙁-
Ravi was doing very well but went astray and got mated.
James was mostly on the defensive but held on to draw.
My own game fluctuated a little. A miserable use of the white pieces and I managed to lose a pawn after 15 moves though did have 2Bs for 2Ns.
I tried to open things up to make my Bs more effective but Eoin kept it fairly closed and eventually gave up his 2Ns for a R+2 pawns. This nearly backfired, especially when I won an exchange as the game speeded up in the allegro. A draw was agreed when I had circa 1 minute to his 3 when I was a bishop for 3 pawns up (?).
The metal monster suggests I may have been winning right near the end as I could have put black in virtual zugswang.
| Board | Home | Milton Keynes B | Bedford A | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (B) | 2090 | B Tweeddale, Eoin | ½ – ½ | G Ledger, Stephen C | 2097 |
| 2 (W) | 2063 | B Bartram, Dominic | ½ – ½ | N Gardner, James | 2088 |
| 3 (B) | 1952 | P Elwin, Adrian G | 1 – 0 | N Arulnandhy, Ravi | 2085 |
| 4 (W) | 1946 | G Smith, Graham | 1 – 0 | G Habershon, Paul F | 1978 |
| 5 (B) | 1917 | B Whiteside, Robert | ½ – ½ | G Dairi, Ramsey | 1821 |
| Total | 9968 | 3½ – 1½ | Total | 10069 |
Ravi V Adrian Elwin ( hopefully I’ve deciphered Ravi’s doctor-like handwriting correctly ! ).
Ravi doing very nicely until it all goes pear-shaped around Move 26.
Position right near the end of Ledger – Tweeddale ( this is what chessbase ‘copy game’ gives me if you can convert to a position … starts from the 8th, white in capitals )
The game now ended 47. Re5+ Kd6 48. Re1 Kc5 Draw Agreed. However, if white plays 47. Re1 straightaway then B is in a sort of Zugzwang (!)
Steve Ledger, 3rd November 2023