The B Team hosted Leighton Buzzard B in their final match of the season, looking to end it on a high. Callum and Richard very kindly stepped in to play on the bottom two boards.
Richard and Adrian’s game was a cagey affair, which never really seemed to get going out of the closed Sicilian opening. Adrian built up a strong defensive wall and showed no real sign of venturing forth, and there were no weaknesses for Richard to have a go at. A draw was the inevitable result.
Marc seemed to be soaking up a lot of pressure from Peter in his game. Peter seemed to have the better of the opening and launched a kingside attack, but his queen did not really have enough support to make it decisive. The endgame looked pretty level and a draw was quickly agreed.
Richard faced a Morra gambit and had to defend resolutely out of the opening. His position looked slightly precarious, but he defended carefully and once he had castled, he was able to turn his attention to attack. He managed to win an important pawn and after that he was able to convert the extra material and pressure into a win.
Callum and Frank looked like they were going to play out a draw. The position looked blocked for much of the game. Frank’s king decided to end up at h7 via d7 without the need for castling and although Callum tried to attack it his pawns seemed to get in the way. In the meantime, Frank developed his own attack on the queenside and this eventually proved to be decisive.
Brian and I had a good scrap on board 1. The position was pretty level with Brian trying to attack my king but I seemed to have it covered or well enough to go pawn hunting on the queenside with my queen. Brian then played a knight move putting it where I could take it with my pawn. The alarm bells were saying there must be a trap, but I could not see it, so I took it…. Only to discover that Brian could trap my queen with his rook on d2 defended by his bishop all the way back on h6! Although I had a rook, bishop and pawn for the queen, my pieces were uncoordinated and it was difficult to generate any real counterplay. Brian was able to get his queen and rook active and tie up my defensive pieces to force a win.
Another narrow 3-2 loss left the B Team second from bottom just above Leighton Buzzard B.
Alex