A game from Sunday’s county matches that I was quite pleased with against a pretty illustrious opponent.
Having somehow found my way onto Board 1 for Bedfordshire this season, and having scored a big fat 0/2 in the last round of games, I trotted off to Newmarket on Sunday with some trepidation, albeit hoping that my first week in retirement had suitably revitalised me !
I was quite pleased to grovel my way to a draw in the morning, with white against a 2275, to break this season’s duck though less pleased to find that, after a 3.5 hour game, I had half an hour to grab a sandwich and a coffee before facing the very highly rated IM, and presumably soon to be GM, Alan Merry.
Draw Agreed by perpetual ( I mate him if he tries to take his king up the board ).
In the last round of county matches I’d also had black against Merry and he’d routinely despatched my benko gambit then but I was hoping he’d deviate, thinking I’d prepared / found some improvement, which he duly did on move 12 and I ended up with a much better Benko position.
Indeed, I quite liked my position after 22 ….. g5 until totally overlooking 30. Nb5 whereupon I have to go all-in on attacking his king before those passed pawns can power thru.
As tends to happen in messy games, as soon as the draw was agreed I was surrounded by folk telling me that 42 …… Be3 wins for me.
The computer evaluation seems to sort of agree, although it’s not that clear after 42. Rb4 when I win a piece but he has several advanced passed pawns…….
and when one sees a line that at least draws against a 2557, near the end of the allegro finish, then the tendency will be to play it ! Bit of a shame as that would have been the highest rated opponent I’d ever beaten and Beds lost the match 5.5 – 6.5.
Steve Ledger