BCL Division 2 Thu 26th Jan 2023
| Board | Home | Milton Keynes A | Bedford C | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (B) | 1924 | Whiteside, Robert | 0 – 1 | Shields, Callum T | 1740 |
| 2 (W) | 1880 | Edwards, Peter | 0 – 1 | Walker, Robert S | 1735 |
| 3 (B) | 1832 | Heath, Alan | ½ – ½ | McMorran, Richard | 1678 |
| 4 (W) | 1848 | Singleton, Luke | ½ – ½ | Gill, Peter S | 1700 |
| 5 (B) | 1422 | Bhalla, Sumit | 1 – 0 | Valerio, Giuseppe | 1704 |
| Total | 8906 | 2 – 3 | Total | 8557 |
This was Bedford C’s first visit of three to Milton Keynes to tackle the misleadingly named Milton Keynes A team. We arrived to find the familiar large playing area buzzing with chess players many of whom we hadn’t seen before. Apparently they have had an astonishing influx of new members. To get away from the buzz we were ushered into a side room where one or two serious games were already in progress.
First to finish on board 3 was Richard McMorran’s game against Alan Heath. It had been a cagy affair, Richard had more space, but steadily pieces were exchanged until each player had Queen, Bishop and pawns. Apparently Alan ws about to offer a draw when Richard beat him to it!
In our home match both Callum against Robert Whiteside and Robert against Peter Edwards had quick wins and I expected Robert and Peter to be out for revenge. I will send in the score of Callum’s game if I can but can only say at the moment that in his usual aggressive style Callum made it two wins out of two and Robert, having gone a pawn up a the expense of hs clock, did likewise.
Both games added below – Ed.
My game against Luke Singleton was, I confess, a very dull affair even for a Petroff. Playing black I felt under pressure during the whole game but my chess engine (Hiarcs) had it pretty much level throughout and when, having turned down my earlier offer in a King and pawn ending Luke proposed and I accepted a draw, Hiarcs had it dead level.
So the match was already won with just Joe’s game against Sumit Bhalia to finish. Playing against the Modern Defence Joe steadily won material and for once was ahead on the clock. However Sumit somehow managed to trap Joe’s King in the middle. It ought not to have been fatal but Joe unwisely made one capture too many and ran into a ferocious mating attack.
Peter Gill, 27th January 2023