Bedford A Leighton Buzzard B
2145 Ledger, Stephen C ½ – ½ Valentine, Brian J 1910
2124 Arulnandhy, Ravi ½ – ½ Taylor, Peter 1815
2085 Cox, Toby 1 – 0 Matthews, Adrian MS 1830
2023 Gardner, James 1 – 0 Dorn, C Fred H 1729
2020 Collacott, Nick 1 – 0 Watson, Dominic 1804
4 – 1
The A team came into this match looking to continue our winning streak.
Boards 1 and 2 followed similar stories. The higher rated Bedford player was pushing for a win with a slight positional advantage, but the Leighton Buzzard player managed to grovel for a draw.
Nick forged a positional advantage through pushing pawns on the queenside. He used it to win material, and then the game.
James won a piece early on, and seemed to be in control for the rest of the game. He defended against a kingside attack with ease and soon converted.
My opponent sacrificed a pawn early in the middlegame, but never really saw any compensation, despite having the bishop pair. It took a while for me to convert, but in the end my extra pawn made the difference.
Toby Cox, 1st December 2022