4NCL: 1 - 3 May2010
|
|
WESSEX 1 |
v |
CELTIC TIGERS 1 |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Simons,
Martin J |
2200 |
0 - 1 |
Hetey,
Laszlo |
2344 |
|
2 |
b |
Rutter,
Nick J |
2189 |
1 - 0 |
Hoffman,
Hendrik |
2252 |
|
3 |
w |
Kawuma,
Steven Male |
2202 |
1 - 0 |
Haldane,
Robin W |
2159 |
|
4 |
b |
Yeo,
Michael J |
2152 |
½ - ½ |
Pedersen,
Carsten |
2157 |
|
5 |
w |
Jenks,
Bruce |
2127 |
0 - 1 |
Josse,
Mark |
2096 |
|
6 |
b |
de
Coverly, Roger D |
2119 |
½ - ½ |
French,
Angus J |
2096 |
|
7 |
w |
Wheeler,
John F |
2162 |
1 - 0 |
Thomas,
Mark |
2049 |
|
8 |
b |
Norman,
Dinah M (F) |
1932 |
½ - ½ |
Owens,
Megan R (F) |
1774 |
|
|
|
|
|
4½-3½ |
|
|
To begin at the
ending, Wessex 1 somehow managed to win all their 3 matches in the final weekend
and thereby just avoided relegation.
Someone asked me before the match how many points we would need over the
weekend. Up until then I hadn’t properly
considered it. I thought 2 wins out of 3
would be enough if other results went our way.
Of course, as it happened, other results did not go our way and so
anything other than 3 wins would have seen us relegated.
For once, we didn’t
suffer from a Friday withdrawal necessitating a trawl through Southern England
looking for possible wildcards – which pleasure was left to Allan and the
second team on the Saturday! Our main problem was getting the team to turn up
at the board. I overshot the exit on the
motorway. Steven was reliant on his
non-working Tom-Tom. Martin and Nick
arrived in the playing hall together, couldn’t see anyone they recognised and
so embarked on an unsuccessful tour of the building before returning to their
starting point some 10 minutes late.
Over the board matters weren’t going very well in places either. Bruce
blamed his demise on his preparation which I think got him as far as move
3. Dinah extended her drawing streak by
repeating moves in a position where she could have won a queen. I sacrificed
one pawn for some dubious compensation and made matters worth by giving up
another. Despite managing to win them both back, I was still worse when my
opponent agreed a draw in time trouble.
Somehow we reached the time control all square with Nick’s game
outstanding.
Hoffman v Rutter White to play
Early on, Nick had
won a pawn but was then forced into sacrificing the exchange to stop one of the
White pawns queening. Had White now
played Kg1 it would have been difficult for Nick to carry on pressing for a
win. However, after 46.Rd2? Bxf2 47.Rxf2 Rxf2 48.Kxh3 Kg6 he was eventually able to win the R+P ending.
The Italian
restaurant was a disaster. Noisy and
slow, a waiter then succeeded in pouring a pint of lager and half a bottle of
wine over Martin just as we had spotted the intention to add 10% to our bill
for “service”. The pizzas had to be
returned to be reacquainted with a heat source.
Thankfully the 10% was missing from the bill.
|
|
FCA SOLUTIONS 1 |
v |
WESSEX 1 |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Tippleston,
Charles E |
2137 |
1 - 0 |
Kawuma,
Steven Male |
2202 |
|
2 |
b |
Almond,
Richard J |
2151 |
½ - ½ |
Rutter,
Nick J |
2189 |
|
3 |
w |
Smith,
Graham M |
2106 |
0 - 1 |
Jenks,
Bruce |
2127 |
|
4 |
b |
Reuben,
Stewart |
2152 |
0 - 1 |
Yeo,
Michael J |
2152 |
|
5 |
w |
Brown,
Alan M |
2118 |
0 - 1 |
Simons,
Martin J |
2200 |
|
6 |
b |
Borrowdale,
Graham E |
2074 |
0 - 1 |
de
Coverly, Roger D |
2119 |
|
7 |
w |
Freeman,
Richard CP |
2061 |
1 - 0 |
Marsh,
Roger DW |
2067 |
|
8 |
b |
Evans,
Helen I (F) |
1626 |
½ - ½ |
Norman,
Dinah M (F) |
1932 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 - 5 |
|
|
Another match
where the final score is somewhat deceptive.
Roger M lost quite quickly having somehow misplaced a couple of crucial
tempi in an otherwise symmetrical position.
Dinah continued her unbeaten run, this time from a significantly worse
position. I was surrounded by a couple
of Benkos. Martin won quite easily but
Bruce needed rather longer. I managed to
improve on a blitz game played by Bobby Fischer against my opponent some 47
years ago. Steven was gradually ground down.
Nick reached his second R+P ending for the weekend but this time without
any realistic winning chances. 4-3 up with Roger de C’s game to go.
De Coverly v Borrowdale White to move
Earlier, when the match position was still unclear, Roger had turned down a draw offer as he thought he could play on without risk. Now the position is more double edged, but had he found b4! on either this or the next move, we would have been saved a further two hours of tension. Instead he continued with his plan A: 42.Kc4? Kg5 43.Kb5? Ra7 44.Bc4 Kxh5 45.Kb6 Re7 46.Rxa5 Kg5 47.Kc6 h5 48.Bd5 h4 49.Ra8 h3 50.Kd6 h2
De
Coverly v Borrowdale White to move
By now,
matters were getting rather desperate. I
started to work out what score we might have to beat Guildford by in Round 11
to avoid relegation and discovered that there were some scenarios where 8-0
wouldn’t be enough. Several moves back, Roger had missed that Black had the
very inconvenient Be5+ to save the h pawn.
It is possible that here 51 Kxe7 h1=Q 52 Kf7 Qh6 53 Rg8 winning the g
pawn might give some drawing chances.
51. Rh8 Ra7 52.e5 Bxe5+ 53.Ke6 Ra6+
54.Kf7 Ra7+ 55.Ke6 Ra6+ 56.Kf7 Kxf5 57.Kxg7 Ra7+ 58.Kh6
De Coverly v
Borrowdale Black to move
Here
Black has a number of ways to win quickly (e.g. 58....Bf4+ 59 Kh5 h1=Q+ 60 Bxh1
Ra2 and the threat of mate wins the bishop (and mates a few moves later).
However, the time control at move 60 meant that Black chose a move that still
wins but more slowly. He carried on
playing a series of suboptimal moves including 64....f4? after which the
position is probably drawn and then 66....h1=Q? after which Black is lost. The drama wasn’t quite over as Roger had
overlooked 72....Rh4 but fortunately he was able to deal with that as well.
58....Ra1?! 59.Kg7 Kg5 60.Rh3 f5+
61.Kf7 Kg4 62.Rh6 Kg3 63.Ke6 Bg7 64.Rh7 f4? 65.Rxg7 f3 66.Rh7 h1Q? 67.Rxh1 Rxh1
68.g7 Rh6+ 69.Kf5 Rh5+ 70.Kf6 Rh6+ 71.Kg5 f2 72.Bc4 Rh4 73.Be2 f1Q 74.Bxf1 Rg4+
75.Kh6 Rh4+ 76.Kg6 Rg4+ 77.Kh7 Rh4+ 78.Kg8 Kf3 79.Bc4 Ke3 80.Kf8 1-0
The drive to the restaurant in Eversley for dinner with the second team was noticeable for yet another baptising of Martin. It seems that recently my wife had not closed the sunroof of the car properly and the rainwater that had gathered overnight thus descended upon him.
|
|
WESSEX 1 |
v |
GUILDFORD-A&DC 3 |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Jenks,
Bruce |
2127 |
½ - ½ |
Lalic,
Peter D |
1946 |
|
2 |
b |
Yeo,
Michael J |
2152 |
1 - 0 |
Deswarte,
Ian |
1900 |
|
3 |
w |
Simons,
Martin J |
2200 |
0 - 1 |
Domingos,
Franciscos * |
1962 |
|
4 |
b |
Rutter,
Nick J |
2189 |
1 - 0 |
Gibbs,
Daniel C |
1858 |
|
5 |
w |
Kawuma,
Steven Male |
2202 |
1 - 0 |
Armour,
Philip |
1850 |
|
6 |
b |
de
Coverly, Roger D |
2119 |
1 - 0 |
Waldock,
Adrian DP |
1850 |
|
7 |
w |
Marsh,
Roger DW |
2067 |
1 - 0 |
Harford,
Alun |
1746 |
|
8 |
b |
Norman,
Dinah M (F) |
1932 |
½ - ½ |
Ward,
Matthew J |
1705 |
|
|
|
|
|
6 - 2 |
|
|
Had Roger de C lost the previous day, we would have had to win
this match 7½ - ½, but as it was we merely had to win. There was a brief moment of doubt when Martin
overlooked that his opponent was threatening to take a crucial pawn. Dinah was also under some pressure, but kept
her unbeaten run. The rest were reasonably
straightforward wins except on Board 1.
Bruce tried for some time although quite what he was trying is a bit of
a mystery. Rather than my providing an
in-depth description of a rather boring game, I am thankfully able to refer you
to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX1IYw2jS-w
I am sure it will be argued that the split division format provided an exciting end to the season. Wessex were outrageously fortunate not to be relegated. White Rose were unlucky but it could have been worse. Having thrashed Wessex 1 6-2 they might have found Wessex 2 being promoted to take their place. Brown Jack were even more a victim of the system. Against the same opposition that Anglian Avengers and Wessex 1 faced they scored many more points but losing in the first weekend to both of us mattered far more. Football is familiar with relegation battles that are labelled double pointers – chess now has the equivalent of triple pointers!
|
|
WESSEX 2 |
v |
SUSSEX SMART CONTROLS |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Pleasants,
Allan J |
2038 |
1 - 0 |
Michaud,
Gerald |
2066 |
|
2 |
b |
default |
|
0 - 1 |
Bucher,
Grant W |
2017 |
|
3 |
w |
Buchkremer,
Felix |
2088 |
1 - 0 |
Payne,
Matthew J |
1871 |
|
4 |
b |
Gregory,
Keith DF |
2060 |
1 - 0 |
Woods,
Timothy J |
1810 |
|
5 |
w |
Kemp,
Paul M |
2026 |
1 - 0 |
Aggarwal,
Kumarsambhav |
1786 |
|
6 |
b |
Coburn,
Joseph A |
1858 |
0 - 1 |
Burch,
Jonathan G |
1770 |
|
|
|
|
|
4 - 2 |
|
|
Allan
Pleasants reports: On the way to Wokefield park I received the news that Phil’s
back had gone and that he was confined to the hotel bedroom. A hastily arranged
doctor provided an injection to ease the pain, but he arrived too late for Phil
to compete. Phil managed to get home okay and we wish him a speedy recovery.
The match was close with good wins for Keith, Felix, Paul and myself. Not so
lucky was Joe who turned down a draw offer and went on to lose when the Rook
and Pawn proved better than the Knight and Bishop in the endgame. The result
kept us on track for promotion, with at least a win and draw required from
rounds 10 and 11. We headed off to a Thai restaurant in
|
|
E2E4.ORG.UK 2 |
v |
WESSEX 2 |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Mansson,
James C |
2142 |
0 - 1 |
Pleasants,
Allan J |
2038 |
|
2 |
b |
Bonafont,
Philip R |
2154 |
1 - 0 |
Tunks,
Dominic |
2076 |
|
3 |
w |
Talbot,
Andrew R |
2141 |
0 - 1 |
Buchkremer,
Felix |
2088 |
|
4 |
b |
Compton,
Alistair |
2061 |
0 - 1 |
Gregory,
Keith DF |
2060 |
|
5 |
w |
Edwards,
Ray B |
2061 |
1 - 0 |
Pittman,
Frank J * |
1898 |
|
6 |
b |
Ireland,
David J |
2010 |
1 - 0 |
Coburn,
Joseph A |
1858 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 - 3 |
|
|
Allan’s
travelogue: An early start was needed as
I travelled back to Dorchester to pick up Frank for his 4NCL debut.. It looked
to me as if Frank, playing black, was fractionally worse for much of the game.
Sadly it was not a winning start though it was the longest game played. My
opponent pushed a little too hard with his Maroczy bind and once it broke up
the position crumbled quickly. Keith and Felix both won well again, while
Dominic looked a little out of sorts and lost with his opponent making fairly
simple moves to chase Dominic’s knights away. Joe had his second loss of the
weekend though I didn’t get to see too much of the game. This left us needing a
good draw for the final round and a match we had to win.
|
|
WESSEX 2 |
v |
WARWICKSHIRE SELECT 2 |
|||
|
1 |
w |
Pleasants,
Allan J |
2038 |
1 - 0 |
Ingram,
Keith R |
2114 |
|
2 |
b |
Tunks,
Dominic |
2076 |
0 - 1 |
Weaving,
Richard |
2098 |
|
3 |
w |
Buchkremer,
Felix |
2088 |
1 - 0 |
Page,
Mark E |
1996 |
|
4 |
b |
Gregory,
Keith DF |
2060 |
½ - ½ |
Agnew,
Alan |
2010 |
|
5 |
w |
Footner,
Andrew F * |
1919 |
0 - 1 |
Fallowfield,
Nicholas K |
2018 |
|
6 |
b |
Coburn,
Joseph A |
1858 |
1 - 0 |
Price,
Andrew |
1930 |
|
|
|
|
|
3½-2½ |
|
|
Captain
Allan: The pairings left us with a
remote chance of promotion, but we gave it a good shot with steady wins for
myself and Felix and a draw for Keith. Joe’s fortunes for the weekend improved
with a good win, while Dominic continued on his downward trip in a game that
had many ups and downs. Having prevented his opponent castling I thought
Dominic should have tried to sacrifice his centre pawns in order to get at his
opponents king. Instead he targeted his opponent’s queenside pawns, but they
advanced quickly and cramped him. In the time scramble his opponent missed
simple wins and in the final position Dominic was winning, but he failed to
make the time control. My game was the last game to finish in Division 3 for
the 2009/2010 season. I had a solid position, but had to find a bishop
sacrifice in order to break through. Unfortunately we missed out on promotion
by a narrow margin of a couple of game points, having not played any of the
bottom teams in the league. However I think we would have seriously struggled
in Division 2.
I’d
like to thank Mike for all his efforts this year in organising the
Last modified: May 14, 2010
Wessex Chess Club home pagemichael_yeo@new-forest.org