On Thursday, 28 May we travelled to the MindSports Centre to play our final league fixture against Hammersmith 2. We could still secure the second division title if we were to win and Hendon Two were to lose their last match. Unfortunately Hammersmith fielded a stronger-than-usual side, out-rating us on all boards.
Mark was the first to finish. He comments: “As Black, I equalized quickly in the 1.e4, d6 2.d4, e5 line (White took the pawn and exchanged queens). I offered an early draw which was accepted.” Shortly afterwards I halved out in 19 moves.
Another draw followed. John writes: “My game transposed into a Queens Gambit Accepted. We quickly reached an equal queenless middlegame in which my opponent made an incorrect knight move. However, I chose the wrong option which gained a small advantage, as opposed to winning a pawn with a clear advantage. Exchanging all the rooks, rather than switching one to the c-file, left a level position.”
On board one, Andrew reflects on his game thus: “My opponent Luke Lau played the Tarrasch against my French and, after some complexities, gained a space advantage with his queenside majority. I did manage to more or less equalise but then went too passive, swapping both pairs of rooks and tangling up my minor pieces, such that he was able to force through his c-pawn even without the help of his king.”
Observing Tony’s game, I saw what a difficult middlegame he encountered but he recovered well. In his own words: “It’s games like this that make me wish I knew some theory. I played 2…Qh4+ against the King’s Gambit, which whilst being perfectly ok, can be pretty sharp even by King’s Gambit standards. Soon afterwards, a pawn up, but out of book, one duff move meant I was struggling badly. When we were both getting short of time, my opponent fell for a disgraceful cheapo that brought me back to equality. Then, whilst we were both in dire time trouble, turns out I missed the win of a piece that would have turned the game in my favour. But I was pleased all the same when opposite-coloured bishops delivered a dead draw.”
Finally Agnieszka, the ECF Director of Women’s Chess and FIDE Continental Ambassador, created her customary chaos at the chessboard. This double-edged battle with several twists and turns made for a most enjoyable game to watch, before eventually exchanging down to a drawn queen and pawn ending.
So, although narrowly losing the match, we finish runners-up in the division and look forward to joining the top flight next season.
| Hammersmith Two | Rating | Result | Ealing One | Rating |
| CM Luke Lau | 2180 | 1-0 | FM Andrew Harley | 2149 |
| Tony Niccoli | 2220 | 0.5-0.5 | John Quinn | 2040 |
| Cristof Brixel | 2005 | 0.5-0.5 | Tony Wells | 1965 |
| Meet Shah | 2002 | 0.5-0.5 | Simon Healeas | 1830 |
| Tom Townsend | 1984 | 0.5-0.5 | Mark Winterbotham | 1830 |
| Grigoris Sklavounos | 1907 | 0.5-0.5 | Agnieszka Milewska | 1786 |
| 3.5-2.5 |