The B’s enjoyed a substantial rating advantage here but, as usual, the games were more closely contested than might have been expected, with Alejandro unexpectedly coming a cropper on top board.
Fortunately, there were no other hiccups on the remaining boards resulting in a flattering 4-1 score line at close of play.
On five, Clive rapidly dispatched his young opponent who “played better than his rating, but blundered in a slightly worse position.”
Simon “played against the Grunfeld and quickly established pawns on e4 and d5 yielding a spatial advantage. Later, another pawn, cemented on f6, afforded attacking opportunities against Black’s castled king position. On move 28, my opponent captured a rook with a knight Rather than taking the knight, I made a simple queen move (29.Qh4) which led to mate, prompting immediate resignation.”
In my own game, I was white against the French, made some missteps in the opening and, after 23 moves, objectively stood worse. At this point Black allowed me to win the exchange which should have turned the tide. However, the R+B of my opponent put up obstinate resistance and I after a highly dubious rook manoeuvre we ended up in this position:
Happily for me, my opponent’s next move was 37…Ke6 allowing f5+, exchange of the rooks and the creation of a winning passed pawn. Better execution on my part and I could have enjoyed an early night. As it was, I had to grind out the win in 74 moves. I was made to play out a Q+K v K endgame until the final mating blow was delivered!
Meanwhile, Tony also saw off his opponent. “Playing black in a Queens Gambit I saddled white early with doubled, isolated e pawns. In the middle game I missed tactical opportunities to grab a three point lead but generally we were both quite accurate. Time pressure made the endgame jittery. My saving grace was five minutes more on the clock as he entered increments. We both missed key winning moves, thankfully him one more than me! I was pleased that I refused his draw offer at the peak of the battle both given the eventual result and the interesting endgame which was educational on review.”
So, after five games, we sit third in the table but with games in hand on those above us. Much can still happen in the second half of the season.
