On Monday, 2 November we welcomed Hendon One to the Actonians. For the third match in a row, we were out-rated on all boards. Yet again, a difficult night beckoned.
It was pleasing to welcome Colum to the team who, in Andrew’s absence, was our top board. In his own words: “My opponent, as Black, played the Sicilian Kan variation with black pawns on a6 and e6 thwarting the potential activity of my white-squared bishop. To take advantage of a lead in development, I offered a pawn which I expected to regain but my opponent closed off opportunities to do this. As the game progressed, Black was able to consolidate his extra pawn and use it to take more central space. He methodically improved his position while my position became more difficult. This process culminated with his two central knights threatening my king which could only be defended by giving up material. My opponent played well and I resigned on move 32.”
On board two, Duncan, as Black, also faced a difficult challenge. His opponent essayed the somewhat unusual 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 which is anti-Grunfeld line. According to GM Jonathan Rowson, it is designed to highlight that without the normal…Nxc3 Black will have too many pieces in too confined a space. Duncan observes: “I was not too sure of the theory and went for the Bc8-e6-c4 idea. This wasn’t a disaster and led to an interesting position. Although I had a slight disadvantage there was still play in it. However, after an exchange of minor pieces, I ended up with a weak pawn structure and was lost.”
Matthew also had a tough game. He writes: “I was Black and my opponent played the Italian, so it was a quiet opening. I played 8…Ne7, intending the knight manoeuvre to g6, which allowed him to open the centre with 9. d4. After the exchange of pawns, I managed to activate my pieces and get some attacking play against his king but overreached, blundering the exchange which led to defeat after a few more moves.”
Nor was it Devina’s night. She notes: “I was losing out of the opening, leading me to have limited space in which to develop my pieces. The game proceeded with me losing a pawn but I gained a small kingside initiative. Then I sacrificed a rook thinking it was mate but my opponent simply captured it. A silly mistake.”
In my opinion, our best chess of the evening was played by Mark who performed exceptionally well for three quarters of the game. As White, he dismantled his opponent’s Portuguese Gambit (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6), castled queenside, and hispiece activity gave him a winning position. However from move 33, his position began to drift, leading to an endgame in which he faced two passed pawns and inevitable defeat; a most unfortunate result given how the game had developed.
My encounter was the last to finish. As White, I faced the Classical Dutch once again. The game remained resolutely in the drawing zone until the last 5 minutes of my time when I lost a pawn and the subsequent endgame.
Rather depressingly we lost the match 6-0, albeit with a weakened team. Things can only get better!
| Ealing One | Rating | Result | Hendon One | Rating |
| Colum Jezierski | 1974 | 0-1 | Michael Healey | 2286 |
| Duncan Grassie | 1948 | 0-1 | Eric Eeedle | 2157 |
| Simon Healeas | 1858 | 0-1 | Elliott Macneil | 2004 |
| Devina Bedi | 1826 | 0-1 | Armaan Nilim | 1956 |
| Mark Winterbotham | 1814 | 0-1 | Jonathan Rubeck | 1923 |
| Matthew Georgiou | 1796 | 0-1 | Alexander Funk | 1844 |
| 0-6 |