On Monday, 5 January we welcomed Kings Head 2 to Ealing Chess Club for a second division Middlesex match. We started as favourites, as they were out-rated on all boards.
Reporting on his short game, Jonathan states: “My opponent opened the game with the mischievous 1.Na3. This was new territory for me. I assumed White hoped to legitimise it with some kind of c4 break, so decided to keep my distance and go for a Dutch setup based on f5, Nf6, g6, d6, e5 and Bg7. I was able to develop fairly quickly, whereas my opponent delayed castling as he tried to activate his a3-N. I opened up in the centre and soon had a range of threats followed by a strong attack on his king. He resigned a few moves later. It’s nice to get a thoroughly distinctive game – I applaud my opponent’s playful instincts. Who knows when I’ll next see Na3?”
It was pleasing to see Matthew return to the team. He writes: “As White, I played the classical French having been given a few books on this opening for Christmas by my Dad, including one by Andrew Harley! It looks as though I could do with studying them more carefully, as I was behind in the early middlegame having sacrificed a pawn for counter play which didn’t materialise. I transcribed the game last night, which includes a few moves at the end that neither of us wrote down due to time pressure, I got lucky at the end I think.” Although Matthew modestly comments on being “lucky at the end,” I beg to differ: in my view he demonstrated fine endgame technique in which his doubled rooks on the seventh combined with the powerful e6-pawn advance and more dominant king position contrived to pressurise his opponent who, not surprisingly, succumbed.
On board two, as White, Duncan played against the French Defence – Advance, Wade variation (1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7). Having turned down a draw offer at move 11 – “I didn’t think there was enough play in the other games to waste a White” – he later came close to gaining a significant advantage but with the clock running down, missed 29.dxc5, instead capturing the pawn with the rook. Shortly afterwards, both players agreed to split the point.
Alejandro’s rich vein of form continues. In his own words: “I played White in an Austrian attack. My opponent was a little ambitious and tried to mount an attack but with good play it was relatively easy to defend and left me in a slightly better position as well as being about 40 minutes up on the clock. Subsequently he blundered a piece following pressure, after which the win was routine.”
In my own game as Black, I faced an unusual opening (1.d4 d5 2.Bg5). With both kings remaining in the centre, the middlegame worked out well and by move 30, I was three pawns up but then took far too long to secure the win.
Last to finish was Andrew on board one. Reflecting on his game he comments: “I played an English Symmetrical Rubinstein (with an early …d5) as Black, and got an advantage out of the opening and middlegame both on the board and even more so on the clock. I swapped all the major pieces into an ending with bishop and knight each which I hoped would clarify my advantage but instead partly dissipated it. Fearful then that the natural play of both kings coming to the centre would probably just now lead to an equal ending, I played a line that won a queenside pawn by force but I had badly underestimated his compensation. He played well on the increment, his central pawns crashed through, though I missed some tactical chances to hold (or even win if he went wrong), including when I had king and four (!) isolated passed pawns against his king, bishop and two pawns. He managed to hold back all my four pawns and keep his one last pawn and won the queening pawn race by a tempo.”
The victory in this match means that at the season’s halfway point we are now on seven wins out of eight. Along with our rivals, Hendon 2, we are proving to be strong contenders for promotion to the first division.
| Ealing 1 | Rating | Result | Kings Head 2 | Rating |
| FM Andrew Harley | 2166 | 0-1 | Michael Inzani | 2011 |
| Duncan Grassie | 2007 | 0.5-0.5 | Colin Mackenzie | 1991 |
| Jonathan White | 1999 | 1-0 | William Diffey | 1785 |
| Alejandro Lopez-Martinez | 1912 | 1-0 | Alex Bourke | 1776 |
| Simon Healeas | 1830 | 1-0 | Richard Jerram | 1772 |
| Matthew Georgiou | 1820 | 1-0 | Daniel Mackenzie | 1649 |
| 4.5-1.5 |