Our B team narrowly lost to Stockport C on Thursday night but Paul at least had some fun with his game.
Playing yet another gambit Paul managed to win in 11 moves!
Here is how it happened with Paul’s comments:
Archive for December, 2010
A victory for persistence
East Cheshire got thumped but at least I won my game, a game that was drawn throughout really against an evenly matched opponent. Make of it what you will, an interesting game to play
1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Be2 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+
(usually play 7. … Nh6, this is alright too)
8. Nc3 Nge7 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Bd7
Initially its all about that c pawn
11. OO Rc8 12. Bd2 Na5 13. Rb1 Qc7 14. Qc2 b6 15. Rfc1 Nc4
16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Rb4 Qc7 18. c4?
Sometimes my cautious chess gets the better of me, 18. …. a5 probably wins a pawn immediately but white gets somer counterplay against my pawns so I keep it solid
18. … dxc 19. Rxc4 Qxc4 20. Qxc4 Rxc4 21. Rxc4 Nd5 22. Ng5
Thought this might come, looking for Ne5 then Nd6, its a bit of a nuisance if it gets there
22. … f5 23. exf gxf 24. Ne4 Ke7 25. Nc3 Nxc3 26. Rxc3 Rc8
27. f3 Rxc3 28. Bxc3 Kd6 29. Kf2 Kd5 30. Ke3 a5 31. Kd3 Bb5+
However you look at it this is with correct play a drawn ending but the clock will come into play, my plan is to use the dual threat of penetrating with the king on either the king or queen side. My active Bishop and king can drive a path for that pawn if the defence is not accurate.
32. Kd2 f5 33. g3 Kc4 34 Bb2 Bc6 35. f4 b5 36. Bc3 b4
Time control an extra 15 minutes each, my opponent ends up with a total of 17, I have got 58, these are good odds
37. axb4 axb4 (think … a4 here is actually best, not sure though, maybe the pawn is better on the b file giving the king the option of running down the a file)
38. Bb2 Kb3 39. Kc1 Kc4 40. Kd2 Be4 41. Kc1 Kd3 42. Kd1 Bf3+
43. Kc1 Ke2 44. Kcc2 Bd5
I think this position is still drawn, yes I can win the h pawn but if his king simply follows me accross what then.
45. h3? Kf3 White Resigns
Ouch! (ECA vs Stockport C)
Ooof that hurt!
ECA can crashing back down to earth with a painful defeat to Stockport C. Stockport’s captain had observed our lofty league position and decided to do the other teams in the league a favour by fielding his strongest team. Although grading-wise we were about equal most of us just weren’t at our best last night. Here is the damage:
1. Graham Ball 1-0 J Mason (153)
Graham defended the Advance French and played solidly, reaching an opposite bishops endgame where he was slightly better. Our resident endgame wizard then steadily outplayed his opponent to take the full point.
2. Phil Ramsey 0-1 A Coe (148)
Oh dear. This was one of those games where I couldn’t find a good plan, dithered for a few moves and missed most of my opponent’s threats. Trying the English opening I didn’t get anything special from the opening and then allowed a sudden attack against my King. Hopefully my brain will work better next Wednesday!
3. Dave Newall 0.5-0.5 P King (146)
Dave gave his good old Dutch Leningrad another outing. However his opponent seemed to know how to meet it (it is rumoured that Stockport has a database of all our openings!) Dave sacrificed a couple of exchanges for in order to get two very powerful Bishops but then offered a draw after his opponent defended well.
4. Keven Holton 0-1 L Smith (146)
Keven had the chance to play against his favourite opening – the Modern Defence. However after castling Queenside his opponents attack came first and Keven was left about 4 pawns down.
5. Dave Broadbent 0-1 V Rushworth (139)
Another Black, another French for Dave. However his opponent played well and Dave ended up with a thoroughly miserable position, resigning shortly after the time control.
6. David Taylor 0-1 D Preen (131)
David, playing his favourite Reti, seemed to get a pleasant enough position from the opening but then went astray and ended up a piece for a pawn down. His opponent made hard work of winning but eventually forced David’s resignation.
The B team play Stockport C next week. Good luck!
Frozen but victorious in Chorlton also
On Tuesday East Cheshire C ventured out in the snow to visit Chorlton B and won 3.5 to 1.5. Andy Walker captained. The scores were
Alan Stokes 1 0 Evan Wood
Bill Tait 1 0 Howard Hughes
Mike Cunnane 1/2 1/2 E Patten
Andy Buckley 0 1 P Noel
Andy Walker 1 0 M Fullerton
Alan was playing the white side of a Queen’s gambit accepted. It was even until the middle of the game; he later managed a winning king side attack with an exchange sacrifice.
Bill achieved a precarious advantage and managed to promote a centre pawn for a timely win. The drive home was difficult, said Bill.
Andy W says, “Many thanks gents – a convincing win in less than ideal conditions!”
Frozen but Victorious in Denton
Last night ECA braved the snow and the cold to take on Denton at their venue in Guide Bridge. Unfortunately the playing venue was little warmer than outside as the heating had only just gone on. Therefore we were all hoping for some “fire on board” to warm things up. Here is what happened:
1. Graham Ball 0-1 Dave Toole
Graham was outplayed by the in-form Toole who clearly has been playing the Black side of the Sicilian Najdorf longer than Graham has been taking it on.
2. Phil Ramsey 1-0 John Lysons
John played his favourite Smith-Morra gambit against my Sicilian. However I didn’t fancy defending for two hours so I declined it and played for a solid position. John didn’t come up with any ways to trouble me and I gradually built up a Queenside attack and then won the endgame.
3. Dave Newell 0.5-0.5 Kamran Ahmadi
Playing his favourite Dutch Reversed Dave managed to trap his opponents Knight. A quick win then? Maybe not as his opponent wriggled and squirmed like an eel. Dave was eventually easily winning but had only seconds left on his clock. Dave then lost on time but Kamran only had his King left which meant the result was a draw due to insufficient mating material.
4. Keven Holton 0-1 Dave Holt
Keven achieved a solid position in the Scandinavian Defence but went astray in time trouble.
5. David Taylor 1-0 Stan Bradley
David played his normal Reti but both players seemed reluctant to advance past the halfway line! Stan spent rather too long thinking and eventually froze while in time trouble, allowing his flag to fall. David was winning anyway apparently.
6. Alan Stokes 1-0 Dave Cook
Playing the Sicilian Alan stirred up complications that were too much for Dave to handle and Alan quickly won a piece and then the game.
So a 3.5 – 2.5 victory for ECA! That is 6 out of 6 for ECA!