Leighton Buzzard A V Bedford A, Tuesday 2nd April.
| Board | Home | Leighton Buzzard A | Bedford A | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (B) | 2178 | B Sharp, John R | 1 – 0 | G Ledger, Stephen C | 2124 |
| 2 (W) | 2113 | G Kenworthy, Gary | ½ – ½ | B Arulnandhy, Ravi | 2083 |
| 3 (B) | 1982 | B Law, Stephen | 0 – 1 | G Gardner, James | 2101 |
| 4 (W) | 1970 | S Hunt, Peter | 1 – 0 | G Habershon, Paul F | 1974 |
| 5 (B) | 1917 | G Tinker, Andy | 0 – 1 | G Dairi, Ramsey | 1814 |
| Total | 2½ – 2½ | Total |
Bedford A just about stayed in the hunt for the Beds League title with a match of fluctuating fortunes against leaders LB A which eventually ended in a drawn match.
Having returned from the Southend Easter Congress on Monday evening, having played 6 games Fri thru Mon, then a chess match on the very next evening in Leighton Buzzard wasn’t exactly my first choice. Or, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it, as I got horribly mashed by John Sharp’s pet opening :
d4 e5 de d6 Nf3 Nc6 Bg5 Qd7 ed Bxd6 Nc3 Qg4 !?!? I refuse to believe this can be any good but it is tricky, and he used it to beat James in the reverse fixture, and when I stupidly played an early Nb5 to swap of his bishop rather than complete my development I got well and truly stuffed with my king in the centre 🙁-
Shortly after I stomped off to “get some fresh air” I was joined by James, who had neatly dispatched Steve Law, so it looked like match on again.
Paul then lost a grim ending but things looked quite rosy in the other two games.
Ravi then won a piece against Gary Kenworthy but promptly played a rather rash and hurried move that allowed a perpetual check ( or possibly a king walk up the board, which Ravi chose not to attempt with only a few minutes left on his clock ! ).
This left our young star Ramsey to convert an ending a pawn up which he duly did in a remarkably cool and mature fashion. So honours even it was.
Our last match is next Thursday, home to Milton Keynes, which is probably a shoot-out for second place …… but if the B team do us a favour on the same night then all is possible. Steve Ledger, 03/04/24.