Bedford A maintain good form

     Bedford A                          Leighton Buzzard B        

           2145  Ledger, Stephen C ½ – ½  Valentine, Brian J  1910

           2124  Arulnandhy, Ravi  ½ – ½  Taylor, Peter                     1815

           2085  Cox, Toby               1 – 0   Matthews, Adrian MS     1830

           2023  Gardner, James                1 – 0   Dorn, C Fred H                  1729

           2020  Collacott, Nick                  1 – 0   Watson, Dominic  1804

                                                       4 – 1  

The A team came into this match looking to continue our winning streak.

Boards 1 and 2 followed similar stories. The higher rated Bedford player was pushing for a win with a slight positional advantage, but the Leighton Buzzard player managed to grovel for a draw.

Nick forged a positional advantage through pushing pawns on the queenside. He used it to win material, and then the game.

James won a piece early on, and seemed to be in control for the rest of the game. He defended against a kingside attack with ease and soon converted.

My opponent sacrificed a pawn early in the middlegame, but never really saw any compensation, despite having the bishop pair. It took a while for me to convert, but in the end my extra pawn made the difference.

Toby Cox, 1st December 2022