Home Team: Milton Keynes C | Away Team: Bedford C | ||||||
Board | Name | Grade | Score | Score | Name | Grade | |
1 | Colin Solloway | 141 | 0 | 1 | Giuseppe Valerio | 153 | |
2 | Peter Rawcliffe | 137 | 1 | 0 | Gerry Nolan | 151 | |
3 | John McKeon | 124 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Peter S Gill | 122 | |
4 | Dave Wells | 128 | 0 | 1 | J Nigel Staddon | 116 | |
5 | Lau Gainpaulsingh | 87 | 0 | 1 | Peter T Housden | 104 | |
1.5 | 3.5 | ||||||
Played: 27/04/2017 |
This was a great effort by the team (captain excluded) for the last match of the season. It was the wooden spoon match, to see who ended up at the foot of the table, but the win was enough to propel the C team into mid-table mediocrity yet again.
Peter G finished first. He created a lot of pressure, but unfortunately it was insufficient to end up with more than a draw.
Peter H finished next. He developed a wild-looking position, with multiple complications, but which he was able to turn into a fine win.
My game was next to finish and was a complete disaster. I tried a new, double-edged but sound defence, at least it was sound until I failed to remember a key move. That cost me a Knight and it was downhill for the rest of the game, culminating in my Queen being left en prise. Not the finest way to end the season.
That meant the match was evenly balanced, with two games to finish. Nigel had an endgame with equal pawns on both sides, but he had a supported passed Pawn in the centre. In the end, his opponent had no more moves available and had to retreat his King, giving Nigel an excellent win, from a position where it would have not been difficult to concede a draw. So we had a drawn match, which was sufficient to avoid bottom place in the league.
Giuseppe’s game was really interesting, with his opponent tied up, but with no obvious way through. Time marched on and with a minute each left, Giuseppe was able to crash through on the Kingside and finish with a fine mate.
So a creditable win and a good end to a reasonable season, with a score of 50% overall, though that turned into only 3 won matches. Most depressingly of all, we managed to lose both home and away to the D team, despite the vast experience of being the oldest team in the league. It just shows that experience means nothing in chess!
Well, the oldies are always looking to encourage the youth
Ooh. Did you lose twice to the D team? I’d forgotten that.
NOT!!