Bedford A cemented their position at the top of the Beds League with a fine victory over LB A on Thursday 11th November.
| Board | Rating | Leighton Buzzard A | V | Bedford A | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2145 | Sharp, John R | 0 – 1 | Ledger, Stephen C | 2119 |
| 2 | 2148 | Kenworthy, Gary | ½ – ½ | Arulnandhy, Ravi | 2046 |
| 3 | 1983 | Hunt, Peter | 0 – 1 | Gardner, James | 2117 |
| 4 | 1963 | Law, Stephen | 0 – 1 | Collacott, Nick | 2035 |
| 5 | 1837 | Valentine, Brian J | 1 – 0 | Dairi, Ramsey | 2043 |
| Total | 10076 | 1½ – 3½ | 10360 |
We made a last minute decision to switch Ravi and James round on boards 2 & 3, as Ravi was happy to take another black, and it worked out quite well.
On Bd 2, Ravi seemed to equalise, with black, fairly comfortably and may even have been a bit better when a fairly early peace was agreed.
On Bd 4, Nick’s Classical Caro lead to a game of fluctuating fortunes as Steve Law seemed to be building up some Q-Side pressure before Nick managed to whip up some counter chances against the white king and as he forced said king into the open most likely had a perpetual in hand, if necessary. In the event, Nick kept up the pressure and Steve walked into a deadly fork that cost him the game.
On Bd 5, the battle of the generations seemed to be going fine for Ramsey but he overlooked some dangerous counterplay from Brian Valentine who duly managed to sweep in and win. So 1.5 – 1.5 with James and I plugging away.
James’ game had started as some fairly dull looking mirror moves 1. b3 b6 etc but James managed to whip up some complications and sweep onto win (note from James – Probably the highest accuracy game I’ve ever played – easier to do when the opening is so dull and symmetrical though. I found a few nice ideas to bring it to life, was pleased with knight e5, followed by queen f3 and knight g4, suddenly a bit uncomfortable for him):
My own game was fairly interesting, as John Sharp punted his pet opening gambit and kept offering me material that I gobbled up whilst just about managing to avoid giving him enough compensation:
Steve Ledger 13/11/2025.