With three teams in the second division, these inter-club matches come around quite regularly and this Thursday was another one. The C’s and E’s have had contrasting fortunes this season, with the C’s seemingly “best of the rest” behind division runaways Leighton Buzzard, and the E’s propping up the foot of the table and still looking for their first win. But you wouldn’t have known it from the way this match was played!
| Board | Rating | Bedford C | V | Bedford E | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1747 | Shields, Callum T | ½ – ½ | Hickman, Neil | 1727 |
| 2 | 1683 | Potts, Alexander | 1 – 0 | Cox, Lucian | 1697 |
| 3 | 0000 | Darmendra, Shivadharshan | 1 – 0 | Cox, R David | 1389 |
| 4 | 1446 | Walker, Nigel B | 0 – 1 | Goodman, James | 1500 |
| 5 | 0000 | Graf, Francesco | 0 – 1 | Madhadi, Rishik | 1438 |
| Total | 4876 | 2½ – 2½ | 7751 |
The first game to finish was my own against Lucian. This one really was a bit of a shame really – Lucian made a one-move blunder not that far into the game, the error compounded by a frankly terrible poker face which confirmed my suspicions that he’d just erred decisively. Forced to give up the queen rather than being mated, Lucian at least got a bishop and knight for the monarch, and did his best to generate counterplay which did at one stage look a little scary, but in truth the result was never really in doubt.
Nigel and James locked horns on board four. I didn’t see a great deal of this one, it looks like Nigel ventured a solid if slightly passive opening, but quickly found himself being squeezed. At some point he lost a piece, and James made quick work of mopping up and levelling the match.
Callum and Neil’s game was very cagey. At no stage did either player look like gaining much of an advantage on a closed board, and additionally material was swapped off rather quickly, leaving an endgame of knight versus bishop with seven pawns apiece. Callum tried to imbalance the position by giving up his bishop for a couple of pawns, but it didn’t do anything to imbalance the result!
Francesco and Rishik’s game was an odd one. Not sure how it happened, but after leaving their board in a fairly unremarkable position I was startled upon my return to find Rishik a rook up but with his king severely exposed! Eventually, though, he was able to wriggle his king back to safety with his material advantage intact. In time trouble Francesco blundered more material and resigned, putting the E team on the verge of that coveted first victory.
But it wasn’t to be. David and Shiva’s game was probably the pick of the bunch, with David busting out his trademark Smith-Morra gambit and later sacrificing more material to achieve some very dangerous-looking passed pawns. In a highly dynamic position which required supreme accuracy from both sides, it was Shiva who held his composure together better, finding a way to gradually blockade and neutralise the pawns, and eventually undermine and remove them. Like father like son, David was arguably a bit stubborn as he played on in a hopeless position, but as a forced checkmate approached he finally waved the white flag.
So that left the match all square, and probably a fair and well-earned result for both sides too. If they continue playing like this, the E’s will surely get a win soon!
Alex Potts, 24th January 2026