When organising this event, the first thing I realised is that Birmingham Holiday Inn isn’t particularly near Birmingham, and I could see us getting lost. But Qais gave us a smooth ride in his Lexus and we arrived very early. I had planned the journey time as if we were using my old Peugeot 106, so we had several hours to kill 
. The hotel itself very acceptable, and we were able to have a wander around early in the day. We spent over an hour in the plush analysis rooms before play began, and enjoyed a bite to eat in the lounge bar. Unfortunately there was no time to use the pool, sauna or other facilities!
Despite the time spent playing blitz upstairs we still arrived early for the first round, but once play started it seemed to be over in a flash. Ravi and Qais did well and won. Meanwhile I got into all sorts of trouble out of the opening, but with some threats to his king, my opponent offered a draw, which I accepted immediately. Ben lost a promising position, which he would have won on a different day, but we were able to hold onto a match win 2.5-1.5
Round two was a more drawn out affair. Ben seemed to be doing well but he eventually lost late in the game. My opponent left some weak light squares on the board, of which I was able to take advantage. Ravi was playing like a machine (!), and I had little doubt that he would convert his position, and he did so efficiently. Qais was also precise, and his draw assured the team of a second successive win. Nicely done.
After recovering from various late night festivities, which in my case was overeating at the ‘chess players buffet’ we took on the challenge of trying to win the competition. While my opponent had been making things difficult, Ravi had a good game, and it seemed likely that he would win. Qais had a wild position (opening theory apparently), but it seemed to me that he was also doing quite well even though the game was eventually drawn. I thought that Ben was having a good game early on too. Unfortunately disaster struck when Ben touched the wrong piece, and he was obliged to move it, losing a queen as a result. Soon after, Ravi slipped up for the only time in the competition, which confirmed that we were to have our first loss. My opponent eventually fell to a kingside attack, but that had no bearing on the match result.
We needed a convincing win against the leaders if we were to win overall. For once, I managed to get an excellent position early on. For Qais, Ben and Ravi it was too early to tell, but the match was obviously going to be close. Several hours in, I missed a relatively simple win of a pawn, which was not a good omen. When Ravi finished off his opponent handily things were looking good. I was busy deciding whether to continue going for a win, or manoeuvre into a more drawish position. Qais found his position deteriorating and things seemed in the balance once more. At around this time I picked up a bishop instead of the rook (which has been en prise). I acted quickly, by confidently moving the bishop one square and offering a draw (!). My opponent saw through this scheme though, and credit to him for finishing the endgame well. Ben did well and drew his game, but we had already missed the win.
So there you have it – a mid table finish this time. Despite not winning I have to say it was nice to have a short weekend away at this venue. The hotel rooms are excellent and facilities just right for this sort of event. The catering staff put on a special buffet for us all in the restaurant and everyone enjoyed it. Hopefully we can enter a team or two next year.
Mike
Intermediate Section Results
| P | W | D | L | GP | Pts | |
| Redditch 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11½ | 8 |
| Newport | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9½ | 6 |
| GLCC 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7½ | 5 |
| Sutton Coldfield 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8½ | 4 |
| Bedford | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7½ | 4 |
| Newton Abbot | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7½ | 3 |
| Kenilworth | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6½ | 3 |
| Warley Quinborne | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Braille 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6½ | 1 |