Redditch visited Sutton Coldfield on Monday in Division Two of the Birmingham League - the club's final match before entering the Christmas break. Pushing for promotion, Sutton Coldfield posed a real danger to struggling Redditch - a situation not helped by Redditch unfortunately missing Dave Spowart and Jason Cole.
The first game to finish was on Board 1 where Dan Lambourne's French Defence against John Mildenhall led to a Rook and Bishop endgame where the interlocked pawns proved too much of an obstacle for either player and a draw was agreed. With Dan holding a 19-point grading superiority over his opponent, it could have been argued that Sutton Coldfield may have taken some advantage from that draw. However, they were to soon be definitely ahead after Tom Robinson succumbed on Board 2 to 152-rated Marek Soszynski - another upset. With the rest of the grades favouring Sutton Coldfield, things looked bleak for Redditch and matters worsened when, as may have been expected with such a gap, Andrew Wiggins had to concede defeat on Board 3 to 151-rated Lawrence Hayden.
However, the bottom three boards had other ideas as to how the match should finish. Steve Crockett sacrificed the exchange on Board 4 against 147-graded Roy Lawrence, picked up a further couple of pawns and finally checkmated his opponent on a8 with the use of King, Bishop and Pawn. Peter Seeley played passively on Board 5 against Shailesh Jobanputra but managed to weather an inital storm. His 145-graded opponent summoned up the reserves to win Rook, Bishop and Knight in exchange for his Queen and go into what should have been a superior endgame. One slip, however, allowed Peter to threaten a repetition of moves from which the only escape was to give up one of those pieces. Jobanputra chose the latter option and then compounded his error by giving up a further pawn, allowing Peter a passed a-pawn that should have allowed him an excellent win. Peter, however, completely missed the opportunity to push this pawn, instead allowing Jobanputra the chance to cause some mischief with his rook. Whilst Peter still had a won position at the end of the game, he didn't have enough time to convert it and instead had to settle for a draw and a missed opportunity.
With Redditch still a point behind, it came down to Michele Clack against 130-rated Iqbal Dhesi on Board 6. Avoiding Dhesi's Marshall Gambit, Michele won a knight in the middle game before returning it and taking a pawn advantage into a Rook and Pawn endgame. Michele missed an initial opportunity to convert before Dhesi missed the drawing line. Michele ultimately promoted the final pawn on the board to secure a 3-3 draw for Redditch and take them into the Christmas break with prospects looking a little brighter.
Redditch play a 'Mince Pie' quickplay on Tuesday as a final social gathering before Christmas. With 15 minutes each on the clock, anything can happen.
Closing thought: "The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move." - David Bronstein
Sunday 16 December 2012
Saturday 8 December 2012
A week of improvement
Redditch finally got off the mark in Division Two of the Birmingham League on Tuesday with a 3-3 draw at home against Mutual Circle before following up last Friday's draw with Malvern in Division One of the Worcester & District League with a resounding 4-0 at the Kidderminster Pawns on Wednesday.
Searching for their first point of the season in BDCL2, Reddith got off to a poor start on the lower boards when Steve Crockett lost on Board 6 against Mark Paffard before another defeat swiftly followed for Jason Cole on Board 5 against Christopher Evans. Andrew Wiggins drew on Board 6 against Robert Hollows to leave Redditch trailing 2.5-0.5 and Mutual Circle looked like they would consign Redditch to their fifth successive defeat. Redditch, however, had other ideas. Dave Spowart won a piece against Mark Tallis on Board 3 and then calmly defended his opponent's spacial advantage before the extra piece would prove decisive in his own attack. Tom Robinson followed up on Board 2 establishing a positional advantage against Edward Huang before delivering checkmate with Queen and Rook to level the match. By this point, Dan Lambourne was two pawns ahead in his match on Board 1 against Robin Huq but facing counterthreats. Dan picked up a third pawn but his opponent's counterplay proved too strong for Dan to pursue his attack and a draw was agreed to secure Redditch's first point of the season ahead of their final match before Christmas next week.
Having taken an excellent draw off Malvern last Friday, a full-strength Redditch were in a confident mood for their trip to newly promoted Kidderminster Pawns on Wednesday. Outgrading their opponents on every board, Redditch recorded their first win of the season in style. Victories for Dan Lambourne, Tom Robinson, Dave Spowart and Jason Cole against Mark Riley, David Close, Tim Yates and Clive Billinge gave Redditch a 4-0 victory to haul themselves off the foot of the table and head into Christmas on a real high.
Redditch conclude their pre-Christmas campaign with a trip to Sutton Coldfield in Division Two of the Birmingham League on Monday before the rapidplay tournament enters its second week.
Closing thought: "Your body has to be in top condition. Your chess deteriorates as your body does. You can't separate body from mind." - Bobby Fischer
Searching for their first point of the season in BDCL2, Reddith got off to a poor start on the lower boards when Steve Crockett lost on Board 6 against Mark Paffard before another defeat swiftly followed for Jason Cole on Board 5 against Christopher Evans. Andrew Wiggins drew on Board 6 against Robert Hollows to leave Redditch trailing 2.5-0.5 and Mutual Circle looked like they would consign Redditch to their fifth successive defeat. Redditch, however, had other ideas. Dave Spowart won a piece against Mark Tallis on Board 3 and then calmly defended his opponent's spacial advantage before the extra piece would prove decisive in his own attack. Tom Robinson followed up on Board 2 establishing a positional advantage against Edward Huang before delivering checkmate with Queen and Rook to level the match. By this point, Dan Lambourne was two pawns ahead in his match on Board 1 against Robin Huq but facing counterthreats. Dan picked up a third pawn but his opponent's counterplay proved too strong for Dan to pursue his attack and a draw was agreed to secure Redditch's first point of the season ahead of their final match before Christmas next week.
Having taken an excellent draw off Malvern last Friday, a full-strength Redditch were in a confident mood for their trip to newly promoted Kidderminster Pawns on Wednesday. Outgrading their opponents on every board, Redditch recorded their first win of the season in style. Victories for Dan Lambourne, Tom Robinson, Dave Spowart and Jason Cole against Mark Riley, David Close, Tim Yates and Clive Billinge gave Redditch a 4-0 victory to haul themselves off the foot of the table and head into Christmas on a real high.
Redditch conclude their pre-Christmas campaign with a trip to Sutton Coldfield in Division Two of the Birmingham League on Monday before the rapidplay tournament enters its second week.
Closing thought: "Your body has to be in top condition. Your chess deteriorates as your body does. You can't separate body from mind." - Bobby Fischer
Sunday 2 December 2012
Three matches produce three results
Redditch's struggles continued in Division 2 of the Birmingham Leage on Tuesday as they went down 4-2 against Shirley & Wythall but managed to maintain their 100% record in Division 2 of the Worcester & District League with a 2.5-1.5 win at Worcester Pawns on Thursday before securing a 2-2 draw in Division 1 away to reigning champions Malvern.
Redditch's match against Shirley & Wythall began badly with defeat for Dave Spowart against John Freeman on Board Two. Further defeats followed for Michele Clack and Richard Turner to Jon Asbury and Mike Warden on Board Five and Six respectively left Redditch 3-0 down with three games left and hoping to draw the match at best. Despite the building up of pressure, however, Tom Robinson was unable to capitalise against Dave Thomas on Board One and had to agree a draw to allow Shirley & Whythall to secure the win. With the match decided, Jason Cole agreed a draw with Frank Jiminez on Board Four but Andrew Wiggins recorded an excellent individual victory over Gordon Christie to hand Redditch their only win in a result that leaves them still bottom of Division 2 with no points from their opening four matches.
The other two games this week were fortunately much better. Worcester Pawns put out a strong side on Thursday and would surely have been considered favourites before their home advantage was taken into account. Redditch had other ideas. Jason Cole drew with Andrew Farthing on Board One and Michele Clack made a mockery of her 25 point grading deficit to draw with Ray Collett on Board Two. Ian Clack also drew against Phil Smith on Board Three but Richard Turner beat Roger Yates on Board Four to claim Redditch's third win from their opening three games in the Worcester & District League Division Two and will be hoping to continue that run after Christmas.
With two defeats from their opening two matches in Division One of the Worcester & District League, a trip to Malvern to face the team that has won the last three titles was an even more daunting prospect than usual, although the availability of Dan Lambourne certainly made a difference. After building up some early pressure against Brian Turner on Board One, he declined the opportunity to make an unclear sacrifice and a draw was soon agreed. Andrew Wiggins played a Stonewall Attack on Board Three against John Knee that offered few options to either player and a draw was also agreed. Unfortunately, Peter Seeley was unable to continue the run of draws for Redditch against Geoffrey Herbert on Board Four. After initially repelling Geoffrey's Torre Attack, he gave up a bishop for three pawns to give himself a 4-1 pawn majority on the kingside. He was unable to get the pawns rolling however and Geoffrey used the open files to for the win of a pawn and followed it up with a rook to send Malvern ahead. By this point, Tom Robinson had withstood an early onslaught on Board Two against Ian Clarke's Smith-Morra Gambit before Ian erred in time pressure to leave Tom two pawns ahead. Pressing to salvage the result, Ian dropped a third pawn before conceding the match to Tom, giving Redditch an excellent draw against a full strength Malvern team.
Redditch will be hoping to make further strides on their draw with Malvern on Wednesday as they travel to Kidderminster Pawns in the Worcester & District League the evening after they host Mutual Circle in Division Two of the Birmingham League.
Closing thought: "The hallmark of the artist is simplicity." - Larry Evans
Redditch's match against Shirley & Wythall began badly with defeat for Dave Spowart against John Freeman on Board Two. Further defeats followed for Michele Clack and Richard Turner to Jon Asbury and Mike Warden on Board Five and Six respectively left Redditch 3-0 down with three games left and hoping to draw the match at best. Despite the building up of pressure, however, Tom Robinson was unable to capitalise against Dave Thomas on Board One and had to agree a draw to allow Shirley & Whythall to secure the win. With the match decided, Jason Cole agreed a draw with Frank Jiminez on Board Four but Andrew Wiggins recorded an excellent individual victory over Gordon Christie to hand Redditch their only win in a result that leaves them still bottom of Division 2 with no points from their opening four matches.
The other two games this week were fortunately much better. Worcester Pawns put out a strong side on Thursday and would surely have been considered favourites before their home advantage was taken into account. Redditch had other ideas. Jason Cole drew with Andrew Farthing on Board One and Michele Clack made a mockery of her 25 point grading deficit to draw with Ray Collett on Board Two. Ian Clack also drew against Phil Smith on Board Three but Richard Turner beat Roger Yates on Board Four to claim Redditch's third win from their opening three games in the Worcester & District League Division Two and will be hoping to continue that run after Christmas.
With two defeats from their opening two matches in Division One of the Worcester & District League, a trip to Malvern to face the team that has won the last three titles was an even more daunting prospect than usual, although the availability of Dan Lambourne certainly made a difference. After building up some early pressure against Brian Turner on Board One, he declined the opportunity to make an unclear sacrifice and a draw was soon agreed. Andrew Wiggins played a Stonewall Attack on Board Three against John Knee that offered few options to either player and a draw was also agreed. Unfortunately, Peter Seeley was unable to continue the run of draws for Redditch against Geoffrey Herbert on Board Four. After initially repelling Geoffrey's Torre Attack, he gave up a bishop for three pawns to give himself a 4-1 pawn majority on the kingside. He was unable to get the pawns rolling however and Geoffrey used the open files to for the win of a pawn and followed it up with a rook to send Malvern ahead. By this point, Tom Robinson had withstood an early onslaught on Board Two against Ian Clarke's Smith-Morra Gambit before Ian erred in time pressure to leave Tom two pawns ahead. Pressing to salvage the result, Ian dropped a third pawn before conceding the match to Tom, giving Redditch an excellent draw against a full strength Malvern team.
Redditch will be hoping to make further strides on their draw with Malvern on Wednesday as they travel to Kidderminster Pawns in the Worcester & District League the evening after they host Mutual Circle in Division Two of the Birmingham League.
Closing thought: "The hallmark of the artist is simplicity." - Larry Evans
Sunday 25 November 2012
A mixed week
Redditch recorded their fourth win from their opening five games in Division Four of the Birmingham League agaisnt Boldmere on Wednesday but also fell to their second defeat from their opening two games in Division One of the Worcester & District League at Worcester Bishops on Thursday.
Outgraded against Boldmere, Kevin Day picked up a trademark early draw on Board Two against Peter Loach, made even more impressive after being up at 4 for work! This was followed with victories for Giles Stanton against Nigel McCormack on Board Five and Richard Turner against Geoff Harman on Board Six, although Steve Crockett missed a combination on Board One after declining a draw offer to fall to defeat against Philip Jones. Michele Clack won a piece early on and then efficiently ground Andrew Taylor down on Board Four to secure the match for Redditch. Peter Seeley made a couple of early errors on Board Three against Malcolm Phipps and left himself with an incarcerated bishop. With the match decided and gradually falling asleep at the board, Peter offered a draw, which Malcolm declined before Peter left his queen en prise, although Malcolm was probably heading towards a deserved victory anyway. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch. Five games into the season, Redditch head into their Christmas break in this division lying third in the league behind Olton 'A' and conquerors Warley Quinborne.
In the middle of the apalling weather on Thursday, Redditch faced a daunting trip to one of the strongest teams in the Worcester & District League - Worcester Bishops. What was already a daunting trip wasn't helped by captain Tom Robinson being unavailable and the driving conditions. After facing an arduous journey home from in heavy traffic, Dave Spowart lost quickly against Steve Mellor on Board Two although Jason Cole was able to pick up a credible early draw against Jim Keene on Board Four. Andrew Wiggins looked to be holding his own against Nick Harris on Board Three but eventually lost but Dan Lambourne matched Peter Kitson on Board One to secure a draw. Redditch had to accept a 3-1 defeat and it is likely that this season will be as tough as the last one to stay up but they will retain hopes that this will be the case.
Closing thought: "Time trouble is blunder time." - Alexander Kotov
Outgraded against Boldmere, Kevin Day picked up a trademark early draw on Board Two against Peter Loach, made even more impressive after being up at 4 for work! This was followed with victories for Giles Stanton against Nigel McCormack on Board Five and Richard Turner against Geoff Harman on Board Six, although Steve Crockett missed a combination on Board One after declining a draw offer to fall to defeat against Philip Jones. Michele Clack won a piece early on and then efficiently ground Andrew Taylor down on Board Four to secure the match for Redditch. Peter Seeley made a couple of early errors on Board Three against Malcolm Phipps and left himself with an incarcerated bishop. With the match decided and gradually falling asleep at the board, Peter offered a draw, which Malcolm declined before Peter left his queen en prise, although Malcolm was probably heading towards a deserved victory anyway. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch. Five games into the season, Redditch head into their Christmas break in this division lying third in the league behind Olton 'A' and conquerors Warley Quinborne.
In the middle of the apalling weather on Thursday, Redditch faced a daunting trip to one of the strongest teams in the Worcester & District League - Worcester Bishops. What was already a daunting trip wasn't helped by captain Tom Robinson being unavailable and the driving conditions. After facing an arduous journey home from in heavy traffic, Dave Spowart lost quickly against Steve Mellor on Board Two although Jason Cole was able to pick up a credible early draw against Jim Keene on Board Four. Andrew Wiggins looked to be holding his own against Nick Harris on Board Three but eventually lost but Dan Lambourne matched Peter Kitson on Board One to secure a draw. Redditch had to accept a 3-1 defeat and it is likely that this season will be as tough as the last one to stay up but they will retain hopes that this will be the case.
Closing thought: "Time trouble is blunder time." - Alexander Kotov
Sunday 18 November 2012
Outclassed and handicapped
Redditch suffered their third defeat from their opening three matches in Division Two of the Birmingham League with a 5-1 demolition at the hands of Tamworth. In truth, this result could probably have been predicted on paper against a team that, if they played their first team in every game, could be considered a very useful Division 1 side. 165-graded Tom Robinson fell to his first defeat of the season for Redditch on Board One although it is questionable as to how many players even in Division One would have seriously fancied their chances against 210-graded Philip Briggs. Dave Spowart (139) and Kevin Day (119) picked up credible draws against Ralph Allen (162) and Patrick Kelly (133) on Boards Two and Six but the gulf in class manifested itself on the other boards with Andrew Wiggins (130), Steve Crockett (132) and Jason Cole (132) succumbing to Trevor Bould (170), Kevin Hern (158) and Simon Walton (156) respectively. Whilst the scoreline is indeed painful viewing, this was a team that has currently won its opening four matches and is seeking promotion back to Division One at the first time of asking.
Redditch followed this defeat up with a win over the boards in the first round of the Homer Cup but falling to a handicap loss against Shirley & Wythall 3. This time around, it was Redditch's turn to have the grading advantage. Daniel Lambourne (180) returned on Board One with a victory over Robert Purcell (136) and this was followed up on Boards Two and Three with wins for Tom Robinson and Dave Spowart against Louis Rawson and Kenneth Warren. However, the club fared less well on the bottom three boards with defeats for Andrew Wiggins and Steve Crockett against Peter McGuirk and Mike Warden and a draw for Jason Cole against Roger Ball. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch but a 1.5 point handicapp for Shirley & Wythall 3 as a result of being a division lower allowed them to claim a 4-3.5 win and book their place in the next round.
Although it has been a disappointing start to the season for this team, the three league teams faced may all expect to compete for promotion to the top flight this year. Future matches against other clubs that will also need to fight against relegation will determine the fate of the team. In the meantime, some of the players involved will instead represent the Division One side from the Worcester & District League on Thursday as they face a daunting trip to Worcester, whilst the Birmingham League Division Four side travel to Boldmere on Wednesday. Preceding both of these trips on Tuesday evening, however, is the first of four quickplay evenings organised by the club. Players will have two games with thirty minutes each. Tom Robinson scored a perfect 5/5 in the season-opening Phil Church Trophy with 15 minutes each on the clock. How will he fare in the longer time limit?
Closing thought: "If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy. The worst that happens is that you lose a game." - Bobby Fischer
Redditch followed this defeat up with a win over the boards in the first round of the Homer Cup but falling to a handicap loss against Shirley & Wythall 3. This time around, it was Redditch's turn to have the grading advantage. Daniel Lambourne (180) returned on Board One with a victory over Robert Purcell (136) and this was followed up on Boards Two and Three with wins for Tom Robinson and Dave Spowart against Louis Rawson and Kenneth Warren. However, the club fared less well on the bottom three boards with defeats for Andrew Wiggins and Steve Crockett against Peter McGuirk and Mike Warden and a draw for Jason Cole against Roger Ball. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch but a 1.5 point handicapp for Shirley & Wythall 3 as a result of being a division lower allowed them to claim a 4-3.5 win and book their place in the next round.
Although it has been a disappointing start to the season for this team, the three league teams faced may all expect to compete for promotion to the top flight this year. Future matches against other clubs that will also need to fight against relegation will determine the fate of the team. In the meantime, some of the players involved will instead represent the Division One side from the Worcester & District League on Thursday as they face a daunting trip to Worcester, whilst the Birmingham League Division Four side travel to Boldmere on Wednesday. Preceding both of these trips on Tuesday evening, however, is the first of four quickplay evenings organised by the club. Players will have two games with thirty minutes each. Tom Robinson scored a perfect 5/5 in the season-opening Phil Church Trophy with 15 minutes each on the clock. How will he fare in the longer time limit?
Closing thought: "If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy. The worst that happens is that you lose a game." - Bobby Fischer
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Bouncebackability
After winning their first two matches of the season, Redditch's Division Four team in the Birmingham League saw this streak ended as the succumbed 4-2 against a strong Warley Quinborne sidelast Thursday. Redditch acquitted themselves very well with draws against higher graded players on the top four boards, particularly Kevin Day taking a draw on Board 2 against Stephen Moxley - a player graded 24 points higher. Steve Crockett, Michele Clack and Giles Stanton were also able to claim draws as underdogs but that trend was unfortunately unable to be continued on the bottom two boards. Ian Clack fell to John Lewis on Board 5 and David Smith tried an exchange sacrifice that would ultimatley prove fuitless in his league debut for Redditch.
However, the team was able to demonstrate 'bouncebackability' in their match on Tuesday as they swept aside Birmingham with a 5-1 victory. Birmingham were admittedly fielding four ungraded players but the matches still had to be won. Redditch were gifted a headstart on Board 2 when Kevin Day's opponent was unable to attend, resulting in a default win. This was followed up with a win for Giles Stanton on Board 5 against Greg Henson before B B Sundaram lost track of time on Board 6 against Derek Abraham, although Derek felt he was likely to win anyway. Benson Headley acquitted himself well with a solid against Peter Seeley's kingside attack on Board 3 and neutralised it to the point where it looked like Peter would have to surrender a pawn whilst gifting Benson a supported passed pawn. Fortunately for Peter, Benson elected to swap these two pawns off. The game remained roughly equal with Peter possibly having a slight edge with an active knight against a blocked bishop in an endgame where all six major pieces were still on the board. However, a slip by Benson allowed a tactic that resulted in Peter emerging a rook and pawn up. Benson's resignation left Redditch 4-0 up with two matches still to play. Birmingham's Bill Cole seemed to have an edge against Michele Clack from an early stage on Board 4 with a supported passed pawn but was unable to find a winning continuation against Michele's defence. Marek Schroeder felt he had some potential traps against Steve Crockett on Board 1 but, with the outcome already decided, both games were agreed drawn.
Redditch's Division Four team commences its Barrington Trophy campaign against Westminster 6 next Tuesday. With the team unable to defend the Townshed Trophy from last season, the aim will now be to regain this trophy from two years ago. The Division Two side commence their Homer Trophy (for first round losers in the Terrill Trophy) campaign with a trip to Shirley & Wythall 3 next Thursday where players from both teams will need to be at their very best to overcome handicaps as a result of being in a team from a higher division.
Closing thought: "Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the guy. That's something we have to learn to be able to do." - Maurice Ashley
However, the team was able to demonstrate 'bouncebackability' in their match on Tuesday as they swept aside Birmingham with a 5-1 victory. Birmingham were admittedly fielding four ungraded players but the matches still had to be won. Redditch were gifted a headstart on Board 2 when Kevin Day's opponent was unable to attend, resulting in a default win. This was followed up with a win for Giles Stanton on Board 5 against Greg Henson before B B Sundaram lost track of time on Board 6 against Derek Abraham, although Derek felt he was likely to win anyway. Benson Headley acquitted himself well with a solid against Peter Seeley's kingside attack on Board 3 and neutralised it to the point where it looked like Peter would have to surrender a pawn whilst gifting Benson a supported passed pawn. Fortunately for Peter, Benson elected to swap these two pawns off. The game remained roughly equal with Peter possibly having a slight edge with an active knight against a blocked bishop in an endgame where all six major pieces were still on the board. However, a slip by Benson allowed a tactic that resulted in Peter emerging a rook and pawn up. Benson's resignation left Redditch 4-0 up with two matches still to play. Birmingham's Bill Cole seemed to have an edge against Michele Clack from an early stage on Board 4 with a supported passed pawn but was unable to find a winning continuation against Michele's defence. Marek Schroeder felt he had some potential traps against Steve Crockett on Board 1 but, with the outcome already decided, both games were agreed drawn.
Redditch's Division Four team commences its Barrington Trophy campaign against Westminster 6 next Tuesday. With the team unable to defend the Townshed Trophy from last season, the aim will now be to regain this trophy from two years ago. The Division Two side commence their Homer Trophy (for first round losers in the Terrill Trophy) campaign with a trip to Shirley & Wythall 3 next Thursday where players from both teams will need to be at their very best to overcome handicaps as a result of being in a team from a higher division.
Closing thought: "Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the guy. That's something we have to learn to be able to do." - Maurice Ashley
Thursday 25 October 2012
A visit to Stourbridge, a local derby and the visit of a grandmaster
Redditch came up short in their opening match of the season in Division One of the Worcester & District League against Headless Cross on Tuesday with a 2.5-1.5 defeat. first result of the evening came early as Ashley Davis beat Dave Spowart in just 19 moves on board 2. As the evening progressed, Andrew Wiggins and Ian Clack had to settle for draws on boards 2 and 4 against Dave Richardson and Terry Radford respectively. As the evening drew to a close, it was down to the final match on board 1 between Daniel Lambourne and Glenn Cox. Daniel seemed to have some initiative but was ultimately unable to find a way through and Glenn was able to record a draw to seal the match for Headless Cross.
The Division Two side was able to record a 2.5-1.5 win, however, at Stourbridge on Wednesday. Michele Clack succumbed to Paul Sharratt on board 1 and Ian Clack drew with Colin Woodall on board 2. Stourbridge's new players Sam Bradley and Helen Kirkby were beaten on boards 3 and 4 by Derek Abrahams and Richard Turner to record a victory for Redditch
The main event of the week was a visit on Tuesday by grandmaster and English number 15 Keith Arkell. Arkell recently released his autobiography and signed copies for present members before performing a simultaneous exhibition. Ten players took him on and it initially seemed that Arkell was on course for a clean sweep. Michele Clack lost early on and further defeats followed to leave Arkell with seven wins from seven. However, advancing the king into enemy territory a move or two too early when a pawn up in a winning position allowed Peter Seeley to mate in two moves and record a thoroughly unexpected victory. He recorded his eighth victory of the evening before sitting down to complete his final match against Dave Spowart. An apparently equal endgame was reached before Arkell seemed to have crafted a winning position. However, he missed an intermediate move and played a pawn sacrifice one move too early again, allowing Dave the chance to salvage a draw - a chance that was eagerly snapped up. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and one can only hope that such an evening may be had again at some point.
League campaigns contine next week against Hagley in the Worcester & District League Division Two on Tuesday, Kidderminster Knights in the Worcester & District League Division One on Wednesday and Warley Quinborne in the Birmingham League Division Four on Thursday.
Closing thought: "Have you got me?!" - Keith Arkell to Peter Seeley when realising he was to be mated on his next move
The Division Two side was able to record a 2.5-1.5 win, however, at Stourbridge on Wednesday. Michele Clack succumbed to Paul Sharratt on board 1 and Ian Clack drew with Colin Woodall on board 2. Stourbridge's new players Sam Bradley and Helen Kirkby were beaten on boards 3 and 4 by Derek Abrahams and Richard Turner to record a victory for Redditch
The main event of the week was a visit on Tuesday by grandmaster and English number 15 Keith Arkell. Arkell recently released his autobiography and signed copies for present members before performing a simultaneous exhibition. Ten players took him on and it initially seemed that Arkell was on course for a clean sweep. Michele Clack lost early on and further defeats followed to leave Arkell with seven wins from seven. However, advancing the king into enemy territory a move or two too early when a pawn up in a winning position allowed Peter Seeley to mate in two moves and record a thoroughly unexpected victory. He recorded his eighth victory of the evening before sitting down to complete his final match against Dave Spowart. An apparently equal endgame was reached before Arkell seemed to have crafted a winning position. However, he missed an intermediate move and played a pawn sacrifice one move too early again, allowing Dave the chance to salvage a draw - a chance that was eagerly snapped up. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and one can only hope that such an evening may be had again at some point.
League campaigns contine next week against Hagley in the Worcester & District League Division Two on Tuesday, Kidderminster Knights in the Worcester & District League Division One on Wednesday and Warley Quinborne in the Birmingham League Division Four on Thursday.
Closing thought: "Have you got me?!" - Keith Arkell to Peter Seeley when realising he was to be mated on his next move
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)