Monday 16th December 2024, MW 5/14
| EALING B | RICHMOND & tWICKENHAM B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (b) | Xavier Cowan | 1889 | 0.5-0.5 | Martin Benjamin | 1986 |
| 2 (w) | Hristo Colov | 1862 | 0-1 | Alastair Armstrong | 1906 |
| 3 (b) | Simon Healeas | 1861 | 0.5-0.5 | Richard James | 1938 |
| 4 (w) | Mark Winterbotham | 1854 | 0.5-0.5 | Raghu Kamath | 1888 |
| 5 (b) | Matthew Georgiou | 1830 | 1-0 | Simon Illsley | 1688 |
| 6 (w) | Sagnik Chatterjee | 1802 | 1-0 | Adrian Waldock | 1666 |
| 3.5-2.5 |
2024 closed with an enthralling home win over Richmond & Twickenham’s strong B team. The rating matchup was our consistent 1800 strength from top to bottom against their top heavy approach- from what I’ve seen, the well-balanced sides invariably get the results and that was the case for us. Our form after 5 matches now represents that of the local Brentford FC- picking up all the points at home but picking up none on the road.
Mark reached an early conclusion on board 4 when queens had been swapped off and there looked to be little piece activity to make a game of. At least that was my initial assessment, but Mark told me that there was indeed piece activity- both he and his opposite number were actually worried about each other’s chances, and so were happy to call it quits. Amusingly his opponent was convinced that he had just played Simon instead and that Mark was the man sitting on board 3. I know our side all have similar grades but suggesting we were a team of clones was taking it a bit far!
Hristo played in usual solid fashion but became unstuck in some middle-game complications. His opponent in playing a Pirc Defence had played entirely on the queenside, tempting an early central push which Hristo carried out. This blew the game open but unfortunately lead to the aforementioned complications that lost the game for Hristo, although he acknowledges that this was in part due to his error on the 17th move where perhaps Qc4 instead would’ve shored things up.
On board 6 there was an exciting return to Ealing competitive action for Sagnik after a 3 year absence. Having him on board 6 is a real weapon, and so it proved to be as he claimed a vital victory.
Matthew on board 5 then put us ahead on the night with an attacking masterclass. His opponent had tried to win a queenside pawn but at the cost of an open position with inferior piece activity. A recipe for success this turned out to be for Mathew as he crashed through with an unstoppable kingside storm.
I was fairly comfortable from the black side of the Benko (an opening that I actually first learned from Sagnik) and was sitting pretty on a two pawn advantage with major central control. However, I once again let a promising position slip as I missed a tactic that lost me a pawn and put my king in major jeopardy. In the panicked time scramble, my opponent accepted a repetition of checks that I was grateful for- a brief post mortem confirmed my worries that there was indeed a winning sequence of moves hidden away in the position. Another lucky escape for yours truly. Fortunately this was not costly in the context of the match as this draw held our 1 point lead.
Simon recounts his crucial game at the end of proceedings. “Playing Black I faced the highly respected chess teacher and author, Richard James. He played a queen’s pawn opening with both bishops fianchettoed. The position was level but his 16.e4 allowed me to gain an initiative. Unfortunately this dissipated with the misguided 24…Nxg2 when Bh4 would have placed far more pressure on the white position. Subsequently a rather sterile endgame emerged in which I had an extra (meaningless) pawn in a drawn bishop of opposite colour ending.” Simon was never in any trouble and had done well to keep the double fianchettoed bishops quiet. Consequently, all the play was with him. There might’ve been more to play on for, but Simon unselfishly agreed a draw to secure our first win in 4 matches. A great result that lifts us away from the foot of the table before Christmas.