We drew the match on 13th of February,2023, with time pressure preventing a win in one of the games. We had 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.
| Board | Colour | Ealing C | Results | Richmond D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | Tony Braine | 0 – 1 | Alex Shard |
| 2 | Black | Alastair Johnstone | 0.5-0.5 | Barry Sutton |
| 3 | White | Subas Subbaraj | 0.5-0.5 | George Dokic |
| 4 | Black | Paul Johnson | 0 – 1 | Laurie Catling |
| 5 | White | Gabriel Palmer | 1 – 0 | Julian Bedale |
| 6 | Black | Neville Rowden | 1-0 | Ken Broadley |
Tony on board 1 was clearly winning with superior pawn numbers (even a passed pawn) but alas time pressure appeared to be the nemesis leading to his loss. His opponent did give a resilient defence though.
Neville was the first to win his game followed by Gabriele. Gabriele continues to do well in his games. Paul lost his game to the opposing team captain.
Alastair’s comment:
Playing on the black side of a Sicilian Alapin, despite some early inaccuracies, I came out better from the opening, winning a pawn due to a pin on White’s queen. I then won a second pawn but failed to spot a tactic which allowed White to get back in the game, with a knight powerfully positioned on d6. I had to cede the exchange to avoid some threats but with two bishops and two pawns, the position was still balanced. Tiring, I then made a couple of errors which could have been costly against best play but as it transpired, it resolved down to an endgame where I was a pawn up but with opposite coloured bishops the draw was the most that could be obtained.
Neville’s comments:
Neville played Black on Board 6 and responded to White’s d4 opening with d5. White had a slight advantage in the opening phase but, after a disastrous blunder at move 13, White became demoralised. Black was then able to take control of the game and never looked back. White finally resigned at move 28.
Game opening : “Queen’s Pawn Game: Colle System, Anti-Colle”
Subas was the first to finish his game and abysmally at the 18th move accepted an offer of a draw. Subas checked the game later and it was a game with no clear advantage on either side. As it was a slow play time format he was not looking forward to an adjournment and possible visit to his opponent’s club to continue the game. At least it is a pause to his losing streak. Final position before draw was accepted: