For the fourth match in a row, Ealing A were left frustrated with an all too familiar look to the final score-line!
With Chris making a welcome return to the team we fielded our strongest line-up so far and as I was surplus to requirements, I didn’t make the trip to the match. I am most grateful to Simon for taking up the captaincy reins for the night and for providing notes on the games.
First to finish was Jason. He played his usual Bird’s Opening which quickly developed into a classical Dutch with colours reversed. Although our board 6 had started to build up a kingside attack, his opponent took a three-time repetition after a mere 18 moves.
Next to finish was Chris. He writes ”On board 3, my opponent did not turn up so was replaced by a substitute. Playing 1 c4, I responded with an f5 setup which turned into an unusual Leningrad Dutch position. I made a break with e5, giving up a pawn and creating huge complications. The critical moment was reached when my opponent redirected his queen to attack along the h-file, overlooking exchanges which left him a bishop down. A threat to my bishop allowed me to threaten mate-in-1 and a rook. Swapping the bishop for the rook, and facing an inevitable exchange of queens, my opponent resigned, a rook down.”
Really pleasing to see Chris returning to OTB chess with such a convincing 27-move win.
Next to finish was John who had the black pieces. White played the Samisch variation with an early Ng3 against John’s Kings Indian Defence. After both sides castled kingside, Black played Benoni-style moving a knight to e5 and sacrificing a pawn for an initiative on the q-side with b5. White avoided the sharpest lines but gradually found himself under increasing pressure with less active pieces. In the end, White ran short of time and Black took advantage of a mistake on move 26 to win material.
This was an impressive victory by John who kept asking questions of his opponent by forcing him to make difficult and time-consuming decisions.
As Simon writes: “My own game went well with a distinct edge from the opening being taken into the middlegame. However, as the game transitioned into an endgame, I completely underestimated my opponent’s overpowering attack on my king. The score was now two and half to one and a half in Ealing’s favour.”
Meanwhile Tony, as White, played the 3.Bb5 line against the Sicilian. This led to a positional game in which he had an isolated pawn that tied him down to its defence. A slow grind by his opponent ultimately crystallised into an endgame that was untenable for White.
Last to finish was Mark who writes “Old Indian defence, got too passive and missed the one chance for kingside activity when it looks like I should have played my knight on f6 to h5 to f4.”
6th December 2021
| Hammersmith A | Gd. | Result | Ealing A | Gd. |
| Ali Hill | 2261 | 0-1 | John Quinn | 2193 |
| Thomas Bonn | 2180 | 1-0 | Tony Wells | 2083 |
| Edoardo de Angelis | 0-1 | Chris Greenshields | 2035 | |
| Bajrush Kelmendi | 2056 | 1-0 | Simon Healeas | 1863 |
| James Stevenson | 2114 | 1-0 | Mark Winterbotham | 1885 |
| Tom Townsend | 2109 | ½-½ | Jason Obihara | 1765 |
| 3½-2½ |