The away match against Harrow A produced a sombre result with a loss to Ealing C with the score 1.5 to 4.5. Four of us lost in spite of three members having a higher grading than their respective opponents. Well done to Tony Braine for the win (well fought end game as I was able to watch the game to conclusion) and Martin Loat for a draw.
| Board | Colour | Harrow A | Results | Ealing C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | Mary Deans | 1-0 | Simon Healeas |
| 2 | Black | Ed Poynton | 0.5-0.5 | Martin Loat |
| 3 | White | Patrick Sartain | 0-1 | Tony Braine |
| 4 | Black | David Stott | 1-0 | Alastair Johnstone |
| 5 | White | Jenny Goldsmith | 1-0 | Subas Subbaraj |
| 6 | Black | Phil Humphry | 1-0 | Neville Rowden |
Alastair’s comments:
In my game, I had built a strong position in a Spanish which I should have been able to convert into a win. I had multiple threats with five pieces looming over Black’s king. The only problem was that, with the position so open, there were lots of variations to calculate and I vacillated and used up a lot of time. There were many paths to a win but I instead found a very simple way to lose when I unforgivably blundered away a whole rook. You do not win chess games when you do that, whatever else you’ve done in the game. Excruciating.
Subas’s comments:
Subas’s game, playing black, was a tense middle game struggle after the English opening (English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Botvinnik System). The game was almost equal with blunders/mistakes committed in equal measures on both sides. But in the end Subas lost on time, keeping up the tradition of a string of losses as in his previous games.
Neville’s comments:
Neville Rowden played White on Board 6. Due to transport problems, he arrived late for the game and was not in the most relaxed state of mind when the game started. Despite this, White started well with a Queen’s Pawn opening. White dominated the game until move 18 when an inaccuracy gave Black the opening he needed. Black was able to double up his Rooks on the e-file with his Queen hovering menacingly. From then, it was only a matter of time before Black won. It didn’t help when White made a stupid blunder. (Is there such a thing as an intelligent blunder?). Soon after this, White resigned.
Neville’s Game:
Opening “Queen’s Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation”