Sunday, February 24, 2013

Fenton Into Final Of National Minor Club Championship

Fenton have reached the Final of the National Minor Club Championship for the second year running. This afternoon we travelled to Forest Of Dean and came away with a 2 - 2 draw. This means that even if Forest Of Dean beat Bushbury in their next match to draw level with us on points they will be deemed to have lost this afternoon's match on board count. There is some sort of poetic justice there as they beat us on board count in last season's Final. Rob got us off to a flyer with an easy win on board 1 against my pink shirted opponent from last year !!  Unfortunately Derek then got deja vu on board 4 and repeated the debacle of his game against Bushbury last week to put Forest Of Dean back in the match. This came as something of a surprise as Derek had beaten the same opponent very easily in last year's Final. Jason was in trouble for much of his game on board 3 and found himself a piece down but somehow managed to find some aggressive counter play to secure a draw. This left us needing a draw from my game on board 2. I had been under pressure for most of my game, and in an inferior position, but I managed to wheedle my way out of it and got into an endgame where we each had a rook and 3 pawns and the inevitable draw was agreed. You can click here to view the full match score card. We do not yet know who our opponents will be in the Final or where/when it is being played.