Ray Hyde has sent the following report on the evening's activities :
The 'B' team survived a couple of scares but emerged with a 2.5 -
1.5 victory over Meir this evening.
Mike Smith was first to finish. Mike, who had been under some
pressure on the Queen side for much of the game but seemed capable of withstanding
the attack, inexplicably blundered the loss of a piece, by allowing his Rook to
pinned, at the very moment when he had an opportunity to consolidate and
re-group. So, a good start for Meir.
Ernie Wilkinson will probably admit he enjoyed some good fortune
in his game. His opponent, with Black, counter-attacked down the King file,
forcing White to defend a cramped position, which, unsurprisingly, led to the
loss of a piece for Ernie. Black had a material advantage and much the better
position but missed many opportunities to turn it into a win, then, perhaps out
of frustration in trying to finish the game, his opponent relinquished
the extra piece. With equal material restored, Ernie's draw offer was accepted.
Phew!
On Board 4 Robert West, fresh from his triumph at the Newcastle
Mini-Congress, seemed to be achieving a safe enough position with the black
pieces. However his King remained in the centre and White launched an attack on the
Queen side, resulting in a passed pawn on c7. Perhaps his opponent could have
handled the position with more accuracy but, by playing routinely, he allowed
Robert to reorganise his defence to surround and capture the Pawn on c7 and Black emerged into an ending of Knight plus 5 Pawns versus Bishop plus 3 Pawns. Robert missed
a couple of chances to finish the game quickly but he chose to swap down to an
advantageous King and 5 Pawns v K and 3 Pawns, which he handled without fuss. Scores now
level.
On Board 1 Rob Taylor played the English (surprise!) against Clive
Ferry who defended solidly but passively which ruled out much chance for
counter-play. Rob enjoyed typical Queen side play, gained space and commanded the b
and c files and forced Black into a severely restricted defensive position. Rob
gained a Pawn and, in a position when there seemed to be several strong
options available, after he'd forced open the g file, he made a
pseudo-sacrifice of his Queen. It was a complex position for Black: take the Queen and
be forced to give back his own Queen on the next move or ignore the "sac" but
lose another Pawn and the game. Both lines lost for Black who chose the first
option but resigned soon after.
You can click here to view the full match score card.