The 'B' team completed their fixtures last night with a 2.5 - 1.5 win against Newcastle 'C', a result that saw us leapfrog them into 2nd place in the Division 3 table. This situation is unlikely to last long though as we are only a point in front of them and they still have 2 matches left to play. We can count ourselves fortunate to win as Glyn's opponent blundered a piece in an endgame that looked drawn. Derek drew his game on board 4, although he looked to have the better of things for most of the game. Grenville then reverted to his miserable early season form on board 3, leaving the match tied at 1.5 - 1.5. All eyes were then on Kasian, who had played his usual Gung Ho game, and he didn't disappoint. He played a tremendous endgame in a position that had looked completely drawn. With Rook, Bishop and 4 pawns against Rook, Knight and 4 pawns his Bishop proved to be a much more powerful piece. He managed to force the exchange of Rooks and, with his opponent's Knight having hardly any squares to move to, he marched his King through to pick up 2 pawns and the game. The result put a major dent in Newcastle's title hopes, who must now rely on Crewe losing their last game to have any chance of catching them. Click here for last night's match score card.
