Kenilworth resumed Coventry League action on Tuesday with a home match against Rugby. Not much happened, so thank goodness I didn't try (almost) live blogging like Josh the night before, as there wouldn't have been much to write about.
Not long in and Mike D drew on Bd 2 against Nalin Kadodwala. He had a marginal advantage with a passed pawn in a rook and two bishops ending, but the pawn could be blockaded and there wasn't really much to be gained by playing on. Shortly after I drew on Bd 1 against Bob Wildig. This was probably the most boring game I have played for a long while. Absolutely nothing happened as piece after piece got swapped off from a Reti opening. The players agreed a draw just before they risked falling into a coma.
Then we took the lead as Ben, fresh from a great success of shared first place (with ex-Kenilworth man Ed Goodwin amongst others) in the Shropshire Major, struck (yet again!) on Board 4. He grabbed the Black b7 pawn with his queen at the cost of some time, and his opponent tried to cash in with a king side attack. But Ben defended carefully and when he got his queen side pieces into the game and his queen recentralised he took over the game, won a central pawn and when more material was dropping off his opponent called it a day.
Which left Carl on Board 3 against Jamie Kearney. He played that variation of the Caro Kann yet again. You know, the one which sends Josh into fits of rage. And he got into big trouble. His bishop on c8 became completely stuck, being dominated by a White knight that plonked itself in a big hole on b6. Which also fixed a Black rook on b8. After much grovelling by Carl, he managed to escape into a knight ending a pawn dawn. But it was tricky as he managed to place his few remaining pawns so that the White king couldn't get in. But then he had a rush of blood to the head, and just when he seemed to have chances to arrange a mass liquidation by sacrificing his knight and rushing his king to win the last remaining White pawn, he inexplicable exchanged knights leaving him dead lost. So no heroic Banbury-like save by Carl this time, and the match ended all square at 2-2. This at least kept us in sixth place with Rugby and Coventry B below us.
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