A long journey in the rain didn't seem too bad as we expected to out grade Daventry A on all but the top board and had hopes of winning.
Ben had a great position out of the opening against Steve Willets and had a great attacking opportunities against blacks exposed king. However, some very accurate play by black allowed him to exchange off into an ending that was very difficult for white to hold. When the position simplified into a knight ending black emerged victorious.
On board 2 Mike had the black pieces against Andrew Foulds and faced a very sharp version of the four pawns attack against a KID type setup. Luckily Mike was prepared for this line and refute an e5 pawn sacrifice with an accurately timed return of the material to gain sufficient tempi win a piece and secure the full point.
Board 3 saw Phil's opponent, Kevin Bowman, play an Albin counter gambit – a defence that I have not seen played since the 80's. Phil declined the pawn but still ended up with an inferior position out of the opening. White dropped a pawn in the middle game but black got into time pressure and white was able to draw the game.
On board 4 Dave had the black pieces against Abbie Stevens. White's passive play in the opening allowed black to gain equality. Unfortunately black played too slowly during the middle game and ultimately ran short of time. With the last 15 moves to the time control being played in about 10 minutes, black not only managed to avoid winning material but also gain a difficult rook and pawn ending that he wasn't able to hold.
A long miserable return journey in the rain was had by all!
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