There was a slightly auspicious start to our match against Olton before we have even left Kenilworth en route to Tyseley. Ben phoned to tell us that he was stuck in traffic on the M40 and wasn't going anywhere (sounds like the story of the B team).
Upon arriving at Olton there was still no sign of the normally very early Ben. Luckily, Olton were in no particular hurry to start and answered our question about the railway museum. Rob explained his preferred method for gaining entrance - it involved fences and climbing.
All worked out well. Just as we started the clocks, Ben arrived.
Mike had the white pieces against Richard Liszewski. Richard defended Mike's King side and queen side attacks very solidly but fell badly behind on time in doing so. White took advantage of black time position and kept the game complicated enough to consume his remaining time. When black's flag fell white already has a winning position.
Phil was playing Trevor Holt in another scandinavian defence. Is there a Scandinavian defence declined, well there is now. It didn't seem to yield white any sort of advantage and Phil emerged out of the opening with a good position. Unfortunately white subsequently lost a piece accidently and resigned. Phil just didn't seem to appreciate winning quickly as he then had tp spend the next hour and half having to watch the other games. Some people are never happy.
Ben's game against Robert Wallman was the most interesting of the evening with each side attacking on opposite wings. Ben's attack was slightly more advanced but he had to sacrifice his knight for two pawns to open up the white position. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a clear way to break through. However, it was enough to get white to agree a draw rather than risk trying to pursue his own attack.
Dave had the white pieces against Richard Reynolds. Unfortunately he got stuck between two different plans and so his king side attack was too slow and allowed black to get his pieces in good defending squares. black's counter attack allowed him back into the game. With both side down to their last five minutes, black got the upper hand and some excellent sacrificial play proved decisive.
A good result for the B team and against a strong team just relegated from the top division.
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