A Twofer

Yes indeed, two match reports for the price of one - or more realistically a symptom of my blog weariness as the matches come thick and fast. Which does not bode well when there is another A team/Cov League double header next Monday and Tuesday!

Anyway, weary or not, there can be no way that the bi-annual Kenilworth A v Kenilworth B slug-fest can go undocumented. Especially as the encounter earlier in the season had seen the B team cause a major shock by drawing 2-2 and taking the only point dropped by the A team so far. Thankfully (and I'm thinking of the club as a whole here, not just my own self-interests as A team captain!) lightning did not strike twice, as the A team ran out 4-0 winners - though quite frankly how this scoreline occurred is a complete mystery.

Let battle commence! A team on left (Jude, Joshua, Andrew, Mark) and B team on right (Bernard, Ben, Phil and Mike - who can already not bear to watch!)

The only result that seemed never to be in doubt occurred on Board 3, where Joshua put Ben's king in all kinds of difficulties with a massive attack (fear not, there will be no Massive Attack soundtrack to accompany this report!) which won decisive material. A cathartic moment for Joshua after his disaster against Phil in the last A v B match. But everywhere else it was all to play for. Bernard played very well indeed in the nightmare pairing against Jude on Board 4, where his overwhelming advantages in height, reach, weight and drinking capacity failed to come into play. My infrequent glimpses told me Jude was starting to get on top in the early middle game, but then somehow had a pawn less without any clear compensation and was also getting into big time trouble. The game resolved itself with a cry of anguish from Bernard as he contrived to walk into a mating net with Jude down to seconds. Phew!

I was watching on closely as Phil and Andrew did battle on Board 2. Phil got a knight to e6 winning an exchange - but Andrew had allowed this and threw in a pawn sac to boot to rupture the White kingside. There was positional compensation, and although Phil managed to ward off a mating attack by returning the exchange, the momentum - and clock advantage - was all with Andrew and he also collected the full point after a very exciting game which was to the credit of both players.

Far less exciting was my game against Mike on Board 1. The position oscillated between a slight edge for me and dead level - but with the difference that it was only me that had any real chances, Black was always playing to hold the balance. It seemed as though Mike had successfully defended until, deep into a rook ending, he missed his one chance to become active by giving up a pawn (which should have drawn) and by staying passive couldn't stop my rook and king combining to make a decisive breakthrough. A very tough - and largely well played - game.

Which brings me on to last night, and our Coventry League Division 1 home match against Warwick Uni B. Of course, its anybody's guess who will turn out for any Uni team - they have so many players that its pot luck who turns up on the night. Thankfully we were just able to edge our way to a 2.5-1.5 victory.

In contrast to the previous night, I was first to finish against Joshua Simpson, who didn't help his cause by putting a knight en prise on move 11. I hardly played the most precise moves thereafter, but it was impossible to lose with an extra piece and shortly after I annexed a second piece Joshua resigned. Mike then drew a very exciting game on Board 3 against Oscar Butler. Regrettably, he missed a clear win right out of the opening, and despite going all in for an attack against White's long castled king he could only find perpetual check. A difficult couple of nights for Mike, who had also let a half point slip away against me the evening before.

Ben wrapped up the match by winning against Joshua Bugg on Board 4 (yes - 2 Joshuas in the Uni team! As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.) I looked at the game just as Ben's knight forked the Black rooks, and he soon made the extra exchange count in the ensuing ending. Which was just as well, as Andrew was having a tough time against Santiago German on top board, where his Kalashnikov was firing only blanks. I couldn't bear to watch any longer when White's queen and rook lined up to threaten mate on h8, and in staving off the attack Andrew ended up a rook down and a frantic counter attack just failed to rescue matters. What is it with the University and Andrew? He wins against everyone else, but seems to find these students a bit of a problem.

Still, two nights and two wins (from an A team perspective!) which mean we stay top of both the Leamington and Coventry Leagues for another week. Lets hope we can say the same this time next week, after we have been in action again in both leagues.

A tenuous link for this week's musical interlude. But in a week when two wins were better than one, how about a bit of Bruce? Any excuse will do, after all!