There's been a virtual tsunami of match reports on the website this week - so many in fact that I felt obliged to step aside for a day or two for fear of being swamped. But - finally - there seems to be a bit of breathing space, so the story of our Coventry League KO Cup Semi Final win over Coventry C can now be told.
Truth to tell, there isn't a lot to report. We had to win 3-1, because as a Division 2 team, Coventry C got a 1.25 handicap start, but in the end we managed 4-0, so we made it comfortably enough into the final, where we will play Coventry A on March 19th. Yet again, Coventry have been given home advantage, which I find slightly irksome, but at least this time they will have to play with increment and not that absolutely awful G90 time control they are allowed to get away with in the league.
The story of the Semi-Final essentially boils down to the bizarre happenings on board 4 - of which more later. Bruce was first to win, delivering mate with a rook on the seventh and a swarm of minor pieces around the Black king which had been driven to the queenside. I'm sure that I've already seen Bruce play that exact attack about 3 times this season. Once his g2 bishop escapes down the diagonal, he is like a man possessed! I won on Board 3 against David Copson, though not without some anxiety, as I allowed/forced a piece sac in the opening which should have netted 3 pawns (I only bargained on 2!) but a terrible oversight by White did indeed keep it at 2, and at the cost of a second piece to boot. I subsequently won an exchange, and then a whole queen, at which point the game ended. Javi had a tougher task on Board 1, with Black against Katia, whose presence in any Kenilworth teams this season has sadly been very rare. Javi just did what he seems to do in every match at the moment - played a number of good moves and won! This time in a rook ending with two extra pawns and a dominant king.
So having reached the target of 3, I was relatively relaxed as I watched the conclusion of Harry's game against former long-time Kenilworth resident Simon Weaver. For the early part of the game, though, I was anything but relaxed, as Harry put his queen on a rather dodgy square in the opening, and I was somewhat concerned it might drop off at any moment. Additionally, he had played g3 on about move 4, but then never got around to putting his bishop on g2. Or h3. Or anywhere, in fact! But I shouldn't have been concerned, as it was, bizarrely, actually Simon who got his queen trapped on b6, and it could only be extricated by giving up a knight. Game over, I thought, especially when Harry got to a position of Rook and 2 bishops against Rook and knight. Until, that is, Harry forked a rook on e8 and a pawn on c6 with a bishop on d7, having failed to notice the Black knight on f6 which simply took the bishop. game on! Thi9ngs then got further out of control, as Harry swapped bishop for knight and gave Black a passed d pawn, supported by both his rook and a strong king. He was fighting this with a passed e pawn of his own and it soon developed into a race. Harry played the complications really well, though, and eventually reached the most winning king and pawn ending you could ever wish to see. And indeed he won it, but not without some serious brain fade moments along the way!
But now for the extenuating circumstances - it turns out Harry had had a very intensive day of board meetings at work and also wasn't feeling at all well. So it was a bit of a miracle that he actually made it to the match and kept awake long enough to get the win! Thanks Harry - but I'll still have to take the mickey out of you about this for a while yet!!
Some great music to accompany this report - prompted by Harry's condition and a couple of lines in the song:- "I make sure I work till I'm so damned tired; way too tired to think."
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