We had the second leg of our top of Division two clash away against Coventry A last night. I am delighted to be able to report that it went much better than the home match!
Chess is always about resilience, both for teams and at an individual level. I had lost back to back games at the Coventry Congress on Saturday, and my opponent then didn't turn up on the Sunday morning. "The weekend from hell" as someone put it to me. An incredibly cheering conversation followed during which it was asked whether I was in the right section (I was the number 10 seed and well over the grading limit for the section below) and it was pointed out to me that the much higher rated player I had drawn with recently "drew with everybody." More painful than the chess... But clearly the key is not to look to others for motivation but just to get on with it. I won a really good game against Ian Brodie (who I don't have a brilliant record against) on the Sunday afternoon and felt much better. Given I'd also won a game on Thursday for Shirley on the Thursday that put me on 2/4 for the set. So a convoluted way of saying that chess is all about swings and roundabouts. We all have good days and bad days. You have got to be in it to win it! Setting out with the same team that had lost 1-3 to Coventry in the previous match, we knew we needed to show what we could do both collectively and individually. Resilience is all.
Andy got us off to a terrific start against Maung Latt (who most be a contender to be the strongest player in Division 2.) Having been beaten in the previous game, Andy dug deep and played ultra-solid, ultra-professional chess. Maung had no way through and Andy delivered us an excellent half point to start things off.
On Board 2, Paul was again playing Jonathan Fowler, and another incredibly lively game ensued. Paul looked to have the better of it on the board, Jonathan on the clock. In a very complicated position a draw (mirroring their previous encounter) was a fair result. So 1-1.
There was heartbreak for Rhys on Board 3 against Ed Goodwin. The pair are of very similar strength, but Ed is becoming something of a nemesis for Rhys. In a position that looked fine to me, Rhys overlooked a tactic and fell into a mating net. This gave Ed his third win against Rhys in recent weeks. Unfortunate, but Rhys is delivering so much for the team and getting great results more generally. Just one of those nights for him... 1-2
All of which meant I had to win against John Harris on Board 4 to get us a share of the spoils. This was the only match which didn't mirror the home encounter in terms of opponents, but my challenge was a similar one. Namely to beat a lower rated player, which I had failed to do last time out, when my own terrible choices led to a draw against Dave Filer. This one would ultimately prove to be a happier experience. I found a nice tactic to win a pawn, which John countered with a knight sacrifice. For a moment my head swam and I wondered what I had missed, but the sacrifice wasn't sound. I emerged up by a piece to a pawn. At that point in the proceedings I assumed I was going to be the first to finish. However, the position remained incredibly open and complicated. As with 80% of my games these days, we played till the final few minutes and were the last to conclude. I eventually found a way to simplify and once I'd got the queens off, I was looking much more comfortable. John ultimately lost on time in a lost position. So 2-2.
We had done it! This means we stay one point ahead of Coventry A in the table, with both teams having played the same number of games. With five matches to go, it's in our own hands. Who can say whether we will hold on or not, but either way, we are all going to dig deep.
No comments:
Post a Comment