It was a cold and bleak February night at Clevedon for our match, but we received the customary warm welcome from the Clevedon team. Suitably festooned with hats and many layers of clothing, play got underway.
Dave was playing on board 6 and our old friend Paul went for a 1b4 game to avoid Dave’s copious opening theory. Dave replied in classical style and soon equalised so with neither player able to formulate a constructive plan a draw was soon agreed.
Meanwhile Peter on board 4 had accepted an isolated d pawn to get some active pieces. This showed good judgement as he infiltrated down the c file to win material and the game.
I (Nigel) spent a long time preparing a central thrust, but when it happened no advantage accrued as David had defended carefully so I had to settle for a draw. The match score was now 2-1 in our favour, with board 1 looking good and the other two games balanced.
Steve had won a pawn on board 1 with a tactic utilising Rob’s poorly placed knight on h6, so the prospects looked good but Steve couldn’t find the right exchange of pieces to convert his advantage so he ended up still with the extra pawn but his bishop so constrained that there was no breakthrough, 2½-1½.
Mark had had a complicated position with the advantage swinging both ways, but not decisively. He then ran short of time in a difficult rook ending and Kevin’s experience gave him no chance of a recovery. 2½-2½ and all on Reinhold!
Reinhold’s game had been a well balanced Caro Kann but then he played a natural rook move to the open d file which gave Max a tactical opportunity to open up Reinhold’s king and reach a rook ending with an extra pawn and united passed pawns on the a and b files. This was surely winning for Max but Reinhold fought back to get some dangerous pawns himself on the kingside and then force a repetition of position with Max’s pawns poised dangerously on a6 and b6. An escape for us in a mutually treacherous ending.
A drawn match, possibly a missed chance given the play in the games but it could easily have gone against us. I may return to Clevedon in high summer for an ice cream.
Nigel Hosken