Downend E vs South Bristol C
2 April 25
Final result 1-5
Board 1. Ian Pickup had Black against Ben Prundus. He says: "I got into an unfamiliar opening (need to study harder!) which became a slightly uncomfortable position. I should have settled for castling but tried to rustle up a King-side attack. It was still tenable until I made a foolish move which allowed him to give up both rooks for my Queen, after which the writing was on the wall."
Board 2. John Paines had White against Simon Hall. He says: "I played the Ruy Lopez, which Simon defended against with d6 followed by a6. The game was not a classic, except in terms of its Laurel and Hardy qualities. I mishandled the opening and through sheer carelessness allowed Simon to capture a doubled pawn. As he threw pieces at my ruined K side I lost a second pawn after miscalculating a manoeuvre to trap his queen. Fortunately, he then allowed me to capture a knight after overlooking that the pawn protecting it was pinned to one of his rooks. As I prepared for an endgame where my knight tried to prevent the advance of Simon’s powerful-looking passed pawns, he offered a draw which I was happy to accept. It seemed like the fairest result."
Board 3. I had the Black pieces against Rod Taylor. I played the Philidor defence against him and the game was fairly level throughout. I dodged a few bullets, as did Rod. The engine’s verdict was “sharp - a back and forth game where both players had chances”. Eventually, we got to an end game where neither of us could progress and we agreed a draw.
Board 4. Shaun Walsh had White against Michael Chaffey. He says: “I made 2 mistakes in the first 3 moves, ominous for the game, but got away with it against the Sicilian Dragon. We reached a position with White a pawn up but Black had a lot of space on the Queen side with pieces well positioned to attack the King on that side. Under pressure and one pawn up according to the computer, White blundered the position where the Queen was attacked and if White captured it leads to mate. So White resigned before the enviable mate or loss of the Queen when the computer shows White was 18 pawns down.”
Board 5. Danny Wilkins had Black against Ed Swann. He says: “A long, tough game vs Ed Swann on board 5. Fairly even opening although I deliberately allowed the e4 d4 centre White dominance to try out something new later in the game. Found a rook pin on move 17 which put me ahead on analysis but I couldn't develop the advantage further in the game. I resigned about 8 moves before being mated.”
Board 6. Vivaan Suresha had White against Alessandro Coppola. I have no details but Alessandro prevailed.