We certainly managed to put out some strong teams this week, and it really shows in two of the three results. Let's crack on with the bad news:
** Downend 1 1 - 3 ChessPlus Beta**
Martin, Lewis vs Ni, Viktorija
I'm well informed that this opening was hampered by a confusion of move ordering. Possibly ideas too. In any case, white's kingside storm never really got going while black laid into the queenside pawn structure. The endgame was a white rook against a knight, bishop, and monstrous passed pawn.
Agafonov, Yuri vs Savory, Richard
White gained a lot of pressure in this opening and in the post-match discussions Richard told me he'd left a piece en prise, but Yuri hadn't seen it. Later it was revealed there were tactical reasons the piece was never really hanging. Suffice it to say, I can't spot where this happened, either because I'm too weak or too strong. I'll leave that distinction to the reader.
Thompson, Robert vs Vukojevic, Philippe
The middle of this game seemed to be composed entirely of tactics and intermezzos. Somehow this remained relatively level though black gained an extra pawn and the white king was rather exposed. A quick invasion brought Rob's excellent run to an end.
Imanovs, Elhans vs Meadows, Michael
Though it felt like my queen may just be getting trapped, my game was relatively equal throughout. I took a chance at spurning a repetition offer thanks to a strong time advantage, but all that happened was a series of forced exchanges that resulted in an even more drawish endgame.
** Preston South End 0 - 4 The Rook1Es**
Peacock, Malcolm vs Walker, Max
White seemed to be doing well out of the opening until a surprising pawn blunder in the centre that helped get both black bishops into the game. Strong control of the centre saw off the rest of the game.
Brigden, Michael vs Thompson, Peter
Mike gave us an excellent demonstration of why the Queen's Indian Defence fell out of popularity when white can get a quick and safe Nc3 in. The position was quiet, but white had a protected passed pawn to play with. Black pushed very hard and it cost a bishop after which the rook invasion looked rather toothless compared to Mike's mating attack.
Ian took the sting out of white's standard Dragon hack with an exchange of queens, but white tried anyway. With little to back it up, black was able to charge in with the rooks on the queenside and a series of blunders allowed a quick mate.
Saunders, Aron vs Pennington, Geoffrey
Black took a more symmetrical approach to Aron's Alapin, but regular readers will surely be familiar with Aron's handling of these positions. A monstrous tactical flurry left material equal, but white's bishop pair were eyeing a charming mate on the cornered king. A cheeky rook exchange sacrifice managed to settle matters.
** Downend 2 3.5 - 0.5 Harrow 3**
Conterno, Dominique vs Patel, Rishi
White must have held a slight edge throughout the game, even it was just symbolic. The game went quickly to an ending and saw all the classics; knight vs bishop, the drawn rook ending, king and pawn races, queen and pawn battles, plus many more. Finally a repetition was how it ended.
Chopra, Manmay vs Burroughs, Adam
A classic Adam attack down the f-file appeared after a slow opening. With the king in trouble the point was settled by a discovered check winning the white queen.
Ian's game is a treat and antithesis to everything written about king safety. Marching the king to hide on a semi-open b-file after the black queen got involved was a masterstroke while the minor pieces decided to expose the safely hidden black king.
O'Neill, Richard vs Benkhoucha, Samy
White's f-file attack against the f8-king would have been truly unstoppable had it not been for a pesky white f-pawn that got in the way. Samy exchanged off pieces to remove the pressure and got into a knight vs horrendous bishop ending (my favourite tableau is on after black's 37th move) that he was able to convert smartly.
** Hull Romans 2.5 - 1.5 CSC 3**
I'm not entirely sure who it was that ripped open their own king's protection in order to have at the other, but the kingside felt hotly contested. There's a run of over 20 moves that all take place on the kingside while the queenside gets dusty. Rook vs knight and two followed and a draw was agreed as neither side could find a way to make progress.
A tough night for Downend 1 who remain in the middle of their group, but The Rook1Es remain only one point off top in their group and Downend 2 are comfortably second in theirs.