ECA shows its class

On a dark frigid night in East Cheshire a momentous event occurred. Two East Cheshire teams met in the league for the first time in living memory. The A team needed to continue their promotion drive while the B team needed to stay clear of the relegation zone. Here is how the games went:

1. John Reed 0.5-0.5 Keven Holton

John played the sharp Schliemann gambit in the Ruy Lopez. Keven played solidly however and kept his extra pawn into the endgame. He then made a generous draw offer which John couldn't really refuse.

2. Graham Ball 1-0 Dave Broadbent

Graham sacrificed a pawn for development in the Advance French but Dave played carefully and was soon a pawn up with an attack. However in time trouble he gave Graham too much counterplay and Graham mopped up a few loose pawns.

3. Phil Ramsey 1-0 David Taylor

This game was predictably a Reti vs Kings Indian. However David broke a chess rule by pushing a pawn where he was being attacked and soon lost a pawn. I held on to my extra pawn and won the endgame.

4. Dave Newell 1-0 Tudor Rickards

Tudor played the Kings Indian but ended up with a very passive position and Dave's Queenside pressure soon brought home the bacon.

5. Alan Stokes 1-0 Geoff Clarke

Geoff sacrificed a piece for an attack but Alan managed to survive and win the endgame.

6. Paul Bamford 1-0 Bill Tait

Paul 'Gambit' Bamford found another gambit system against the Caro Cann. Bill unwisely accepted and ended up far behind in development. Bill was unable to fend off the ensuing attack.

So a comfortable 5.5 - 0.5 win for the A team. However many of the games were closely fought, particularly on the top four boards, and the result could have been very different.

ECB get their chance for revenge next Wednesday in the return fixture.