Wednesday 27 February 2013

ECA 5.5 Denton B 0.5

ECA cruised to another easy victory last night against a weakened Denton B team. Apparently Denton had two other matches on the same night so they sent out more of a "C" team with a predictable result.


1. Phil 1-0 P Boyd (131)

Via a very strange move order we ended up playing a Sicilian Sveshnikov! My opponent seemed unfamiliar with the ideas and ended up with the typical lifeless position White can easily get if he is not ambitious enough in the open Sicilian. I entered complications too soon, losing control of the position somewhat but I managed to win a pawn and hold on to it. In the end my opponent badly misplayed the endgame and I won on time just before checkmate.

2. John 1-0 I Urwin (130)

On the White side of a sort of Czech Benoni John steamrollered his opponent who was clearly making things up. After his opponent had wasted sufficient tempos John managed to break through in the centre and subject Urwin's King to a vicious attack.

3. Dave N 1-0 G Lombardo (120)

Another day, another Dutch for Dave! Dave won a pawn in the middlegame and had a winning position but used up most of his time. Fortunately he had enough time to work things out and beat his opponent comfortably.

4. Tudor 1-0 S Bradley (124)

Playing the White side of a Tarrasch Defence Tudor ended up with an Isolated Queen's Pawn and a fairly lifeless position. Fortunately he found a way to complicate things while significantly ahead on time and Bradley could not work  things out in the time available. That is 9/11 for Tudor this season!

5. Dave B 0.5-0.5 D Cook (108)

Dave once again got a promising French Defence position but he didn't make the most of it and his opponent managed to trap a rook, leading to a move repetition and a draw.

6. Paul 1-0 A Ryder (101)

No King bashing today from Paul! Playing a slow closed system against the Sicilian Paul gradually outplayed his opponent and then used a pin to win a piece. A nice solid way to beat a weaker opponent.

So on to Macc B next week. They were recently beaten by ECB so I think a quiet confidence is acceptable.

Thursday 21 February 2013

ECA 5 Wilmslow 1

ECA returned to winning ways last night with a comfortable win over a weakened Wilmslow side. Two early gifts of pieces eased the pressure and with two wins on time and a late win by Lembit we won 5-1.

1. Phil 1 - 0 C Mills (147)

My opponent arrived half an hour late and to save time played a solid Stonewall system. I played a similar system on the light squares and the position became very stodgy. Colin kept playing slowly however so in the end I only had to keep the position complicated in order to win on time in the middlegame.


2. John 1 - 0 R Warhurst (120)

On the eighth move of a Nimzo-Indian Robin got confused and left a piece en prise. He played the game out to the ending but John played solidly and never gave an inch.

3. D Newell 0 - 1 M Palmer (110)

Dave played a nice Dutch opening and got a middlegame with two Bishops against two Knights. However Mike played solidly and in time trouble Dave lost a piece and the game.

4. L Saar 1 - 0 A Weinburg (110)

Another tense game for Lembit! The Four Knights opening is normally solid for White but Weinburg threw the kitchen sink at Lembit, sacrificing a Knight for a nasty pin against the King's Knight. Lembit had to play very carefully but eventually unravelled his position and won easily.

5. D Broadbent 1 - 0 M Garvin (83)

Dave's opponent played a solid Queen's Pawn opening but played slowly. Dave didn't have much advantage but kept enough tension in the position to allow his opponent to lose on time.

6. P Bamford 1 - 0 T Horrocks (50)

Paul's game left theory on move 3! You won't find the moves 1. e4 e5 2. d4 Nf6!? 3. Bg5!? in any opening databases. After 3. ... exd 4. e5 Qe7 5. Qe2 Black could have saved the piece with 5. ... h6 but gave it up with 5. ... Nc6??

After that it was plain sailing for Paul.

So a nice win but Denton B should be a harder challenge next week.