Hackney 1 Ealing 7
: Created:13 May 2009 , byAlbeit Hackney were not as strong as usual last night, but from Ealing's perspective this was a magnificent result in division one of the Middlesex league.
Sainbayar Tserendorj got us off to a good start with an early win on the bottom board. His attack down the b file won a couple of pawns and when he transferred his attentions to White's draughty kingside, White's position fell apart. John Quinn soon added to our score with another Black victory. The game started with a King's Indian but transposed to a Modern Benoni. An incautious pawn move by White (f3-f4) destabilised his centre and John's thematic advance ...b5 gave him the advantage before White blundered away a piece.
Alan Perkins won in a smooth style to extend our lead and on top board Jim Poulton ensured at least a draw in the match with a really excellent victory over experienced Bob Eames who has been a big scorer in previous matches between Ealing and Hackney. Jim opened with the English and then noting Black's uncastled king, he struck in the centre with 11.e4!? and 12.Nxe5!. A mistake by Black cost two pawns and Jim wrapped up the victory on move thirty-three.
Veljko Stanisic achieved one of his trademark closed positions and after a feint against Black's king switched his pieces to the queenside and centre and broke through with assured play. Simon Randall appeared to be under some pressure early on but he turned it round and won the exchange before showing his class with a confident endgame victory.
With the score at 6-0 to Ealing we wondered whether we could reverse the whitewash loss that Hackney inflicted on us two years ago but Hackney drew the last two games. Former Hackney captain Mike Tasker pressurised Martin Smith's isolated queen's pawn and eventually won it. Martin skilfully eliminated the queenside pawns and demonstrated that Reuben Fine's dictum that in 99 cases out of 100, endings are drawn where the pawns are only on one side of the board, still holds true. Adrian Ociepka showed true grit, battling on and on to try and prove a win in a position where the players had opposite coloured bishops. He finally won a rook's pawn with his king but his opponent calmly manoeuvred his king to the bishop's file to ensure that Adrian's king could not re-emerge.
The margin of victory boosts Ealing's chances of winning our first Middlesex league title and a draw against West London on 21st May will give us the championship
Hackney versus Ealing
Ealing had White on odd boards.
1. R Eames 0-1 J Poulton
2. J Tennison 0-1 A Perkins
3. M Tasker 0.5-0.5 M Smith
4. M Lee 0-1 J Quinn
5. J Beyunes 0-1 S Randall
6. P Vives 0.5-0.5 A Ociepka
7. M Afonso 0-1 V Stanisic
8. I Valisurskyy 0-1 S Tserendorj