Ealing B 1.5 Hounslow A 4.5
: Created:10 Nov 2009 , by Alastair JohnstoneEaling B lost last Thursday's encounter in Thames Valley Div.2
| Thames Valley League Division 2 | 5th November 2009 | ||||
Bd | Ealing B | Result | Hounslow A | ||
1 | 175 | Greenshields, Chris | 0-1 | Nurmohamed, Sajid | 173 |
2 | 182 | Wells, Tony D | 1-0 | Staneland, Peter E | 168 |
3 | 174 | Tserendorj, Sainbayar | 0-1 | White, David J | 163 |
4 | 167 | Turp, Michael-John | 0-1 | Fincham, Leon HJ | 165 |
5 | 151 | Healeas, Simon | 0-1 | Raynor, Rupert | 148 |
6 | 148 | Gibbons, C Dale | Adj. | Zurstiege, Frank | 146 |
7 | 147 | Winterbotham, Mark | 0.5-0.5 | Miu, Marinel | 138 |
1.5-4.5 | |||||
A disappointing result for Ealing, but Hounslow were good value for their win. The grades augured a close contest but it was not to be.
The early exchanges gave little indication of the problems that were later to ensue. With the Black pieces, Chris Greenshields settled into defending his Modern Defence, Simon Healeas seemed to have matters well under control defending against the Sicilian English Attack, while Mark was his usual solid self, albeit a bit cramped for development.
However, on Board 3, Bayar's original handling of the Black side of the Sicilian c3 variation created some development problems, with his King in the centre and his Queen precariously placed and ultimately the position could not hold against the sustained pressure his opponent exerted on it.
On Board 2, Tony Wells returned to form with a well-executed attack in an Exchange Caro-Kann, opening the g-file and generating a winning assault on his opponent's King position.
Board 4 was one for connoisseurs of pawn positions, with Michael going for the XXL centre with four pawns on the fourth rank while his opponent chose influence over occupation: developing nothing beyond the sixth rank until a decisive d5 break. I didn't see the denouement, but the end semed to arrive suddenly and decisively.
The match position became critical when Simon uncharacteristically dropped a piece from a seemingly secure position and Ealing trailed 1-3.
At around this time, Hounslow's bottom board declared that Mark's position was hopeless, because of zugswang. Unless, FIDE have changed yet another rule, I'm not aware that resignation is mandatory on the request of your opponent and an hour later, when time was called, Mark was still very much alive and kicking. The zugswang claim was repeated, but trivial analysis of the adjourned position showed the game was ...a draw.
Regrettably, I must also report some questionable behaviour on Board 1, where Chris's opponent was texting on his mobile phone throughout the game. I was unaware of this during the match, but would have protested strongly had I known. The rules are clear: mobile phones must be switched off during games. The game came to a sudden end when, after a close fight, Chris blundered into an unanswerable mating threat.
Dale Gibbons game was sent up for adjudication with claims for a draw: although a pawn down, initial analysis suggests that the draw is obtainable.