Ealing B 2.5 Maidenhead B 4.5
: Created:20 Nov 2009 , by Alastair JohnstoneEaling B slip to another home defeat against a resilient Maidenhead.
| Thames Valley League Division 2 | 19th November 2009 | ||||
Bd | Ealing B | Result | Maidenhead B | ||
1 | 182 | Wells, Tony D | 0-1 | James, Stephen B | 177 |
2 | 164 | Sanchez, Miguel | 0-1 | Janota, Paul S | 163 |
3 | 167 | Turp, Michael-John | 0-1 | Bullock, Charles ES | 158 |
4 | 157 | Harvey, John T | 0.5-0.5 | Smith, Nigel D | 158 |
5 | 151 | Healeas, Simon | 0.5-0.5 | Smith, Jeff | 150 |
6 | 148 | Gibbons, C Dale | 0.5-0.5 | Fisher, Paul | 136 |
7 | 133 | Johnstone, Alastair G | 1-0 | Vandenberghen, Robert | 124 |
2.5-4.5 | |||||
The Harvester has been a fortress in recent years, but this was the third successive home loss: a decidedly unwelcome trend.
As in the last match, there was little to tell between the teams on paper and historically, Ealing has performed well in such close contests, but again, we seem to be acquiring some undesirable habits.
Maidenhead took an early lead and never looked back. Michael Turp succumbed to a combination and dropped a piece, while, on the neighbouring board, Miguel Sanchez was subjected to a fearsome attack with the entire White army bearing down on his King. It didn't require deep calculation to foretell the outcome and before long, the away side's lead was doubled.
On bottom board, yours truly was able to redress the balance a tad, finally finding a little form to register a first win of the season in a well-rehearsed variation of the Sicilian. But elsewhere there was nothing better than parity and draws were ultimately agreed on 4,5 and 6 while Tony Wells could not hold a tricky endgame, a pawn down.
It may be a little early to press the panic button, but after this latest reverse, we have some hard work ahead if we are to retain our Division 2 status.