"Those who say they understand chess, understand nothing" -- Robert HUBNER

Ealing 2 win opener

: Created:16 Oct 2007 , by Alastair Johnstone

Middlesex League Div.2 Harrow 1 3½ Ealing 4½
 
Ealing 2 kicks off the new campaign with a fine win away to Harrow's first team.

Although strong on the top boards, Harrow couldn't match Ealing's strength in depth and a clean sweep by the bottom four boards, together with Mark Winterbotham's draw on Bd.3 secured the victory.
 
Alastair was first to finish, with a pleasing win against the 6.Be2 variation of the Najdorf.  Curiously, this was the fourth time in five years I've defended the Black side of this variation against Alan, but the first time I've won, the previous three being drawn.  Black was able to generate effective pressure against White's d5 pawn and in the ensuing tactical complications, White dropped a piece.
 
Second to finish was Mark Winterbotham, who achieved a highly creditable draw against Nigel Alldritt, who has been a thorn in the side for Ealing for many years and was until recently graded in the 190's.  Not many Ealing players have taken points off Nigel, so well done Mark!
 
John Harvey finished next, generating strong pressure against his opponent's king, leading to the winning of the exchange, after which his opponent's position rapidly crumbled.  A fine win against a solid opponent.
 
By now, I had been able to take stock of the position on the other boards and it was clear that there were grounds for cautious optimism.  This view was soon vindicated when James Ellis, showing characteristic tactical skill, impressively carved up his opponent.  I must confess, when I first looked at the position, I was less confident about his prospects, but James had everything under control and his advantage soon became evident and decisive.
 
A quick glance at Dale's game suggested an even contest.  But, Dale had seen deeper into the position and discovered some tactical resources to complete the clean sweep on bottom boards and the match win.
 
Syrym fought bravely against Neville Chan, another Harrow player who has given Ealing problems over the years, but was gradually pushed back. When a couple of pawns dropped, Syrym accepted the inevitable.
 
Taking the heat on top board, Chris Greenshields had an interesting struggle with Paul Gait, another strong and very solid player.  Gait eventually prevailed in a very double-edged position arising from a Caro-Kann Advance variation, taking some big risks to create threats against Chris's castled king position.  Chris feels he chose the wrong defence and missed an opportunity to punish his opponent for his risky play.
 
Last to finish was Simon Healeas, in his debut appearance for Ealing.  In a typically solid positional display, Simon accumulated a number of critical small advantages (the Russians would have approved!).  But, the cost of these astute thought processes was much expenditure of time on the clock.  Having calmly got through the first time control, Simon, could not make the necessary gear shift into quickplay mode.  What followed was a baptism of fire in the vicissitudes of quickplay chess, as Simon's position went from won to clinging on to lost on time.  A harsh lesson indeed! 
 
Nonetheless, a  great start to the season for the team.