TV1: Ealing A v Surbiton A
: Created:02 May 2012 , byRunner's-up spot claimed
Ealing A’s record at Surbiton has been fairly poor in recent seasons but when they visit us we have most often come out on top. In March of this year we were well beaten at 96 Ditton Road but we hoped for revenge in this home match. Both sides recognised that the winner this time would claim the runners-up spot to champions Wimbledon.
A glance at the team sheets showed that neither side were at full strength but c’est la vie a captain has to do his best with what is available. The top three boards were all tame draws but further down the order there was plenty of excitement.
Sitting next to Simon Healeas I had my first view of the Cochrane Gambit where White sacrifices his knight on f7 on move four. One of my books says that, “The sacrifice was worked out by John Cochrane, who used it in a number of games against Mohescunder Bannerjee of India in the late 1840s”. Simon defended well and had a good advantage when his opponent blundered horribly and lost his queen.
I had a tough positional contest facing the Dutch Defence and I only got on top near the end of the first time control. My win meant that Ealing had a two-board advantage but we had a reverse on board four where Nevenko Grozdanic went down to Ian Henderson.
With the match score standing at Ealing 3.5 Surbiton 2.5 attention switched to boards four and five. Angus James is a strong player and the game against in form Sainbayar Tserendorj was an interesting encounter. Sainbayar won a pawn but with rook and queen remaining on the board it was hard to make progress without destabilising his own king’s position. Sensibly a draw was agreed.
As usual Miguel Sanchez frightened me to death with his clock handling but in a slow play game he reached the adjournment with seconds to spare and very importantly with the advantage of the exchange. The adjourned game is being resumed on May 3rd at Ealing.
Lastly I warmly congratulate Wimbledon on their capture of the Thames Valley League title. I shall miss the championship trophy which has stood in a place of honour on my mantelpiece for five of the last seven years. We’ll be hatching plans to get the cup back to its rightful place next season.