Club Championship Round 4        21st May 2007

 

 

1    Stewart (3)    v  John     (3)   1/2

2    Damien  (2)    v  Colin P  (2)   0-1          Petroff

3    Luke    (2)    v  Davy     (2)   1-0          Alekhine's

4    Stephen (1.5)  v  Giuseppe (1.5) 1-0          English

5    Derek   (1.5)  v  Blair    (1.5) 0-1          Caro-Kann

6    Tamas   (1)    v  Kevin    (1)   0-1          Nimzo-Indian

7    Fergus   (1)   v  Bryan    (0)   0-1 def

8    Jim     (0)    v  Colin    (0)   1/2          Sicilian

 

 

Stewart and John agreed a draw.

 

Damien played an odd line against the Petroff and Colin sacced a pawn.  Damien obviously over-looked something as he left a piece hanging.  This ended up something akin to the Cochrane gambit but Colin could castle and get his pieces developed much more easily, so white's compensation was nebulous.

 

Davy misplayed the opening with an early Bf5. When white replied Qf3, the bishop returned, abjectly, to c8. This left Luke with the centre and much better development. Time-trouble approached and Luke sacced a piece to get a mating attack. Davy gave up his queen for knight and rook but his pieces were misplaced and un-coordinated so Luke had plenty time to win some pawns and then push his passed h pawn.

 

Derek and Blair seemed to get an equal position. Derek tried for an attack but it didn't really go anywhere and the game ended up in a double rook endgame which looked better for black (white's rooks were more  passively placed and he had pawn weaknesses).  But Derek defended well and managed to swap off pawns on the queenside to go to a drawn rook endgame.  He offered a draw moments before his flag fell but this was declined by Blair.

 

Tamas made the fatal mistake of blundering  in the opening (probably a move before Kev was about to). This gave Black a surprisingly strong attack with queen and knight and Tamas had to resign after only a few moves. 

 

The game between Jim and Fergus started off as a Bishop's Opening and ended up looking more like a Lopez where white had some pressure. I didn't see how the game ended.  This was their postponed game from the third round.

 

Stephen built up a strong attack against Giuseppe's cramped position.  When Giuseppe swapped off his black squared bishop, this left weaknesses around his king position.  Stephen broke through just at the time control with a mate in two.

 

Colin won the exchange fairly early on in the game but Jim had no real weaknesses and some extra space.  I missed what happened but Jim worked up a mating attack (pawn f6 with Q threatening to mate on g7. Fortunately for Colin he had a perpetual against Jim's king.