Avengers 1 Defeat Tail-Enders Atticus A
In R6, Avengers 1 proved just good enough to defeat bottom-placed Atticus A by a deceptively comfortable 3-1 margin.
John Redmond’s clock was under considerable pressure from Martin’s preparation in a French Tarrasch. However, a composed defence held Martin’s plus to a minimum; and a lengthy rook endgame never looked likely to yield a positive result.
FM Kennaugh also got significantly behind on the clock in pursuit of an advantage against Panagiotis’s Najdorf Sicilian. But Panagiotis’s active defence kept the initiative in check; and a draw by perpetual was reached on move 41.
Steve Kee was thrown off unbalance by an early pawn sacrifice by Paul, and a neat combination on move 19 secured Paul an advantageous B v N endgame. Paul’s technique was sufficient to earn his 5th consecutive win.
Time trouble was a theme in the B1 & B2 games, but proved the decisive factor in the bizarre B4 encounter. Andy’s pawn sacrifice on move 11 was reasonable enough, but he blundered away the exchange soon afterwards. FM James gave Andy’s limited attacking prospects much, too much credence and fell significantly short of time: finally letting his flag fall on move 33, in a completely won position.
An important result for the Avengers which takes them to 2nd place in Division 1 / Group B.