Avengers 1st and 2nd Teams Extend Unbeaten Run
Division 1: Anglian Avengers 1 v Catsford Cosmonauts 2
The 1st team always looked in control after convincing displays from Paul Talsma & Andreas Plueg. Paul’s win (see: Howard Turner v Paul Talsma ) is particularly impressive, contriving to make the Reversed Tango look like a forced loss for White. David Maycock’s win wrapped up a 3-1 victory over the Catsford Cosmanauts. (See: Tim Gluckman v David Maycock – a nice demonstration of the potentiality of the 2-bishops in a semi-open position.
Division 2: Mushrooms 2 v Anglian Avengers 2
The 2nd team match against Mushrooms was closely contested, with all games going to White. Jeff Goldberg always looked to have the upper hand both on the board and (especially) on the clock, slowly but surely converting his advantage in a queen endgame after 42 moves. Chris Hampton achieved light-squared domination from the opening which he translated into a pawn advantage in rook game, forcing victory in 75 moves (see: Chris Hampton v David Sedgwick -a solid technical win).
So an honourable 2-2 draw? Not quite. Silas Peck’s opponent had made a critical mistake, even before the round commenced, by issuing the LiChess challenge with incorrect parameters, resulting in an unrated game. After all of games completed, the B1 result was scored 0-0, (see Step 4 – 4NCL LiChess Guidelines). The outcome of this debacle was an unlikely (and to be fair, somewhat fortuitous) 2-1 victory for our 2nd team.
Division 3: Anglian Avengers 3 v Charlton Cobras B
The 3rd team match against Charlton Cobras got off to the worst possible start with a default on B2 (the result of an admin error by your captain- my bad!) The only chink of light in an otherwise gloomy 0.5-3 defeat was provided by Avengers recruit, Heather Walker (see – Miguel Sobrinho v Heather Walker).
With a crushing advantage, and with multiple roads to victory, her over-hasty opponent overlooked that 32…Bxh6 is check! Heather seized her opportunity, and never let her opponent back in the game, completing a remarkable turnaround in 53 moves. A great debut performance!