Promising Season Kick-Off by all 3 Avengers teams
Division 1: Avengers Avengers 1 v Alba Bon Accord
“Never bring a knife to a gunfight”. Alba failed to heed this advice and rested their FM contingent, enabling our 1st team to stroll to a never-in-doubt 3.5-0.5 victory. Panagiotis Kanellopoulos and Paul Talsma, always in control, scored comfortable wins. The last game to finish, Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell v David Maycock, is well worth looking at: a fine example of how to force victory from a strategic advantage in a double-rook endgame.
Division 2: Ashfield Anonymous A v Avengers Avengers 2
In a closely contested match, the 2nd team seemed on the verge of defeat. However, Silas Peck’s model demonstration of the weakness of the backward pawn held Ashfield to a 2-2 draw. See: Alexander Combie v Silas Peck .
Division 5: Colchester JFF A v Avengers Avengers 3
The 3rd team seemed on the cusp of victory against Colchester JFF after convincing wins by Alonso Paez and Mohamed Hany Kamal. Colchester got a point back, and everything turned on the final game: Ruqayyah Rida v Bob Stephens. The exchange down in a desperate endgame, Bob somehow contrived to make a fight of it, and his resolute defence came within an ace of securing a draw. The match result was a 2-2 draw, but on another day this would have been an Avengers victory.
For full results and tables see: 4NCL Online Results – Season 4