South Hams Chess Club
South Hams Chess Club

Match Details

TCL Division 1: Plymouth v South Hams 22 Feb 2016

Bd Plymouth Col Grade ECF Result South Hams Col Grade ECF PGN
1 Stephens, John B 196 155629A ½-½ Levy, Steve W 177 134450L View
2 Sivrev, Plamen W 172 290431F 1-0 Archer, David B 138 300734A View
3 Stinton-Brownbridge, Michael B 158 157349E 1-0 Wilkinson, Ben W 124 162703L View
4 Butland, Nick W 155 107796L ½-½ McConnell, Phil B 115 285386D View
Overall Match6813-1554
 

Match Report

Author:  Phil McConnell

Date:  22 Feb 2016

(Submitted on behalf of Steve Levy.)

Outgraded by a wide margin on all four boards, South Hams made a decent fist of it against a strong Plymouth team, who in the end proved to be just too good. But at that tea interval all four games were looking tight - which was something of an achievement in itself!

On Board 1, Steve went for a checkmate at a point when his opponent had only 25 seconds to make four moves. With hindsight, he wishes he'd played it "long"and gone for a superior end game instead of the quick checkmate. In the end he was happy to force a draw by perpetual check.

On Boards 2 and 3, David and Ben both created attacking potential, but in both games their opponents defended accurately and set up winning positions later on.

On Board 4, Phil wonders if he could have created more of a late middle-game situation with two strong rooks and a strong knight. Once the pieces had all been exchanged off, each player had a king and 7 pawns, but Phil's was the dodgier position and he was happy to fight for a draw.

An enjoyable evening (Plymouth were as hospitable as ever), and in the end the stronger team deservedly won. Despite this result, South Hams are still handily placed in Division 1.