| | Sudbury | 09/01/24 | Manningtree B |
| 1 | Sanders, Robert R | 1951 | 0 - 1 | Kerr, Rowland | 1793 |
| 2 | Donnelly, Andrew J | 1760 | 1 - 0 | Stephens, Robert W | 1782 |
| 3 | Kent, Robert | 1601 | 0 - 1 | Webber, Simon | 1780 |
| 4 | Coleman, Peter | 1600 | 1 - 0 | Jamieson, Gary | 1250 |
| 1 | Sanders, Robert R | 1951 | 1 - 0 | Kerr, Rowland | 1793 |
| 2 | Donnelly, Andrew J | 1760 | 0 - 1 | Stephens, Robert W | 1782 |
| 3 | Kent, Robert | 1601 | 0 - 1 | Webber, Simon | 1780 |
| 4 | Coleman, Peter | 1600 | 1 - 0 | Jamieson, Gary | 1250 |
| | | | 4 - 4 | | |
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Our line-up was a little unusual, with Rowland subbing for Graeme, and Jamie making his first appearance for the B
team as an emergency sub on Board 4 for David (more on this later).
The first set of matches had four decisive results, but ended 2:2. Rowland was first to finish, playing a flawless
exchange version of the QGD with a minority attack and grinding his advantage in the endgame. Bob and Jamie both lost
their games with positions where they lost a pawn and then another, and the endgames were too tough to hold. Jamie
had an incredibly tough match as his opponent, despite playing his first competitive match in 25 years, had an
estimated rating of 1600 and looked if anything stronger. Simon's game went the distance in a sharp KID in which he
managed to neutralise black's kingside activity and break through on the queenside, winning a pawn and then
converting that to a piece, and the endgame, while sharp, was clearly winning.
So with all to play for we started the final games with anticipation. Things started well, as perhaps annoyed at his
first round loss, Simon's opponent played a hyper aggressive opening against his Caro Kann that unfortunately led
to the loss of the exchange and two pawns by move 12 and, with Simon achieving a passed D-pawn on the seventh rank
by move 17 he resigned.
Here the fortunes turned, with Jamie unable to overcome his opponent's very careful play aimed at picking up pawns
despite a good attempt at a counter attack on the kingside. 3:3. Next was Rowland, who despite a stated intention
to continue playing positionally, decided to defend with a Sicilian and messed up his move order leading to a clearly
worse position out of the opening, requiring him to use a lot of time calculating every move. It proved too much to
handle in a rapid game and we were 3:4 down.
However, if we could draw the match at 4:4 then the rules are that the lowest board score is eliminated first. With Jamie
having lost his games, elimination of this board in the calculation would mean we win the match overall, something
that wouldn't have been a possibility if we had had to default this board (thanks Jamie!).
Easier said than done, however, and Bob's game was going the distance and with a complex middle game, and with most
pieces and pawns still on the board to navigate, anything could happen. Unfortunately his opponent's careful
manoeuvring steadily shifted the position away from Bob, and with a minute on the clock Bob was staring at a
position two pawns down with an exposed king, effectively a completely lost position. Knowing only the win would
do he battled on, playing the most active moves and keeping pieces alive. Suddenly, with himself under time
pressure, Bob's opponent inexplicably (although we all know how this happens!) recaptured a pawn with a rook
instead of his queen, allowing Bob's queen and rook to leap into action and execute an immediate checkmate.
No-one could quite believe it at first but there it was, a stunning last minute victory and a 4:4 result.
That means Manningtree win the match on board elimination, and are through to the final against Woodbridge A
in May. This all made for a merry drive back. Next week we play them in the league and Sudbury will no doubt
be out for revenge.
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