The 'C' team marked the end of our stay at The Gables with a 2-2 draw against second placed Crewe 'F' last night. In an exciting match, which could have gone either way, Mycle and Matt got the wins on boards 1 and 3 that ensured us a share of the points.
Gennady was a piece up in his game on board 4 but somehow managed to blunder and the next time I looked he was a piece down and ended up being mated by two Rooks.
Lea found himself in a mess very early on in his game on board 2. Playing White against a French Defence, he found himself with doubled Pawns on the d file and with an exposed King. He was then unable to prevent the loss of a Knight and succumbed to an overwhelming attack.
With Crewe now in a 2-0 lead, Mycle pulled us back into the match on board 1 with a well executed endgame. He was down by a Queen and 2 Pawns against a Queen and 4 Pawns but, fortunately one of his Pawns was on the 7th rank, supported by both King and Queen, and his opponent was unable to prevent him from promoting it.
Matt also played an excellent game on board 3. He had a Rook and 2 Bishops against 2 Rooks going into the endgame, but then managed to trap one of his opponent's Rooks, exchanging it for one of his Bishops and leaving himself a clear piece up. He followed this up by pinning the remaining Rook against the King with his other Bishop, at which point his opponent resigned.
We could have won the match but, overall, it was a fair result. It leaves us still looking for our first win in Division 3 but it was a very encouraging performance.
Click here - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/117627 - for the match score card.