At last! Lichfield 'A' get off the mark in style against Tamworth

Birmingham & District League Division 1

Fantastic performances from Maurice Staples and Adam Routledge on Board 1 and Board 3 - and a bit of overdue luck in a couple of other games - saw the Lichfield 'A' side finally kickstart their Birmingham Division 1 season with a 4.5 - 1.5 victory over Tamworth at The Guildhall. Given the strength of the top end of the Tamworth team, the route to success for an understrength Lichfield side seemed to lie in holding them at bay on Boards 1 to 3, and looking for wins on the lower boards. That narrative was flipped on its head by Maurice and Adam.

Lichfield got off to a slightly lucky start. David Hulme, playing Black on Board 6 against Andrew Taylor, was in a losing position, but used his experience to make his opponent's path to victory increasingly awkward. He exerted sufficient pressure that a frustrated Andrew blundered, prompting an audible exclamation and immediate resignation.

John Staniforth, playing White on Board 5 against Manish Gandhi, was also a little fortunate in his victory. The game looked to be balanced until Manish decided to push for a win when the position didn't really merit that, and over-pressed. John took advantage of the resulting weaknesses, and a grateful Lichfield were 2-0 up.

Tony Green, playing Black on Board 4 against John Mildenhall, was locked in a tight battle in a closed position, but then outplayed his opponent to achieve a winning position. The cost, however, was that he was also desperately short of time on his clock, playing only on the 10 second increment. When John found ideas to make the win tricky, and then slipped in a quick draw offer, Tony, probably wisely, accepted.

That left the top three boards to finish. Richard Anderson, Black on Board 2, faced 2100-rated Phil Briggs in a topsy turvy encounter. Phil built a small advantage through the opening, pushing his 'g' and 'h' pawns up the board. Richard responded well, delaying castling, and developing counterplay of his own on the queenside. With the Kings eventually castled to opposite sides, and pawns pushing against each of them, the game swung in Richard's favour. Unfortunately, he then blinked first in trying to secure his King position when all-out attack was the correct option ... perhaps, as he later reflected, intimidated by Phil's reputation as an attacking player. A second poor move saw White's attack crash through, and inevitable resignation.

Fortunately, by the time Richard's resignation came, captain Adam Routledge, White on Board 3, was clearly winning. Playing against Mircea Mesesan (in his Birmingham League colours!) Adam navigated from an opening in which his pieces were awkwardly positioned into a balanced middlegame. Mircea then opted for an attractive, but dubious tactic that created a Rook + 2P vs. B+N imbalance, but with Adam's minor pieces well coordinated. Adam played strongly to increase his advantage, eventually forcing the exchange of Knight for Rook and an extra remaining Bishop. He finished the game in style, sacc-ing his Bishop to open up Mircea's King, with unstoppable threats. Faced with losing his Queen for Rook, Mircea resigned to give Lichfield a match win, and an almost palpable 'sigh' of relief permeated through The Guildhall.

Even better was to come. The Lichfield player with the toughest assignment of the night was Maurice Staples, playing White on Board 1 against 2200-rated Andrew Smith. The game was balanced throughout; Maurice held a space advantage, but Andrew's position was sound and compact. As the time on the clocks for both players dropped below 10 minutes, the game opened up, with Black's King more vulnerable than his White counterpart. Maurice spotted an idea for Andrew in which Black could attack the White Queen with a Rook, but also spotted the tactical refutation. When the Queen was attacked, she didn't have to move ... instead White could capture a Rook, freeing a square for a Knight fork to regain the Queen immediately. Short of time, Andrew walked right into the trap, and Maurice deftly swatted aside Andrew's remaining attempts to complicate the game to achieve a marvellous victory, his second in a week for the Birmingham Division 1 side.

Maurice's win was the "cherry on the top" of a critical match victory that gives some hope for Lichfield 'A' in their battle for Division 1 survival. Their next match is on Monday, against a very strong Sutton Coldfield side armed with multiple 2100+ players in their squad.

(Match played: 29th October)