Connor stars as Burton & Lichfield 'D' fight back for match draw

Derbyshire Chess Association League Division 3

From the jaws of defeat, the Burton & Lichfield 'D' team fought back to a well-deserved draw against a Spondon opposition graded 300 points higher overall.

Andrei Pizaru on Board 1 was the first to finish with the White pieces. Both entered the middlegame comfortably; Andrei looked to have superior development, while his opponent was castled and controlled the only open file. Andrei sought to assert control of the centre with a timely f4 to create a bind on e5, but he overpushed and allowed his opponent's bishop to infiltrate the rook-controlled file, delivering a skewer. It took just a few moves for the position to deteriorate to an unplayable state, forcing Andrei to resign.

Dragos Munteanu, on Board 3, was next to finish with not much better prospects. His opponent managed to exchange his ‘bad bishop’ for a positional edge, but it proved nothing, as Dragos kept the position under his control and reached a +2.5 position. Dragos unfortunately blundered back to equality before missing a fork on his bishop and rook, prompting resignation.

Next was captain Terry Knight on Board 4, who got off to a terrible start. He blundered early on by falling for a fork on his knight and dark-square bishop. He opted to let the bishop go and play on. Terry did not develop his reputation as the wise wolf for nothing. He negated as many of his opponent's attempts as possible, accelerating toward an endgame. The action really started with Terry having a bishop and pawn vs two bishops. The position became locked, with both sides using their kings to manoeuvre. Terry blockaded his opponent's passed b pawn. His opponent sacrificed a bishop to free the passed pawn, giving Terry enough time to capture the g and h pawns and push his own passed pawn. They both queened at the same time, but queens were traded skilfully by Terry to enter a bishop and two pawns vs bishop endgame, which Terry won.

The real star, and last to finish, was League Ladder leader Connor Whetnall on Board 2. Connor's opponent was much higher rated and showed this by obtaining a superior position, with the game unfolding on the kingside and centre. Connor held on and pressed his time advantage. His composed demeanour never wavered, despite being on the back foot, and he found a breakthrough, building a mating net his opponent had overlooked. With little time, Connor had ample resources to deliver the decisive blow. This victory allowed Connor not only to double his lead in the Lichfield Ladder against second place, but also to reach 1500 ECF!

The 'D' team showed us that blundering is not the end of it all, but a part of the journey. They forged victories from lost positions with grit and determination. They showed us that we can all overcome gaps in ability with a willingness to press and a little bit of luck. Who knows what this team can accomplish? (Match played: 6th October)