Gifted piece sees B&L 'C' lose out to Rolls Royce

Derbyshire Chess Association Division 2

A lapse in concentration made the difference as Burton & Lichfield 'C' suffered a narrow 1.5 - 2.5 defeat against a strong Rolls Royce 'B' side in Derby.

Board 3, where Albert Chacko was playing White against Paul Rutland, turned out to be the decisive game. Albert Chacko began well, but his opponent's inaccurate moves caused Albert to overthink in an attempt to punish him, and to unknowingly make concessions of his own. In a position in which he was slightly worse, Albert had a moment of positional amnesia and simply gifted a piece to his opponent, with no strings attached! He played on for a while, but resignation was imminent.

The other three games were all drawn. On Board 1, David Pickering, playing White, faced Eddie Bromilow and ultimately reached a safe, solid position. David initiated an early endgame and worked to improve his position. He missed a few chances to cause problems but still retained an edge. David unfortunately missed an intermezzo in a sequence of moves that would have secured a winning position, and his opponent quickly traded off his weakness to create a drawn position, which both players accepted.

On Board 2, Yuriy Slobodyuk, playing Black against Ranjit Nath, began with a slightly passive opening, hoping his opponent would overextend in the attack. Preferring to defend, Yuriy welcomed the fight, only to meet an opponent of similar temperament. They both pressed slowly and eeked little out of the position before agreeing to a draw.

On Board 4, Mick Horrigan showed his mettle as Black against David Cheale. After a recent run of disappointing results, Mick got to work in the middlegame, fighting for the centre with an increased queenside presence. However, his opponent's balanced position held, and with nothing more to gain, the two players agreed to a draw.

The 'C' team have shown they can overcome rating gaps, but sometimes, as any chess player knows, the battle is won or lost in individual moments of inspiration or inattention at the board. Nevertheless, they have shown they are competitive at Division 2 level, with many interesting future contests to come. (Match played: 15th October)