Those kids are tough to beat: Birmingham Division 5 side held by Solihull

Lichfield were held to a 2-2 draw in their Away fixture by a Solihull side which featured junior players on three of the four boards.

Elliot Ward (White) finished first on board 4. Elliot began nicely with a closed position, but with attacking chances. He prepared a queen-bishop battery on his young opponent's kingside. He, however, neglected his opponent's central breaks, and a stray d-pawn led to an intermezzo capture that allowed his opponent to win a piece amid the exchanges. Elliot tried his best to revitalise the position by rerouting all his forces to the kingside, but his opponent managed to hold and trade off. The remaining “Knightmare” his opponent possessed proved too much to handle; Elliot resigned.

Next to finish was Albert Chacko (Black) on board 1. He equalised fairly quickly and blitzed out the opening, comfortably gaining 20 minutes on the clock. His opponent was a little restless and played an overambitious f4, restricting his own bishop and surrendering an e4 outpost. Albert traded off for a Knight vs Bishop endgame where his knight crippled his opponent's position, and his was forced to give up a pawn to keep the bishop. After consolidating his kingside, Albert probed for weaknesses and hunted pawns until his opponent eventually blundered back-rank mate.

Connor Whetnall (Black) on Board 3 finished next. Connor got off to a solid start with nice development and a central presence. He equalised effortlessly, but an ill-timed h6 meant he would lose a Knight. Connor, however, proceeded to play magnificently, exploiting his opponent's position to win a rook for a bishop, giving him an imbalance of Rook vs Knight + Bishop. Connor had a superior position, however, as his opponent’s pieces were tied up on the queenside while his own were more mobile and he possessed stronger central control. His opponent's queen threat should have prompted a reroute from Connor, but instead Connor tried a counter-threat and missed his opponent's sac to retain the queen. The position was still dynamic, and Connor managed to win back his opponent's queen, but when the dust settled, Connor was down a piece in the endgame. Connor tried to create some counterplay, but his opponent traded off until he was a bishop up. Connor could do nothing more as his opponent managed to activate their king and control the pawns to win the endgame.

Last to finish - and the only player whose opponent was above voting age! - was Richard Ayres (White) on Board 2. Richard and his opponent both opened to a strong position for either side. Once they finished developing, his opponent induced an IQP in richard’s position, but with active piece play, Richard was fine. Richard tried to initiate play in the centre, but his opponent managed to trade off to create an even position with queen and two rooks for both sides. Richard had declined an earlier draw offer, and with all the other games over, he needed a win for a match draw. Despite being on low time, he held on and made small improvements. Nothing stood out in the position, but time pressure meant someone might eventually create a weakness. Richard spotted his opponent’s self-pin and got ready to exploit it. His opponent didn’t have enough time for a sound defence and missed Richard’s rook sac, which led to checkmate, and to Lichfield rescuing a 2-2 draw.

The win keeps Lichfield at the top of the table, but with other teams in close contention and with matches in hand.

(Match played: 4th November)