Club Venue: Ducklington Village Hall, OX29 7UX

Witney 2, 2011/12

25 Apr 2012

Well played, an excellent end to the season as the 2nd team fought for promotion, albeit in vain as it turned out. Dave got a safe draw on board 1, after an early Queen exchange a position with R and opposite coloured B and pawns, petered out to a draw.

Richard outplayed Lucy and gave us an early lead, settling nerves only a little. Alan got revenge against Karl Biswas after a defeat earlier in the season, in a Grunfeld defence in which Karl made too many Queen moves, pawn grabbing in the opening.

Derek had a solid position and agreed a draw, so we needed only half a point at that stage. Howard brought home the full point managing to convert an extra pawn in a good Bishop v Knight endgame.

Patrick offered a draw after withstanding considerable pressure down the g file and finally breaking out and looking the likely winner. Although we ended up on equal points with Wantage, we lost out on promotion because in matches between ourselves and Wantage this season, we beat them 4-2 and lost to them 4½-1½ even though we had a superior game point difference over the season. So, if we are disappointed we can say we beat both teams who were promoted during the season and this should give us confidence for next season.

See you on Mondays and/or the club dinner.

- Alan G.

29 Mar 2012

Witney 2 pulled off their best win of the season and put themselves in with a chance of 2nd place and promotion to division 1 with one match to go!

Dave stepped into our most problematic position on board 1 and achieved a fairly early draw after some unusual opening moves by both players, reaching a middle game in which both missed opportunities to force an advantage.

This was a good start for us and Dave admitted his liking for the role afterwards. Patrick had a very good attack after Larsen’s 1. b3 and he converted to a nice win (good to have him back).

Derek played well again to reach an endgame advantage of K and 6P v K and 5P which he duly converted. Howard also played a very good game against a tricky opponent and his imposing centre was the springboard for the win. Richard looked in no problems until he blundered a knight and went on to lose. Alan had played a Modern Benoni (game attached right) and sacrificed a knight for 3 pawns to expose his opponent’s king, eventually winning a R and 3P v R and 2P ending.

Last match at home to City 2 on 23rd April.

- Alan.

13 Mar 2012

A difficult night turned out well as the five pulled off a creditable draw 3-3 v MCS/B. Jon had earlier withdrawn with illness and Patrick was a very late absentee due to work commitments (hope he is well paid).

Alan K stood in for his son but Patrick could not be replaced. Alan K got a good win taking advantage of his extra pawn in the ending and Richard secured another point with a kingside attack v the KID.

Alan G luckily escaped with a perpetual being a rook down and Howard set up an impregnable defence although a couple of pawns down in his ending, to earn a draw.

This meant we had 3 points, but Derek for once could not pull off a win and succumbed to too many weak pawns in yet another ending. Overall, a hard won point showed the resilience of the team. Next match away to Didcot 1 on Tuesday 29th March.

Latest: See also the Jon D'Souza-Eva vs. Alan Gentry board 1 game.

- Alan G.

14 Feb 2012

The narrowest winning margin v City 3 last night by 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 made us safe and in a position to challenge for a top place in the division. Roger, playing for us again, delivered even more quickly this time, outplaying AK Riley before I was out of the opening in my game.

 

	Witney 2	vs.			Oxford City 3
1	Searle, Howard AJ (155)	0	-	1	March, Mike (157)
2	Gentry, Alan (155)	1	-	0	King, Simon E (152)
3	Edwards, Derek F (146)	½	-	½	McLeod, Peter (132)
4	Weston, Richard (139)	1	-	0	Brindley, Malcolm (126)
5	Turner, Roger N (132)	1	-	0	Riley, Adrian K (136)
6	Kilbride-Newman, Bob ( )	0	-	1	King, Tim J (133)
		3½	-	2½
Match played on 13 Feb 2012.

That gave us all a lift. Alan finished next after an exciting KID in which the queens side attack beat the kings side attack as in all the books ( exaggeration). Howard lost in a Modern in which the advance of central and kings side pawns looked dangerous, but his queenside was underdeveloped.

 

Opposite side castling meant an exciting game but Howard dropped a piece so went down. Thanks to him for volunteering to play black on board 1. Derek continues his good form, drawing with black. Bob played his first game for the second team but tried too hard to win a drawn postion and blundered.

 

Richard played a very attacking game against his old adversary, sacrificing two pawns to get a very advanced pawn in a two rooks and pawns ending which he cleverly brought to fruition. Well done everyone and stand by for the next match away at Wantage( changes are afoot as Dave and Jon are not available, while Patrick is unsure). I am away for a few days.

 

- Alan G.

12 Jan 2012

Witney 2 stumbled again, losing 4-2 at City 2. Arriving at 7.10 and finding what looked like a women’s changing room was probably a high point for Alan K and myself who both lost after helping to set up the chess pieces!

Alan K blundered a piece and Alan G lost on time. Derek had a good draw in a game of Q-side v K-side attacks and Patrick accepted a draw, although better off but in time pressure.

Jon was up against unconventional play, his opponent opening up both his knight files and placing rooks on them. Neither player castled and after queens came off it looked drawish until Jon made a mistake and lost.

That left Richard to at least give us one victory. He did so with a splendid king side attack. Next match away at Cowley 3. Watch this space.

- Alan G.

06 Dec 2011

A bad night for Witney 2, losing 4-2 to Didcot 1, after being given a one point lead very early on, thanks to Roger who continues his run of good form. After that not much to write home about. Howard earned a solid draw, but Derek, having a plus, went for a combination which went well for 4 moves of his calculation but not for 6, so he lost.

Next loss was Richard playing black and not castling, fianchettoed both bishops, both knights centralised, it looked impregnable until his opponent sacrificed the exchange and then opened up lines against his King. Score 1.5 to 2.5 and so to Jon and me still playing.

In my game, I had a 2 pawn advantage and a solid position but short on time I played a poor move, ended up in a B+P v B and could not convert it to a win (poor technique). I was disappointed to draw, but even more disappointed for Jon who had played really well to get into a won position only to slip up in time pressure. He could have gone for the draw, but we thank him for trying to get the point which would have drawn the match.

- Disappointed of Witney.

30 Nov 2011

Another important win for Witney 2 against a MCS/ B 1 team weakened by the call of University. Howard was the first to finish after exchanging into a K+5P v K+4P ending, he duly converted into a win.

The other games were fairly balanced when I took a minute from my game. Perhaps Richard tried too hard to win by pushing pawns in front of his oppositely- castled King and he went down. Patrick had some advantage in a queenless middle game, doubled rooks on a half open file towards his opponent’s king and a well placed knight, but he had to look after a backward pawn and the game was drawn.

Derek was forced to move his king out of check losing a pawn at the same time and things looked grim for a while. He did have a dangerous queen and knight against an uncastled king, but how he turned it around into a win, I know not. I await to see his game next week. Alan’s game was on a knife edge, his queen side attack v the KID had gained a pawn, but his opponent found a nice tactic to win the exchange. In time trouble, however, he missed a mating attack so we had 3 ½ points, phew! Jon’s game had gone awry from a very equal position and in a bit of time trouble, Jon unfortunately lost to a player graded over 190. Well done everybody, a close win and two more points.

15 Nov 2011

Witney 2 beat Wantage 1 comfortably in the end after some tense moments by 4-2, to score their first win of the season. Congratulations everyone! Relief all round. Now we can try to maintain our position.

We started badly as Alan K dropped a queen for rook and lost quickly. Fortunately, Kennedy junior played much better to draw against a 198, even having a slight plus at the end, but time pressure won out. Alan G won a nice game against an over-careful opponent, so the match score was 1½-1½ .

Three games in progress and each one very tense and on the edge. Derek had to force a draw owing to his opponent’s threatening attack, which left two playing. Richard’s endgame was very tense but he played very actively and after rapid pawn grabbing by both players, he came out with an unstoppable one on the fifth rank supported by R and B. His opponent folded under the pressure. 3-2 with one still in progress! At least we couldn’t lose.

Patrick finally brought home the points with a well controlled execution, swapping queens expertly into a won endgame despite time trouble himself. Well done everybody.

- Alan G.

31 October 2011

City 3 beat Witney 2 by 3½ to 2½ last night (31st Oct). This was as disappointing as it was unexpected owing to the fact that we outgraded them on every board by about 20 points.

Alan let his advantage from the opening peter out to a draw and was content to watch the team bring home the points. Not to be! Howard got his King in a mess.

Jon, being the exchange up and winning, got into time trouble and ended up with opposite bishops in a clear draw; Mike played a Catalan but his opponent defended well, outplayed him in the middlegame and generously agreed a draw in a winning position.

Derek, playing against the English for a change, provided a ray of hope winning a piece but having to work hard against his opponent's two passed pawns before grinding out the win; and in the final game to finish, Richard played in a very double-edged game but went down when he neglected his defence, allowing connected pawns on the sixth rank and eventual mate.

We seem to be making things hard for ourselves at the moment, but we have the resources to lift our position in the table. Next match is home to Wantage 1 on Monday 14th November, team to follow.

- Alan G.

03 October 2011

A tentative start to the season.

Patrick had an early draw and Richard a fairly quick win, playing the St George!! (1..a6 as Miles played against Karpov).

Alan won well, gaining revenge for losing against Cowley last season. Howard played his usual Modern defence but fell to a mating attack, while Derek ended up in a K and 4P ending which was very drawn.

Jon was the final one to finish and his lack of practice let him down in the opening which led to time problems and eventual loss. However, his turning out was much appreciated and we hope to have him again later in the season.

- Alan G.

© SC

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