Broadstairs  5         Herne Bay   2 

1	David Faldon (179)	0-1	Bernie Kooiman  (189)
2	Nick McBride (171)	1-0	Bob Pooley  (153)
3	Bob Page (141)	0-1	Paul Arnold (120)
4	John Couzens (125)	1-0	Paul Johnson (113)
5	Andy Flood (117)	1-0	Ronnie Melhuish (96)
6	Reg Pidduck (107)	1-0	Eddie Ridley (64)
7	Bob Cronin (103)	1-0	John Heath  (48)

David Faldon writes:

Our second win of the season out of six attempts leaves us in mid-table of the 2016/17 Millar Cup, behind Bridge and Folkestone but above Herne Bay and Margate. Reg was the first to score on board 6. His opponent played very quickly, but Reg wasn’t put off, calmly winning a pawn, then a bishop, then the game without any big scares. All of the other games lasted until 10pm, when Nick on board 2 completed a very well-played attack with a snap checkmate. Hopefully we’ll be able to show this game on the site as it’s a great example of bringing every last piece (and pawn) into the attack to overcome the toughest defence. John’s game on board 4 finished next with another Broadstairs win. This time it was John defending carefully until he got his chance to break out. Bob Cronin then finished off his game to wrap up the match win (4-0 up with 3 to play). Bob won a rook early on but he then had to be a bit careful not to let things slip. Next, Andy’s slow but sure progress on board 5 put us 5-0 up, which was just as well as the last two boards didn’t add to the team’s score. Overall a good solid team performance where none of our winners ever seemed in any danger of losing. Bridge next, away, on Feb 28th.

Broadstairs  2         Margate   2 

1	Reg Pidduck (107)	0-1	Colin Gregory  (106)
2	Bob Cronin (103)	1-0	Leon Garfield (102)
3	Michael Doyle (90)	0-1	John Clarke (94 )
4	Michael Jenkinson  (83)	1-0	James Maskell (77)

Reg Pidduck writes:

BOARD 4. TALE OF TWO SACRIFICES  First James tried one and then Michael responded with one of his own. Michael’s came out best with a pawn advantage which won the game. 1-0 to us

BOARD 3. JOHN ON FORM. John Clarke always looks to me better than his grade suggests and he gradually got the better of our Michael and duly won. 1-1

BOARD 1. BOTH IN TIME TROUBLE. I replied with a French Defence against Colin’s e4, and soon we both had an impasse with both of us using up time to think of a way through. Then with both times running out for the first time control, Colin found a great move that I could not counter. 2-1 down

BOARD 2. BOB COMES UP TRUMPS. Last to finish, Bob found an almost impossible win from his position (bishop pinned from a rook and a knight pinned from a bishop) by checking wherever he could and finally Leon running out of squares to place his king safely. Well done, Bob! A fitting end to a great evening

We have now won 0 drawn 4 lost 1  in our fight to regain the Walker Shield.

 

Broadstairs  3         Bridge   1 

1	John Couzens (125)	1-0	Tim Spencer  (130)
2	Andy Flood (117)	½-½	Chris Stampe  (127)
3	Reg Pidduck (107)	1-0	Bill Tracey (e114)
4	Bob Cronin (103)	½-½	Graeme Boxall (83)

Andy Flood writes:

A confident and strong Bridge team travelled to the reigning Hargreaves champions Broadstairs, outgrading the home team on three of the four boards, with both teams keen to maintain their unbeaten record. Early success went to Broadstairs with an excellent win by the Gullbuster on Board 1 who after sacrificing a piece for three pawns manoeuvred a won endgame by mopping up his opponent’s pawns before his higher graded opponent resigned. Reg was next to finish, playing very solid chess to guarantee at least a point, with another won endgame against a higher graded opponent.

It ended up as being a great result for Broadstairs with all team members contributing to the final total with Bob Cronin and Andy Flood both securing half a point in their drawn games finishing simultaneously and very close to the 11.00 pm deadline.  With a final score of 3-1, Broadstairs remain unbeaten and on top of the league two points ahead of Bridge halfway through the season.

Broadstairs  2½         Folkestone   4½ 

1	David Faldon (179)	0-1	Andy Hammond  (197)
2	Nick McBride (e160)	1-0	Martin Cutmore  (178)
3	Bob Page (141)	0-1	John Atherton (163)
4	John Couzens (125)	0-1	Kevin Smyth (153)
5	Andy Flood (117)	0-1	Mathew Cussens (136)
6	Reg Pidduck (107)	1-0	David Erwee (108)
7	Bob Cronin (103)	½-½	James Smith  (e50)

David Faldon writes:

What do we want for Christmas? A new board 1! And, hey presto, we have one after our latest match. Nick McBride has a new estimated grade of 181 and so he takes over as our board one in the new year (at least until the new grading list is published – Ed). Congratulations! With apologies to Reg, Nick’s game was the highlight of the match for Broadstairs. A slightly odd opening on both sides turned out well for Nick, so much so that his opponent felt compelled to sacrifice a piece to get a passed pawn on the last-but-one rank. For some time the attack appeared dangerous but Nick cemented a knight on a perfect defensive square and his opponent was unable to break through. I’m afraid I didn’t see much of Reg’s game at the other end of the room but I’m told he won a bishop for a pawn early on using his trusty Ruy Lopez . Reg now has three wins from his last three games, all with the Ruy Lopez. Maybe we should all be using it? Anyway, some of the other games were interesting too, especially the game on board 3, but apart from Bob C’s well-played draw on board 7, none of the unmentioned Broadstairs players were able to contribute to the team total and so we lost the match. A shame, but the Folkestone guys played well and deserved their win.

Broadstairs  2         Bridge   2 

1	John Couzens (125)	0-1	Tim Spencer  (130)
2	Andy Flood (117)	0-1	Chris Stampe  (127)
3	Reg Pidduck (107)	1-0	Graeme Boxall (83)
4	Bob Cronin (103)	1-0	Ray Rennells (81)

Andy Flood writes:

A well-equipped Broadstairs team (torches, coats and boots) registered an early victory by locating the new Bridge venue, known as “the pavilion” at around 7.35. Both teams had a 100% win record, so something had to give. First game to finish was Broadstairs Bob who secured an early point on Board 4 and was always in control, quickly getting to the end game and promoting his two pawn advantage to a queen. The other games were close and difficult to call but Bridge managed to even up the match as Gullbuster John lost on the top board against his higher-graded opponent. The President (Reg) on Board 3, emulating the world championship games with a Ruy Lopez opening managed to gain an advantage with white to beat the Bridge skipper to guarantee as a minimum a draw for Broadstairs. So the final game on Board 2 was to decide the result. The match was always close, difficult to call with Broadstairs playing black and at one stage up by two pawns. However black was always defending against aggressive white play before finally succumbing under time pressure to a pawn breakthrough in the centre of the board resulting in a resignation at around 10.45 as the pawn was promoted to a queen with five minutes left on the clock. A good team performance and a valuable draw for Broadstairs in their final 2016 match which keeps the Hargreaves team jointly on top of the league with their Bridge rivals with both teams undefeated.