David Faldon (170) v Richard Eales (201) (Broadstairs v Bridge: Millar Cup 2014)
White: Edmund Horton (no relation) Black: David Horton (Postal game 1988)
Broadstairs 3 Margate 1
| 1 | Paul Carfrae (132) | 1-0 | Colin Gregory (117) |
| 2 | John Couzens (131) | 1-0 | John Clarke (86) |
| 3 | Tom Lovegrove (117) | 0-1 | James Maskell (80) |
| 4 | Andy Flood (e114) | 1-0 | Justin Baker (55) |
Bob Page writes:
Broadstairs began their defence of the Hargreaves Shield with a hard-fought but ultimately comfortable win over Margate. After a cautious start on all four boards, the match came to life when Tom managed to lose a queen and piece in quick succession. Resign? Not a bit of it. Rather like the knight in the Monty Python film that insisted on continuing to fight with no arms and legs, Tom conspired to give away all his pieces until, one move from mate, he finally accepted the inevitable. 0-1
Gradually the other three games appeared to heading Broadstairs’ way. On Board 1 Colin was falling behind on time and, having picked up a pawn early on, Paul skilfully manoeuvred his rooks and knight to gain a clear advantage. In time pressure Colin blundered a second pawn and resigned. 1-1
On Board 4 Andy was in the rare position of being ahead on time for much of his game. Needlessly giving away a pawn, his opponent came under pressure from a combination of Andy’s advancing pawns and supporting pieces. With his time fast running out, Justin made several mistakes, lost pieces and resigned. 2-1
For a long time it seemed that John would be the second to finish after Tom. He won two pawns early in his game and appeared not only to have a superior position but also to be well ahead on time. However, he could not find the killer move and desperate defence from John Clarke took the game beyond 10.00. Time pressure eventually decided the outcome and, in John’s words, a ‘boring’ game gave Broadstairs victory. 3-1
Broadstairs 3½ Bridge ½
| 1 | Andy Flood (e114) | 1-0 | Cal Hewitt (111) |
| 2 | David Wheatley (106) | 1-0 | Graeme Boxall (98) |
| 3 | Reg Pidduck (104) | ½-½ | Ian Redmond (86) |
| 4 | Bob Cronin (101) | 1-0 | Ray Rennells (82) |
Reg Pidduck writes:
Board 3: Lost advantage. This game looked quite even at first until Reg blocked in Ian’s rook, which he then had to swap for a bishop and two pawns. So still even? The endgame revealed no advantage for Reg’s rook so in desperation he swapped it for Ian’s knight but to no effect and the game was drawn.
½-½
Board 4: Pawns galore. During the first hour of play I kept looking over to Bob’s game and he seemed to be picking off Ray’s pawns at will. With such a great advantage he swapped off as many pieces as possible and won comfortably.
1½-½ to us
Board 2: David wins again. After an even game, David finally got an advantage by swapping off the last two main pieces which gave him an extra pawn. With his king in a good position, he was able to win.
2½-½ to us
Board 1: Draws declined. Once we had won the match, Andy asked for a draw in a very even game with which was declined. From then Andy’s position got better and better so Cal asked for a draw which then Andy declined and he duly won in crushing style.
3½-½
A terrific win
Broadstairs ½ Folkestone 6½
| 1 | David Faldon (170) | 0-1 | Andrew Hammond (189) |
| 2 | Alan Gosman (149) | 0-1 | Jim Bayford (188) |
| 3 | Bob Page (141) | ½-½ | Jo Schultz (187) |
| 4 | Paul Carfrae (132) | 0-1 | John Atherton (164) |
| 5 | Andy Flood (e114) | 0-1 | Kevin Smyth (160) |
| 6 | Michael Doyle (80) | 0-1 | Ashish Verma (152) |
| 7 | default | 0-1 | Matthew Cussens (146) |
David Faldon writes:
Another away match, another heavy defeat, but as with our first match of the season there was nothing to be ashamed of in this. We’ve now played our two hardest fixtures and the only way is up. The match was always going to be difficult. Folkestone are even stronger than Bridge A and seem determined to take the Millar Cup this year. They’ve already beaten Herne Bay and now only Bridge stand in their way. The games were not quite as one-sided as the results suggest, except on boards one and six. With white on board one, I tried an early g2-g4 line against the Pirc. This didn’t work out too well, partly because (a) my opponent saw me try it in the Thanet Open this summer and (b) my opponent used to play the same line himself. Oops! On board six, Michael (with black) tried the Birmingham Defence: 1. e4 a6. It has worked well for him in the past but unfortunately his 152-rated opponent found a nice trick right in the opening and Michael had a long wait for his lift home. On the other four boards Alan, Bob, Paul and Andy made their opponents work long and hard and find some good moves. In the end only Bob on board three survived the test. As in our first match at Bridge Bob was the last to finish, but unlike in our last match this time Bob’s new solid style got its just reward. Well done, Bob! Many thanks to everyone who turned out in Folkestone, and special thanks to those who drove: Andy, Alan and Paul. Folkestone is a long way to go on a Friday evening.