Millar Cup v Folkestone (a)

Broadstairs     0                Folkestone    7

1 David Faldon (175) 0-1         Andy Hammond  (189)
2 Paul Carfrae (131) 0-1         Leon Wooldrige (188)
3 Bob Cronin (112) 0-1         Martin Cutmore (164)
4 Andy Flood (111) 0-1         Matthew Cussens (138)
5 Michael Doyle (89) 0-1         Mahua Verma (89)
6 default 0-1
7 default 0-1

David Faldon writes:

Five players travelled to Folkestone on a freezing Friday in February in search of a miracle … and it didn’t happen. Still, we tried. With better clock handling and/or a bit of luck we could have made three draws but the overall result was never in doubt once one of the five (no names!) lost two pieces for two pawns inside the first ten moves. On the positive side our hosts provided free tea and coffee. Congratulations to Folkestone on a well-deserved victory.

Walker Shield v Bridge (h)

 

Broadstairs  4      Bridge  0

1. Bob Cronin   (112) 1-0     Shahid Sahi (115)
2. Andy Flood   (111) 1-0     Ray Rennells (86)
3. Reg Pidduck  (106) 1-0     Graeme Boxall (85)
4. Michael Doyle (89) 1-0      Ian Redmond (78)

Reg Pidduck writes:

Even before this match got underway, Broadstairs were already Walker Shield Champions for the second year running as previous results meant we could not be caught.

BOARD 1: STILL IN FORM BOB. First to finish, Bob won an exchange early on, but in giving it back gained a two-pawn advantage. This then became three which won him the endgame. 1-0 to us.

BOARD 3: MY FAVOURITE DUTCH. My fave opening was strong but Graeme foiled all my attempts to get control. Only in the end with queens, knights and pawns was I able to get a one pawn advantage, which was enough. 2-0 to us

BOARD 2: CREDIT TO RAY. Ray Rennells was 25 points lower in grade to our Andy but put up a sterling fight to the finish. In the end a bishop to the good , Andy won. 3-0 to us

BOARD 4: EVEN CONTEST. This match between Michael and Ian was the closest of the night. Once again it was down to the pawns to fight to the last. Ian resigned when Michael broke through. A flattering 4-0 win against worthy opponents.

For 2016 we have won the Walker Shield with played 4 won 4  (shame Margate had to pull out).

Hargreaves Shield v Ramsgate (a)

Broadstairs  2     Ramsgate  2

1. Paul Carfrae   (131) 1-0    Steve Guy (138)
2. John Couzens (118) 0-1    Malcolm Snashall (122)
3. Andy Flood   (111) 1-0    Brian Williamson (96)
4. Michael Doyle (89) 0-1     Josh Vaughan  (77)

Andy Flood writes:

It was always going to be a tight match between the 2015 Hargreaves Shield champions, Ramsgate, and the runners-up, Broadstairs. First to finish was the captain and part-time reporter with a solid game. I was a knight up early on as a result of a simple queen take with Black unable to recapture owing to a discovered check. John on board 2 soon found himself in the bar for an early drink having gone a piece down early in the game. He battled through to an endgame against a typically solid Malcolm Snashall, who swapped off to convert an advancing pawn, forcing John to resign before the inevitable.

As the night was drawing to an end, Mike Doyle on board 4 was battling against our Josh who was struggling under time pressure. As the clock’s flag raised, we waited for it to fall. Somehow, Josh withstood the pressure to get what was an unpredicted but well-deserved point for Ramsgate with seconds to spare as he advanced a pawn to convert to a queen leading to Mike’s resignation.

So the result would be determined by the top board and what at one stage appeared to be an inevitable win for Paul as he went a queen up early in the game.  Somehow, though, Steve got back into the game and captured a rook as Paul sought to mate, thus setting up the game for an exciting finale. It took some exceptional play from Paul to shrug off the lost piece as his queen battled against knight, rook and bishop to advance three queenside pawns to guarantee another queen and win on the top board.

A good night for chess and the white pieces with Broadstairs maintaining their unbeaten record with a 2 – 2 draw.

Game of the Week 7

This week’s game is a fine win by Reg from our recent match with Herne Bay. Losing the exchange early on, he fought back to win a pawn and then turned the tables with a neat finish.

White: Paul Arnold (116)            Black: Reg Pidduck (106)

Millar Cup: Broadstairs v Herne Bay 

White resigns

Millar Cup v Herne Bay (h)

Broadstairs     3                Herne Bay   4

1 David Faldon (175) 0-1         Bernie Kooiman (185)
2 Bob Page (145) 0-1         Gordon Botley (182)
3 Paul Carfrae (131) 0-1         Bob Pooley (155)
4 John Couzens (118) 0-1         Mick Micklethwaite  (131)
5 Reg Pidduck (106) 1-0         Paul Arnold (116)
6 Michael Doyle (89) 1-0         Ronnie Melhuish (103)
7 Michael Jenkinson (86) 1-0         Jamie Dawson (73)

David Faldon writes:

Truly a match of two halves. Our bottom three boards all played splendidly and scored three wins in very different styles. Mike D was impressively quick and ruthless, crashing through with a vicious king-side attack. Mike J took a bit longer, outlasting his opponent and winning a neat pawn and knight ending. Reg’s game was the most double-edged, as he lost a rook for a knight early on, but his opponent played a few waiting moves too many and Reg pounced with his ‘bad’ Dutch bishop (the one on the same coloured squares as all his pawns) playing the star role. Our top boards didn’t fare so well. Bob, Paul and John all defended difficult positions hard against higher-rated opponents but without success. Strong players sometimes play well. These results left the match tied at 3-3 and for a change the top board game decided the match. Despite playing black, I had an advantage early on but a slip allowed Bernie the chance to sacrifice a knight. Taking the knight would lead to a draw but I refused it and tried for the win (mainly because I’ve never yet beaten Bernie in a dozen or so attempts). Unfortunately my ‘winning plan’ had a big hole in it which Bernie spotted: 3-4. Congratulations to Herne Bay on yet another hard-fought victory.