Another Routledge win not enough to avoid match defeat

Wolverhampton Division 1

Adam Routledge’s superb season rolled on towards a likely 1900+ grading, but his win on Board 4 was not enough to prevent Lichfield ‘A’ from suffering a 2.5 – 1.5 defeat away to West Bromwich. Adam was always in control. winning a key central pawn in the early middlegame, then a bishop. His opponent resigned when faced with a crushing kingside attack.

On Board 1, Mircea Mesesan’s opponent played solidly with black to neutralise Mircea’s opening ideas. The game ended quietly with a draw agreed.

On Board 3, Richard Anderson held a positional advantage in the middlegame and won a pawn, but, under time pressure, mistakenly exchanged off a pair of bishops, leaving a key square vulnerable to an invading knight. He battled on, and an escape to a draw looked possible until he blundered in time trouble, sending his king the wrong way in the endgame, and into a mating net.

The last game to finish was Ben Nevett-Farman’s Board 2 match. Ben misplayed the opening, delaying castling by one fatal move. His opponent took the opportunity to open up the centre, and Ben assessed his position as already lost by move 12, but fought on into the ending. Looking for stalemate tricks, he was instead checkmated. (Match played: 9th December)