Dramatic conclusion leads to drawn match
Derby League Division 1
The combined Burton and Lichfield ‘A’ team faced second place Derby ‘A’ in a Monday night match at The King’s Head, and the contest was as tight as the league placings of the two teams would predict.
On Board 1, Mircea Mesesan faced 2100+ John Tompson with the Black pieces, and was on the back foot throughout most of the game, with his pawn structure damaged in the opening phase, and John systematically taking advantage to eventually emerge into an endgame with an extra rook.
On Board 4, Adam Routledge, playing White, won a pawn in the early middlegame. His opponent found some tricky ideas to complicate the game, but Adam calculated precisely, and kept up the pressure until his opponent’s position finally cracked, to win yet another game in his amazing season.
The match result therefore hinged on Ben Nevett-Farman’s game with White on Board 2, and Richard Anderson’s with Black on Board 3. For most of his game, Ben’s game looked to be drawish in nature, with equal material and no serious weaknesses for either player in a double rook endgame. Meanwhile, playing on the board next to him, Richard had successfully navigated some dangerous waters in the opening and early middlegame to emerge into an ending with a small advantage. Both Richard and Ben were lower on time than their respective opponents, however, with both eventually playing on only the 10 second increment.
Suddenly Ben’s opponent blundered. After pushing his King too far into Ben’s position, he found himself in a mating net and lost. Richard, believing that Ben was drawing, had developed a winning advantage and had rejected a draw offer, but then misplayed the ending to allow his opponent’s knight to pick up a pawn, and then, with Ben’s win now confirmed, paused for a second too long … and his clock fell.
A missed opportunity for a match win, but a 2-2 draw was probably a fair reflection of a great contest. Derby ‘A’ stay in second in the division, with Burton and Lichfield now in fourth, but with the same points total (and with a match in hand) as Breadsall ‘A’ in third. (Match played: 23rd March)