Maurice’s “mad” win insufficient to avoid Warley Quinborne defeat

Wolverhampton Division 1

Lichfield ‘A’ suffered a disappointing match defeat to a strong Warley Quinborne side in their Wolverhampton Division 1 clash at the Guild Hall.

It was wonderful to see Turan Asgarova back in action on Board 1 following the birth of her baby boy. Turan faced a tough assignment in her first match back, playing Black against 2100-graded Simon Dighton. Turan, in her own words, “should have found more active plans”. She was ultimately unable to successfully hold a draw in a slightly passive defensive position.

On Board 3, Maurice Staple’s opponent sacrificed a piece for two pawns and a likely winning attack, but Maurice managed to complicate the position. It was, in his words, “a mad game”, Maurice emerging into an ending in which he had Bishop + 2 pawns vs. 5 pawns, and then finding a way to win.

David Hulme on Board 4 also looked to have good chances of a win. He was the exchange up, but his opponent engineered mating threats, and David missed a key defensive resource and lost his Knight and the game.

With Warley Quinborne 2-1 up, it fell to Mircea Mesesan, playing White on Board 2, to try to win and salvage a drawn match. Mircea had sacrificed a pawn for piece activity in the opening, before his opponent offered a draw in the middlegame. Mircea declined the draw, and his opponent immediately made a mistake which cost a pawn. The game transitioned into a rook and pawn ending with good winning chances for White. Mircea made good progress, but misplaced one key move with his king; the correct square would likely have ensured victory. In the variation that followed, it briefly appeared that his game was actually lost before he found a tactical trick to retain his pawn advantage, but now in a simplified rook and pawn ending. Despite being short of time, his opponent defended the position well, and after 83 moves the game was agreed drawn, giving Warley Quinborne a 2.5 – 1.5 match victory. Warley Quinborne are now level with Lichfield in mid-table. (Match played 19th February).