Outstanding victory lifts Lichfield ‘B’ to top of table

Cannock League Division 2

Going into their match against Mercia, the Cannock 2B team expected to struggle due to limited availability of players, and this expectation was emphasised further when the team saw the strength of players on their opponents’ team sheet.

The first game to finish was David Hulme on the top board. It was an even game, and out-graded by 100pts, he didn’t think for too long when his opponent made a draw offer. John Fryer was next to finish on Board 4. His lower-rated opponent made several blunders and so John was able to calmly claim the victory.

With the team now on 1.5pts, captain Peter Rose was pretty happy. With both he (on Board 2), and Brian Homewood (on Board 3) being out-graded – including Peter himself by over 300 points – his realistic objective was to score at least half a point more to secure a match draw.

The end result far exceeded this ambition. Peter’s game was next to finish. He boldy sacrificed a pawn to gain initiative and build pressure against his opponent’s uncastled central King, eventually winning an exchange but at the cost of allowing his opponent to create a protected passed pawn. After some shuffling of pieces, Peter managed to stifle the counter play and activate his remaining Rook, causing his opponent to resign. This secured the win for the team, and was a great personal victory for Peter against a 1900 graded opponent.

To put the cherry on the cake, Brian Homewood then followed up with the final victory on Board 3. He picked off three of his opponent’s pawns, giving him three connected passed pawns on the Queenside. His opponent realised his counterplay wasn’t going to be sufficient, and so also resigned.

The result puts the B team top of the table going into Christmas, with a win against last year’s winners, Stafford, already under their belts. January will be a further test to see if they can maintain their lead, with matches against three tough opponents, including a visit to Stafford, and an away match against current 2nd place team, Rushall. (Match played: 16th December)