Quickfire Albert victory not enough

Birmingham League Division 5

Lichfield got off to a flying start in their Division 5 home match with Kynoch ‘B’. Albert Chacko’s opponent on Board 1 was late to arrive, and may then have regretted arriving at all, as he weakened his position with f5 to protect a central gambit pawn and came under a trademark kingside attack from Albert. Resignation came with mate inevitable after only 18 moves.

Sadly, the rest of the games didn’t go Lichfield’s way. Stephen Smithson on Board 3 was a pawn up early in the game but blundered a piece. His opponent converted his advantage in the endgame. Rob Frost, playing on Board 2 had a solid position, but attempted an aggressive Knight manoeuvre which created weaknesses for his opponent to exploit. In the ensuing tactics of trying to bolster these weaknesses he missed a back rank mate.

The pressure was therefore on Maurizio Baravalle on Board 4 to try and win to tie the match. Earlier in the game, Maurizio held a likely winning position and was up on the clock. In trying to force the win, however, he played some riskier lines, and his advantage dissolved, leading to a drawn position and a narrow 2.5 – 1.5 victory for Kynoch.

This disappointing result was Lichfield’s first defeat of the season in the battle for promotion. Lichfield remain top of the Division 5 table, but with the second and third-placed teams both now close behind and each with a match in hand. (Match played: 29th January).