Right then, a busy old week again chaps but a positive one nonetheless. We start with the 5th team away at Melton Mowbray 3 on Wednesday: -
 

1	B	146	Cope, Shaun	1 - 0	Chalashkanov, Nikola	129
2	W	122	Gist, Elizabeth	1 - 0	Eastlake, Charles	120
3	B	73	Keightley, Andrew	0 - 1	French, Barry	115
4	W	60	Walton, Alison	0 - 1	Goldsmith, Rory	114

 
A slightly disappointing draw team, but the 5th team still remain undefeated - a marvellous achievement so far - well done squad! Unfortunately no amusing reports / confessions this time but good (and expected) wins for Barry F and Rory so well done to you two, that's Rory's first win of the season. Well done Rory. Nik was outgraded but put up a good fight and Charles lost, Nik did try and show me your fatal mistake Charles - all I can say is OOPS!
 
Now on to the 6th team last night: -
 

1	B	107	Cooper, Barrie	1 - 0	Lathwood, Roy	114
2	W	109	Hammond, Grant	1 - 0	Closs, Guy	101
3	B	109	Hulford, Frank	0 - 1	Barlow, Steve	89
4	W	110	McKiernan, John	1 - 0	Martin, Paul	88

 
A very pleasing win this one was team, in more ways than one. Some of you might have noticed that since becoming the Minor County Champion, John's form has nosedived. I consulted the club captain and said that I'd like to play him on the lowest board possible. Because of his poor form, I was able to play him on the 4th board without breaking the rules.
First to finish was Barrie Cooper. My 5th and 6th team squad has some players in excellent form at the minute and Barrie is one of them. A brilliant win for Barrie when his opponent realised that he couldn't stop a passed pawn queening, the pawn being aided by Barrie's King.
Second to finish was Frank. I'm afraid that Frank fell to a suspected case of gamemanship. Frank told me after the game that he exchanged Queens and maybe forgot to press his clock, with Frank's half of the exchange gone, his opponent took an age to play such an obvious move. (Alarm bells should ring!) His opponent pleaded ignorance after the game but Frank lost on time being a pawn up in the middlegame.
Out of form John was next to finish, firstly losing a piece after 6 moves (a world record for me - I've not seen anything quicker OTB), but the finish was pleasant. His opponent moved his queen and this move removed said queen from the protection of the mating square it was protecting. I called John a lucky person (or words to that effect) after the game.
Finally there was Grant, another player in fine form absolutely steamrolling his opponent during the middlegame and seemingly finding the best move each time. He was 6 pawns up when after a check was given by Grant, his opponent moved his King to the one square that allowed a mate in one. Extremely well played Grant.
 
Ben Vaughan

21 Nov		Wigston 6		v	Syston 5
				2 - 3
1	B	111	Winterton, Paul	1 - 0	Adams, Mick	94
2	W	110	McKiernan, John	0 - 1	Mundy, Rob	86
3	B	102	Poulacheris, Darren	1 - 0	Agger, Reg	88
4	W	104	Vaughan, Ben	0 - 1	Veitch, Robert	88
5	B	69	Dean, Simon	0 - 1	Morelli, Nando	58

 
A disappointing result. I didn't see much of everyone's games though, again I apologise.
The night started off well enough, Paul was first to win. Paul's comment after the game was 'he just kept giving his pieces away', I have yet to face such an opponent! Still, he needed beating Paul and you did it well.
I think that John fell next, I didn't see much of the position but I hear that John lost a piece early and again it fell apart for him.
Simon was next to fall, losing a piece in the middlegame - his opponent saying 'I thought it was a trap!' before realising it was a freebie. Simon was mated by two queened pawns in the end.
I was next to fall. After having an excellent opening and fritz saying I had an advantage, I managed to miss winning a piece, hotly followed by trading off in a bad position and letting the advantage slip away and facing an ugly endgame with a passed pawn and strong king which started pawn munching.
The night ended on a positive with Darren winning on time but in a good position anyway. (BV)

20 Nov		Red Admiral 1		v	Wigston 5
				1½ - 2½
1	B	134	Johnson, Andy	0 - 1	Chalashkanov, Nikola	129
2	W	130	Findley, Paul	1 - 0	Eastlake, Charles	120
3	B	121	Wylie, Paul	0 - 1	French, Barry	115
4	W	125	Findley, Laurence	½ - ½	Goldsmith, Rory	114

 

Report from Charles Eastlake: -

 

From last night chess I recreated 2 records, more of these later but first a problem for all you chess fanatics…..after the following opening moves what would you do next if you had the black pieces?

 

1 E4 C6, 2 D3 D5, 3 Nd2 D5xE4, 4 D3 x E4 NF6, 5 H3 E5, 6 Nf3 Bc5 7 c3……?

 

No cheating please this is a problem at the board so don't move those pieces… this position is one of the reasons why I like chess and after a good think I chose B x f2 +.

 

There followed the obvious 8 Kxf2 N e4+, 9 Ke1.

 

My next move was one of the reason why I hate chess as, to my opponent delight, I chose the terrible Qb6. That was my last move of the night and hence my 1^st record was in place - my quickest ever loss in my chess career.

 

This position leads me to a second puzzle should you play on when you are 2 pieces down? Clearly the answer even at our level is no as I wisely elected to resign. The only positive I could take from my game was that it enabled me to view the other 3 games in there entirety. This second puzzle about being 2 pieces down occurred for a second time in the evening as Nik on board one found himself in such a position where he was 2 pieces up but with an opponent who choose to play on. .. more of this later.

 

Rory's game looked very complicated as there was a lot of back and forth moves and a position that was becoming very blocked. Barry meanwhile was playing a strong hand as he castled quite early queenside to lock a nice pin with his rook on D1 to a black knight on d7 and the black queen on D8. Back to Board one and Nik though being 2 pieces was having problems co-ordinating his pieces and his opponent held the position like Rory's game in a locked pawn structure. Rory then offered a draw and his opponent accepted so then we were 1.5 to 0.5 down.  Still no resignation on board one as Nik slowly moved his pieces to the kingside and hoped for a break though to unlock the blocked position. Sure enough he did manage to exchange all the major pieces and then his opponent resigned on the brink of the pawn chain collapsing. So it was down to Barry who was by now left with his queen to a rook and bishop. Thankfully Barry finished his game with a very nice position leaving his queen en prise for his opponent's rook which would have allowed a pawn promotion which his opponent could do nothing to prevent.

 

Hence my second record of the night… my first win as acting captain for our fifth team. I thank you fellow team members for bailing my out, that's why it's a team game.

 

Finally as we were out graded on every board this was a very pleasing result.

LEADUE RESULTS - WEEK 7

DIV 1 – 1st Team return to top place with a big win away at Melton 1

 

	13-Nov-13	v.	Melton 1(A)
1.	J. Denton	0		M. Burrows	1
2.	T. Reynolds	0		A. Byron	1
3.	J. Billingham	0.5		P. Horspool	0.5
4.	R. Mitchell	0.5		A. Morley	0.5
5.	S. Cope	0		A. Ward	1
		1			4

 

 

DIV 3 – 3rd Team get first points with a Draw against Ashby 2

 

	14-Nov-13	v.	Ashby 2 (H)
1.	I. Dodds	0.5		R. Vann	0.5
2.	A. Reeves	0.5		L. Hayden	0.5
3.	S. Dawkins	0		P. Gibson	1
4.	S. Wylie	0.5		C. Tipper	0.5
5.	A. Pike	1		D. Reynolds	0
		2.5			2.5

 

Neil

14 Nov		Wigston 6		v	Heathcote Arms 3
				2 - 2
1	B	111	Winterton, Paul	0 - 1	Manger, John	140
2	W	109	Hammond, Grant	1 - 0	Ross, Colin	107
3	B	109	Hulford, Frank	1 - 0	Urquhart, Graham	80
4	W	69	Dean, Simon	0 - 1	Harbidge, Drew	65

 
A disappointing draw with Heathcote.
Simon was first to finish, he seemed to be a piece for a pawn down in the middlegame and his opponent slowly but surely ground him down. I thought that Simon had a chance of a draw (confirmed when he asked me the drawing rules), but it wasn't to be, his opponent managed to manoeuvre his extra Knight to win Simon's central pawn and he resigned.
Next to finish was Paul against the very strong John Manger. Paul was disappointed to lose, which was good to see, but in the end Paul was mated in a very bizarre but pretty fashion. Paul was 3 pawns down, but had potential in the game with a Queen and rook on his opponent's 7th rank.
So 2-0 down with 2 to play, Grant was next to finish with an excellent victory. Grant played the middlegame very well and won a piece with a neat little tactic and this also allowed him to win an exchange aswell. Grant managed to get his stuck pieces out and his opponent eventually resigned.
Last to finish was Frank on board 3. His opponent played very well and seemed to find the move that Frank didn't want him to but in the end Frank had two connected passed pawns, one on the 7th rank, supported by a Queen which forced his opponent to resign. Very well played team - an extremely pleasing effort.
 

A very impressive win for the 6th team last week: -
 

1	B	85	Shaw, Peter	0 - 1	Winterton, Paul	111
2	W	75	Richardson, Gary	0 - 1	Cooper, Barrie	107
3	B	62	Kellock, Jim	0 - 1	Hammond, Grant	109
4	W	60	Brown, Thomas	½ - ½	Vaughan, Ben	104
5	B	60	Woodhall, Henry	0 - 1	Poulacheris, Darren	102
6	W	14	Gonzaga, Edda	0 - 1	Dean, Simon	69

 
A crushing 5.5 to 0.5 win.
 
Special thanks to Barrie Cooper for stepping in.
 
Regarding the actual match, it's the same story I'm afraid chaps, I can't really comment on too many games aside from my own. I played a promising young man called Tom Brown. He equalled me all the way, anticipating my plans, foiling my plans and just being a pain. Simon won first (and it looked pretty convincing), Barrie won next, his game again looked pretty one sided and Paul won on board 1, didn't see the end position Paul, sorry. I then offered young Tom a draw which in truth he had earnt so I was only too happy to secure the points and the win for the team. Richard Hanscombe was at the Bowls Club and he took one look at the final position and said 'draw'. Then shortly after, Darren beat his young opponent. Darren was a full rook up and after avoiding back rank mate threats, went on to convert the point. Last to finish was Grant. After neutralising the threat of a passed pawn in the middlegame (how?), Grant pushed his passed pawns on to win the point.

LEAGUE RESULTS - WEEK 6

DIV 1 – 1st Team Win away at Thurnby 1

 

	6-Nov-13	v.	Thurnby 1(A)
1.	R. Burgess	0.5		A. Byron	0.5
2.	P. Deacon	0		M.Burrows	1
3.	R. Graf	0.5		A. Morley	0.5
4.	J. Pattinson	0.5		A. Ward	0.5
5.	G. Hart	0.5		P. Harlow	0.5
		2			3

 

 

DIV 1 – 2nd Team Beat Shepshed 2

 

	7-Nov-13	v.	Shepshed 2 (H)
1.	A. Morley	1		R. Henfrey	0
2.	P. Horspool	1		P. McDermott	0
3.	G. Cohen	1		D. Jarvis	0
4.	I. Dodds	0.5		S. Rice	0.5
5.	P. Harlow	0		K. Bennett	1
		3.5			1.5

 

DIV 3 – 4th Team Lose away against Ashby 3

 

	7-Nov-13	v.	Ashby 3 (A)
1.	C. Tipper	0.5		S. Wylie	0.5
2.	D. Reynolds	1		A. Pike	0
3.	R. York	0.5		S. Smith	0.5
4.	V. Armstrong	0.5		G. Sim	0.5
		2.5			1.5

 

 

DIV 5 – 6th Team Win away against Kirby 3

 

	7-Nov-13	v.	Kirby Muxloe 3(A)
1.	P. Shaw	0		P. Winterton	1
2.	G. Richardson	0		B. Cooper	1
3.	J. Kellock	0		G. Hammond	1
4.	T. Brown	0.5		B. Vaughan	0.5
5.	H. Woodhall	0		D. Poulacheris	1
6.	E. Gonzaga	0		S. Dean	1
		0.5			5.5

Neil

31 Oct		Wigston 5		v	Oadby 1
				2 - 2
1	B	129	Chalashkanov, Nikola	½ - ½	Pettitt, David	131
2	W	114	Goldsmith, Rory	½ - ½	Thornton, Mike	116
3	B	110	McKiernan, John	0 - 1	Candlin, Don	112
4	W	107	Cooper, Barrie	1 - 0	Gutteridge, John	61

 
A disappointing draw at home to Oadby.
I was entertaining new boy Marcus and giving him a much needed practice game in match conditions.
Barrie was first to finish, before I'd finished my friendly. He approached me and gave me the thumbs up. I looked briefly at his board and the final position and it looked like a very nice win indeed, I think it was a crushing mate......?
John was next to finish, unfortunately on the wrong end of a poorly played middlegame which we had a brief look at after the game. John made a couple of mistakes and wasn't able to recover after a fairly decent opening.
Rory was next to finish, agreeing a draw where both players had attacking chances swiftly followed by a draw for Nik. Both looked very even closed boards and draws looked sensible.

LEAGUE RESULTS - WEEK 5

DIV 1 – 1st Team Win away at Shepshed 2

 

	31-Oct-13	v.	Shepshed 2(A)
1.	R. Henfrey	0		M. Burrows	1
2.	A. Jiminez	1		A. Byron	0
3.	D. Farrall	0		A. Morley	1
4.	S. Rice	0		P. Horspool	1
5.	K. Bennett	0		A. Ward	1
		1			4

 

DIV 1 – 2nd Team Draw away at Braunstone 1

 

	29-Oct-13	v.	Braunstone 1(A)
1.	J. Robinson	0.5		A. Morley	0.5
2.	P. Colburn	0.5		A. Ward	0.5
3.	R. Hanscombe	0		I. Dodds	1
4.	J. Wells	1		P. Harlow	0
5.	D. Sandrovitch	0.5		S. Wylie	0.5
		2.5			2.5

 

DIV 2 – 3rd Team lose heavily to Braunstone 2

 

	31-Oct-13	v.	Braunstone 2(H)
1.	A. Reeves	0		M. Salisbury	1
2.	P. Harlow	0		R. Hanscombe	1
3.	S. Wylie	0.5		J. Bingham	0.5
4.	R. Vaja	0		T. Hoch	1
5.	S. Dawkins	0.5		S. Hamby	0.5
		1			4

 

DIV 4 – 5th Team Draw with Oadby

 

	31-Oct-13	v.	Oadby (H)
1.	N.Chalashkanov	0.5		D. Pettitt	0.5
2.	R. Goldsmith	0.5		M. Thornton	0.5
3.	J. McKiernan	0		D. Candlin	1
4.	B. Cooper	1		J. Gutteridge	0
		2			2

Neil