Earlier this week, the University of Bedfordshire chess club hosted their home match of Luton B v Open University. Luton B team captain Dixon Jones conscripted the following players: 1.Marek Gladysz (1818); 2.Samir Vora (1812); 3.Dixon Jones (1665); 4.Aleks Juhasz (1613) and 5.Qasim Zaidi, literally a last minute replacement for another Luton player stuck in London. The Open University, led by their board 1, arrived with the following line up: 1.James Alexander (1869); 2.Vincent Edwards (1629); 3.Dave Phillips (1436); 4.Dexter Lazard (1293); 5.Mark Osborn (1281). Here's how the evening unfolded.
Board 2: Samir Vora (1812) v Vincent Edwards (1629). Typically maverick, Samir opened with a Kings Gambit which can throw an unprepared 1.e4. e5 player. Vincent played sensibly, not going for any pyrotechnics in the early part of the opening. Samir threw another pawn in the centre, going for complications. Anseemingly innocuous Queen move by Black to prepare for castling allowed White to gain an edge, which became an advantage and then a game winner. Vincent fought hard, but was eventually worn down and resigned after getting caught out in a Knight fork.
Luton B 1-0 Open University
Board 5: Mark Osborn (1281) v Qasim Zaidi. Qasim had turned up the university looking for an oppenent to play in the club ladder rapidplay, only to be roped into standing in for Milen Stanchev who was stuck in London. Not that he seemed to mind, but with only one league game under his belt from last week, we would have preferred a less experienced opponent. Mark opened with a solid Queens pawn set up and was aiming for the Kingside. Qasim retorted with a pawn advance Queenside. Qasim castled long, but missed that his Knight was under attack which Mark took advantage of and captured. White looked like he was cruising on his way to a win, but not so fast - Black had other ideas! A piece down, Qasim rethought his strategy and switched his attack from Queen to Kingside, and opened up the h-file. Mark swapped off pieces, perhaps reasoning that when the dust settled, he'll always be material ahead. However, during the mele, Qasim played a beauty - pushing a pawn up, opening a diagonal, and making a bad Bishop into active piece. There followed an invasion of White ranks by Black rooks, skewered attacks and White's position was cooked.
Luton B 2-0 Open University
Board 4: Aleks Juhasz (1613) v Dexter Lazard (1293). Fresh from saving the grace of Luton-A last week with an impressive draw against Bedford legend Peter Habershon, Aleks might have expected an easier night against a lower rated 13 year old junior. But you can never rest of your laurels. Aleks played a quick off the mark Kings pawn opening and was already clearly better by move 9. Dexter played well, and countered with attacks on the Kingside, shattering Whites Queenside pawn structure and was more comfortable with his position than Aleks by move 23. The game flipped flopped but then a blunder by White on move 32 pinned his Rook and was a simple win for Black from there.
Luton B 2-1 Open University
Board 3: Dave Phillips (1436) v Dixon Jones (1665). Dave played a Queens pawn opening, which was met by Dixon playing a Tarrasch set up, with the Bishop outside the pawn chain. Dixon worked hard to secure an advantage for Black along the c file with his unchallenged Rook winning a Knight on c3 in exchange for giving up a Bishop on h5. The game was under Dixon's control until Dave managed to regain the exchange giving up his Knight for Bishop. The endgame was a classic imbalance: White Rook and three pawns against Black Knight, Bishop and three pawns. Dixon made his Knight a nuisance for White, kicking the King all over the board and taking another two pawns. Eventually, Dave gave up his Rook and the game.
Luton B 3-1 Open University
Board 1: James Alexander (1869) v Marek Gladysz (1818). Last game of the evening was the best. The two strongest players this evening have met twice before this year. In a March league match, the game was draw and in January, a win for the Open University player. James began proceedings with a Reti and by move 11 the c-file was open. Marek played well and by move 23 had a slight advantage with the Black pieces. A few moves later, Marek built on that advantage and by move 25, his advantage was decisive. White tried to mix it up by an impressive looking Kingside attack with Qxf7 but this left a draft in his own defences, and Black captured a rook for Bishop and gave check on the bottom rank. By this point, both players were running short of time, and neither could find a way to win. Marek was ahead but missed a mate in 11 on move 28, and a mate in 6 on his 30th move. Then fortunes turned and James was ahead but he missed a mate in 12 on move 33, and another mate in 9 on his 44th move. But all this is all post match, without the pressure of the clock and with Fritz analysis. In the real world, over the board chess with less then 10 minutes on the clock, life isn't so simple. With time running to less than five minutes and unable to see a win, James played a repetition and the game was a draw. A good game and fair result.
Final Match Score: Luton B 3.5-1.5 Open University.
Well played to Captain Dixon and his crew, who with this result, put the team on top of the 2nd division. There now follows an interval for Luton B of a couple of months whilst Dixon travels to New Zealand for family adventures. We wish him well and look forward to his return in December.