This week, Milton Keynes A brought some of their best players to the University of Bedfordshire in a face off against the five best from our club, Luton A. On ratings, Luton boards 1 & 2 are on par Milton Keynes, but on 3,4 & 5 they were around 200 points lower. Ignoring the ratings, and over the board, it was a different story. In order of finish.
Board 3: Eric Meichel (2020) v Samir Vora (1812). White played for control of the centre by setting up a triangular pawn wedge, spear headed by his d5-Pawn and Black responded in a hypermodern attack against the pawn formation by fianchettos on both flanks. According to Fritz, White had a slight lead in the middle game, but the position was complicated. Eric played a waiting game to see what Samir had planned, which was a h-pawn thrust. However, instead of pursuing his own agenda, Samir was distracted by Eric's complications in the centre and soon Blacks King was exposed. After this, the game followed Eric's agenda and Samir resigned on move 35, ending his 9 game winning streak.
Luton A 0-1 Milton Keynes A.
Board 1: Adrian Elwin (2050) v Tommy O'Brien (1946). This game will be featured on the selected club games section of the website and fully annotated by the board 1 player. Just before this match, I enquired from former Luton board Andrew Perkins if he'd ever played against Adrian Elwin. His succinct reply was, "Yes more than one game v Adrian Elwin. Tough opponent." Perhaps we'll get that game online too but on this evening, it was Tommy who gained the upper hand, gaining a Pawn in the opening. Tommy's mentor was GM Alexander Baburin, author of Winning Pawn Structures, who no doubt would have been pleased with his protege as he shattered Whites pawn structure whilst presevering his own formation. Eventually, the game reached a White Rook and three Pawns v Black Rook and four pawns ending. Tommy with oodles of time on his clock was on course to land his b-Pawn to Queen and win (according to Fritz), but Adrian, down to 10 minutes on his clock, played a deceptive advance on the Kingside, then Rook checks for a draw by repitition on the 42nd move.
Luton A 0.5-1.5 Milton Keynes A
Board 4: Daman Singh (1750) v Graham Smith (1921). Daman hadn't eaten all day, turned up with a box of chicken and chip and fizzy drink and had kept having to leave the board to take his supper, which was perhaps not the best strategy against an opponent rated nearly 200 points higher. But Daman like the other Kings College Scholar in the club (Samir) is a maverick player, a trickster and had a surprise up his sleeve. We're calling it the "Chicken & Chips Gambit (not to be confused with the Fried Liver Attack). Unfortunately for Daman, Graham is wise player who has probably seen these antics before, and was unfased. Black managed to sneak in a check that prevented White from castling and took the initiative. It seemed that Daman's experiment hadn't quite worked, and Black gained control of the open c-file and g-file, and a nice checkmate on move 36. Back to drawing board.
Luton A 0.5-2.5 Miton Keynes A
Board 5: Andrew Bowler (1887) v Faisal Rashad (1727). Playing for us was a newcomer to Luton chess club, and league matches in England; an unknown rapid tournament player. The game began badly for Faisal. He appeared to have played in autopilot in an opening he knew but in the wrong order, which cost him a piece. He then took a long time to take stock, regroup and decide to go all or nothing for a counter attack. Though the material disadvantage was clear, Black had a more dynamic set up, especially his dark squared Bishop. White struggled for decisive plan, then a reversal of fortune where Andrew miscalcuted and lost a piece during an exchange. The advantage was now with Black. An endgame was reached with White Rook, Knight and two pawns vs Black Rook Bishop and three pawns. Black was winning, but running very low on time, and Adrian tried for a perpetual, but Faisal played it cool and and went for a win. The boldness and time trouble cost him his Bishop but his h-Pawn was heading down the board to Queen. White forced another perpetual and this time it was a draw on the 55th move. Andrew was relieved to end the drama but for the second time in the evening, we nearly won.
Luton A 1-3 Milton Keynes A
Board 1: Julian Hudson (2019) v Eoin Tweeddale (2050). Last game of the match was the one most likely to yield a result for Luton. From the opening, Julian gained an material advantage by spiking the King on the Queenside with checks and then capturing a Knight for two pawns. Superficially, it looked good for White, but the position was complicated. For most of the game, according to Fritz, White held a +2 advantage, but the strain of getting there, had taken up most of the time on Julian's clock. Black had was a piece down but had an intimidating looking pawn storm heading down the middle of the board. Eoin had more piece activity deep into the guts of the White position, and had the initiative. At move 44, Black's Rook and two minor pieces appeared to be winning and White was in a tangle, and had to return material just stop a pawn becoming a Queen. But it was an illusion, and White had a win which was impossible to see with so little time on the clock. After the dust was settled, Black had four pawns and a roving Bishop against White's cornered Knight and two pawns, and it was another win for the visitors.
Final result: Luton A 1-4 Milton Keynes A
In conclusion, Luton A lost the match, but earned the respect of our opponents this evening. It could have gone the other way. Next match is away to Leighton Buzzard B on the 12th of November.