In the second round of the junior league cup we played at home to Red Admiral 2 (actually their third league team). Owing to illness, our opponents defaulted a board. The handicapping system gave the Red Admiral a two point bonus, minus one point for defaulting the board, leaving them with a one point advantage. I wanted to play Ray on board 3 rather than myself, since he is playing better, but the rules did not allow this.
John won his game first. Rob sacrificed a couple of pawns early on to lead his opponent's king into the open and then clobbered him. Rob's opponent,Mick, in a hopeless situation for at least the previous half an hour, eventually lost on time. When his flag dropped, he loudly proclaimed 'oh ****! I've lost!'- nobody else was surprised. I thought i had the edge for most of my game against Stan. He turned down my offer of a draw on the grounds that it would lose Red Admiral the match. Stan went on to sacrifice his queen to force mate.
Heathcote Arms (2) Vs Red Admiral (2)
Rob Ensor (135)1-0 Mick Slater (100)
John Manger (134) 1-0 Andy Carter (100)
Colin Ross (112) 0-1 Stan Parsons (83)
Ray Beach (90) 1-0 Default
Bonus 0-2
Total 3-3
Rob Ensor Vs Mick Slater
1 d4 d5, 2 c4 dxc4, 3 e3 b5, 4 Nc3 c6, 5 Nf3 Bg4, 6 Be2 f6, 7 b3 b4, 8 Ne4 f5, 9 Nc5 c3, 10 d5 Qxd5, 11 Qxd5 cxd5, 12 Bb5+ Kf7, 13 Ne5 Kf6, 14 f4 e6, 15 Ncd3 a6, 16 Be8 Ra7, 17 h3 Re7, 18 hxg4 Rxe8, 19 g5+ Ke7, 20 Ng6+ Kd8, 21 Nxh8 g6, 22 Rxh7 Nc6, 23 Nxg6 d4, 24 Nxf8 Rxf8, 25 a3 e5, 26 fxe5 Re8, 27 axb4 a5, 28 b5 Nxe5, 29 Nxe5 Rxe5, 30 Rxa5 Ne7, 31 Ra7 dxe3, 32 Rh8+ Ng8, 33 Rxg8+ Re8, 34 Ra8+ Kc7, 35 Rxe8 Kd6,
36 Rxe3 c2, 37 Rd8+ Kc7, 38 Rd5 f4, 39 Re6 Kc8, 40 Re7 f3, 41 gxf3 Black Lost on Time
Well done everyone.
On Tuesday we play at home against Hinckley (the handbook is wrong about the date).
This is followed by a match away against Braunstone 4 on Tuesday 8th December which will be our last match before the Christmas break.
Colin
Monday, 30 November 2009
Monday, 23 November 2009
Victory away at Red Admiral
At the risk of becoming predictable, I lost to Andy Carter after getting a knight trapped. Ray continued his run of fine form with an early win. Dave played Amber Carter (the Red Admiral's 10 year old Giga final champion)and turned down a draw, but then changed his mind after a couple more moves when he thought there might be trouble coming. John and Graham H had a very close game, but John was able to force home a win.
18.11.09
Red Admiral 3 v Heathcote Arms 2
1 B 129 Hewitt, Graham 0-1 Manger, John 134
2 W 100 Carter, Andy 1-0 Ross, Colin 112
3 B 80 Carter, Amber ½-½ Ricketts, Dave 104
4 W 80 Burton, Calvin 0-1 Beach, Ray 90
1.5-2.5
Well done everyone. This was RA2s first loss of the season. We play the Red Admiral again on Tuesday - this time, at our place and as part of the Junior League Cup.
Colin
18.11.09
Red Admiral 3 v Heathcote Arms 2
1 B 129 Hewitt, Graham 0-1 Manger, John 134
2 W 100 Carter, Andy 1-0 Ross, Colin 112
3 B 80 Carter, Amber ½-½ Ricketts, Dave 104
4 W 80 Burton, Calvin 0-1 Beach, Ray 90
1.5-2.5
Well done everyone. This was RA2s first loss of the season. We play the Red Admiral again on Tuesday - this time, at our place and as part of the Junior League Cup.
Colin
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Melton Mowbray (3) Draw Heathcote Arms (2)
On Wednesday, we played away at Melton who had kindly agreed to play five boards.
Firstly, the Captain lost ('surely not!' you cry), playing white against Roy Toon's French Defence. In a sharp game where both had chances, Dave proved that - actually -he can win with the black pieces. Rob ran in to trouble and dropped a pawn against Ian Farquharson.
The last two games were real nailbiters with both Ray and John looking roughly equal with their opponents. John agreed a draw. Ray had offered his opponent a draw earlier and had been turned down - now he needed a win for us to draw the match - which, of course, he did. Ray promoted a pawn, and though there was still a struggle, Ray got him.
Melton Mowbray 3 v Heathcote Arms 2
2½-2½
1 B 135 Farquharson, Ian 1-0 Ensor, Rob 135
2 W 107 Smith, Peter ½-½ Manger, John 134
3 B 109 Toon, Roy 1-0 Ross, Colin 112
4 W 80 O'Gorman, David 0-1 Ricketts, Dave 104
5 B 80 Keightley, Andrew 0-1 Beach, Ray 90
A decent result.
Well done everyone.
Next Wednesday, we are away against Red Admiral 3. Rob is away, so, just the four boards this time.
Colin
Firstly, the Captain lost ('surely not!' you cry), playing white against Roy Toon's French Defence. In a sharp game where both had chances, Dave proved that - actually -he can win with the black pieces. Rob ran in to trouble and dropped a pawn against Ian Farquharson.
The last two games were real nailbiters with both Ray and John looking roughly equal with their opponents. John agreed a draw. Ray had offered his opponent a draw earlier and had been turned down - now he needed a win for us to draw the match - which, of course, he did. Ray promoted a pawn, and though there was still a struggle, Ray got him.
Melton Mowbray 3 v Heathcote Arms 2
2½-2½
1 B 135 Farquharson, Ian 1-0 Ensor, Rob 135
2 W 107 Smith, Peter ½-½ Manger, John 134
3 B 109 Toon, Roy 1-0 Ross, Colin 112
4 W 80 O'Gorman, David 0-1 Ricketts, Dave 104
5 B 80 Keightley, Andrew 0-1 Beach, Ray 90
A decent result.
Well done everyone.
Next Wednesday, we are away against Red Admiral 3. Rob is away, so, just the four boards this time.
Colin
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Heathcote Arms 2 (3-1) Syston 3
There was a bit of excitement in the couple of hours prior to the match. John had been called back into work and so we had to find a fourth player quickly. Pete was around, however, and we were able to field the full number of players for the four boards.
This was Rob Ensor's first outing for HA2. Rob used to play for the University a few years back. He recently took part in the Intermediate section of the Atkins Congress and with three draws and two wins managed to walk away with a share in the prizemoney. Welcome Rob.
We outgraded our opponents by some way, but the games were close.
I lost in a king and pawn endgame in a game where the advantage had changed hands at least three or four times. Rob dropped a piece early on, but managed to regain it and was able to promote a rook pawn just ahead of a chasing king. Ray was able to trap his opponent's queen early on and exchange it off for a knight (Ray is on fire at the moment with two wins and two draws from the first four games). Pete exchanged a piece for two pawns early on and things looked very close for a long time before he triumphed in the endgame.
A few beers were had in the bar afterwards.
Heathcote Arms (2) 3 - 1 Syston (3)
Pete Harrison (140) 1-0 Ron King (105)
Rob Ensor (135) 1-0 Judith Mitton (90)
Colin Ross (112) 0-1 Mo Martin (90)
Ray Beach (90) 1-0 Reg Agger (82)
Well done everyone.
Our next match is on Wednesday 11th and is away at Melton Mowbray.
Colin
This was Rob Ensor's first outing for HA2. Rob used to play for the University a few years back. He recently took part in the Intermediate section of the Atkins Congress and with three draws and two wins managed to walk away with a share in the prizemoney. Welcome Rob.
We outgraded our opponents by some way, but the games were close.
I lost in a king and pawn endgame in a game where the advantage had changed hands at least three or four times. Rob dropped a piece early on, but managed to regain it and was able to promote a rook pawn just ahead of a chasing king. Ray was able to trap his opponent's queen early on and exchange it off for a knight (Ray is on fire at the moment with two wins and two draws from the first four games). Pete exchanged a piece for two pawns early on and things looked very close for a long time before he triumphed in the endgame.
A few beers were had in the bar afterwards.
Heathcote Arms (2) 3 - 1 Syston (3)
Pete Harrison (140) 1-0 Ron King (105)
Rob Ensor (135) 1-0 Judith Mitton (90)
Colin Ross (112) 0-1 Mo Martin (90)
Ray Beach (90) 1-0 Reg Agger (82)
Well done everyone.
Our next match is on Wednesday 11th and is away at Melton Mowbray.
Colin
Monday, 2 November 2009
Disaster at Wigston
HA2 played away at Wigston on Thursday in the first round of the Junior League Cup.
Readers may remember that this was where we lost our chance of winning the Junior Cup in last year's final round. The gradings of our sides were only 11 points apart - so no bonuses.
Dave was the first to fall, with an early piece blunder; John had looked alright earlier, but ran into trouble on board 1; Ray accepted his opponent's third draw offer, and i found myself a pawn down in a blocked position with no real hope of progress - so resigned.
Wigston Heathcote Arms
B Cooper (118) 1-0 John Manger (134)
C Eastlake (117) 1-0 Colin Ross (112)
F Hulford (114) 1-0 Dave Ricketts (104)
P Winterton (102) Draw Ray Beach (90)
Bonus 0-0
Score 3.5-0.5
Well done to Ray.
On Tuesday, we play at home to Syston 3 and we get to try out a new secret weapon.
Colin
Readers may remember that this was where we lost our chance of winning the Junior Cup in last year's final round. The gradings of our sides were only 11 points apart - so no bonuses.
Dave was the first to fall, with an early piece blunder; John had looked alright earlier, but ran into trouble on board 1; Ray accepted his opponent's third draw offer, and i found myself a pawn down in a blocked position with no real hope of progress - so resigned.
Wigston Heathcote Arms
B Cooper (118) 1-0 John Manger (134)
C Eastlake (117) 1-0 Colin Ross (112)
F Hulford (114) 1-0 Dave Ricketts (104)
P Winterton (102) Draw Ray Beach (90)
Bonus 0-0
Score 3.5-0.5
Well done to Ray.
On Tuesday, we play at home to Syston 3 and we get to try out a new secret weapon.
Colin
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