Thanks to Nigel Gardner for this report on Meir C vs Crewe F:
Crewe’s F team travelled, optimistically, to play Meir C on Monday expecting a hard match against much higher graded opponents. So it eventually transpired with a 2.5-1.5 defeat although at one stage it seemed a shock was on the way. All 4 games appeared to be close but on board 3 Reinhard was gradually building an advantage and with some passed pawns eventually overwhelmed his opponent to get the first point on the board. Seeing this alongside me and having just taken the advantage in my game I quickly offered my opponent a draw, which he accepted immediately, knowing the other 2 games were close. With the benefit of hindsight I made a mistake as if I had examined my position more closely I was in a better position than I had at first thought and should probably have been able to force a win. However I didn’t…………………
Kobus had asked for a challenging game and he was getting it on top board! It was very close but his opponent always seemed to have the upper hand and despite fighting right to the end he eventually capitulated tying the overall match. This left Mike on board 4 who had played a very sound game throughout which had become complicated in the mid-game and he had used a significant amount of time. Probably on analysis he could have won the match but a draw seemed a very real probability until time started to become a problem for him. Unfortunately under the pressure he forgot to press the clock 3 times which ate further into his time and also meant his opponent wasn’t under the same pressure. Eventually that told in a very complicated ending, when Mike eventually lost a rook and had to resign.
However despite the defeat 4 enjoyable games and apologies to my team for a rushed decision that I almost immediately regretted