For the first foray of the fresh league campaign Crewe’s F team found Fenton A formidable foes.
Finlay C, Richard F, George B and myself formed an eager and competitive team but, to an extent, it was a voyage into the unknown, as Fenton’s player roster has undergone some significant changes over recent months.
Fenton Pool Hall is their current venue and the refurbished playing area was conducive to some friendly but competitive chess as the first photo from the evening below illustrates.
To cut to the chase the match ended a 2-2 draw but that involved many twists and turns along the way with all four games having any possible outcome at various times. In the end Finn on board 3 and myself on 2 won the key games. Finn’s was a very confident and assured performance with an inspired attack just throwing pieces at his opponent until he succumbed.
However I must confess to a certain amount of relief and surprise for correctly navigating an endgame where each colour had just 5 pawns left on the board. Its the sort of position when the chicken in me would normally take the draw but at 2-1 down I didn’t have much option.
Next up is Crewe’s G team who are much stronger, more experienced, higher rated and generally better human beings than us so we haven’t got a chance…
…or have we?????
Watch this space…
…to be continued