Due to time constraints, a quick review of the last couple of games: -
 

23 Jan		Wigston 5		v	Braunstone 3
				2 - 2
1	B	129	Chalashkanov, Nikola	½ - ½	Wells, Jeremy	139
2	W	120	Eastlake, Charles	½ - ½	Reid, Conor	128
3	B	114	Goldsmith, Rory	0 - 1	Hamby, Stephen	127
4	W	109	Hulford, Frank	1 - 0	Oliver, John	116

 
Firstly, we start with an EXCELLENT 5th team draw with Braunstone's 3rd team. I said to the lads before the game that I'd take a draw and that's what we got!
A brilliant draw for Nik on board 1 after Jez offered a draw in the middlegame that looked a little double edged.
Charles and Conor's game was a stonewall draw with opposite coloured bishops on same coloured squares as their pawns and literally no way through for either player.
Rory was beaten by a good player but what was very heartening to see was Rory's willingness to fight on despite losing pieces and trying to promote a pawn. Unlucky Rory, great fighting spirit though, I like that.
Frank won his game very well although it seemed that Frank's opponent resigned a little early. Frank assessed that he couldn't win a piece with the right move order. His opponent assessed it differently and thought he'd lost a piece and so resigned.
Well done team, an excellent draw, the 5th team STILL undefeated.
 

30 Jan		Wigston 6		v	Red Admiral 2
				2½ - 1½
1	B	109	Hulford, Frank	0 - 1	Carter, Andy	105
2	W	104	Vaughan, Ben	½ - ½	Parsons, Stan	94
3	B	102	Poulacheris, Darren	1 - 0	Slater, Mick	91
4	W	69	Dean, Simon	1 - 0	Cunnold, Ben	60

 
The 6th team and last night's shenanigans now. To be honest, this was a very even match and it literally could have gone either way.
First to finish was Frank who fell to the very wily Andy Carter. Frank lost a piece heading towards the end of the middlegame and he resigned having decided that it wasn't worth playing on in a lost position.
Simon finished next, a good win given that he was a queen for rook and bishop down, next time I looked Simon was pinning his opponent's queen to his King, next time I looked, Simon had queened a pawn and then Simon mated his young opponent.
I agreed a draw when I was a piece for a pawn up and only when I was 100% sure that Darren had won. I just couldn't find a way through and I had a very weak back rank which would have been dilapidated by a wandering rook.
Darren basically smashed his opponent who didn't play very well.
 
Ben Vaughan

LEAGUE RESULTS - WEEK 15

DIV 2 – 3rd Team have a big win over Syston 1

 

	23-Jan-14	v.	Syston 1 (H)
1.	A. Reeves	1		B. Galligan	0
2.	P. Harlow	1		B.Pourmozafari	0
3.	S. Wylie	0.5		C. Gramaticu	0.5
4.	A. Pike	0.5		P. Suchak	0.5
5.	S. Smith	1		S. Damodaran	0
		4			1

 

 

DIV 4 – 5th team keep up their unbeaten record with a Draw against the Division leaders Braunstone 3

 

	23-Jan-14	v.	Braunstone 3(H)
1.	N.Chalashkanov	0.5		J. Wells	0.5
2.	C. Eastlake	0.5		C. Reid	0.5
3.	R. Goldsmith	0		S. Hamby	1
4.	F. Hulford	1		J. Oliver	0
		2			2

 

 

Neil

LEAGUE RESULTS - WEEK 14

DIV 1 – 1st Team maintain winning form with a big win over Loughborough 1

 

	16-Jan-14	v.	Loughborough 1(H)
1.	A. Byron	0		J. Mitchell	1
2.	M. Burrows	1		G. Adcock	0
3.	A. Morley	1		G. Ward	0
4.	P. Horspool	1		J. Glover	0
5.	A. Ward	1		T. Adcock	0
		4			1

 

 

DIV 3 – 4th Team have a creditable draw away at Hinckley

 

	16-Jan-14	v.	Hinckley (A)
1.	P. Gibbs	0.5		A. Pike	0.5
2.	H. Phillips	0.5		R. van Stee	0.5
3.	J. Smith	0		S. Dawkins	1
4.	B. Bailey	1		N.Chalashkanov	0
		2			2

 

 

Neil

We start last Thursday with the 5th team's impressive win over Braunstone 4: -
 

09 Jan		Wigston 5		v	Braunstone 4
				2½ - 1½
1	B	129	Chalashkanov, Nikola	1 - 0	Robinson, Anthony	122
2	W	120	Eastlake, Charles	1 - 0	Oliver, John	116
3	B	107	Cooper, Barrie	0 - 1	Gulab, Vijay	108
4	W	109	Hulford, Frank	½ - ½	Hill, Cyril	108

 
An excellent win. This keeps the 5th team's unbeaten run going. Well done to all members! Barrie was first to fall I think. I didn't see any of the game, nor the final position so I can't give any comments on the game.
Frank was next to finish after agreeing a draw in a drawn position. Frank felt that he could have won, but in a double-edged position, so could his opponent.
Nik was next to win on time in an interesting position. Nik felt that he could have won, his opponent felt he could have defended it. Post match analysis shows that his opponent could have won! A good win nevertheless.
Last to finish was Charles. In the most exciting of games, he played it extremely well with half an eye on the clock. There were literally tactics and chances all over the board for both players. Charles made a move that I questioned in my mind, but I saw it through and saw what Charles saw. I patted Charles on the back after, he played it really well. He spotted an indefensible combination that was rook takes pawn, King takes rook, knight forks king and queen. It was splendidly played.
Well done all of you.
Last night was the 6th team's turn, taking 6 boards to Heathcote Arms: -
 

14 Jan		Heathcote Arms 3		v	Wigston 6
				½ - 5½
1	B	92	Beach, Ray	0 - 1	French, Barry	115
2	W	80	Maconnachie, Richard	½ - ½	Winterton, Paul	111
3	B	80	Urquhart, Graham	0 - 1	Hammond, Grant	109
4	W	78	Ricketts, Dave	0 - 1	McKiernan, John	110
5	B	65	Harbidge, Drew	0 - 1	Poulacheris, Darren	102
6	W	49	Milner, Gordon	0 - 1	Vaughan, Ben	104

An excellent result.
First to finish was me. I spotted a nice combination that my opponent missed. It involved moving a pawn to force a knight to move; that knight was defending a square that allowed a queen and king fork with a knight. My opponent resigned on move 19. I'd already trapped a bishop with three pawns out of the opening.
Grant was next to finish I think. He'd won a rook for a queen in the middlegame and I was watching as Grant moved his pieces to better squares and I think Grant had trapped his opponent's last rook with his queen, forcing a resignation.
Darren was next to finish. His opponent missed that after Darren took a pawn, his opponent thought that this move hung a rook with check by his queen. Darren's opponent missed that there was Darren's queen protecting the square and won the queen for rook. Darren then proceeded to grind down his opponent with a very nice mate at the end after the king walked into trouble.
John was next to finish. In a fairly open game, John's pieces were all looking at his opponent's king, either directly or indirectly. The end came when John played a discovered check that won his opponent's queen, forcing a resignation.
Next to finish was Paul. Paul was two pawns up going into the endgame and felt that he never played it properly. He gave his opponent a pawn back (not intentionally!) and the game petered out into a drawn rook and pawn endgame. It looked fairly even and a draw was probably correct.
Last to finish on board 1 was Frenchy. I think it's fair to say that both sides had chances! Barry lost a pawn in the middlegame, but got it back with interest and a more active position. His opponent then equalised and had a monster central passed pawn that was marching down the board. Frenchy neutralised this then countered and won when his opponent attacked a pawn, but Frenchy correctly identified that if his opponent took said pawn, he was guaranteed to queen a pawn.
An excellent victory team, very well played. Special thanks to you all for playing. I know that you all have social lives and I'm grateful to you all for making time to play. Special thanks to those that give lifts, Nik, Charles and Paul.

Ben Vaughan

LEAGUE RESULTS - WEEK 13

DIV 1 – 1st Team Win against Braunstone 1

 

	9-Jan-14	v.	Braunstone 1(H)
1.	M. Burrows	0.5		J. Robinson	0.5
2.	A. Byron	1		P. Colburn	0
3.	A. Morley	0.5		M. Salisbury	0.5
4.	P. Horspool	0.5		D. Sandrovitch	0.5
5.	A. Ward	1		J. Wells	0
		3.5			1.5

 

 

DIV 1 – 2nd Team Draw away at Loughborough 1

 

	8-Jan-14	v.	Loughborough 1(A)
1.	J. Mitchell	0.5		A. Morley	0.5
2.	J. Miller	0		G. Cohen	1
3.	G. Adcock	0.5		I. Dodds	0.5
4.	G. Ward	0.5		P. Harlow	0.5
5.	M. Hulland	1		S. Wylie	0
		2.5			2.5

 

 

DIV 2 – 3rd Team get a brilliant Win away at Ashby 1

 

	9-Jan-14	v.	Ashby 1 (A)
1.	A. Agnew	1		P. Harlow	0
2.	T. Dove	0		S. Wylie	1
3.	R. Vann	0		A. Pike	1
4.	R. Evans	0.5		R. van Stee	0.5
5.	L. Hayden	0.5		S. Dawkins	0.5
		2			3

 

 

DIV 4 – 5th Team maintain unbeaten record with a Win against Braunstone 4

 

	9-Jan-14	v.	Braunstone 4(H)
1.	N.Chalashkanov	1		A. Robinson	0
2.	C. Eastlake	1		J. Oliver	0
3.	B. Cooper	0		V. Gulab	1
4.	F. Hulford	0.5		C. Hill	0.5
		2.5			1.5

 

Neil