Redditch recorded their fourth win from their opening five games in Division Four of the Birmingham League agaisnt Boldmere on Wednesday but also fell to their second defeat from their opening two games in Division One of the Worcester & District League at Worcester Bishops on Thursday.
Outgraded against Boldmere, Kevin Day picked up a trademark early draw on Board Two against Peter Loach, made even more impressive after being up at 4 for work! This was followed with victories for Giles Stanton against Nigel McCormack on Board Five and Richard Turner against Geoff Harman on Board Six, although Steve Crockett missed a combination on Board One after declining a draw offer to fall to defeat against Philip Jones. Michele Clack won a piece early on and then efficiently ground Andrew Taylor down on Board Four to secure the match for Redditch. Peter Seeley made a couple of early errors on Board Three against Malcolm Phipps and left himself with an incarcerated bishop. With the match decided and gradually falling asleep at the board, Peter offered a draw, which Malcolm declined before Peter left his queen en prise, although Malcolm was probably heading towards a deserved victory anyway. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch. Five games into the season, Redditch head into their Christmas break in this division lying third in the league behind Olton 'A' and conquerors Warley Quinborne.
In the middle of the apalling weather on Thursday, Redditch faced a daunting trip to one of the strongest teams in the Worcester & District League - Worcester Bishops. What was already a daunting trip wasn't helped by captain Tom Robinson being unavailable and the driving conditions. After facing an arduous journey home from in heavy traffic, Dave Spowart lost quickly against Steve Mellor on Board Two although Jason Cole was able to pick up a credible early draw against Jim Keene on Board Four. Andrew Wiggins looked to be holding his own against Nick Harris on Board Three but eventually lost but Dan Lambourne matched Peter Kitson on Board One to secure a draw. Redditch had to accept a 3-1 defeat and it is likely that this season will be as tough as the last one to stay up but they will retain hopes that this will be the case.
Closing thought: "Time trouble is blunder time." - Alexander Kotov
Sunday 25 November 2012
Sunday 18 November 2012
Outclassed and handicapped
Redditch suffered their third defeat from their opening three matches in Division Two of the Birmingham League with a 5-1 demolition at the hands of Tamworth. In truth, this result could probably have been predicted on paper against a team that, if they played their first team in every game, could be considered a very useful Division 1 side. 165-graded Tom Robinson fell to his first defeat of the season for Redditch on Board One although it is questionable as to how many players even in Division One would have seriously fancied their chances against 210-graded Philip Briggs. Dave Spowart (139) and Kevin Day (119) picked up credible draws against Ralph Allen (162) and Patrick Kelly (133) on Boards Two and Six but the gulf in class manifested itself on the other boards with Andrew Wiggins (130), Steve Crockett (132) and Jason Cole (132) succumbing to Trevor Bould (170), Kevin Hern (158) and Simon Walton (156) respectively. Whilst the scoreline is indeed painful viewing, this was a team that has currently won its opening four matches and is seeking promotion back to Division One at the first time of asking.
Redditch followed this defeat up with a win over the boards in the first round of the Homer Cup but falling to a handicap loss against Shirley & Wythall 3. This time around, it was Redditch's turn to have the grading advantage. Daniel Lambourne (180) returned on Board One with a victory over Robert Purcell (136) and this was followed up on Boards Two and Three with wins for Tom Robinson and Dave Spowart against Louis Rawson and Kenneth Warren. However, the club fared less well on the bottom three boards with defeats for Andrew Wiggins and Steve Crockett against Peter McGuirk and Mike Warden and a draw for Jason Cole against Roger Ball. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch but a 1.5 point handicapp for Shirley & Wythall 3 as a result of being a division lower allowed them to claim a 4-3.5 win and book their place in the next round.
Although it has been a disappointing start to the season for this team, the three league teams faced may all expect to compete for promotion to the top flight this year. Future matches against other clubs that will also need to fight against relegation will determine the fate of the team. In the meantime, some of the players involved will instead represent the Division One side from the Worcester & District League on Thursday as they face a daunting trip to Worcester, whilst the Birmingham League Division Four side travel to Boldmere on Wednesday. Preceding both of these trips on Tuesday evening, however, is the first of four quickplay evenings organised by the club. Players will have two games with thirty minutes each. Tom Robinson scored a perfect 5/5 in the season-opening Phil Church Trophy with 15 minutes each on the clock. How will he fare in the longer time limit?
Closing thought: "If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy. The worst that happens is that you lose a game." - Bobby Fischer
Redditch followed this defeat up with a win over the boards in the first round of the Homer Cup but falling to a handicap loss against Shirley & Wythall 3. This time around, it was Redditch's turn to have the grading advantage. Daniel Lambourne (180) returned on Board One with a victory over Robert Purcell (136) and this was followed up on Boards Two and Three with wins for Tom Robinson and Dave Spowart against Louis Rawson and Kenneth Warren. However, the club fared less well on the bottom three boards with defeats for Andrew Wiggins and Steve Crockett against Peter McGuirk and Mike Warden and a draw for Jason Cole against Roger Ball. The final score was 3.5-2.5 to Redditch but a 1.5 point handicapp for Shirley & Wythall 3 as a result of being a division lower allowed them to claim a 4-3.5 win and book their place in the next round.
Although it has been a disappointing start to the season for this team, the three league teams faced may all expect to compete for promotion to the top flight this year. Future matches against other clubs that will also need to fight against relegation will determine the fate of the team. In the meantime, some of the players involved will instead represent the Division One side from the Worcester & District League on Thursday as they face a daunting trip to Worcester, whilst the Birmingham League Division Four side travel to Boldmere on Wednesday. Preceding both of these trips on Tuesday evening, however, is the first of four quickplay evenings organised by the club. Players will have two games with thirty minutes each. Tom Robinson scored a perfect 5/5 in the season-opening Phil Church Trophy with 15 minutes each on the clock. How will he fare in the longer time limit?
Closing thought: "If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy. The worst that happens is that you lose a game." - Bobby Fischer
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Bouncebackability
After winning their first two matches of the season, Redditch's Division Four team in the Birmingham League saw this streak ended as the succumbed 4-2 against a strong Warley Quinborne sidelast Thursday. Redditch acquitted themselves very well with draws against higher graded players on the top four boards, particularly Kevin Day taking a draw on Board 2 against Stephen Moxley - a player graded 24 points higher. Steve Crockett, Michele Clack and Giles Stanton were also able to claim draws as underdogs but that trend was unfortunately unable to be continued on the bottom two boards. Ian Clack fell to John Lewis on Board 5 and David Smith tried an exchange sacrifice that would ultimatley prove fuitless in his league debut for Redditch.
However, the team was able to demonstrate 'bouncebackability' in their match on Tuesday as they swept aside Birmingham with a 5-1 victory. Birmingham were admittedly fielding four ungraded players but the matches still had to be won. Redditch were gifted a headstart on Board 2 when Kevin Day's opponent was unable to attend, resulting in a default win. This was followed up with a win for Giles Stanton on Board 5 against Greg Henson before B B Sundaram lost track of time on Board 6 against Derek Abraham, although Derek felt he was likely to win anyway. Benson Headley acquitted himself well with a solid against Peter Seeley's kingside attack on Board 3 and neutralised it to the point where it looked like Peter would have to surrender a pawn whilst gifting Benson a supported passed pawn. Fortunately for Peter, Benson elected to swap these two pawns off. The game remained roughly equal with Peter possibly having a slight edge with an active knight against a blocked bishop in an endgame where all six major pieces were still on the board. However, a slip by Benson allowed a tactic that resulted in Peter emerging a rook and pawn up. Benson's resignation left Redditch 4-0 up with two matches still to play. Birmingham's Bill Cole seemed to have an edge against Michele Clack from an early stage on Board 4 with a supported passed pawn but was unable to find a winning continuation against Michele's defence. Marek Schroeder felt he had some potential traps against Steve Crockett on Board 1 but, with the outcome already decided, both games were agreed drawn.
Redditch's Division Four team commences its Barrington Trophy campaign against Westminster 6 next Tuesday. With the team unable to defend the Townshed Trophy from last season, the aim will now be to regain this trophy from two years ago. The Division Two side commence their Homer Trophy (for first round losers in the Terrill Trophy) campaign with a trip to Shirley & Wythall 3 next Thursday where players from both teams will need to be at their very best to overcome handicaps as a result of being in a team from a higher division.
Closing thought: "Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the guy. That's something we have to learn to be able to do." - Maurice Ashley
However, the team was able to demonstrate 'bouncebackability' in their match on Tuesday as they swept aside Birmingham with a 5-1 victory. Birmingham were admittedly fielding four ungraded players but the matches still had to be won. Redditch were gifted a headstart on Board 2 when Kevin Day's opponent was unable to attend, resulting in a default win. This was followed up with a win for Giles Stanton on Board 5 against Greg Henson before B B Sundaram lost track of time on Board 6 against Derek Abraham, although Derek felt he was likely to win anyway. Benson Headley acquitted himself well with a solid against Peter Seeley's kingside attack on Board 3 and neutralised it to the point where it looked like Peter would have to surrender a pawn whilst gifting Benson a supported passed pawn. Fortunately for Peter, Benson elected to swap these two pawns off. The game remained roughly equal with Peter possibly having a slight edge with an active knight against a blocked bishop in an endgame where all six major pieces were still on the board. However, a slip by Benson allowed a tactic that resulted in Peter emerging a rook and pawn up. Benson's resignation left Redditch 4-0 up with two matches still to play. Birmingham's Bill Cole seemed to have an edge against Michele Clack from an early stage on Board 4 with a supported passed pawn but was unable to find a winning continuation against Michele's defence. Marek Schroeder felt he had some potential traps against Steve Crockett on Board 1 but, with the outcome already decided, both games were agreed drawn.
Redditch's Division Four team commences its Barrington Trophy campaign against Westminster 6 next Tuesday. With the team unable to defend the Townshed Trophy from last season, the aim will now be to regain this trophy from two years ago. The Division Two side commence their Homer Trophy (for first round losers in the Terrill Trophy) campaign with a trip to Shirley & Wythall 3 next Thursday where players from both teams will need to be at their very best to overcome handicaps as a result of being in a team from a higher division.
Closing thought: "Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the guy. That's something we have to learn to be able to do." - Maurice Ashley
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