nomads II

Nomads II	2½-3½	Phoenix
Anup Kumar(w)	½-½	Carl Walker
Ramin Vasli	1-0	Paul Fletcher
Kevin Marshall	0-1	Tristram Cole
Ian Barwick	1-0	Raymond Gosden
Azmiddin Mohammed	0-1	Gerry Fletcher
Paul Bailey	0-1	John Mercy

A couple of weeks ago a very similar looking Phoenix line up had beaten Nomads A 5½-2½ so I was quietly pessimistic about our chances. Little did I know how events were to unfold...Anup's opponent dropped a pawn in the centre but then managed to round it up before Anup broke through. Anup ended up the exchange down in an ending but held on for a draw in mutual time trouble. Ramin was more used to the time control this week and was reportedly in the better position when his opponent's flag fell. Ian played another impressive game against his pet opening. Azmiddin tried to avoid a losing simplification by ignoring the fact that he was in check but his ruthless opponent was having none of it. This left me and Kev needing ½ a point between us. Kev had a worse position, then he had a better one, but he'd used too much time turning one into the other and his flag fell. I'd been forced further and further back by a Four Pawns Attack but I was holding on, just, until John changed tack and repositioned his Knight. I used too much time on a poor response. John improved his position in the ending, and when he ignored my, er, ambitious draw offer my flag fell one move later. Close.

Nomads II	3½-2½	Clay Cross
Anup Kumar(w)	1-0	Antony Natt
Ian Barwick	1-0	Dean Hartley
Simon Nicholson	½-½	Brian Lever
Paul Bailey	1-0	Brian Redhead
Robert Shaw	0-1	Cuthbert Redhead
Gordon Shaw	0-1	David Moore

After a nice cup of tea, some mix up over colours, and a brief discussion of the role of chickens in the Problem of Induction we were introduced to Clay Cross's digital clocks and settled down to the games. Robert had trouble holding on to his pieces, he managed to recoup some of his losses but not enough to prevent a fairly swift loss. 0-1. Gordon got into a decent position against a young opponent but didn't quite manage to keep it together. Progress, but still 0-2. Simon built up some momentum but missed a brief opportunity to win a pawn and the game finished tamely after that. ½-2½. In my game we aimlessly batted harmless moves back and forth hoping for the other player to tread on his racket/horribly mishit the ball into the crowd. Fortunately I held out longer than my opponent, who absent-mindedly left a crucial pawn en prise, after which his position soon collapsed. 1½-2½. The real chess of the evening though was on the top two boards. Ian steadily worked himself a great position and converted a won ending nicely. 2½-2½. Despite missing a couple of opportunities in time pressure, Anup stayed one step ahead of his opponent and mated on move 41. 3½-2½.