Chesterfield had lost their key match against Woodseats the previous week and no longer had any realistic title hopes.  However, they still turned up with a strong team, and I'm very pleased with our performance. 

I was concentrating hard on my own game, so I didn't follow the other games very closely.  My perception is that we were on top throughout.  Andy and Mursal appeared to achieve solid draws with black.  Masrura did well to draw against a dangerous opponent who had beaten her last season.  I thought Jeremy had a considerable advantage in a N+P ending, but he eventually had to settle for a draw.  Four draws on the bottom four boards was more than satisfactory, because Chesterfield are traditionally strong in depth, whereas we normally outgrade them on the higher boards.  Paul as black managed to transpose from a Trompowsky variation to a French Defence type of position in which he specialises, and quickly won a central pawn and went on to win comfortably.  My opponent made an oversight on move 12, allowing me to play a temporary knight sacrifice which in due course left me with a decisive positional advantage.  Aref emerged from the opening with a poor position but he evidently played with typical tenacity and eventually turned the tables to achieve a good win.  Kieran's game was last to finish and involved a long R+P ending.  For some time he stood better and he tried hard to win, but sadly he finally lost on time in a drawn position.  Fortunately the match had already been won by then. 

On the evening following this match Woodseats apparently lost their match to University, leaving them 2 points behind us, so they will have to beat us in the remaining fixture, on May 14, to earn a playoff.  In other words, we can have two shots at beating them.

Chris

We achieved another excellent result against Barnby Dun, who have found it tough this year and are destined for relegation.  The situation in the early stages of the match seemed far from convincing, but we began to outplay them towards the end.   

Aref was, for a change, first to finish, after developing an impressive looking attack against his opponent's uncastled king.  Mohammad, facing the only player to manage a draw against us in the earlier fixture, was handicapped by the need to get to work promptly after his game.  I thought maybe he stood a little worse, but eventually agreed a draw.  Kieran looked for a long time to be struggling for equality, but eventually simplified to a superior rook and bishop versus rook and knight ending and his opponent finally blundered a piece in time trouble.  Jon as white was facing a formidable opponent but early on seemed to be doing well.  However, he blocked a retreat for his aggressively posted bishop on h6, and ultimately this proved his downfall when the piece got trapped.  This spoilt his hitherto excellent undefeated record this season.  My game revolved around my opponent's backward d pawn which left me with long term pressure to which my opponent eventually succumbed.  The bottom three boards were last to finish and were all successful, but I didn't see too much of the games.  Jeremy as black achieved a favourable Sicilian position, and eventually won, although he said afterwards that he'd been struggling to find a convincing plan.  Masrura was the exchange for a pawn down in a queenless middlegame, but neatly outplayed her opponent in the ending by trapping her opponent's rook on h8 by means of a pawn on h7 and a bishop on g8.  Mursal won a pawn in the early stages of the game, and always appeared to be comfortably placed. 

Another exciting match, and for once luck was on our side (at least in comparison with the recent Woodseats and Rotherham Juniors matches).  Chesterfield turned out a strong and experienced team, which included their very occasional top board from Manchester, knowing that victory would leave them odds on favourites to win the league.  We also had a strong team with Paul making his third appearance this season travelling from Lincoln.  I anticipated that the outcome would depend on our strength at the top against Chesterfield's strength in depth, and so it proved.  This result evens up the league title fight and means that it's likely to be very close right to the end of the season.  Chesterfield have now dropped 6 points, and Woodseats and ourselves 7 points, but among the remaining fixtures all three teams have to play each other once more.

 I inspected the games at about 9 pm, and it was clear that Mursal was about to lose.  After the game he looked through his game and realised that at a critical point instead of a passive knight retreat he could safely have captured and held on to an extra piece which is a pity.  A few minutes later Jeremy had drawn after meeting his opponent's English opening with an e5 system that he'd never played before.  I'm not sure this was the ideal match in which to experiment, but he got away with it.  At around the same time I got a shock to learn that Masrura had lost after losing the exchange in an open Ruy Lopez variation.  Both Masrura and Mursal unfortunately played with the wrong colours, as pointed out to me since the match by our former Nomads colleague and now Woodseats rival Mike Smith who was watching the match.  At ½-2½ we were therefore off to a very bad start, so I gritted my teeth and returned to concentrate on my game.  I had the advantage of the two bishops and a persistent space advantage but it would have been hard work if my opponent had not overlooked a threat to trap a piece, after which he resigned immediately.  Jon, playing a Kings Indian, adopted a faulty strategy in the early middle game and was possibly fortunate to survive, but I understand his situation gradually improved and he was winning when his opponent lost on time.  Kieran was facing a Kings Indian and also adopted a faulty strategy by misplacing his rooks, and soon he lost the exchange.  He fought on, and at one stage he seemed to be getting back into the game, but eventually succumbed.  Paul had held the advantage throughout and gained a smooth win, after getting a good opening as black, winning two pieces for a rook and pawn and duly converting.  That left the score at 3½-3½, and as so often everything depended on Aref's game.  I didn't see the game, but I'm told that he was clearly losing in the middlegame against a tough opponent, and went into a bishop and pawn ending a pawn down.  This the time scramble worked in his favour, and he achieved a most fortunate win.

Chris

After our recent setbacks of the drawn match against Woodseats and the disappointing loss to Rotherham Juniors in the Cup, I was concerned about our loss of form, but this was a satisfactory result, our second 5-3 scoreline against the University this season.  We were perhaps fortunate that University didn't turn out the side that had earlier overwhelmed Woodseats 7½-½ but they still had a useful team, headed by ex SASCA player Jonathan Arnott and our former Nomads stalwarts Mithun and Prasun Chakravorty.

 Once the match had been in progress for a while, I stood up to look at the other games, and was surprised to see that Mursal, playing black, already had a decisive advantage having won his opponent's queen with unusually speedy play.  At the same time I saw Masrura play a very dubious looking pawn sacrifice and I presumed that she was heading for a loss.  Aref on the other hand seemed to be building up a strong king side attack and be heading for a win.  I had to return to my game and I didn't see much of the other games after that.  Kieran and Jon achieved steady draws, and in due course Jeremy won.  In my game I got an advantage from the opening, but I probably didn't make the most of my chances, and my opponent played well in the later stages to force perpetual check.  Mohammad seemed to have much the better of a queen and rook middlgame, but seemed to let his advantage slip, possibly through having to rush because he needed to get to work after the match, and he eventually settled for a draw.  The final two results came as a surprise to me; Aref, had played a sacrificial attack but the opposing king escaped to the queen side and he eventually lost, but Masrura had completely turned the tables and won the ending.

Chris

We fielded what must be one of our strongest ever Nomads teams for this match.  However, as anticipated, we were faced by a strong and experienced Woodseats team, and in the end we just failed to clinch the victory that I felt we just about deserved.  A disappointment, but a hard fought and enjoyable match nevertheless.  Although there's still a fair proportion of the season to go, I fear that our prospects of retaining our league title have dwindled considerably. 

Mohammad, playing in only his third league game this season, was first to finish achieving a useful draw.  He had agreed to play despite the fact that his work shift started at 10pm, but was able to depart at 9.10pm and hopefully got there in time.  Andy also achieved a steady draw with black against a solid opponent.  I managed to win without playing very convincingly after securing a big opening advantage.  Kieran was facing the Sheffield League's only current IM player and unsurprisingly eventually succumbed.  By this stage the match score was 2-2, and the situation in the remaining four games looked very unclear.  Paul, making his first league appearance this season having kindly travelled from Lincoln to play for us, faced his own favourite French Defence and appeared in danger of being overwhelmed by a king side attack before his queen side attack had really got started.  However, possibly spurred on by the desire to impress his charming girlfriend who had accompanied him to the match, he turned the tables to achieve a good win.  Jon had dutifully turned out for us despite feeling quite ill, and encountering Bird's Opening for the first time seemed to be playing below the level of his recent good form.  He reached an almost hopeless looking double rook and pawn ending, but somehow managed to draw.  Jeremy was also hardly in the right frame of mind to play chess, having suffered the trauma of being burgled at his home two nights before.  However, he played well enough to achieve a winning position, but, as he explained, missed a winning exchange sacrifice idea.  The score reached 4-3, and it all came down to Aref's game.  When I saw his position in the early stages of the game he seemed to face a struggle for equality.  I was away from the playing room when reports came that first suggested he stood worse, then that he had a decisive time advantage with 5 minutes to his opponent's 1 minute, and finally that his opponent (whom I know from my experience is a very good time trouble player) had managed to win.  All in all, our opponents seemed to get the rub of the green in this match.

In our first match against Phoenix this season, we could only muster 2½ points,  so it was satisfying to gain revenge.  Phoenix have a solid team, and finished as runners up in the league last year, but nevertheless it was somewhat disappointing that we didn't win by a bigger margin. 

My game was first to finish, after my opponent conceded too much central control and then overlooked a winning tactic.  Jon, with black, finished soon afterwards with another of his impressively smooth looking wins.  Ramin should also have won in a wild looking game.  I didn't see exactly what went wrong, but his opponent turned the tables and soon the match score was 2-1.  At this stage I sensed that the match could be close, and so it proved. Aref built up a powerful king side attack which eventually won his opponent's queen. Masrura was a pawn up in the ending, but chose the wrong option to escape from a knight fork of her rook and bishop, and instead of retaining the pawn advantage which would surely have proved decisive she soon lost two pawns and the game.  Mursal had a space advantage in a middlegame where each side had Q, R, N and P's, but it didn't look particularly easy to make progress, and he sensibly agreed a draw when it became clear that this should be enough to win us the match.  Kieran as white had accepted his opponent's Benko gambit, and seemed to be doing well but his position deteriorated to a lost one as he ran short of time before the first time control.  He fought on for a long time but his opponents passed pawn cost him a piece and he never looked likely to save the game. Jeremy kept us in suspense with a long but very well played ending in which his two knights kept winning pawns until he was 3 pawns up.  Finally it came down to N + 2Ps v N, and he forced a pawn through.

We achieved a fifth league win in a row, by another impressive margin, but the match was not as comfortable as might appear. 

Thanks to Masrura and Mursal we got off to a good start, quickly establishing a 2-0 lead.  Masrura won a pawn in the centre, and then seemed to win comfortably to complete the double over her opponent.  Mursal sacrificed two pawns in typically risky style but it paid off. 

Kieran had beaten Peter Shaw in fine style earlier this season, but this time overlooked a tactic in a slightly worse position that lost the exchange and the game.  Jon also stood worse in the early stages as well as being behind on the clock.  His draw offer at move 27 was declined, but he fought hard and eventually turned the tables.  I got in trouble as white in a king's Indian position when I wasted too many tempi.  My opponent sacrificed a pawn in fine style to launch a very strong attack, but subsequently missed the best continuation, and I managed to salvage an interesting draw by perpetual check.  Aref, as black, played the same variation of the two knights defence as in his game last week.  His handling of the position seemed unusual to me, but he gradually equalised and then with some nice positional play gained the advantage in a queen and minor piece ending to induce a blunder.  Jeremy built up a big positional advantage, but in a relatively blocked position.  With the time control looming I thought it could be difficult, but he evidently kept his head and went on to win.  Ramin playing black seemed to have a positional edge at various stages of the game, but reached a tricky rook and pawn ending where both sides had an active rook.

Chris

A satisfyingly crushing result against a solid Barnsley team that had beaten us earlier this season.  To be fair, the score flattered us but in general we showed great determination. 

I paired myself against their absentee, which got us off to a good start.  Masrura was next  to finish.  She had bravely avoided what could have been a quick draw by repetition, but it seemed to me that she had no advantage.  The next time I looked the game had finished - as far as I could gather her opponent had overlooked a knight fork.  The remaining games were all hard fought.  Aref established a slight but persistent advantage against his opponent's Pirc Defence in a queenless middlegame.  Eventually he achieved a winning position, but missed the most effective continuation and had to play accurately in an ending with R+Ps v B+N+Ps.  Kieran soon gained an opening advantage against the Modern Benoni, but failed to capitalise, and for a while it looked quite tricky.  However, he kept ahead on the clock and duly won the eventual time scramble - a good result against a player he lost to last time.  Jon, facing 1.b4, got the worst of the opening.  He seemed to be under pressure for a long time, but he defended doggedly and eventually triumphed in an unbalanced ending with rook and 2 pawns each.  Time pressure proved to be Jeremy's undoing.  After a tricky opening and middlegame he eventually reached a ending a pawn down with bishops of opposite colour.  It should have been a simple draw, but unfortunately a hasty move blundered another pawn.  Andy, playing his first game for us in div 1, achieved a big space advantage with total control of the only open file.  He infiltrated with rook and queen to the 7th rank, but in struggling to find a decisive continuation, blundered the exchange.  Nevertheless, he retained pressure, won some pawns, and eventually emerged with a decisive advantage of R+B+2Ps for Q.  Mohammad's game was last to finish with a fortunate win on time when a piece down.  He played very well in the earlier stages, winning the exchange, but then failed to find an accurate continuation and it proved impossible to cope with White's counterplay. 

Our first match of the season against Ecclesall had resulted in a very disappointing 3-5 defeat, so I'm delighted to report that we managed to trounce their best team 6-2 in the return match. 

Unusually, I was first to finish when my opponent blundered to lose a bishop, in just 15 moves and after less that half an hour's play.  Some time later, Jon made it 2-0 with a fine, seemingly effortless win against a strong opponent with his favourite English opening.  Jeremy seemed to stand well with actively placed pieces, and I was surprised that a few minutes later a draw had been agreed, but the match situation was by now looking very good.  When I saw Stuart's position he had apparently given up his queen for rook and bishop, leaving him with 2 rooks, 2 bishops and pawns against queen, 1 rook, 1 bishop and pawns, but his pieces were so well centralised and dominant that he was soon able to generate decisive white square threats - an excellent win.  Meanwhile Anup, in his final match for us, had built up a positional advantage in a double rook and opposite coloured bishop position, but a long struggle seemed in prospect.  I watched his opponent play Rf8, to which Anup replied with lightning speed Bxf8, winning the exchange and a few moves later the game in convincing style.  Anup's departure (back to India) will certainly be a big loss to us.   

By this time the noise from a band playing Christmas music in the bar below had reached deafening proportions in the playing room, but I got the impression that our hosts were more disconcerted than us.  Kieran was out for revenge against David Adams after defeat to him in the first match, and with admirable determination achieved it even though playing with the black pieces.  I understand white missed a winning line in a critical position, and eventually emerged a pawn down in an ending that still looked unclear, but Kieran played the final phase of the game extremely well.  When I saw Aref's position he was a rook down, but attacking with queen, knight and pawn.  He did very well to keep the pressure on his opponent, and subsequently achieve a draw.  Ramin was last to finish, finally succumbing after a hard struggle a pawn down.  At one stage a draw seemed likely, but his opponent made steady progress, finally simplifying to a rook and pawn ending in which he could force zugzwang.   

After a dreadful start to the league this season, we now have 4 wins and 3 losses and are moving up the table.   Chesterfield appear to be the in form team at the moment, unbeaten after 6 matches..