Wednesday 1st April

Worksop A (A)

Captain's Corner

We had a strong team out for our final match of the season, looking to maintain our winning streak and guarantee ourselves at least a play-off for the title. But Worksop, looking to make sure of their top-flight survival, were not going to make it easy for us…

The first two games to finish were both draws, Jon splitting the point in a rather lifeless middlegame from a Scotch, and Masrura also drew. Next to finish was Mursal, blundering in a position where it seemed his opponent had a strong kingside initiative. At this point I was certainly losing, having lost a pawn in the opening and then given up my queen for two rooks in the vain hope the queen might get active. Chris had also given up his queen, although at least he had some worthy compensation, but given his distinct lack of time I had some doubts. At least the other three had promising looking positions, but it was 2-1 to Worksop as the time control approached, and our title credentials were definitely being questioned…

As time progressed, and my own position went from bad to worse, I was simply hanging on and hoping the others could produce the goods. And indeed, rise to the occasion they did! Paul cleverly switched his bishop and queen around to launch an attack on his opponent’s king position, which did the trick. Jeremy sacrificed a piece for a couple of pawns and a strong attack, and with his opponent also short of time this was even more effective, and he won nicely. Chris achieved a winning position but went wrong in serious time pressure and offered a draw.  However, his opponent unwisely played on for a win, only to lose after a frantic time scramble. At this point, my own opponent, in one of those overwhelming positions where the mind boggles trying to find the most effective winning method, got very short of time and gifted me the point with a time trouble blunder. And Haidar, who seemed to be close to winning at one point, drew his game, making the final score 5.5-2.5.

Not entirely convincing, as my own game should definitely have been lost, but more than satisfying!  We’re now guaranteed, at the very least, a play-off against University. And our attention will turn to their last few matches of the season, to see if they manage to catch us…

Kieran

Wednesday 25th March

Woodseats A (H)

Captain's Corner

Playing Woodseats, our opponents in last year’s play-off, you can never assume anything. And this was certainly the case this time, as they were missing their usual IM top board, and their replacement bd.1 also failed to make it. So, with a last minute sub filling in on the top board for them, we were well placed to continue with our belated struggle to retain the title…

Things started well, with Masrura winning early, her knight dancing its way through her opponent’s defences to take his h8-rook. Jon made his vastly superior rating tell on the top board, so it was 2-0. Chris got a very comfortable looking KID-type position and made it 3-0. Probably buoyed by our apparent superiority Ken played a gambit line in the Scandinavian, but struggled to gain the necessary counterplay; he tried sacrificing more material but his opponent defended well, so with four games decided it was 3-1 to us.

In the other games: Andy continued his losing streak against Bill Ward. Bill gave up a pawn for a dubious looking attack but, when Andy missed a cute tactic to obtain a better position, he struggled on and, though I didn’t see it, apparently took full advantage of a 30^th move blunder by Andy, thereby gaining another point for Woodseats.  Paul seemed to be cruising in his game, a couple of pawns to the good, but he overlooked a tactic and had to settle for the draw. But, with Jeremy winning a nice game on the white side of a Sicilian, and my own opponent failing to press his kingside initiative and letting me break through in the centre to win a pawn, we managed to wrap the match up 5.5-2.5.

Overall, a satisfying result, but easier than it should have been with Woodseats missing their top two players. Still, our defence of the title is progressing well, and if we can win our last game we’ll be guaranteed at least a play-off spot.

Kieran

Thursday 19th March

Phoenix A (A)

Captain's Corner

No draws in this match! A sure reflection of our desire to maintain our push for the league title.

Jon won a pawn in the middlegame by giving up his g7-bishop for his opponent’s knight on c3. One of those decisions you always worry about, but it worked out this time! I also won a pawn in the middlegame and managed to completely take over the centre and q-side, and a slow march of my q-side pawns was enough to win. Chris’s opponent played an early g4 in a Sicilian, so Chris opted for q-side castling; not to be deprived of his attack though, Tristram sacrificed a piece on b5, but Chris defended calmly and won with his extra material. Jeremy managed to get very ominous looking pawns on d5 and c5, with the d5 pawn turning into a monster passed pawn on d6, and when he also won material, that was that. Our new recruit, Mizanur, won a nice game, picking up a piece early on through an overlooked pawn-fork, then defending well in the inevitable desperado attack that followed. Masrura seemed to be doing fine in the early middlegame, but overlooked a tactic that lost a pawn and was unable to recover. Stuart went for a line where his d6 pawn weakness was supposed to be compensated by active pieces, but he struggled to create that activity in the face of some very sensible chess from his opponent, and when his d6 pawn dropped, it wasn’t possible to recover from it. Enyi went for a, as Chris termed it, ‘speculative’ sacrificial attack, but his pressure on the k-side was handsomely rewarded, and when his opponent’s king started marching towards the central squares, continuously harassed by Enyi’s queen, the end wasn’t far off.

 So 6-2 final result. With our nearest rivals in the league both dropping points in the week, it seems that our belated discovery of a fighting spirit is paying dividends. We’re not ready to give up that trophy yet!

Kieran

Wednesday 25th February

Ecclesall A (H)

Captain's Corner

My own game, where I was facing a c3 Sicilian, fizzled out to a draw quite quickly and I was first to finish. I was a little wary though, having adopted a similar approach at the start of the season, leading with a quick draw, that match ended in our customary 4-4 draw. This time, I was happy to see that the team had learned to not follow my example, and while I was down in the bar doing the quiz the points kept coming in, finishing in a quite comprehensive 7.5-0.5 victory!

On two Jon disputed the top board’s interpretation of the c3 Sicilian, winning a nice miniature. Chris, on three, was last to finish; with the crowd gathered around and the flags slowly rising, he  showed great poise in time trouble and slowly increased the pressure on his opponent’s king, with his opponent eventually losing on time in a lost position. Jeremy won a fairly smooth looking game on four, he won a pawn, entered a good ending, won another pawn, and easily converted. I didn’t see much of Mohammad’s game, he seemed to have a slight edge in the middlegame, and when I came back from the quiz he had won, presumably having opted for some crazy complications at one point or another! Haidar won a nice bishop ending, where his outside passed pawn proved to be unstoppable. Andy played his usual modern(ish) set-up, which he seems to be slowly mastering, and despite his opponent having dangerous looking doubled rooks on the h-file in an opposite castling position, it was his attack on the q-side which eventually proved to be more dangerous.  Stuart, on eight, seemed to be intent on proving that his strongly centralised pieces were more than a match for his opponent’s attempts to generate an attack against his king, and though I didn’t see the finish, he obviously won the argument.

An excellent result, keeping the pressure on University and Chesterfield, and showing our intention to battle all the way to the finish line…

Kieran

Wednesday 4th February

Chesterfield A (H)

Captain's Corner

Having had a rather peaceful season thus far, not really straying from our comfort zone of 4-4 draws, we were faced with a ‘must-win’ situation against fellow title-contenders Chesterfield. But, thanks to Paul C for making the arduous journey from darkest Lincolnshire, and with Haidar and Mohammad back in the team having missed our first head-to-head clash, we had our strongest team out and we weren’t going to relinquish our title without a fight!

On board one Jon wheeled out his favourite c3 Sicilian and managed to go a piece up in a seemingly easily winning position, but his opponent managed to garner a few pawns for his sacrificed piece and in the ensuing endgame Jon had to settle for a draw. On two I had a level enough Najdorf, then went for a series of queen checks where I thought my opponent would have to settle for the perpetual, but no…he bravely marched his king to h5, and, in a very complicated position where I was threatening to mate him, he eventually had to take a perpetual check himself. On three, in what I think was a Hennig-Schara gambit in the Tarrasch, Paul eventually had to settle for a draw, his opponent’s counterplay enough to compensate for his pawn deficit. On four, Chris never seemed too far from equality, and an endgame where he controlled the d-file at the expense of doubled c-pawns eventually turned into a drawn pawn endgame. So…four draws on the top four, what can the other four manage?

On five, Mohammad managed to momentarily fool me by seeming to play for the c-file in a King’s Indian, but no…true to his style he eventually switched to the king-side and launched a ferocious attack crowned by a lovely mate. On six Jeremy had a very strong k-side attack in a Dutch, and, though he also tried to worry me by letting his opponent get a pawn to c7, eventually won too, with, I’m presuming, his k-side pressure proving too strong, although I didn’t see the end of the game.  On seven, Haidar was confronted with an Albin-Counter Gambit and due to an oversight let his opponent get a very big passed pawn on d3 which eventually proved his undoing. But thanks to Andy’s win on eight, where some subtle bank rank knight manoeuvres eventually culminated in a rook break-through on the q-side (!), we managed to win the match 5-3.

So, despite our pacific tendencies, we’re not out of it yet. The standings at the moment are that we’ve dropped seven points, Chesterfield have dropped six, and University have dropped four. But, with Chesterfield and University still having to play each other twice, we’re definitely still in the title chase, and with a quiet February for ourselves, we can relax a bit and see how the race unfolds… 

Kieran

Monday 26th January

Barnsley A (A)

Captain's Corner

Having helped us out recently, by playing very badly for University in the cup, D.Fault let us down this time. Stepping in as a last minute replacement due to the sudden illness of one of our players, he lost quickly as he is wont to do, and it was a deficit we struggled to recover from. 

Jon struggled to generate play against his opponent’s Caro-Kann and was first to finish, taking a draw in a lifeless position. I decided to play safely against my opponent, having lost to him in crazy complications last year, and so went for early queenside castling as black in a Najdorf. This ‘safe’ approach paid dividends in the form of an advantage on the clock and when my opponent overlooked a one-move mate in time trouble I was happy to demonstrate the strongest continuation. Jeremy had an interesting Dutch but, with time trouble fast approaching, was happy with the draw. Chris, facing the Dutch, seemed to have a very complicated position but, when I looked over next, was suddenly a rook up and didn’t take long to convert his considerable material advantage. So…we seemed to have recovered strongly from our board eight’s rather depressing loss, and it was 3-2 in our favour. However, things weren’t looking that great on the other boards… 

Masrura was a pawn down and, though she seemed to have very active pieces in compensation, her time deficit was worrying. Andy was two clear pawns down, and was desperately trying to generate some counterplay against his opponent’s king in a queen endgame. And Ken was a pawn down but with some definite pressure against his opponent’s king. So four pawns down in total, time trouble approaching, I couldn’t handle the pressure and went outside for a cigarette… 

Upon my return things changed rather rapidly. Ken managed to enter an endgame with a very blocked position but then sadly blundered. 3-3…very worrying now! Andy was still two pawns down with a lost position, but his opponent in his eagerness to finish the game pushed his extra pawns too rapidly and one dropped right off, after which he decided to take a draw. 3.5-3.5…dare we hope? All down to Masrura’s game, where she was pushing hard for a win, despite still being a pawn down and with about 20 secs on her clock. When she declined a draw offer I nearly had a heart attack, but a rapid series of checks by her opponent made the draw certain and it was all over. 4-4…phew!

Kieran

Wednesday 21st January

Rotherham Juniors A (H)

Captain's Corner

Finally, a result that would remind you we managed to win the league last year. Maybe we’re beginning to find our form? 

I played a rather dubious line in the Slav and managed to generate some undeserved threats against my opponents queen and then his king too. Having thrown away my advantage once already, my opponent thankfully lost on time just as I did it again on the last move before the time control. Jon sensibly declined a Morra Gambit, instead opting to offer his own e5 pawn a few moves later, which was also declined. For two people intent on declining each other’s pawn offers I was surprised to look over a few moves later and see  Jon a rook up in some crazily chaotic position, but he managed to win it so it was okay. Chris played a very smooth looking English to win convincingly. I was a little worried when I saw Jeremy had castled queenside in his Dutch but he demonstrated he knew exactly what he was doing, or at least managed to fool me into thinking so. Both Mohammad and Haidar produced their trademark attacks against their opponent’s kings and won two nice games. I didn’t see much of Andy’s game, just noticing that he was the exchange up with a very comfortable looking position. Masrura seemed to be under a little pressure on the black side of a Closed Sicilian, with her opponent marching all his pawns threateningly forward, and though she battled bravely right into endgame where the reduced material offered some hope, she eventually succumbed. So, 7-1 final result, not bad!  

Kieran

Thursday 8th January

University A (A)

Captain's Corner

University put out the strongest team I’ve seen in Sheffield chess, with their top five boards all over 180. We were outgraded on every board, so this wasn’t going to be an easy one! 

Faulty clocks came to our aid on boards two and four, with Jeremy and I happy to take draws early on against higher rated opponents. On board one Jon was up against it facing a player who was fresh from winning the York Open, and though he had a fine opening a couple of inaccuracies left him with a fatally weak queenside, which eventually proved his undoing. Chris comfortably achieved a fine position as black, but, in one of those blocked positions where doing something seems unwise, was happy with the draw. Mohammad had a fine win on board five, and though he was forced to give up the exchange his active pieces and passed pawn proved sufficient compensation. On board six Andy seemed to be a clear pawn up, but his opponent generated strong kingside play and eventually crashed through there. On board seven Stuart was faced with a quiet line, but, in his attempts to unbalance the position and make the game more interesting, managed to weaken his king’s position and went home for an early shower. It took a fine effort by Ian on board eight to make the score somewhat respectable, he sacrificed the exchange for a dominating position and strong pressure against his opponent’s uncastled king, and eventually broke through on the queenside and delivered mate.  

So our two wins came from two exchange sacrifices…maybe we all need to play a bit more aggressively! Perhaps Kevin could give some advice to the A team on the merits of a sacrificial approach to the game J 

3½-4½ final score, our first loss, we’re not out of it yet by any means, but we do seem to like making things hard! 

Kieran

Monday 15th December

Woodseats A (A)

Captain's Corner

To follow?

Wednesday 10th December

Phoenix A (H)

Captain's Corner

To follow?

Monday 24th November

Ecclesall A (A)

Captain's Corner

Thankfully three points for a win hasn’t been introduced into chess yet! After a couple of resounding 4.5-3.5 wins, we managed yet another draw away to Ecclesall. This one though, I feel can fairly be called ‘the one that got away’. 

Jeremy had a crushing position very early on, with a big extra pawn on e6 against his opponent’s Sicilian. I played the opening slightly inaccurately, but, with the aid of an inspired piece sac, had managed to obtain a completely winning position. So things were looking good… 

Graham, having lost his last game for us in crazy complications, played very safe and sensibly, and drew easily. Mursal also had a very comfortable position, with complete control of the centre, but short of time he took a draw. Masrura got a mad position in what seemed like a Sveshnikov/Kalashnikov structure, but despite seeming to have good play, eventually succumbed. Andy lost a pawn early on, and was unable to hold the position. Haidar won a pawn early on and managed to convert his advantage. And Jon, playing with his trademark fianchettoed king’s bishop, exerted strong pressure on the semi-open b-file and won a nice game. So, with two wins, two draws and two losses, it was left to me and Jeremy, with our completely winning positions, to lead the team to victory…

I don’t feel like talking about my game, other than to say that I played an inspired piece sac (did I mention that already?). What happened next, well, let’s just say I managed to turn a position that Fritz rated between +4 and +9 into a draw. Jeremy obviously took his cues from the captain, and followed suit, struggling to convert his advantage and eventually happy with the draw in a time scramble where his opponent had a dangerous passed a-pawn. So 4-4, final result, again!

Kieran

Wednesday 19th November

Worksop A (H)

Vice-Captain's View

Monday 3rd November

Chesterfield A (A)

Captain's Corner

With two losses and a draw to my name, and a string of three draws for the team, it was about time I tried a win! But I can’t claim credit for our first match victory. Against a formidable Chesterfield team, with an FM* on top board, and a bottom board graded 144, only a combined team effort would do. Paul C and Graham travelled from Lincoln and Nottingham to strengthen the ranks, and, with Chris and Jeremy back, we were going to give it our best shot…

As usual, we made tough work of it. Graham, a bit rusty in his first game of the season, was lured by the siren-like calls of the b7 pawn; his g2-bishop, hungrily eyeing the bait down the long diagonal, just couldn’t resist and, overlooking the win of a piece, he snatched it where it soon became embroiled in a rather nasty triple attack by his opponent. So we were 1-0 down. Mursal also seemed to be in a bit of trouble, a pawn up but unable to castle. The rest of the games were just too close to call yet, although Chris, Jeremy and myself all had slight edges in our games, and Masrura, Jon and Paul seemed to be doing okay…so no need to panic, yet!

Around move 30 things began to change of course. Focused on my own game where my advantage was dissipating, I got up to find Masrura had lost. Shortly after Mursal drew; he’d finally managed to castle and retained his extra pawn but was unable to make any progress without seriously weakening his position. Paul, as black, had taken a pawn on b2, and though it looked fine I just couldn’t help thinking about Graham’s b-pawn curse. Around then, Jon seemed to have lost a pawn. At least Chris was still doing fine, with fine bishops and more space. And Jeremy was better too, and he’d won a pawn, so we were 2.5-0.5 down, but still no need to panic…

Then, just before the time-control, Jeremy blundered a rook! At this point, I got a little apprehensive! With Chris having managed to win his game and Paul drawing, the score was 3-2 to Chesterfield. But Jon had turned his game around, and when I went to look was now the exchange up, and my kingside threats were having more effect than they should have, given the time situation. We both won our games and, at 4-3, it was all down to Jeremy. Could he somehow make up for his time-trouble blunder? At this point, I’d resigned myself to another 4-4 draw…but Jeremy hadn’t! Somehow he managed to get enough play for the rook, and, in conjunction with the couple of extra pawns he had, forced the draw.

So 4½-3½, hooray! It wasn’t a draw! But really, a great team effort prevailed. And it was also a good place to get out first win, against a team that were title contenders last year. Hopefully, our drawing days are behind us…

Kieran

*Who's turned out for Luxembourg at the Olympiad
 

Wednesday 29th October

Barnsley A (H)

Captain's Corner

I tried losing early, I tried losing late. Today I decided to try a draw. But still…4-4! I’m running out of ideas…surely, as captain, I’m not expected to win! 

Barnsley were riding high after defeating Ecclesall 7-1, and considering we were without Chris and Jeremy, this was never going to be an easy match. And indeed it wasn’t…

The early stages of the match were a bit cagey, but as time progressed things started to look bad for us. Haidar and Andy were both a pawn down. Masrura was facing a rather dangerous looking kingside pawn storm. Enyi sacrificed a piece, which looked promising, but time and a complicated position were contriving to make it as difficult as possible. Mohammad was facing a level bishop ending. Jon, having declined to give up his fianchettoed king’s bishop, was beginning to regret it and, with his opponent having a monster knight on d5, was struggling to hold off defeat. At least Ian and I seemed to have slight plusses in our games…

So, of course, Ian and I were the first to take draws! Ian’s advantage fizzled out, and I took my opponent’s offer of a draw rather than enter a time scramble in a very complicated position. Up to everyone else now…I’m going for a pint! When I came back, Enyi and Masrura had lost, but Andy had found a nice move to stay in the game, and Haidar was magically a piece up. Jon was still fighting valiantly, and Mohammad, who thinks draws are for wimps, was pushing hard to win his level bishop ending. Haidar duly won his game, Andy drew, and Jon’s opponent opted to exchange queens and enter a rook ending a pawn up, but short of time he offered a draw which Jon was delighted to accept. So…3-4. All down to the last game again! And Mohammad’s fighting spirit saved the day; he used his 2-1 queenside majority in exemplary fashion, and won, saving the team’s blushes.

For the next match, I think we can learn from Mohammad…enough of these draws!

Kieran

Friday?! 24th October

Rotherham Juniors A (A)

Captain's Corner

Having adopted the rather dubious strategy in the last match of losing quickly to motivate the team, I came up with a different match strategy, and left my loss until close to the end…

It seemed to be working! Mursal crashed through with a devastating kingside attack. Ian showed his class; after initially worrying me by castling on opposite sides, he declined the usual pawn storm and took control of the centre and the only open file, and with complete control of the position was happy to finish early when his opponent gave him a rook. Masrura seemed to have a promising position with bishop against knight in an endgame, but a draw ensued. And though Ken, having given a pawn in the opening for active pieces, eventually succumbed, it was 2.5-1.5 in our favour.

Just left the top four boards…I was doing fine in a game where my opponent tried to play draughts by placing all his pawns on dark squares. Chris was a piece up, though his opponent’s bishops were quite strong. Jeremy and Andy were in good positions, both material up. Only a matter of time surely…just have to time my loss correctly!

Sadly, life never works out as you expect…and chess, thought supposedly a gentleman’s sport, is actually rather cruel. Jeremy lost on time. Chris lost his extra piece and was faced with an opposite bishop ending, which creditably he tried to win, but a draw seemed inevitable and was agreed a little while later. It was then I sprang my loss! I completely underestimated my opponent’s threats to my king and paid the ultimate price. So all the pressure was on Andy to rescue the match…and in fairness to him, he dug deep and showed his ability to perform under pressure, converting his advantage convincingly (I had subtly put the match card next to him, just so he knew what was at stake!). So 4-4…again!

Kieran

Wednesday 8th October

University A (H)

Captain's Corner

The A team’s title defence got off to a fairly shaky start at home to University. Having managed to get eight players to agree to play and then to actually turn up as well, I felt that my first match as captain was going quite well. But I didn’t rest on my laurels, no, I gave the team a valuable lesson in leadership by losing to Prasun on board two before the time control. 1-0 down, I knew that the pressure would be on the rest of the players to perform, and that my sacrifice would surely be rewarded by bringing out the best in the others. 

But…my rather dubious plan started to unravel quite quickly. Both Enyi and Mursal struggled with the fast time limits. Both had good positions, but alas, that was two more losses for us. Thankfully Jeremy, fluent in Dutch, was demonstrating to his opponent that f5 is such a good move it really should be played as soon as practically possible, and although he felt he let his opening advantage slip he duly chalked up the full point. 

So…3-1 down going into the last few laps. I was beginning to think that maybe too much pressure was being applied to the players! Haidar was doing well on board five, a piece for a pawn up after his opponent went for a subtle attempt to trap his queen which just didn’t quite work out. Masrura had the better of it right from the opening, with a strong centre and pressure on the queenside, the centre and eventually the kingside too! Meanwhile, Jon on board one was busy trying to work out if his queen was as good as the rook, piece and pawn his opponent had, and after a long struggle he managed to prove it was. With Masrura and Haidar converting their advantages too, the score was 4-3 in our favour. Chris, though, was facing a tricky bishop ending against Mithun, which was probably drawn, but with the clock hand pushing the flag relentlessly upwards, it proved too tricky to hold. So 4-4 was the final result, which on the night seemed fair, though my selfless approach to leading the team will have to be reconsidered…

Captain Kieran

07/08 matches are in the archives