Worcester & District Chess League 2010-11 season

Published 26 August 2011

2010-11 Division 1 match details

Worcester Bishops - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Score	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ray Collett Jim Keene Phil Smith	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	John Varilone Mark Riley Clive Billinge Terry Pountney
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 30 September
Match report from Ray Collett. This was an even match, and was decided dramatically when John Varilone overstepped the time control. At that stage the games on boards 3 and 4 had been agreed drawn. On board 2 Mark Riley had been pressing forward during the middle game and was running short of time and offered a draw before Kidderminster's loss on board 1. His opponent, Ray Collett had appraised the position on board 1 as complex and hard to call so turned down Mark's peace offering because Mark was short of time. A move or so later, after the dénoument on top board, the Worcester player went for a central pawn break. After a flurry of exchanges, Ray overlooked a sacrifice that lost a pawn. He countered by attacking Mark's knight rather than taking the bishop and was fortunate that Mark had insufficient time to see a further piece sacrifice would have won the game. At this stage Mark was 20 minutes down on time and with a quick-play finish looming, was glad to accept Ray's offer of a draw.

Worcester Bishops - Redditch 1			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Andrew Farthing	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Tom Robinson Andrew Wiggins Jason Cole Steve Crockett
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 13 October
Match report from Ray Collett. All four games looked fairly equal by the time the middle games had been reached. On board four peace was called when both sides had queen and two bishops with symmetrical pawns. Ed Osbourn had pressure but he felt it was insufficient to win and offered a draw. Post-game analysis suggested that the Worcester Player should have continued. Jason Cole (Redditch) developed a promising position resulting from a Queen's Pawn Game, but black always had chances on the king side. The Worcester player defended accurately to reach an equal endgame when the draw was agreed. On board 1, players reached a rook and pawn ending where Steve Mellor had both material and positional advantage, which he converted to a win without difficulty.

Droitwich & St Johns - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett	0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Jim Keene
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 6 November
Match report from Andrew Farthing. A hard fought match where board 2 finished first, but only after 2½ hours play, Ed Osbourn (Worcester Bishops) gained a pawn early on in a Kings Indian Defence Four Pawns Attack, but Steve James (Droitwich & St Johns) had better piece activity and his isolated queen's pawn on d5 restricted black's play. Steve advanced the pawn to d6 and a combination from white won the exchange and soon the game. On Board 4, Greg Dyett's (Droitwich & St John's) kingside attack always looked dangerous and black's counterplay on the queenside lacked bite. The home side clinched the match on Board 3, where Nick Harris sacrificed a pawn early on in a Pirc Defence for what looked like fully adequate compensation in the form of better development and access to semi-open b- and c-files. When Nick regained the pawn, it looked bleak for White, but Ray Collett (Worcester Bishops) simplified to a level-looking rook and pawns ending. The top game was the least predictable: in a Spanish, Steinitz Defence Deferred, Steve Mellor (Worcester Bishops) lost/sacrificed a knight for two pawns for unclear compensation in the form of a passed pawn on c7 and a central pawn majority. In time, Steve reached a pawn-down ending with rook and two bishops against rook, knight and bishop. In the closing minutes of the quickplay finish, Peter Kitson's (Droitwich & St John's) king blundered into a mating net.

Worcester Bishops - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Jim Keene	½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke Tony Shaw
	Result	2 - 2	Played 26 November
Match report from Andrew Farthing. The first game to finish was on Board 3, which saw Black successfully defend against the King's Indian Attack in a game that always looked quite level. Things were looking good for Malvern as Geoffrey Herbert converted a dangerous-looking pawn storm on the king side into a material advantage and duly won the game on Board 2, while Brian Turner was the exchange up against Steve Mellor on Board 1. As both players on top board were approaching the final time control, Steve won a bishop with a knight fork but had to contend with an advanced passed pawn. A complicated ending of lone bishop against three pawns, played at great speed, was finally drawn when only bare kings were left on the board. This left everything depending on Jim Keene on bottom board. In a Tarrasch French, Jim had looked somewhat better through much of the game and eventually won on time in a winning position, thanks to a passed pawn on the seventh rank. A well-contested match.

Redditch 1 - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson Andrew Wiggins Steve Crockett Jason Cole	½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke Tony Shaw
	Result	1 - 3	Played 30 November
Match result from both captains.

Droitwich & St John's - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett	0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke John Knee
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 6 December
Match report from Brian Turner.

Droitwich & St John's - Redditch 1			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Tom Robinson Andrew Wiggins Steve Crockett David Spowart
	Result	3 - 1	Played 13 December
Match report from Nick Harris. Steve Crockett (Redditch) played his English opening too passively, allowing Nick Harris (St Johns) to build up a big centre and a probably winning kingside attack. A blunder then brought the game to an abrupt end. Greg Dyett (St Johns) established a strong pawn on e6 and, with two bishops raking his opponent's position, he gradually overwhelmed. On board 1, Steve James (St Johns) then agreed a draw in a barren position to ensure the win for St Johns. Although in difficulties early on, Peter Kitson (St Johns), Tom Robinson proved unable to capitalise on his advantage in a queenless middlegame.

Redditch 1 - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson Steve Crockett Jason Cole David Spowart	1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0	David Close Tim Yates Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen
	Result	3 - 1	Played 14 December
Match report from Tom Robinson.

Kidderminster Knights - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett	0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke John Knee
	Result	2 - 2	Played 16 December
Match report from Jim Friar. Kidderminster began their first match with a draw against a strong Malvern team. Board 2 finished first. Geoffrey Herbert (Malvern) played a sharp and tactical position against Jim Friar (Kidderminster), but with lots of threats and discovered attacks he missed a knight sacrfiice. This mated or won a rook. Next to finish was Frank Pickett (Kidderminster) and John Knee (Malvern). An exchange Caro-Kan Defence led to a massive swap off. After the melée, John was the exchange up, but with vunerable doubled and isolated pawns, so a draw ensued. Both board 3 players battled on in a rook and knight and 5 pawns ending, but the position was completely drawn. The final two boards battled on to the wire. Brian Turner (Malvern) won a piece in complications, but he had to defend against two connected passed pawns. Brian managed to anchor both knights on the queen side whilst advancing his king to mop up the king-side pawns. With flags hanging, he queened a pawn whereupon John resigned.

Malvern - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke John Knee	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Ray Collett Jim Keene Andrew Farthing Rob Sutton
	Result	3 - 1	Played 7 January
Match report from Ray Collett. Without their two top boards, the Bishops were soundly beaten. The first game to finish was on board 4. Malvern's John Knee had allowed his king to be brought out in the opening, but he soon turned the tables on Bishop's new player. At this stage other other games looked even. On board 1, Ray Collett (Worcester) played an unusual variation in the Ruy Lopez against a Steinitz Defence Deferred. The game was closed and there was slow manoevering for position. The Worcester player went wrong allowing his knight to be exchanged for black's bad bishop. When white resigned the position was still closed, but he faced mate or ruinous loss of material. Shortly after, the board 2 players soon agreed a draw and ensuring a win for Malvern. On board 3, players entered the qick play phase with Malvern's player appearing to have the initiative, but Andrew Farthing (Worcester) maintained he "always had enough in reserve" and a draw was agreed. [Report amended 9 Jan]

Kidderminster Knights - Redditch 1			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett	½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0	Tom Robinson Andrew Wiggins Steve Crockett Jason Cole
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 12 January
Match result from Jim Friar and Tom Robinson with report from Jim. Board 1 ws first to finish. A Kings Indian Attack against a French style defence followed by a big fight over the e-file. In the end it was agreed a draw. Frank Pickett Kidderminster, was next to finish. He managed to pin black's knight to his queen and then threaten it with a pawn. White had to drop a piece and eventually lost this game. On board three, Maurice Bissell, Kidderminster, defended a Larsen-Nimzovitch Attack. Massive complications and numerous moves to make in a short time led Maurice to agreed the draw. On board 2, Andrew Wiggins, Redditch, dropped a piece with complications. With ten moves to make and only a minute each, a draw was agreed.

Kidderminster Pawns - Malvern			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Brian Turner Ian Clarke John Knee Tony Shaw
	Result	1 - 3	Played 26 January
Match reported by Brian Turner.

Worcester Bishops - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Jim Keene	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1	Peter Kitson Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett
	Result	½ - 3½	Played 10 February
Match report from Ray Collett. In the most decisive match in Division 1 this season, Droitwich & St John's smashed Worcester Bishops and took second position in the League. With two games in hand, Droitwich & St Johns can catch up with Malvern at the top. On board 1 Steve Mellor (Worcester) played a Pirc Defence, and was the first to capitulate. The other games went beyond or ended very near the first time control. Greg Dyett defended with a Sicilian Defence and the position simplified to a rook and pawn ending, but with the St John's player having an extra pawn. Conversion was not long delayed. Nick Harris (St John's) played an unusual variation for white against a Sicilian Defence. and this worked because his opponent played too passively. The complex middle game had plenty of scope to go wrong for both sides, but black buckled first. The final game to finish was the draw betweem Ed Osbourn (Worcester) and Steve James (St John's).

Redditch 1 - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson Steve Crockett Jason Cole Rob Bricknell	1 - 0 ½ - ½ ½ - ½ ½ - ½	Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Andrew Farthing John Clarke
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 22 February
Match report from Ray Collett. Without their usual board 1, Worcester Bishops slipped to a third defeat in 2011. Steve Crockett (Redditch) got an advantage in space and a threatening king side attack on board 2, but Ray Collett (Worcester) opened the a-file and peace was agreed in the middle game. On board 1, Tom Tobinson (Redditch) took advantage of an error to win material. Board 3 was a solid Veresov Opening and never looked more than a draw. The match then depended on the board 4 John Clarke (Worcester) - Rob Bricknell (Redditch) game. John was solid material up, but slipped allowing Rob's knights to infiltrate the queen side. Rob won a piece that had to be regained tactically, but this used up the Worcester player's time. John scrambled to complete the moves before the time control and emerged the exchange up in a compex position where both kings were feeling the draught. When Rob offered the draw, John accepted because of his opponent's time advantage. Redditch's win lifts them above Kidderminster in the table.

Malvern - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke John Knee	1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1	David Close Mark Riley Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 25 February
Match report from Brian Turner.

Redditch 1 - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson Rob Mitchell Jason Cole Richard Turner	½ - ½ 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	John Wrench Jim Friar Maurice Bissell James Friar (jnr)
	Result	1 - 3	Played 8 March
Match report from Jim Friar. Kidderminster won the away leg. The Redditch board 4 player attacked young James Friar's position from the start. The attack was premature and after exchanges Richard was initilly a piece down, but then dropped the exchange to go a Rook down and the game finished first. On board 2, Rob Mitchell (Redditch) played a Kings Indian reversed. From a very tight position, Rob missed a double attack that allowed Jim Friar (Kidderminster) to setup a strong hold on the e5 square to control the whole board. Rob tried to pin a knight to Jim's queen but missed a move that lost his own queen. The final games were going in Redditch's favour. Jason Cole (Redditch) played a Moran Defence and won a pawn. In the ending he had rook and pawn against a rook. Jason missed the winning line and with exact play Maurice found the draw. After this result, a draw was agreed on top board. Tom Robinson (Redditch) was a pawn up, but John Wrench (Kidderminster) had pressure with a rook and queen and by avoiding exchanges stopped Tom making further progress.

Kidderminster Pawns - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Dave Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Mike Kitchen	½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Greg Dyett Arnold Kirkland
	Result	1 - 3	Played 30 March
Match report from Nick Harris. Identity of Pawns' board 2 corrected 5 Apr. Apologies to all concerned.

Malvern - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert Ian Clarke John Knee	½ - ½ ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Greg Dyett John Loynes
	Result	3 - 1	Played 1 April
Match report from Brian Turner.

Redditch 1 - Droitwich & St John's			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Tom Robinson Rob Mitchell Jason Cole Rob Bricknell	1 - 0 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Peter Kitson Nick Harris Greg Dyett Arnold Kirkland
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 5 April
Match report from Nick Harris. "Redditch surpassed themselves", almost whitewashing a strong Droitwich & St John's side.

Kidderminster Pawns - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Dave Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Andrew Farthing
	Result	2½ - 1½	Played 6 April
Match report from Ray Collett. Kidderminster Pawns won their first points of the season in a match where they were clearly underdogs. The Pawns' victory was sealed when Tim Yates mated Collett with barely a minute on the clock.

Droitwich & St John's - Kidderminster Knights			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett default	½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1	Jim Friar Maurice Bissell Frank Pickett James Friar (jnr)
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 11April
Match report from Jim Friar. Kidderminster gain another 2 points from a three-board-Droitwich & St John's. First to finish was board 1. Steve James played an aggressive line of the Modern Defence. After exchanging major pieces a draw was agreed. The other 2 games went to the wire. Maurice Bissell defended a Byrne Variation of the French Defence while Frank Pickett used a Grand Prix Attack. Nick Harris (St Johns) won a pawn and the players went into an ending with a knight and six pawns against knight and five pawns. Nick got a strangle-hold on the position where his opponent's king and knight had to defend, leaving Nick a comfortable win. After enormous complications on board 3, Frank Pickett exchanged pieces to acheive a rook and three pawns against a rook and two pawn ending. With an active king, Frank could either advance his passed e-pawn or infiltrate his opponent's king side.

Malvern - Redditch 1			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Brian Turner Geoffrey Herbert John Knee Peter Yeadon	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Adrew Wiggins Steve Crockett Rob Bricknell David Spowart
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 15 April
Match report from Brian Turner.

Droitwich & St John's - Kidderminster Pawns			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Steve James Nick Harris Greg Dyett John Loynes	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 ½ - ½	David Close Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge
	Result	3½ - ½	Played 18 April
Match report from Nick Harris.

Kidderminster Pawns - Redditch 1			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	Mark Riley Tim Yates Clive Billinge Mike Kitchen	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 1 - 0	Tom Robinson Andrew Wiggins Steve Crockett Jason Cole
	Result	1½ - 2½	Played 20 April
Match report from Tom Robinson

Kidderminster Knights - Worcester Bishops			Div 1
Board	Home team	Result	Away team
1 2 3 4	John Wrench Jim Friar (snr) Maurice Bissell James Friar (jnr)	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	Steve Mellor Ed Osbourn Ray Collett Andrew Farthing
	Result	½ - 3½	Played 27 April
Match reported by Jim Friar and Andrew Farthing.