Broadstairs  4        Sheldwich P.S.   0                                       

Michael Doyle writes:

It was a resounding success on Friday as Broadstairs won convincingly 4-0 over Sheldwich despite losing our first match at the start of the season to Bridge. It was Sheldwich’s first season in the Thanet and East Kent Chess League and although they had  four juniors they played well beyond their grades. On  board three our captain Mike was the first to finish. His opponent, Adam, had overlooked his queen en prise and was taken by the knight. A few moves later Mike checkmated with a rook and queen: 1-0. Next to win on board two was Bob C. He had his opponent’s queen trapped on move nineteen and it was all over in the few moves: 2-0.  On board four was Fredy, who won the George Stiggers Trophy for the most improved player last season. He was attacking with a knight fork and queen and it ended with a beautiful pawn mate on g5: 3-0 up.  The last game to finish on board one was Andy, our top player against ten-year-old Oli, who played like a seasoned pro. Andy was down to a rook and pawn ending and Oli was the same but in the end Andy forced his pawn to queen and we won 4-0. Well done lads and to Sheldwich juniors who put up a good fight.

                                                Broadstairs  4        Bridge  3

David Faldon writes:

It’s not a misprint and it’s not fake news – Broadstairs have won an away Millar Cup match at Bridge! This is the first time this has happened since, well, ever. Hearty congratulations to all the players, and especially to the five who actually won or drew. Bob’s win on board 5 got things rolling in the right direction. Bob won a pawn early and then a piece and the game was over before some of the other players had swapped their first pawns. The two top board games were next to finish. Two interesting games but two losses. Comparing impressions afterwards over a consoling cup of tea, Trefor and I tested our predicting skills on the remaining games. I guessed one win (Chris was a clear pawn up) and three draws (yes, Shany was a pawn up too, but the position looked blocked) which if correct would have given a drawn match, while Trefor went for two wins and two draws. Luckily Trefor proved the better prognosticator: Chris and Shany both skilfully converted their extra pawn into wins and Gary (a late substitute on board 7) settled for a draw after pressing hard throughout the game. That left Arnaud on board 4, deep in a blocked up knight and bishop ending. Arnaud won a pawn but then agreed a draw as time ran down to bring home the win for the team. A splendid result. Many thanks to all the Broadstairs players, and especially to Trefor for driving. And many thanks to Bridge. As usual, they made us feel very welcome and even provided tea, coffee and biscuits.

Editor’s note: This was a great night for Broadstairs Chess Club, especially for the three ‘rebels’ as Graeme Boxall described them! There is no doubt that all three wanted to win and the tension as all the Broadstairs players gathered around the final game at the end with just a draw required for victory but Arnaud desperate to beat Alan was palpable. Well played, everyone.

                                        Broadstairs  3         Folkestone   1                                        

Andy Flood writes:

The match at Folkestone was always going to be tricky, given that last year a stronger team only managed a draw, and so it proved. The exception was Gary Hilleard with the black pieces on Board 2, who quickly overcame his opponent with clever tactics that saw him win a pawn and rook in exchange for a bishop, then dominating his game for an early win and thus retain his remarkable 100% win record for Broadstairs in league chess games. The game on Board 3 was evenly balanced and Mike Doyle on Board 4 had a slight positional advantage which he was developing but Chris Stampe on the top board was soon a pawn and then two pawns down.

As the evening drew to a conclusion, Mike Doyle appeared to be in trouble from a developed dominant position when his opponent broke through onto the 7^th rank with his queen and rook. Meanwhile on Board 3 I forced the exchange of queen for two rooks and soon had my own rooks on the 7^th rank with the intention of forcing a mate following a sacrifice of a piece. However a slight miscalculation and solid  play by my opponent meant that I lost my game and, as last to finish, feared that the team had suffered a 3 -1 defeat.

But no! resolute strong defending by Mike Doyle had fought off the attack and had enabled him to go on and quickly beat his opponent, and Chris Stampe had managed to win on time against his higher graded opponent on the top board. A tricky match indeed but one that was won by Broadstairs 3-1.

                                         Broadstairs  1½         Bridge   2½                                        

Reg Pidduck writes:

BOARD 2. DRAW NO 1.  James played an English which threw me from the start (I must gen up on it). We got through to a king and pawns endgame. James’s pawns were more advanced and my queenside pawns were a shambles so prudently I took the draw James offered.  Good play, James. I hope we play again. ½-½

BOARD 3.  DRAW NO 2. Bob played his Fried Liver and was in control for a while . Not sure what happened next but Graeme’s position was soon equal and although Bob was down to the sixth rank he could not break through and after many king moves each, neither could afford to back off. So a draw was agreed.  Score now 1-1

BOARD 1.  DRAW NO 3. Young William Peak looks a fine prospect as not many players in the Walker Shield can gain such an advantage over our board 1. Andy was on the ropes with only a rook against knight and bishop until he gained an advanced pawn and a draw was agreed with neither in an position to withdraw. 1½-1½

BOARD 4. NO DRAW IN THE LAST. Captain Michael could have had another draw.  He told me that had he taken a knight with a rook instead of with his king it would have been a different game. But in Michael’s words “Woe is the crestfallen as it was not to be”. So well done, Ian Redmond, and all the Bridge team for a 2½-1½ victory.