Hargreaves Shield v Margate (a)

A confident Broadstairs team arrived at Margate for the local derby, outgrading Margate on all four boards. The team was shocked by the early loss on Board 1 by Paul Carfrae, the team’s star player, as he lost in a poor game by his standards. Up until now Paul was unbeaten and top points scorer so he was entitled to have an off day. The match score was levelled some time later as I won what should have been a drawn game by getting my rooks on the 7th rank as my opponent sought to do likewise but was one move behind. John Couzens was always in control of his game following an early pawn sacrifice and dominated as his opponent struggled against both John and the clock. So with Broadstairs leading 2 – 1, all the pressure was on Board 3 and Tom Lovegrove who was still seeking his chess match fitness and a win. The game started steadily and there was nothing to choose between either player but after a fairly dull three hours the position became very complex. Would Tom take his opponent’s knight with a rook sacrifice enabling Broadstairs to go on to win and would he get his calculations right? He played safe, making the sensible choice in the context of the match, resulting in a well-deserved win, his opponent quickly crumbling under time pressure and resigning as his queen was about to be lost.