Having gained a confidence-boosting victory over Telford A in our last match, we knew that this was no time for complacency, especially as our next match was against penultimate placed team, Oswestry A. A slip up at this stage could easily undo the good work from last time and push us back into the danger zone.
On board 5, Mark Smith was the first to finish, having quickly reached a Rook and Pawn ending against John Davies. Mark was able to harass the enemy pawns, win one and, when John allowed the exchange of Rooks, it was soon all over in favour of the Shrewsbury player. A good start!
In the meantime, Peter Kitchen on board 4 started to slip into his habitual time pressure, quickly falling half an hour behind on the clock against Graham Ives. Peter’s position looked promising but his anxious team mates looked on nervously. David Everington’s position on board 3 against David Bennion also looked promising, having gained two pieces for a Rook. Lots of Pawns were loose on both sides but David E. also had attacking chances against his opponent’s King, which appeared perilously exposed. However, the Oswestry player was putting up strong resistance and the the game was by no means a foregone conclusion.
I was playing Richard Bryant on board 1 and reached a comfortable position against Richard’s French when I overlooked a tactic which enabled the Oswestry player to gain a Pawn. My position was still good enough for a draw but, I didn’t want to agree one just yet as the lower boards were still capable of yielding all three results. To compound matters, Daniel Lockett on board 2 lost to the ever dangerous Brian Whyte, when the Shrewsbury player could not avoid the loss of his Queen.
At this stage, I felt I might have to try and squeeze out a win, although my position didn’t really justify it (the opposite, in fact!) I tried to gain some counterplay but, unfortunately, this only made matters worse and Richard gained more opportunities than I did in my reckless attempts to build up chances. With hindsight, I should have sat tight and just accepted a draw, since, even if we had lost the match, every game point is potentially important, given how close the position at the bottom of the league table is.
Fortunately, Peter was able to administer the coup de grâce, with mere seconds remaining on his clock. Shortly afterwards, David E., too, managed to convert his advantage into victory and we were therefore guaranteed to win the match. Alas, my position was now in tatters and Richard soon managed an efficient mop-up operation. I resigned when it was clear my position was beyond redemption. A victory to us by the narrowest of margins: 3-2
We are now third from bottom in the table. In theory, it is arithmetically possible for the unthinkable to happen, but realistically the danger has diminished considerably, which is very welcome!
Francis Best, A Team Captain