Shrewsbury B took on Priorslee Lions B at the Lion on February 5th.
On paper this looked like a good contest and the opening stages were certainly not without interest. Board 5 saw Tony Purser going back to his usual 1.Nf3 and a King’s Indian Attack set up against Ian Jamieson. I have to admit that I wasn’t sorry to see this as this system seems to suit Tony’s style very well and he’s had some excellent results with it.
Ian Davies played one of his favourites, a French Winawer against George Vizokai. George sensibly avoided the hair-raising Qg4 lines but the position still looked fairly sharp and both sides moved quickly early on.
I have to confess that I didn’t see exactly what happened early on on board 3, except that it was a double King Pawn opening with an early mobilisation of Ivor’s forces but not sure if this came via a Scotch or Italian move order. Either way, Ivor’s opponent,Tony Preece, who has been playing well this season, seemed to have made a bit of a mess of the opening, as he ended up with doubled isolated pawns and his King stuck in the centre; never good in an open game.
Unorthodoxy was the order of the day on the top two boards. I was facing Gary White on board 2 with Black and it was Bird’s opening, which is actually quite a restrained opening by Gary’s standards! Bird’s has become rather popular at our level of late, possibly because, although not bookish, it is definitely sound. Anyway, I eschewed Ivor’s 1…e5 From’s Gambit and played the more conservative 1…d5 and play resembled a reverse Dutch over the first few moves. Ile, meanwhile, in a welcome return to the first team played his favourite 1.b4 against Munroe Morrison, who played 1…d5, which must be okay. I have to say I’ve found it very interesting watching the various responses to 1.b4 over the last couple of years, and I have an idea what I’ll play if I get black against Ile, but I’ll keep it to myself for now! Anyway, what usually happens in Ile’s games with White happened again here; a non-standard position arose in which Ile was more familiar with the possibilities than his opponent.
I have to confess that over the next hour or so, I took in very little of what was happening on the other boards, as my own game reached a critical point very quickly. I played quite provocatively by delaying castling, knowing that Gary would almost certainly go for it, which he did, offering a Knight. Taking it was obviously suicidal but, after castling and bringing my knight across, he either had to force it himself, which looked too risky, even for Gary, or retreat his Knight, which is what he did. I felt I’d played well up to this point but it had been quite taxing for both of us. Move order was crucial and I made a mistake by over-pushing myself with the loosening …g5, going for a knockout, when I should simply have completed my development with a clear advantage. The move I played gave Gary chances to get right back into the game.
At this point, while Gary was thinking, I risked a quick look at the other games.
Board 1 was tense but Munroe looked to me to be ok and have come through the opening unscathed. Ivor seemed to be winning easily on board 3, with Tony’s King still stuck in the centre. On board 4, they had reached a complex ending, which looked drawish to me, but I only had the quickest of looks. There was all to play for in Tony’s game.
Suddenly, we had results in three of the games. Tony Preece bowed to the inevitable and resigned against Ivor, who had controlled the game almost from the start. Munroe blundered against Ile and had to resign straight away, and Ian and George agreed a draw. 2½ – ½, with two games playing and certain to get something from the match.
Things were looking a bit tricky for Tony now, though, as he had lost a piece, although he did have a couple of Pawns for it. I would have fancied my chances, had I been his opponent.
I had to be sure not to lose my game. This was a bit tricky as, although I felt I still had some advantage, there was still lots of material on the board and there were many tactical possibilities. My biggest worry, however, was my clock, as I was down to my last 10 minutes and Gary had nearly half an hour left.
Luckily for me, Gary overlooked something: a pin, which could only be averted by allowing another double attack, which cost a Bishop. Sportingly, Gary resigned straight away, which was positionally justified but many would have played on, with my being down to 8 minutes or so.
The final game continued for a few more minutes but in the end, as the result of the match was decided, the players agreed a draw. 4-1 to Shrewsbury B and Priorslee are really struggling this season.
Mark Smith, B Team Captain