In a match of fluctuating fortunes, our rapidplay team came out 5½-2½ winners against a strong Hackney team, in round 7 of the City of London Rapidplay League.
| Hackney | Hackney | Hendon | Hendon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose, C Nigel J | 179s | 0 - 1 | Eden, Tomer | 173 | ||
| 2 | Shaw, Dashiell L | 143 | 0 - 1 | Ellis, Daniel | 148 | ||
| 3 | Vives, Pepe | 107 | 0 - 1 | Bennett, Michael K | - | ||
| 4 | Tracey, Shaun | 98s | ½ - ½ | Limonov, Petr | - | ||
| ½ - 3½ | |||||||
| Hackney | Hackney | Hendon | Hendon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose, C Nigel J | 179s | ½ - ½ | Eden, Tomer | 173 | ||
| 2 | Shaw, Dashiell L | 143 | ½ - ½ | Ellis, Daniel | 148 | ||
| 3 | Vives, Pepe | 107 | 0 - 1 | Bennett, Michael K | - | ||
| 4 | Tracey, Shaun | 98s | 1 - 0 | Limonov, Petr | - | ||
| 2 - 2 | |||||||
Report by Michael Bennett
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, the Sharks stretched their unbeaten run to 6 out of 6 on Wednesday evening.
In the first mini-match, board 3’s result came in first: my opponent allowed his king to stumble into a mating net after I had sacrificed the exchange for the initiative and some play on the dark squares.
Meanwhile, Tomer Eden put in a very smooth performance on board 1, outplaying his strong opponent despite being behind on time.
Hendon gained another game point when Daniel Ellis’s youthful opponent lost on time in a won position, after Daniel had skillfully maximised his chances by keeping things going in his opponent’s time trouble.
Petr Limonov was ahead on both material and time on board 4 – but his opponent managed to swap off the last pawns and claimed a draw under the 2-minute rule.
So, after the first mini-match we were leading 3½-½. After the break and some fresh air, it was time for the return match.
On board 3, I won two pieces for a rook early on, but failed to consolidate and even blundered to allow my opponent to win a rook back. Luckily this opportunity was missed, so I escaped into an ending an exchange down, which I eventually won after my opponent ran short of time and hung a rook. (Phew!)
Meanwhile Petr had built up a clear advantage on board 4. However, somehow fortunes became reversed, and he ended up very short of time and eventually lost.
On board 2, Daniel outplayed his opponent, but accepted a draw in the ending as it wasn’t clear it could be won. Tomer also halved the point when his opponent found a neat drawing tactic in extreme time trouble.
So, the drawn return match gave the Sharks an overall win by 5½- -2½, to stay at the top of the league. Elsewhere at Golden Lane, our closest rivals Athenaeum and Kings Head 2 both won, to remain just half a match point behind us!