Sheffield Woodseats Chess Club

Our Internet match against Greece has been going on for some time and there is everything to play for.  So I thought I would do a front page update.  Bill hurled pieces at his opponent just like Zeus did with his thunderbolts from the top of Mount Olympus when he was angry in ancient times.  Unfortunately his opponent basically caught them in his teeth and survived.  Not enough thunderbolts left at the end of the day.  Steve eventually succumbed to an opponent who is also a member of the Greek SAS ( or something like it!) enough said!  I think κυριος Moon did pretty well.  The young prodigy on bottom board withdrew for various reasons...well-survived Bob.  Here's Srini's game without comment as it's still in progress...see what you think.  There are elections in Greece today, so I think our opponents will have have a lot on their minds.  I'm sure everyone will join in offering them support at a difficult time:

And this is my game which I think is pretty equal, though my opponent might think differently!:

and to finish for now.  Here's Dave Toft's game.  The Hippotamus spring has sprung (i.e. David has been able tp play c5 and f5 : See a book called 'Tiger's Modern' written by a Swede), so I don't give much for his opponent's chances...I've never been able to be Dave when he's played this...

There are three more boards-Jon, Shane, and Dave Cook...How are you doing?  It's going to be clossseeeeeeeeeee! (as our president would say).

So it finally came down to this, Woodseats D away to Nomads E at The Harlequin, Promotion already assured, "Enjoy yourself" I told my players.  And I still thought of them as 'my players', even though I had passed their stewardship over to Shane shortly after New Year's Day. we had had so many memorable matches and results together, it was hard not to feel a bond.  We gathered in the bar first, then moved uptairs to meet our opponents. There was another match playing, involving the D team, which looked to have weakened our opponents, however this was a dangerous assumption on my part.  I lost the toss, but as I had intended to take black on top this didn't really matter.

Bill (B) - C.Hodkinson

Steve - H. Withington

Dan - J.Williams

Andy - R.Shaw

David - P.Morrison

Bob - G.Shaw

First game to develop was on board two, next t me. Henry is a talented player, maybe I should have warned Steve of this, as he soon got into difficulties and had to resig. Not too  big a worry though, as Bob finally found the form of early season and crashed through to level the tie. A win too for Andy and good positions all round so I was still confident.  But maybe I had underestimated Nomads wrongly? Certainly my own opponent played better than I expected, and looking again at my position, I realised suddenly I was in big trouble(!)

and would have to play a bishop ending very carefully and accurately to escape.  Meanwhile, while all this was going on, both Dan and David were also entering endings, and both looked safe for a draw at least. As I managed to extricate myself from the tricky situation I should never have let myself get in, Dan agred a draw on his board, and it was all down to board 5.  We were 3-2 up, so a draw assured, and a draw from David to edge home for the win. But then tragedy struck. In offering an exchange of pieces, David inadverently left a second piece unguarded. Once he realised , David resigned immediately.  3-3, and perhaps we were unlucky, but hey, let's look at the BIG picture! 

In their first ever season in the league, 'my players' had finished a comfortable second and gained an incredible and unexpected promotion. Not to mention 'that' glorious cup run!  It has been my pleasure and my privilege to have shared  in their journey. Hope to see all of you down at the Shapla at the Moorfoot next Monday, 7.30pm  for our well deserved celebration curry!  (Anybody need more details, contact me or Shane)

Bill

I've always thought the new Barrack Tavern would have been the haunt of highwaymen in ye olden days.  You expect Dick Turpin to come through the door at any minute!  He didn't tonight though.  Ryan Burgin swooped on me instead! He has got long dark hair and he is quite intense while he's playing, so possibly there's a resemblance.

The room was full of other 'highwaymen', both Stannington teams were playing both Woodseats teams and it was a night on which old orders gave way (gracefully, I hope) to new and our energetic (and young!) C team took over from our B team who are definitely in need of recuperation in Division Three.  It's been an unlucky season full of missed opportunities (we should have done better against...etc, etc ) but some glorious moments (don't ever forget, fellow team members that we wreaked savage work on Nomads C (a wonderful evening!).
My own game continued this tale of missed opportunies.

  It was very theoretical.  We played the Keres variation of the Ruy Lopez which I'd been looking at the evening before.  Keres invented it for a candidates' tournament in the 1960's and beat both Fischer and Tal with it, so it's got quality.  I should have kept reading the black repertoire book that I found it in!  Anyway, we banged out a lot of moves fairly quickly and I think the main difference between us was that Ryan understood them better than me.  However I had my chances as the game shows.  End of term report: 'Peter needs to concentrate harder...and do his openings homework properly'.

Peter Cannell against Keir Morton played a good game.  He fancied a sacrifice that gave him some play but it wasn't quite enough.

The rest of the team, Andy Lee, Steve Moon, Dave Cook and late substitution Shane Frith all played much better than us and all scored draws.  So the prospects in Division Three are good.  I must tell you Dave has been playing a lot of ICCF web server correspondence chess and is currently taking part in a whole string of tournaments: Avison team tournament, Kitchin Memorial, Sheffield Correspondence Championship...I think his opponents next season can look forward to some sharp opening preparation. It's a good way to try out new ideas.  Here's a glimpse at what he's been up to.

Shane's not a regular member of the team but at the rate that's he's winning grading prizes, he'll soon be able to retire and play chess for all the Woodseats teams! 

It's wonderful that Andy has started playing much more frequently.  He's a very strong player and had the better of a draw against Alan Sutton, who is also a highly rated correspondence player.  I was very lucky to get a draw against Andy in this 'master-piece' from the archives of long ago...

when he was probably aged about twelve! So, in conclusion, we may be down but we’re not disheartened and I think the omens are very good for a more successful season next year.