Club Venue: Ducklington Village Hall, OX29 7UX

Witney 4, 2011/12

04 May 2012

It was great to win our final league game against Cumnor 2. They played 6 youngsters and we played 4 youngsters as Joseph wasn’t available.

First to win were Marianne and Jake, but then Tim and Jenny lost in reasonably close games. Bob fought back after losing the initiative and won in the end game. Isabel was a pawn down in a King and Rook end game but defended well and with her opponent getting very short of time, a draw was agreed. So we retained our mid-table position.

Well done everyone, especially the youngsters.

- Tim

27 Mar 2012

A fine win for a young team, four of whom were Juniors, which leaves us mid table with one match to play.

Outgraded on all the boards, the first to finish was Jake, who played very steadily until, under pressure, his opponent blundered and resigned. Next to finish was Marianne, who played very accurately and gradually came out on top.

Joseph played his usual sound game and outmanoeuvred his opponent so now we were leading 3-0. Jenny was struggling by now after miscalculating and losing a piece for a pawn and although she defended manfully she lost. Ian succumbed eventually to a player graded nearly 30 points above him, having been even for a long time. So all rested on the final game. John was a pawn up and his opponent had two isolated pawns on opposite sides whereas John’s three pawns were linked.

As we all watched the final decisive game, biting our fingernails, John missed a chance or two to make the decisive move but was able, eventually, to take his opponent’s final two pawns and with one of his pawns about to queen, his opponent’s time ran out. Well done everyone.

- Tim

15 Mar 2012

A close match which we narrowly lost, again the highlights were a strong performance on the bottom boards. Ian was the first to finish, having blundered on move 6, and being unable to recover.

Next Tim offered a draw which was accepted as neither player wanted to take a risk. Meanwhile Isabel was playing well and forced her opponent to resign, so we were level at 1.5 each. Joseph played well and agreed a draw leaving John and Bob still playing.

Bob had lost a piece early on but fought back magnificently to even things up and indeed to establish a winning advantage, but, in time trouble, he blundered and lost. All depended on John’s game, his opponent was in time trouble and offered a draw but John played on hoping to conjure a win but it was not to be as he was left with not enough material to produce a mate when his opponent’s flag fell.

- Tim

29 Feb 2012

A close match which we narrowly lost, again the highlights were a strong performance on the bottom boards. Joseph was the first to finish, after much swapping off, when his opponent offered a draw which Joseph accepted.

Next to finish was Helen who having forked her opponent and gained a piece, pressed home her advantage and won. Marianne gained an advantage and outplayed her opponent so we were leading 2½-½.

Tim, a knight down after a blunder, could not find enough counter play and eventually succumbed.

Bob had also given away a Bishop but fought bravely with some very strong counter play but his opponent was not going to let his advantage slip. Isabel’s game was very even for a long time and looked drawish but she decided to go for a win but could not press her attack home and with both players very short on time, she blundered giving her opponent a win.

We are still mid table which is a fine effort with the youngsters who have played regularly.

- Tim

24 Feb 2012

Jake was the first to finish with a comprehensive win on board 6, finishing with a check mate.  Marianne played well too and won well. Isabel found her opponent a little too strong for her after an error and Joseph lost his way and made an error so it was 2-2.

Tim was struggling from the beginning and could never wrest the initiative from his opponent so we were 3-2 down. Finally Jon was offered a draw in what was a drawish position with perhaps a slight advantage to his opponent.

We meet Cumnor again at the end of the season and hope to win then.

- Tim

21 Feb 2012

Although we lost to the league leaders 2-4 this was a good performance by a young Witney Team. First to finish was Andy who, in pursuing his own attack, overlooked a forced check mate by his opponent.

Jenny lost a lot of material in the opening, fought back but could not overcome her initial disadvantage.

John and his opponent agreed a draw, which was a fine effort against a player graded 30 points higher. Next to finish was Joseph, who played in his usual steady fashion, built up an advantage which he forced home in the end game as time got short.

Isabel found herself the exchange down in the end game which proved too much of a handicap and she lost. With the match now lost Ian, although with a slight advantage in position and time, agreed a draw with his opponent. Well done everyone.

- Tim

17 Jan 2012

First to finish was Bob on board 2 having had a comprehensive win in double quick time. Next to finish was Jake on board 6 who held his own but then lost a piece and was eventually mated. Tim on board 3 felt he had an inferior position but after a repeat of moves, offered a draw which was accepted.

Joseph on board 4 was playing well and was clearly on top when his opponent sacrificed a knight unsoundly; Joseph got confused, missed the win and unfortunately dropped his queen in time trouble when there was still all to play for. Isabel, on board 5, played steadily and won a piece; she was always in control and kept her advantage to the end. With the scores level, everything hinged on the final game on board 1.

Ian got into trouble early on and lost material (not surprising given that he had to dash back from Oxford to make the match, having thought it was an away match) but fought back well, got some mating chances and was one move away from mate, but his opponent got in first. So we lost unluckily and by the narrowest of margins, but we remain fourth in the league with a better game difference than St Clare’s.

- Tim

14 Dec 2011

On a wet stormy evening a weakened team travelled to Wantage and recorded a fine win. Out graded on every board, Jon and Tim on the top boards were gradually out manoeuvred and so we were 2-0 down. Joseph played solidly on board 3 and accepted his opponent’s offer of a draw.

Next to finish was Helen, having reached a stage where both players had a number of pawns and a knight, played really well and managed to promote a pawn and win. Isabel had a pretty even game in terms of material then managed to find a fine ending, trapping the opponent’s king and delivering mate. 2.5 each, all depended on the final game.

Keith had played very solidly and his opponent was almost out of time when, under pressure from Keith, he made a mistake to lose his queen and resigned. This was a great win and consolidates our 3rd. position in the League.

- Tim

06 Dec 2011

City 5 turned up with four men so we started with a 2-0 lead. All four games were quite even at the beginning but Isabel and Tim both lost the initiative, Tim lost a rook to nothing and both lost. 

At 2-2 we were getting anxious but Marianne then won and finally Bob was able to get a pawn promoted and seal the win. With the win we leapt up the table to 3rd. Well done everyone.

- Tim

01 Nov 2011

Another narrow loss which still brought credit to the team. On the bottom two boards Isabel and Marianne fell foul of the accurate opening theory of the MCS Blackbirds and found themselves struggling although they fought bravely.

Joseph was Black against another up and coming junior in the shape of Kirill Lasis, and again found himself significantly outgraded. Nonetheless, he found a very nice 11th move to win a pawn. Kiril however maintained significant counterplay, mainly the result of Joseph's injudicious and loosening 9th move, but Joseph defended well.

After White missed at least a draw with 23. Rd6! Joseph gave the pawn back and transposed into a slightly better ending which Kirill might have held by going on the defensive. Instead he counter-attacked and Joseph found a nice sequence to take advantage of White's vulnerable king and transpose into a winning endgame. A hard-fought game reflecting credit on both players.

Tim found himself defending against another accurate opening and was on the back foot until his opponent chose to swap off the major pieces to leave Tim with a king and five pawns against his opponent’s six pawns and a king. The pawns were interlocked and when Tim offered a draw his opponent accepted as it was hard to find a way through.

Jon lost after appearing at one stage to have a very promising attack with a central advanced pawn supported by two rooks and a bishop. But in concentrating all his efforts on this, he allowed his opponent to release his rook down the open h file and that proved devastating. Jon nevertheless retained some hope in the last throes of the endgame as his opponent was in desperate time trouble. But after Jon’s final rook was captured and his opponent prepared to move in for the kill with still 20 seconds left, Jon resigned.

Bob always had equality of pieces but the edge on position and as he began to pressurise his opponent so his opponent ran out of time though Bob would probably have won anyway

- Tim

25 Oct 2011

All the juniors played well against some tough opposition, but unfortunately the bottom three boards shed material at crucial moments against their more experienced opponents. Jenni in her first league game was the first to lose followed by Marianne and lastly by Isabel. That said, these matches are providing excellent experience for our juniors (which is really the main reason for having a fourth team in the league), and they are already showing signs of rapid improvement.

Joseph was the only junior to trouble the scorers on the night, beating a player graded 35 points above him - he hoovered up a free piece in the opening, and despite a bit of a wobble in overlooking the f7 square dropping off he kept his head as the White pieces swarmed round his king and managed to swap off pieces into a won endgame.

Bob played the ultra-sharp Ulvestad variation of the Two Knights defence against a strong opponent (grade 143); if White knows the theory Black finishes up worse, but the whole line is an absolute minefield for White. Interestingly, both sides missed a 10th move for White that would have won instantly (I will leave readers of this report to spot it themselves on the website; unfortunately though there's no prize for the first correct answer).

After that Bob never looked back and cleaned up efficiently. Both Bob's and Joseph's games are on the website. Tim held his own in the opening and was going well when impetuosity cost him a pawn. Both players attacked but Tim lost a bishop and was struggling but his opponent, having only just over a minute left, accepted a draw for fear of losing on time. So we lost narrowly, but well done everyone.

- Tim

05 Oct 2011

Witney's 4th team, making their first appearance in the Oxfordshire League (because I don't believe we've ever managed to rustle up enough players for four teams before) got their season off to an excellent start with a 4-2 win at St Clare's on Tuesday night, a particularly merit-worthy result as the team contained three juniors.

Most of the games looked tight after 30-45 minutes. Helen then fell to a powerful attack, but Joseph scored an impressive victory on Board 3 to even it up.

Next to finish was Isabel, with a fine win after what looked a solid showing, but on Board 1 Bob was struggling in the extreme with a rook and a few pawns against a queen (from a promoted pawn), a rook and a few pawns. With his opponent set to combine queen and rook for a series of checks as well, I was so sure Bob had lost that I actually filled in 1-0 on our copy of the scoresheet.

While this was going on, Marianne's brave resistance was ended, but Joseph, Marianne and Isabel had all been a credit to the club. Of course, with youngsters due at school the next morning, they all had to get off home.

That left me to finish with no supporters while St Clare's had half a dozen watching their combatant. Fortunately, though, I turned down my opponent's offer of a draw and managed to execute a strong queen and knight attack where my horse kept trampling on unsuspecting pawns, to force the win. I thought this had given us a 3-3 draw and felt mightily relieved.

But then their captain revealed that Bob had somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in his match. So, as it transpired, we had won 4-2! Talk about drama. I'm still not sure how Bob did it from my memory of his dire position. No doubt he regaled Helen and Joseph of the details on the way back.

- Jon Murray

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