Anstey Win in Ashby
Anstey's first team win away at Ashby 3
28 Nov Ashby 3 v Anstey 1
1 – 3
1 B 135 Wilson, Andrew ½ - ½ Foreman, Brian 139
2 W 128 Hayden, Lawrence 0 – 1 Sandham, Mick 117
3 B 127 Emmerton, Steve ½ – ½ Vaughan, Ben 122
4 W 111 Reynolds, David 0 – 1 Connor, Matthew 120
After making the long trip to Ashby, we came away with a valuable victory as a team.
First to finish was Matt with yet another win - this time rather hard fought - after Queening a passed pawn. The game looked very even in the middle game but eventually Matt was able to force some trades and Queen the pawn.
Something fairly bizarre happened next - I offered a draw which was accepted with a handshake at the EXACT moment that Mick Sandham won on board 2, thus meaning we had guaranteed a win with 2.5 points in a 4 board game.
My game itself was level. I have never faced the Alekhine's defence before but I have seen it online on Twitch. I was struggling a little in the middle game but towards the end with the pieces off, the game was very level.
I hadn't seen much of Mick's game but he played his trusty St George's defence and his opponent walked straight down the mainline which Mick knows very well. It was a matter of time before Mick came out on top.
Last to finish was Brian on board 1. In a level position, Brian offered a draw at about 10pm which looked like it would be accepted and we'd all go home. This wasn't the case and at 10:45, after Brian had liquidated the position with two Kings and a Knight on the board, the draw was accepted - forcingly so!