CASTLEHILL RANDOM KNOCKOUT 2020-21
TAFCA WINTER LEAGUE ONLINE 2020-21
Results
Division One
Thurs 1st April 21
Castlehill B 3, Castlehill D 1
Castlehill B had trouble fielding a full strength team and for the second match in a row had to pull two players in from lower sides. For a while this match could have gone either way, but sometimes as well as great skill, you need to trust to a bit of luck and as they say, “Fortune favours the brave”!
Board 1: Keith Rose (1515) CD v Sam Gregory (1837) CB
The opening exchanges seemed pretty even with no major problems for either player. Unfortunately for Keith he missed his Bishop was attacked and undefended on move 19 and resigned. We have all been there, even more so with a 2-D board!
Lichess Game “Link”: TAFCA Database No “310”
Board 2: Dariusz Kosznik (1755) CB v Martin Chalmers (1505) CD
The opening moves did not yield much for either side, but Dariusz seemed to have a bit more bite, but nothing to bite on yet! With that in mind, Dariusz decided to be bold and throw his kingside pawns towards Black’s King!
Move 13.h4! The right response would have been 13….h6! I think Martin must have underestimated how dangerous h4 was and played 13…Bb4 instead? Of course Dariusz pushed ahead with h5!
The resulting complications were many and impossible to see all of them. I guess that is a fun zone for Dariusz as he found the right combination to cast the mating net which resulted in Martin losing his queen! He did not see the 21.Qh1+ move further down the line! The game went on for a few moves but was all but finished! Nice attack Dariusz!
Lichess Game “Link”: TAFCA Database No “311”
Board 3: Peter Sallai (1510) CD v Andy Rowe (1572) CB
A game of cat and mouse, but which was which? Peter seemed to have the advantage of the first move, but by move 18 it was Andy who seemed to be taking the initiative but only just. Mind you this came at a cost…TIME! Andy has been in time trouble in a few of his last games and he was down on time in this match, while Peter was fine! What would be the outcome? A slight advantage for Andy, or would time give the match to Peter? On move 35 Peter played his King forward to f4 after Andy had checked him, but this was a mistake that lead to Peters end! Kf2 was the right move, but it`s always easy after the event!
Andy trapped Peters Knight at the back of the board and while Peter did have a few checks with his rook, Andy had the winning advantage and eventually won Peters rook for nothing and the game just in the nick of “TIME!” Oh unlucky Peter, but well played under time pressure Andy! Not so sure it`s good for your health!
Lichess Game “Link”: TAFCA Database No “312”
Board 4: Rishi Vijayakumar J9 (1002) CB v Jan Barron-Majerik (1500) CD
Early exchanges seemed to go Rishi`s way leaving Jan with isolated doubled “b” pawns! Not sure if this influenced Rishi`s thinking, but instead of consolidating his position, he loosened it with 11.g4 compromising a possible safe heaven for his King on the King side! A few moves later and Rishi gave Jan the Bishop pair and undoubled his pawns for him. Mind you while Black (Jan) had a small advantage, Rishi was in a good place! Then disaster struck as Rishi moved his Knight back to e1 and disconnected his rook’s leaving the rook on c1 as a free gift for Jan which he duly took and the game as well eventually!
It’s disappointing and frustrating at times this beautiful game, when everything is under control and you then under no pressure, blunder! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!??
The thing is no matter how much you try to stop this happening, “Chess blindness” still happens to us all!
Lichess Game “Link”: TAFCA Database No “313”
Congratulations to Castlehill B on a fine win in the end! This moves them into 2nd place in the league on 12 points behind league champions Dundee A with one game left which will be against Kirkcaldy A on Thurs 15th April 21!
As for Castlehill D they face the mighty Dundee A and probably a 4-0 loss? They can still go down if Perth A can beat St.Andrews Uni A, so fingers crossed on Mon 12th April when that match gets played! Come on St.Andrews A! (apologies Perth, no hard feelings!)
| # | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lost | Points | B-Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DUNDEE A | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 24.5 |
| 2 | CASTLEHILL B | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 20 |
| 3 | CASTLEHILL A | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 19.5 |
| 4 | CASTLEHILL C | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 19.5 |
| 5 | NEWPORT A | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 15.5 |
| 6 | ST.ANDREWS A | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 15.5 |
| 7 | DUNDEE B | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
| 8 | CASTLEHILL D | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 9 | PERTH A | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 9.5 |
| 10 | KIRKCALDY A | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
For all the results, standings and games go to the TAFCA website, link below.
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