Derby double for the 'A's: Express Report

John Kerrane reports on the second Division 1 derby clash between our ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams.


"On Monday evening at the Trades Club, Holme Street, Hebden Bridge Chess Club’s B team faced their toughest challenge of the season when they played at home against their own A team, the current Calderdale League First Division leaders.

Realistically, if the B team could expect to beat the A team, there would be something wrong with the selection, but the result was closer than the scoreline, a 4-1 win to the A team, might suggest. All the games were close, and the two draws by Dave Shapland on board 2 against Matthew Parsons, and between John Kerrane and Matthew Wedge-Roberts on board 4, were well-deserved."

The individual results were:

Hebden Bridge ‘B’ – Hebden Bridge ‘A’

P. Olley 0 – 1 D. Wedge

D. Shapland ½ - ½ M. Parsons

M. Syrett 0 – 1 A. Wright

J. Kerrane ½ -½ M. Wedge-Roberts

N. Bamford 0 – 1 N. Sykes

1 – 4

I plan to post the games in full with some more detailed commentary on Friday but in the meantime (it being half term and some of you having nothing better to do!) here are some interesting positions from the match. In each case I've set a little problem for readers to assess the situations themselves.

First up, here is the final position from Kerrane vs. Wedge-Roberts. A draw was agreed here with White to move. How would you assess the situation below? Should White continue playing for a win, is a draw the best he can hope for, or is Black better?

White (John Kerrane) to play

The next position is from Syrett vs. Wright. It's White to play and he has managed to obtain a good positional advantage. What is the right continuation?

White (Martin Syrett) to play

Next, on board 1, Pete Olley and Dave Wedge reached the position below with Dave to play. How did he obtain a material advantage?

Black (Dave Wedge) to play

Here is an interesting position from the board 5 encounter between Neil Bamford and Nick Sykes. Black is winning but he must proceed with care owing to his pinned bishop. Nick considered both 1...Qb6 and also 1...Qe7. Which of these two moves is correct and why? Can you find anything better for Black?

Black (Nick Sykes) to play

Finally, from Shapland vs. Parsons. White has just played 20.Ne2 to which Matthew responded with 20...Qf6. He has a better move. What had both players overlooked?

Black (Matthew Parsons) to play

The answers and full moves for all these games will be revealed on Friday. Please feel free to add comments to this post if you think you know the answers. No prizes, just a bit of fun.