Captain - Russell White

 

Having won through to the finals of the knock-out competition, Chelmsford 'A' team met local rivals, Writtle 'A', in the recent North Essex Chess League Cup final.

In what was always going to be a tight match, things started cagily with even Robin Slade seemingly intent on curbing his usual wld play. In his game against Chris Fegan, he seemed to have the advantage, but his pieces were pinned and his opponent's queen left too many of his own pieces vulnerable. Robin was forced to concede and Writtle took an early lead.

On board 2, Malcolm Bucknell, in true beginner fashion, placed both his knights on the edge of the board, but when they marched forward to key squares, they broke through Dave Krazewski's defence and Chelmsford levelled the match.

On board 3, David Chandler's opponent, Francis Chin, cautiously used an hour of thinking time on the first 10 moves and ultimately, this led to time pressures later in the the game. At the end, Francis needed to make 18 moves in 5 minutes and David was able to gain several pawns during his opponent's time scrable and Chelmsford took a 2-1 lead.

On top Board, team captain, Russell White had greedily passed up a winning opportunity for material gain but neverthless, he secured a late endgame win to give Chelmsford a 3-1 win on the night.

This season, Chelmsford now have two trophies to their credit, so far, and, with 2 games remaining the 'A' team still have a chance to win the Division 1 league title.

 

Witham C v Chelmsford A
1. Russell White (w) 0-1 Graham Moore
2. Malcolm Bucknell 0-1 Dave Krazewski
3. David Chandler 0-1 Francis Chin
4. Robin Slade 1-0 Chris Fegan
 

 

The 'A' Team next play Colchester 'A', Away, on the 2nd May, 2007