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Round 8
Its a funny thing how good things sometimes just happen when you least expect them in chess. After spending the last few rounds stretching our near-exhausted board 1 to the limit in the desparate chase for another match win, we rested him today and just told everyone to relax, forget the tournament and play their own game. And we end up beating Scotland
8.19 39 Wales 2½ - 1½ 36 Scotland 1 FM James David 2213 ½ : ½ GM McNab Colin 2451 2 Kett Tim 2192 ½ : ½ IM Shaw John 2449 3 Trevelyan John 2196 1 : 0 Grant Jonathan 2273 4 Spice Alan 2175 ½ : ½ FM Upton Timothy 2250
David played very solidly against McNab's wriggly Modern Defence. He baggsed a space advantage and then just sat on him, declining to make any rash breaks, and awaited developments. Having never really had any glimpse of a chance McNab was happy to acquiese in a draw.
John Shaw has apparently recently written a bust of the Schliemann for New in Chess magazine but I've sort of decided to give that up from now on anyway (especially after this game !). I noticed he always played Bb5 against the Sicilian and thought the standard positions that arise from there must be easily learnable and playable. Although he got a very small pull I was always OK and when he eventually overextended I should even have won. By then the match was going our way, my technique was wavering and time was short so I copped out.
John has had a bit of a struggle in the tournament so far but he played like the positional and endgame wizard he really is in this game. After a cunningly slow start from Trev, Grant tried rashly to seize the initiative and then snatch a pawn. John's development advantage then kicked in just as he'd planned and he ended up with lovely rook ending, at first still a pawn down, but with his rook dominant on the 7th and Black's pawns hopelessly weak. From there on his remorseless technique made light work of the win.
Alan's game went back and forth in another Tarrasch French with ...Nc6. He blundered a pawn to a two-mover soon out of the opening but his position remained active and his confidence is high after his good run here. He just kept things going and set problems and eventually White's advantage was no longer clear and he acquiesced in a repetition. Although Alan's norm chance has now gone 50% (3½/7) is a very good score in this company.
So now we have a second match win and this becomes one of our best performances in a long time at this competition. The squad have always kept their heads and siprits up and fought hard throughout. A well-deserved celebration is about to commence !
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