European Club Cup, 2-10 October 2007

Round 6

After the disappointment of losing yesterday's match against the higher-rated Swiss team, Hilsmark are hoping for a morale-boosting victory today against lower-rated opposition, Spanish team Cuna de Dragones who we out-rate on every board bar the top two.

Breaking news from Round 6: Arkell has just drawn with the black pieces with super-GM Ibragim Khamrakulov (2604) in the Hilsmark Kingfisher clash against lower rated team

After nearly 3 hours play the situation is not looking good. Andrew Greet is struggling a pawn down is in a bishop v knight ending which he is unlikely to hold. Jovanka meanwhile has a promising mating attack going and looks likely to win her game. Nick Tavoularis looks about equal on board 4 Chris Briscoe has a clear advantage advantage on board 5 in a promising Queens Indian.

After 3 ½ hours play Nick appears to blundered a knight to back-rank mating with his opponent exploiting back-rank mating threat from what appeared to be a good position. It is difficult to see how he can save this game.

Excellent news - Jovanka has just won after playing g5 to finally crack open her opponent after weaving a mating net with Queen and Rook. Chris has also just won. His opponent gave up the exchange for a pawn to avoid a passive position after Chris had maintained the tension in the centre. He failed to gain sufficient compensation and Chris wrapped up the game quickly.

Andrew has just lost so we are leading 2½ - 1½ with just Nick's and Christin's games to finish.

Unbelievable!! Nick has managed to regain the piece and is now a pawn up a rook and 5v4 pawn ending. Both have an a-pawn but Nick has 4v3 on the kingside with good winning chances. Christin is a pawn down but has an active position.

4½ hours play. Nick has managed to gain his first win at these championships and we have won the match. Only Christin's game to go. Earlier on she was the exchange down but is now two pawns down in a bishop v knight ending. It is unlikely she can save his.

Later....Christin has just lost. Nevertheless a good team effort with the team winning 3½ -2½
Champagne tonight!

Mark Hogarth
Manager, Hilsmark Kingfisher

Round 6 Report by IM Lawrence Cooper

After our scare against the Turks in round 4 I was somewhat apprehensive about playing a team who we out-rated on the bottom boards. We again came under pressure but finally prevailed in unlikely style.

Keith had a potentially tough black on board 1. However, his 2604 opponent turned up late and proceeded to play an indifferent opening which gave Keith at least equal chances and probably an edge. There was plenty of play in the final position but white was probably the more relieved to take the draw as black had the better structure and long term prospects.

Possibly partly influenced by a gruelling loss the day before Andrew had an off day although the result can mainly be attributed to his dubious 16th move when Bxc6 probably gave him an edge. After losing a pawn the result was never really in doubt although he battled hard to try to salvage something.

I find it hard to write about Jovanka’s game without smiling. After white achieved nothing from the opening black appeared to be slightly better after white exchanged off his white squared bishop. However, in avoiding the exchange of queens twice white allowed the black queen to help construct a mating net around the white king. The mating net was well constructed and the final position shows the white pieces in a sorry looking state. It’s something of an understatement to say white should have agreed to the queen exchange and try his luck in the ending.

Nick’s game was also somewhat amusing from our side. Carefully nurturing a slight edge in a position where his opponent had an isolated d pawn he allowed an unusual tactic where black was able to play d4 and win a piece due to a back rank trick. Lesser players than Nick may have crumbled but he fought on and was rewarded when his opponent got his pieces so tied up he had to lose material. Even then he failed to find the best way to return material and headed into a rook ending a pawn down which white was winning due to his activity and space advantage.

Had he found 34…Rb3 then he would have retained a material advantage although I hesitate to say this would have been converted.

Chris won fairly smoothly in a Queen’s Indian. Although white had a space advantage in the early middle game an unfortunate sequence of moves by white led to him losing an exchange for a pawn and after that he swapped off pieces to make Chris’s task much easier. Credit to Chris though for making the win look simple and not allowing any counterplay.

Christin’s campaign came to a disappointing end as she gained no advantage from the opening and then drifted into a worse and then lost position which cost her a piece. Her opponent temporarily gave us hope by blundering material back but sadly still had enough pawns to win the ending.