Second place at best after league setback (From Ledbury Reporter)

Second place at best after league setback

6:59pm Thursday 17th April 2008

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MALVERN'S hopes of the County Chess League title were dashed by a narrow loss to Halesowen, leaving Kidderminster at the top of the table.

On board one, Brian Turner succumbed to an imaginative sacrificial attack by Stuart Fishburne. Ian Clarke fought hard against his opponent's spatial advantage on board two.

Despite Clarke losing a pawn he managed to find moves that kept him in the game and a draw was agreed when his opponent joined him in having time trouble. John Knee scored Malvern's win on board three, gaining a small positional edge, which looked insufficient until near the end of the session, when Knee refuted his opponent's tactical sequence and won a piece.

Board four saw a quiet variation of the Sicilian defence by Andy Ambrose and Geoffrey Herbert.

Herbert eventually won a central pawn and looked to promote his own pawn.

But he overlooked an advance of the white queen which allowed Ambrose to escape with a draw by perpetual check. Peter Yeadon played an exciting game on board five, losing material early on, but gaining a strong attack in compensation.

Under time pressure, Yeadon missed the coup de grâce and could only regain lost material to leave the position all square.

Barry Stone played well on board six to contain his opponent's pressure against his central pawns, but eventually lost a pawn and the endgame.

Individual scores were; B Turner 0-1 S Fishburne, I Clarke 0.5-0.5 M Bethel, J Knee 1-0 M Hadley, G Herbert 0.5-0.5 A Ambrose, P Yeadon 0.5-0.5 R Grimes, B Stone 0-1 J Llewelyn.

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