On Monday 24th February West London made the short trip to Ealing Chess Club to play in the Hillingdon League. This was a key match, as we lost to Ealing at home earlier this season. This time we had a stronger team.
Harry Grieve was first to victory, as black v the strong Martin Smith, who not long ago was graded 2299 but has slipped a bit now. I had quite a nice win playing white against a Philidor, castling queenside and throwing pawns at the black king. Black tried giving up a piece to slow down the attack, but in the complications, I found most of the right moves and had a huge time advantage, so 2-0 at that stage.
Antanas had a lovely win, finishing with a knight sacrifice and mating attack. Lan Yao had won an exchange but her opponent managed to find some compensation, but eventually, her technique showed. Eldar won an endgame with a rook against two knights with an extra pawn, showing his calmness and technique in the blitz finish on the increment. So, in the end, it was a convincing win.
Russ Campbell was on hand to enjoy the games as non-playing reserve and captain.
| Ealing | Colour | Grading | Result | West London | Grading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Harley | White | 2167 | 0-1 | Eldar Gasanov | 2545 |
| Martin Smith | Black | 2164 | 0-1 | Harry Grieve | 2523 |
| Jonathon White | White | 2026 | 0-1 | Lan Yao | 2348 |
| Jack Sheard | Black | 1860 | 0-1 | Antanas Zapolsksis | 2260 |
| Mark Winterbotham | White | 1857 | 0-1 | Andy Hayler | 1935 |
| Mean grade | 2015 | 2322 | |||
| Score | 0-5 |
Board 5: White: Andy Hayler (1932) vs Maximillian Papachristos (1855)