Round 3

Press / Admin Comment

A good round for Black! The key match between the joint leaders Malcolm and David was very exciting. After a quiet opening a slip by Malcolm cost him a pawn but gained him the initiative which enabled him to win 2 pawns back a few moves later. After a tense endgame where David was in time-trouble with a difficult game David gave up a knight for 3 pawns to reach a drawn position with bishop v 2 pawns. John Regan gave a really strong performance against the much higher-rated Roy. Tied up in the opening, he broke free by sacrificing a bishop for 2 pawns to obtain a dangerous attack which, although theoretically sound, was difficult to defend. Roy wisely returned the piece to regain a slight positional edge and, after some grinding down, his 2 extra passed pawns were enough to win the ending despite the presence of opposite-coloured bishops. Brant's game against Dave was a quick one. Brant tried something different in the opening but got his knight pinned against his king on the e-file and eventually lost it. Pat had attacking possibilities but was unable to brek through against Blaine and, with level material, thegame was drawn in 27 moves. The 2 Grahams were equal after the opening but Ashcroft found a tactic which won a pawn and severely damaged Taylor's position. Soon afterwards, faced with the loss of a piece Taylor resigned.

John Cooper