Lytham 2 V Bispham 1

I saw 3 of these 4 games but

I saw 3 of these 4 games but board 3 was already over when I arrived at 7.30 pm! Ron wasn't in the mood, I gather, but did manage to get a bargain bottle of beer to take home! Graham and Peter were in a game with opposite -coloured bishops but queens still on and slightly blocked by the pawn chain. Peter had an extra pawn but, threatened with an attack on his king down the h-file, Graham broke through the centre with his queen and bishop and forced a rapid checkmate against Peter's undefended king. Board 2 seemed to slightly favour Keith going into an endgame with rook , knight and equal pawns. However, Dave gained the upper hand and should have won a pawn to reach a winning rook and pawn ending but the draw was enough to win the match for Lytham. A very close game on board 1 when Peter appeared to gain control of the board by advancing his queen into the heart of the position. However, Jakub defended resourcefully and forced the win of a piece after advancing his rook to the 7th rank of the undefended c file. Peter hung on for some time but was unable to avoid defeat after this.

John Cooper