Morecambe V Dragons

A comfortable win in the end

A comfortable win in the end for the higher-rated side. My own game on board one was against the Dragons' fast improving junior, Nikodem Wolnik. The opening was a Fianchetto King's Indian Defence, a line which was extremely popular in the 1950s. However, this was more than half a century before the Dragons player was even born, and these variations are out of favour these days. So it was perhaps not surprising that he mixed up the systems and quickly found himself in a difficult position. Nevertheless, he fought hard to the end and I had to work for the win. Board two looked like it was heading for a sterile draw but a tactical trick suddenly left the Dragons player the exchange down. A further attempt by him to complicate only led to further material loss and an early resignation. On board three, Michael Williams tried a new opening idea, combining a double fianchetto with an early ...f5; but it only led to weaknesses and lack of development, and Morecambe's own Michael scored a fairly quick win. The Dragons' one win came on board four, which featured Morecambe's Papee on his debut in a long-play match. Earlier in the season, the same two players had met each other in a rapidplay match. These two games had both been won by the Morecambe man, but in the long-play format Jonathan Verden's greater experience really proved an advantage and he won a fine game with a King-side attack concluding with his giving checkmate in the middle of the board. Some interesting chess, then, to start the new year 2022.

John Lyth