Woodpushers 2 v Uckfield 2

Our second team travelled for an away fixture against Woodpushers 2 and we had high hopes of a victory as despite the strength of their team they had not won all season up to this point, which is surprising.  Unfortunately we had to change the team twice before reaching final line-up as we had two withdrawals late in the day.  We therefore ended up significantly outgraded on each board, but that said we had another entertaining close match, with all being even well into the time period.  Steve’s opponent on board 4 seemed in a hurry to get home and with their position deadlocked an early draw was agreed.  Nathan had not played for some time competitively, but belied his previous errors and stayed in close contention throughout, though an unfortunate blunder losing him a piece swung the match in his opponent’s favour.  We were pleased to see our new member Carel performing so well in his first game for the club and it seemed he had opportunities to win his game against the experienced Robert Davidson, but the latter skilfully defended and the game swung round the other way with Carel disappointed he had not maintained his own momentum to victory. Artur and I were up against the experienced Julians of their club, both 145+ and we both had excellent games. I had emerged from the opening feeling under pressure but set a trap which did not open up as much as I had hoped, with my opponent at one point taking nearly 30 minutes to construct a defence. Artur was offered a draw at one point, but we have discussed such situations previously and are always determined to fight on for the best result for the team. Unfortunately Artur’s momentum also was reversed skilfully and his exposed king was drawn and then caught in the centre of the board.  I had reversed finally the flow in my game and may have missed a winning opportunity, but certainly saw the opportunity to gain a creditable draw by repetitive checks, which I spurned in an effort to win the game, which if Arur and I had managed would have enabled a team draw. Sadly we both lost, but it was worth the effort and the final score of 0.5-4.5 to Woodpushers they would confirm did not at all reflect the closeness of the match. I think mine was probably my best game of the season.