Harvey Cup Match v Medway 10/02/12

Last night we travelled to Medway for our sixth of eight fixtures in this season's competituon. We came away with a 3-3 draw, which keeps us at the top of the table with 4 wins and 2 draws, but had to endure a dramatic final game win from Rob to maintain our unbeaten record. The evening had started off excellently....despite the predictions of the need to wear multiple layers the venue was in fact very warm ! Charlie got us off to a good start with a solid draw on board 6, and then George exceeded expectations (mine, not his) by drawing with Andy Mayhew (190) on board 1. In fact he was probably winning ! Nick and I then drew what appeared to be unremarkable games, leaving Pete and Rob playing. Unfortunately Pete never really got going in his game, although his opponent almost overlooked the winning move, leaving Rob playing and needing to win. This did not initially seem like a major problem as he had a pawn advantage and a big attack. However when pieces were traded the ending became problematic, with maybe a draw the most likely outcome (didn't someone once say 'all rook and pawn endings are drawn' ?). Anyway Rob gambled by creating a passed pawn and effectively ignoring his opponent's threats which by this stage were real......and it worked, his pawn becoming unstoppable ! That makes it 5/5 for Rob in this year's competition. We now face 2 fixtures in March that will decide where we finish, a top spot and a home sem-final being the aim............ Report by David Fowler