On 17th February, the Newark Chess Club 3rd team hosted Gambit’s 7 team.
Of special mention in this match was new club member Amrit, who was playing his first league match. Despite playing with the black pieces on board three against an experienced opponent, Amrit was able to pull off a fine debut victory.
It was a fine night for the team all around. On board four, Lewis was engaged in an exciting dynamic game that drew a lot of the onlookers. He too won, checkmating his opponent’s king in the middle of the board.
On board two, Mark put on a confident display with the white pieces. Particularly impressive was a moment late on in the game where, instead of greedily grabbing a pawn and allowing counter-play, Mark forced a queen trade by threatening a checkmate. With his queen out of the picture, Mark’s opponent struggled to generate any defence, playing instead for a last gasp stalemate. Fortunately, Mark was not fooled!
Ben was fortunate to escape with a draw on board one, his young opponent playing a very attacking line in the French exchange. Some lax play from Ben gave his opponent clear winning opportunities, but luckily none were concrete enough to easily find over the board!
The match was won by Newark 3.5 – 0.5.