Funny title for a Blanchardstown Chess Club match against the league leaders Elm Mount but please bear with the Scribe….he’s losing it!! Our match started badly as the Dinosaur charged towards the late-coming Pat Fitzsimons….missing him completely…crashing into the wall. Ouch!!…not that anyone noticed, as their games were underway. After praising the Elm Mount consistency in the preview….they changed their board Order to maximise their chances of winning. Mikhail was as usual first to finish, but an open c-file with a pawn disadvantage……led to a loss. 1-0 to the hosts, and early signs were becoming more dismal by the minute. Piotr on board 6 was a piece for a pawn down; Randolf was having to work hard to equalise, whilst Mark was fiercely resisting his 350 points higher rated opponent in a titanic end to end game. Sadly, Mark lost after a pulsating match, and it was a relieved Andrew Peters who maintained his 100% record….just…….a very narrow squeak & 2-0 to the hosts. The Dinosaur offered a cheeky short draw which was refused just as Randolf managed to get a good position with both players having chances in a very complex position. They agreed to share the point….2.5-0.5 and looking good for Elm Mount. Following a lost knight, Piotr’s 300 points higher rated opponent literally crumbled in the face of accurate Rook moves, and the comeback win for the Ratoath youngster was more than welcome…….which left Captain Pat Fitzsimon’s having to wait until the very end……..as the Dinosaur is …..very ….very…..SLOW and normally the last to finish. A tactical shot winning the d pawn, followed by boring piece exchanges led to a winning end-game which was converted and the match is tied at 2.5 each.
The outstanding game left to play will be between 2 talented youngsters who……………………….both live in Ratoath.
Oh yes……..before I forget……….our Captain is walking home somewhere………………..on the Road to …yep……..you guessed it……………..begins with R. !!!
Overall, another great performance from all the team which means that we can now look positively towards climbing out of the relegation zone for Good.!!…and for Mark, it’s the least he deserves after all his hard work as Captain in raising a team that lost half of it’s best players before the season started.
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