Geoff, he had a dream………..
Richardson Cup 09-02-16
Semi Final
| Nomads 1 | 3.5 | 2.5 | Ecclesall 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Nelson 204 7062 | 1 | 0 | David Adams 1062 |
| Sam Milson 188 3971 | 1 | 0 | Jim Burnett 5495 |
| Chris Shephard 192 1603 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Farshad Ai 2397 |
| Daniel Sullivan 184 3594 | 0 | 1 | Peter Hempson 1354 |
| Jamie Hillman 186 4353 | 0.5 | 0.5 | James Marley 2800 |
| Jeremy Hamm 168 3243 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Gunnar Mallon 3954 |
The long awaited Semifinal clash with Ecclesall. Thanks to my players for feverish email, statistics and board order suggestions. I could fill a page with analysis, thought process etc….
The teams were evenly matched, we slightly shaded it on grades. At Jon’s suggestion we took Black on ODD, again lots to consider.
Ok, Jon played a modern system against a very classical set up from Dave. Nf3, Nc3, early h3…this was going to be a long grinding game. Sam played e4 and Jim played his favourite line of the French Tarrasch. Sam had more space but this was not going anywhere quickly. Farshad Chris was 1 d4 Nf6,2 Bf4 play was cautious by both players. In the mmdle of the game and on a full board the Queens ended up at a2 and a7 very cautious.
I do not have a note of Daniel v Peter opening. They were soon in a middle game, Daniel had doubled Rooks on the b file seemed to be going fine. Jamie played a NimzoIndian which soon had a locked position. Finally Jeremy also got a French, Winawer this time. I was very happy about this as I have seen Jeremy win many of these games (Often against me!)
Then disaster. Daniel move his Knight to avoid a fork but put it between the doubled rooks. Lost the Rook Resigned. This was then balanced by a fine win by Sam. Jim lost a piece in an exchange, overlooking an intermediate check. Now we had the win on 2 against the loss on 4 so were in pole position on board count. Jamie then drew, as did Jeremy. It looked like Jeremy had a nice plus but we were unable to find a clear win.
So to Board 1. Jon offered Dave a draw, Dave didn’t hear but said the he would have played on anyway because of the state of the match. Near time control Jon won the exchange and the game. Home with a board to spare. Chris and Farshad played on but it was clear that neither could win without risks so a draw was agreed.
Results above, thanks to my players. Also thanks to Ecclesall for a good and sporting match.
Bring on SASCA…..