Holding Firm: Derby A Win Keeps B Team's Survival Hopes Alive
Clutch composure helped Derby A finish off battling Rolls-Royce A for a win that boosts our B team's survival hopes in a relegation showdown.
After other results and teams' player selections didn't go our way, Belper A secured the Division One title before we returned to action with a trio of games in hand. We needed the title holders to lose one or draw two of their final three matches. The best chance came at Breadsall, who were 2-0 up, only for Belper to level up. A win at Rolls-Royce A was expected, but it proved a close 2.5-1.5 clincher. Finally, to retain their title, Belper easily fought off a Burton & Lichfield side which, frustratingly for us, was significantly weaker than the one we faced and drew against a few weeks prior.
In beating Rolls-Royce A ourselves, we guaranteed finishing second, our best league finish for many years. We also left our B team two points (one match win) clear of Rolls-Royce A in the battle to avoid relegation, with one match remaining for each.
Leonid got us off the mark following his trademark feat of turning a Caro-Kann into a double-edged, dynamic affair. He won a piece and confidently converted.
I doubled our advantage with victory on board one with white against Oleksandr Diug. I was able to motor my e-pawn down the board and, upon capturing on f7 to expose the black king, I found a forcing sequence that won a queen for two pieces.
Victory was far from secure, however. Kevin was a pawn down and in significant trouble out of the opening against Dan Blumenow. Meanwhile, Steve 'Rusty but Reliable' Retout was getting low on time in a closed position against Andy Robins, who was starting to plot an attack on the kingside.
But when minor pieces were exchanged after Dan had pushed his pawn to e7, Kevin 'Defender of The Realm' Dalley was able to dance his remaining rooks and king around the pawn and capture it to secure an equal endgame with an advantage on the clock. Soon after, he secured a draw, as did Steve.
After what feels like an endless road trip across all the delightful Derbyshire venues, we finish our season with two home games — starting at home to already-relegated Rolls-Royce B.
| Rolls Royce A | 1 - 3 | Derby A | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diug, Oleksandr | 1951 | 0 - 1 | Tompson, John C | 2129 |
| 2 | Blumenow, Daniel | 1899 | ½ - ½ | Dalley, Kevin J | 1830 |
| 3 | Robins, Andrew | 1854 | ½ - ½ | Retout, Steve P | 1860 |
| 4 | Nath, Ranjit | 1760 | 0 - 1 | Siedielnikov, Leonid | 1868 |
John Tompson 19/04/26