Plenty of Resistance, Not Enough Reward for Derby C
On Monday (4/1/26) Derby C travelled to Burton to take on Burton & Lichfield B, hoping to spark a turnaround in our season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.
The evening began awkwardly on board four when Matt arrived 30 minutes late after a venue mix-up. Despite the time deficit, he defended resourcefully against Joe Parker’s Ruy Lopez, simplifying the position and accepting a draw when it was offered. Being first to finish, this briefly lifted spirits.
On board two, Shah faced a tough test against John Hoddy and was gradually ground down before eventually being mated.
On board one, I attempted to exploit what looked like an early inaccuracy, forcing my opponent’s king to remain in the centre, but after a series of exchanges I lacked the pieces needed to press home any advantage and the game ended in a draw.
All hopes then rested on Carl on board three. After a good opening and a promising middlegame position, a costly blunder left him a pawn down in a rook-and-pawn ending, which ultimately proved decisive.
| Burton & Lichfield B | 3 - 1 | Derby C | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith, Ryan L. | 1804 | ½ - ½ | Williams, David | 1835 |
| 2 | Hoddy, John D | 1808 | 1 - 0 | Hussain, Shah | 1685 |
| 3 | Ramawickrama, Anushka M. | 1689 | 1 - 0 | Weighill, Carl | 1676 |
| 4 | Parker, Joe | 1574 | ½ - ½ | Caswell, Matthew | 1609 |
Dave Williams 06/01/26