Paul and Garry Lead Derby D to Season-Opening Victory
On Monday (21/09/26), Derby D travelled to Burton & Lichfield D to open the 2026/27 season — the first game played in the club‘s new room at the Bridge Inn — and came away with a 2½–1½ win.
Paul was first to finish, on board four. Playing Black in a Tarrasch French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2), he kept things solid and defensive through the opening, and it was in the middlegame, after a flurry of exchanges, that he won a pawn on c4 with his rook on move 25. The game moved into a rook-and-pawn endgame, where Paul doubled his rooks on the second rank. With Graeme Drayton's king pinned on g1, Graeme resigned soon after.
Next to conclude, on board one, was Garry , who beat Philip Goater — reportedly a player who once faced Boris Spassky back in the 1970s. The game followed a standard 1.e4 e5 opening, with 2.Bc4 d6 and 3.c3 Nf6. After Philip castled, Garry advanced his g- and h-pawns to probe the kingside, missing a chance on move 11 to win a pawn that would have given him a clear positional edge. The bishops came off soon after and the game levelled, but Garry's pawn storm kept coming: he castled long, doubled pawns down the file, and lined up his queen for extra pressure. When Philip traded a rook for Garry's knight, the game was effectively decided, and Garry closed it out.
On board three, I had a pawn's advantage and could see that Curtis was heading for defeat — enough for me to offer Mark Grubb a draw and guarantee the match for Derby D. I did miss a chance on move 11 to win a knight, which would have swung things to around +5.8 in my favour, but with the team result on the line it was the right call to bank the half point.
That left board two, where Curtis fell to an early tactical blunder against Terry Knight. Curtis fought hard to work his way back into the game, but Terry's solid, patient play simplified into a winning endgame, and Curtis could not hold on.
An excellent team result to start the season — a 2½–1½ away win, and a promising first look at Burton & Lichfield's new room.
Sam
| Burton & Lichfield D | 1½ - 2½ | Derby D | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goater, Philip | 1634 | 0 - 1 | Sands, Garry | 1550 |
| 2 | Knight, Terry | 1401 | 1 - 0 | Morrell, Curtis | 1508 |
| 3 | Grubb, Mark | 1463 | ½ - ½ | Samra, Mohinderpal | 1496 |
| 4 | Drayton, Graeme | 1267 | 0 - 1 | Burrows, Paul | 1466 |
(Match played on Mon 21 Sep 26)