Penrith A were at home to Maryport C at the weekend, in a match that should have been one sided but due to the shortage of available A team players, our A team was weakened by the presence of myself (Andy) and Nathan on the lower boards.
Maryport’s board 1, Tommy Wilson, had a reputation of being a giant killer but it took a bit of a knock when up against Jacob.
Neil Druggan had to face Holden, on board 2. Holden won every league game that he played last season and apparently intends to do the same again this season as he put the A team 2 points up.
Our top boards obviously inspired Nathan to win his board 4 game against Dennis Renney, to put the result beyond doubt.
Board 3, on the other hand, was much closer. Captain, Andy Pringle ended up with two bishops against my one but it cost him a couple of pawns. With my pawns all on the same colour as my bishop and my pawns positioned such that white couldn’t penetrate my position, I offered a draw. Andy, getting short of time, considered my offer for a while before accepting a draw.
Penrith A won by 3½-½ which puts them on top of the table.
Our B team were meant to be away to Carlisle B but, as Carlisle are in the process of transitioning to a new venue, Captain, James Ovens, asked if the match could be played at the Crown. Naturally, we were happy to oblige.
Eggert, on board 2 playing Ian Mackay, had a decent position when he blundered a piece and lost the game.
Fortunately, our board 1, Andrei got the better of George Glover to pull the match level.
On board 3, Steve and John Lydon both had the initiative several times during the game. It was nip and tuck all the way through to the end when, with time ebbing away, a draw was agreed. Still level.
The result of boad 4 was to be the result of the match. James, renowned for playing on if he has half a chance of winning, accepted a draw offer from Richard who had set up an impenetrable position.
After a bit of a disastrous start, a draw was a great result, keeping our B team in touch with the League leaders.
The current League Table looks like this:
