With 3 wins out of 3, the fixture against Hull looked like it might be the most challenging of our matches so far. In fact, it turned out to be the most comfortable. From an early stage, on board 1, Andrew Ledger was taking command on the Black side of a ..Qd6 Centre Counter.  On 2, by about move 10, Jon Nelson astonishingly managed to lure his opponent's king right into the centre of the board - this was still with queens on. Mike Johnson and myself were also winning at an early stage. Other games were more difficult to call, though Paul Cumbers looked like he was losing against Eric Gardiner.  

Pete Hempson concluded a draw against the tricky Shaun Culkin - and Jon's result, never in doubt, also came in quickly. Mohammad (with only a couple of hours sleep behind him) tried to gain an edge in a rook and pawn ending but to no effect: another draw. My opponent resigned in a hopeless position 2 pieces down. And Andrew concluded his game with an elegant bishop pin on his opponent's queen, leaving him 4 pawns up in a K&P ending if his opponent hadn't resigned. So when surrender came from Mike's opponent, we were 5-1 up, with just Paul and Andy's games left. Andy wasn't able to press home any advantage in a rook and double bishops ending - so peace proceedings there. And by now, Paul's resilience was telling on Board 3, where the game had turned into a rook and pawn ending in which Paul regained the pawn he'd earlier lost - another draw. 

Trusted with the responsibility of captaining Sheffield A at such an early stage in my career was truly an honour. 

The usual last minute phone calls which started about Tuesday never alter. I am grateful hat Kieran could organise the Nomads players and to my good friend Paul Blackman who phoned up on Saturday morning with the offer of a player.  Also Mark who got me out of bed at 9 am to say he could play. Everything was sorted. The team was strong enough and I confidently prediced 5 wins & 3 draws. I should have known better...Haidar Nomeq did not get to the meeting point so we were 1 down. I decided that I knew Yorkshire better than my Satnav so got there late. At least Kieran had won the toss so we got 4 whites. Having barely made my first move noticed Bill Ward as white 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nef7 Kxf7. This was not going to be a good day. By the time the football results come out on TV I normally know how the match is going to go. Not today. Bill drew, don't ask & Kieran drew. Nothing else was happening except I was having a game to forget. The lighting and the tables for boards 1 & 2 are particularly bad so Jon requested to move to a better spot. His opponent resigned next move...Kieran why didn't you think of this. Mark drew and I resigned just as Peter was winning a fine game, actually well played by both players. Paul Cumbers gradually increased the pressure and won in fine style...a nice mate.

Having arrived late in Halifax after a difficult journey, for this first Woodhouse Cup match of the season, it was clear that we would be facing a more solid team than we'd mentally prepared for. After half an hour of play, it looked like we had a real challenge on our hands: while most boards looked about even, Dave Latham and Andy George both looked under the cosh, and we were outgraded by 25 points on Board 8 where Ian Barwick was playing. 

But as is the case so often, the more highly-graded team began to pull through as the afternoon wore on. On board 1, Andrew Ledger established a strong bind as Black against Phil Watson in a queenless middlegame (the opening had been 1.d4 d6  2.c4 e5  3. de de  4. Qxd8+ Kxd8). On board 2, Dave L managed to swap queens to stem the pressure and soon agreed a draw in a rook and pawn ending. On 3, Pete Hempson also reached a rook and pawn ending, which looked pretty equal. I was better on 4, with a good position on the White side of a Pirc. On 5, Andy was under huge pressure but was managing to hang on. Haidar Nomeq won very quickly on Board 6, catching his opponent's king in the centre of the board. On 7, Geoff Frost - was gaining the upper hand against the sometimes dangerous Dave Patrick. And on board 8, Ian Barwick was calmly demolishing his opponent with impressive-looking positional play. 

As expected Andrew L won - and so did Pete, who somehow managed to convert a drawish-looking rook and pawn ending into a win. Ian also won very well - congratulations to him for a fine performance. So we now had 4½  points and the match. For the remaining 3 games, I somehow managed to turn a fine position into a very difficult one, and in time trouble my opponent played well to win. Andy was also unable to hang on (his opponent apparently told him that he'd been lost from move 5!). And with 2 (or was it 3) extra pawns in the endgame, Geoff was probably disappointed not to win his endgame, though opposite-coloured bishops did make it difficult. So, all in all, a reasonable performance: nice to start the season with a win.

Jeremy Hamm

 

Sheffield D playing their first Woodhouse Cup match secured victory against Wakefield A from the last game of the day with time running out.

After early victories from Ashley Littlewood and Yang Guo and a battling draw for Paul Blackman against his Sheffield league team mate Pete Shaw, Sheffield took an early lead. A win for Pete Ballard and a draw from Azmiddin Mohammad left Sheffield D needing ½ point from the last two matches for victory. A nail biting finish developed when Masrura Khakimova lost the 7th match on time from a strong position, before eventually Chris Marley secured the win.