There may well be higher profile fixtures as the season unfolds, but this one seemed to come with just a sprinkling of stardust...
Atticus 4 travelled together in good spirits (and even brought three travelling supporters) to Wallasey for a match where both sides fielded a combination of experienced hands and young tyros. On paper it looked to be a tight contest, and the final result does not reflect how keenly contested most of the games were.
Chris sealed the first point for the team getting the night off to a good start. On board 3 Martin opted for a Semi-Tarrasch yet after the unusual but playable 5.Bf4 found himself on the wrong end of some sharp tactics. John's aplomb in finding mate in 5 from move 18 gives further warning of the potential of this fast improving player.
Nathan was next to finish in an up and down game that looked lost, then salvageable and finally decisive in our favour. Steve Winstanley and Natasha both gained creditable draws, effectively sealing the match, the former in a reverse Carlsbad structure where a peace accord broke out late in the evening yet early in the middlegame, the latter deep into the endgame against a Hedgehog.
The pièce de résistance however was the competitive debut of fourteen year old Alfie Melia, against relative novice at this level (and incidentally my pupil), Saul Marks. A wild game of back and forth devolved to a knight v bishop endgame, with Alfie having doubled f-pawns in a kingside 4 v 3 majority versus Saul's passed c-pawn. The composure both players showed in a balanced and subtle endgame does them both great credit, yet the chess gods decreed there would be a winner...and it was Alfie. We will see much more in the future of this talented young man.
So a breathless evening drew to an end, at a venue where it has always been a pleasure to play. Wallasey will pick themselves up and dust themselves down, while Atticus 4 will move onward and upward, sending the fans home happy!
