Longbridge Defeat Redditch in an excellent team performance on Tuesday evening. They defeated Redditch by 3–1 in the WCA Challengers competition.
It was a particularly impressive result given that Longbridge Chess Club were out-rated on every board, with Redditch fielding the higher-rated player in each of the four games. Despite that, Longbridge held firm on the top two boards and produced two excellent wins on Boards 3 and 4 to secure the match.
Gavin Holds the Top Board
Playing Black on Board 1, Gavin Cartwright faced Harry Evans, who was rated 2022 compared with Gavin’s 1935.
Gavin was therefore out-rated by 87 points, but he put in a solid performance and secured a valuable draw.
It was actually the first game to finish. Gavin was understandably pleased to come away with half a point against the higher-rated opponent.
Tom Produces a Brutal Attack
With only Gavin’s game finished and the match still very much in the balance, Tom Sherwood was battling against Stephen Rawlings.
Tom faced the biggest rating deficit of the evening, being rated 1576 compared with Rawlings’ 1733. A difference of 157 points.
Playing White, Tom launched an early attack based around a mating threat and then kept the pressure on. Rather than allowing his opponent to develop his own plans, Tom continually forced him onto the defensive, tying his pieces down to the ongoing threat of mate.
Eventually, Tom’s attack became overwhelming. With the best way to prevent mate requiring the loss of his queen, Rawlings resigned.
A fantastic attacking performance from Tom and, by his own description, the second-best win of his career! So far.
Phil Grinds Out a Draw
On Board 2, Phil Maddocks had another difficult rating gap to overcome, facing Dave Smith, rated 1847 compared with Phil’s 1724.
The game was closely fought, eventually reaching a king and pawn endgame with both players having around six pawns and a knight. Neither side could find a convincing way to make further progress, and after a long battle the players agreed a draw.
Joe Produces a Brilliant Endgame Win
The match-winning performance came on Board 3, where Joe Kadar faced the experienced Nigel Towers.
Joe was the underdog by a massive 135 rating points and was playing with the Black pieces. But none of that seemed to bother him. Joe reached a winning endgame with a slight pawn majority and a bishop against Nigel’s knight. From there, he demonstrated excellent endgame technique and confidence.
He created passed pawns while simultaneously restricting Nigel’s knight, eventually trapping it against the edge of the board. Joe continued pushing his passed pawns until it became clear that they could not be stopped.
Nigel was eventually forced to concede, giving Joe a fantastic victory and deciding the match in Longbridge’s favour.
A Fantastic Team Result
The final score:
Longbridge 3 – 1 Redditch
Every Longbridge player was the underdog on rating, yet the team came away with a convincing victory.
Gavin and Phil both held their higher-rated opponents to draws, while Joe and Tom produced excellent wins to secure three points out of four for Longbridge.
Joe’s impressive endgame technique and Tom’s attacking play were the highlights of the evening. But the result was ultimately a great team performance from all four players.
Redditch clearly arrived looking to take the match, but Longbridge showed that ratings don’t always tell the whole story!
Another excellent result for Longbridge as the WCA Challengers campaign continues.