Battersea’s U125 all-stars kept the pressure up at the top of the Minor division with a crucial 3-1 win over Wanstead & Woodford last night.
Club stalwart Tim Allen was the man who made it with a belting win on board one after a default on four gave Battersea the early advantage but left Chris Rebbeck without a game.
Tim, described in the build up as the “King of the Minor division” and “just the man you’d have at Rorke’s Drift”, set loose a vicious rolling maul of centre pawns that nothing could stop.
It was great to watch – Tim, playing white, simply steamrollered his opponent right down the middle.
Over on boards two and three, Joel Morales and your correspondent both accepted draws within seconds of each other to end the match early.
Joel, on three, had shaken up his opponent’s airy-looking king and looked to be launching a decisive attack.
But he lost momentum and reached a point where six heavy pieces faced each other on one file. Unfortunately, there was no chance of progress.
Meanwhile, I had a close game playing as black against an English opening and – according to the computer – a slight edge.
But with material equal, a fractured pawn structure and the result secured I accepted a draw.
It leaves us second in the division with two games in hand over the leaders, the Metropolitan Gnomes.
The next U125 match is on March 7 against the DHSS.
