Umming and Erring

On Monday 24 November, Aber's new-look B team played Haverchess B at the Emlyn Cafe, Tanygroes. Adam Robinson's hesitant play in a King's Indian against Colin Denham didn't seem a serious enough fault to merit the drastic punishment it received, as White invaded dramatically on the d-file, forcing a quick win. Mike Weston's game against Scott Hammett was mostly quiet manoeuvring, with just one moment when White missed a chance to win material before it petered out into a completely drawn ending. There was more indecisiveness on Board 3, where Tony Geraghty's opponent, Ray Greenwood, spent most of the opening moving a bishop back and forth, allowing Black to take control, despite his odd-looking tripled pawns. Ian Finlay managed to get an early knight fork on c7 against Margaret Baron, after which the win was no problem. A welcome win for Aber B, 2½-1½.

Colin Denham - Adam Robinson 1-0

Mike Weston - Scott Hammett ½-½

Ray Greenwood - Tony Geraghty 0-1

Ian Finlay - Margaret Baron 1-0

Aber A's home match against Gwyddbwyll.com at the St David's Club on Tuesday 2 December was quite a contrast, with players taking the adventurous rather than the cautious approach, not always successfully. Rudy van Kemenade kept calm against Iwan Griffiths's enterprising attack in a Petroff, declining a piece sacrifice, and steering the game towards a won ending. I played a sharp line against Owen Llywelyn's Caro-Kann which has brought me success against him in the past. I got the better position again, but was tempted by an unsound pawn sacrifice and should have been in serious trouble; luckily for me, he made a crucial mistake that let my queen in for the win. Ian was typically aggressive against Tegwyn Jones; his piece sacrifice may have been unsound, but was difficult to defend against in practice. An exciting game finished with the players agreeing a draw in a position where White still faced problems trying to win with the extra piece. Only James Corrigan on Board 4 had a trouble-free attack, breaking through quickly against Emyr Llywelyn's Hippopotamus. A 3½-½ win to Aber A.

Iwan Griffiths - Rudy van Kemenade 0-1

Matthew Francis - Owen Llywelyn 1-0

Tegwyn Jones - Ian Finlay ½-½

James Corrigan - Emyr Llywelyn 1-0