Five club members were in action over the weekend 5-6 November in the 4 Nations Chess League, playing for the three Iceni teams (managed by our own John Feavyour, and including players from further afield). The Saxmundham players produced some good results against strong opposition.
Simon (rated 1924) played one game for the 1st team and one for the 2nd, with a win and a draw (against a 2023 rated player). Sam (1833) also had a win and a draw (v 2003 rated player) for Iceni 2, whilst John (1855) also recorded a win and a draw.
Dominic (1653) and Mike (1721) were playing for Iceni 3, and the team struggled against two strong teams (as well as carrying a default on 6th board) with the team being significantly out-graded on every board. Dominic lost both games (to opponents rated 1938 and 2003 so no disgrace there), whilst Mike lost on the Sunday to a 1968 player, but on the Saturday had the immense satisfaction of beating a 2112 rated FM (FIDE Master), a ‘personal best’ for him.
In Simon’s win, the diagrammed position was reached after 35 moves with Simon (Black) to play. He played 35…Rfa8 with a significant advantage, although it took him another 40 moves to seal the victory, but missed the even better 35…Nc4! winning the exchange due to the pin on the b pawn.
