With no league fixtures over Christmas, we had an enjoyable rapidplay tournament at the Bridge before New Year which was attended by a few Darnall players as well as a strong contingent of Rotherhamites. Congratulations to Nat H-D who crushed all before him, ending up with a perfect 6/6 score. Now though, we're well into a new decade, the festive period is nothing more than a speck in the rear-view mirror, and the great chess treadmill has started turning again...
2020 kicked off with a double-header against Sheffield Nomads: a home A-team match followed by the Plate semifinal at the Trades & Labour Club. In the league meeting, our valiant chessers couldn't stop the Nomads B juggernaut—the visitors, having lost just one match all season, never looked in any danger as Rotherham A notched just a win and draw in a 1½–4½ defeat.
It was difficult not to take this as a bad omen for the impending knockout game against Nomads II, but things would prove alright on the night. Oli's game was first to finish, winning a chaotic Pirc with the Black pieces to put Rotherham in the lead. Surveying the scene, Ed looked to be up a piece, while on top board Steve Mann had queen for rook after earlier sacrificing the exchange. There was still some chess to be played, but we could dare to dream of a shot at the trophy.
As the clocks began to run low, Steve swapped off into a won pawn endgame and Ed converted after grabbing a second piece. Meanwhile, Chris and Andy halved their games to send us through to the final with a score of 2–4.
In the other semifinal, Darnall & Handsworth defeated Ecclesall 3½–2½, so we'll meet them in the grand finale on Wednesday 12th February.
On Monday, Rotherham A travelled to Hillsborough B where we scored an excellent 4–2 win despite being mostly outgraded. Four boards were drawn, while Andy and Ed continued their good runs by netting the crucial full-points to secure victory.
Wednesday's B fixture saw us finally return to our spiritual home, the Bridge Inn, for the first time in six weeks since the floods struck. Hillsborough C were the opponents and, despite the lack of heating in the upstairs function room, there was plenty of fire on the chessboard. The match toed and froed; Oli's top-board curse continued as he blundered a rook in a pleasant position. In the end, wins from Colin and Mick Mc alongside a half-point from John led to the spoils being shared in a 2½–2½ tie.
The festive period is just around the corner and we're heading for a well-deserved rest until the 8th of January—although I hear whispers of a quickplay tournament between Christmas and New Year.
A couple of good away wins for Rotherham sides this week. Monday's B-team visit to SASCA saw Chris, Phil and Mick Snowdon win their games. Andy Baxter's top-board draw against CM Jonathan Arnott proved decisive in securing us a 3½–2½ victory.
Later in the week, Sheffield's Octagon Centre played host to an epic battle of human intellect. I refer not, of course, to the Question Time election debate, but to the A team's clash with Sheffield University. The match began in rather interesting conditions, with the toe-tapping sounds of a Little Shop of Horrors rehearsal emanating from the adjacent room.
We advanced to the next round of the Richardson Plate tonight after a hard-fought 3½–2½ victory over Aughton. With the Bridge closed due to floods, we played the fixture at Aughton's place despite having been drawn at home.
Perhaps feeling the pressure, an opening disaster for Oli (who was making his debut on top board) saw him miniatured in 17 moves. That levelled the match score at 1–1, with Aughton having defaulted board 6 due to unforeseen circumstances. At one stage, Rotherham seemed to be in the ascendancy in the 4 remaining games, but the tables turned rather quickly.
Phil and his opponent agreed a draw. Next, what looked like a great position for John petered out into equality. Only Mick Mc, having won an exchange with a tactic, managed to convert his advantage into a win.
Oli's defeat on board 1 meant that a 3–3 scoreline would send us out, so with the scores at 3–2, we needed to get something from the final game. We were left holding our breath as Ed, up on time but a pawn down, eventually salvaged a draw from a horrible-looking endgame to take us through to round 2.
The recent flooding left quite a bit of Rotherham town centre underwater. The River Don surpassed the previous record height set in 2007. Sadly our home venue, the Bridge Inn, sustained some damage and will have to close for a while.
