Howard was a pawn up but fell prey to a 10 o' clock combination which posed two serious threats at the same time. Howard was only able to address one of them.  Nigel's game was mostly even but he never managed to get going, suffering from a clogged battleground. A same-coloured bishop ending eventually led to a lost pawn and an inexorable decline.

David's St. George defence did not work as planned and his opponent built up an initiative on the king side. Fortunately this initiative passed to David who managed to capture a crucial piece which led inevitably to a victory.  Alex was able to get much better development for all his pieces with white in a French by transposition. The capture of a knight on h6 led to the collapse of black's kingside and resignation after 29 moves.

Graham's game was even until the end when his opponent managed to get into a better position - a pawn advance on the king side backed up by rooks eventually led to defeat.  A pawn down and with a bishop and knight forked by his opponent's queen Peter found a combination involving a knight sacrifice which exposed black's uncastled king. Study of Neishstadt's 'Improve Your Tactical Ability' seems to have paid off in this game. (PR)

6 December 2005: Yate 3½ - 2½ Horfield C 

Howard's game was a 'dynamic' draw in 20 moves: neither player could afford to avoid a repetition of moves.

Geoff's endgame looked fairly even but gradually deteriorated to a loss.

David opted to counter White's 1.e3 and multiple application system with a Classical Dutch set-up and shaped up for a king-side pawn storm. White countered strongly; then, in a complex situation where both sides had serious threats, a slip led to his queen becoming trapped.

Alex, black on board four, by move twenty should have been a pawn to the good in a superior position but rather than winning the pawn by capturing with his white square bishop he captured with a pawn. His position deteriorated suddenly and he was lost shortly after.

Graham won, but there are no details at time of going to press.

Peter was under intense pressure from his 13-year old opponent who mounted a brisk and efficient attack. He managed to hang in there and was very lucky that his opponent's concentration slipped enabling him to sneak a rook behind enemy lines. A miscalculation then turned what could have easily been a draw into a win for us. (PR)

Howard on board 1 admitted to a five star blunder in an ending in which he was better / possibly winning. However Lloyd Beckford had put him under some fair pressure in playing dynamic moves at a quick pace, including a temporary piece, so he arguably deserved something! Alex, on board two, seemed to be doing well. At one point all four of his opponents pieces were camped together in the opposite corner to his king. However he was unable to break through and lost.

Geoff overlooked a check which lost him material which led to an inexorable decline. Graham managed to draw in a deadlocked game and was the only scorer for Horfield.

Dave, after a long spell away from the horses and prawns, threw away a good position with a blunder. Peter lost a piece early in the game and spent a lot of energy trying to avoid a concerted attempt to exchange queens. (PR)

Geoff had a rook and 6 pawns to his opponents rook and 7 pawns but as the old saying says "All Rook endings are drawn". (PR). Postscript: yes, they are all drawn.

Nigel came out of the opening Sicilian with a slight advantage which he maintained throughtout the game. His opponent blundered and lost a knight which led to his inexorable decline. Harvey was up against a formidable opponent who's 'ungraded' status belies some heavy chess experience. He lost after only eight moves. David's game was a Colle system open game which he found it very hard to progress in - it ended up with two dark squared bishops but with David's pawns on the dark squares.

Howard went for a Tromposky opening and ended up in a good position after losing quite a bit of time. However his opponent lost even more time towards the end. Geoff lost a pawn in the opening and later sacrificed a bishop for a position with three passed pawns. Unfortunately the game then got bogged down. Peter missed an opportunity to take his opponent's knight which put him at a serious disadvantage for the rest of the game. The burning shame of it remains with him still. (PR)

Two of the Civil Service team didn't show so that gave us an immediate advantage. Nigel on board one found himself in all kinds of difficulty after a bad opening - he clawed his way back to a drawn position but got into time trouble and ended up with opposite coloured bishops on a road to nowhere. Draw agreed.

Geoff on board three gained a lot of space and pressue from the opening but never found the right way to break through and after rooks and queens were exchanged adjudication was discussed before a draw was agreed. Howard on board four was under pressure for the first two hours but his opponent miscalculated an exchange which left him with a bishop and Howard with a knight. Despite pressure from enemy king and pawns Howard managed to free his knight to deal with the bishop which had become immobilised by a passed pawn thus snatching victory from the jaw of an unfavourable exchange.

Peter on board five was slightly concerned by a pawn rush on the king side but his opponent had not fully secured his position before attempting the onslaught and lost a well placed white square bishop. Peter was then able to use his opponent's own precipitate momentum against him to win his first non-adjudicated match (PR).

Horfield C vs. Nailsea 20 Sept - match postponed

Harvey played a hard game against the indomitable M. Wood ending in a terrifying looking position involving exposed monarchy on both sides but eventually succumbed from a winning postion. David won after what he described as an 'incredibly tedious four-knight game' which ended in a king + pawns situation in which his opponent was made to run out of moves.

Prakash felt that he had a slight advantage, declined a draw and then gradually declined himself after an attempt to push too hard for a win. Howard drew against an extremely steady and cautious player who took no risks and allowed no errors.