Mixed emotions for Anstey’s top players as they assert themselves as the menace of the table toppers

The season has finished for Anstey Chess Club’s first team and they found themselves in third position, narrowly missing the top spot in Division 3 of the Leicestershire chess league. Over the course of seven months, the team underwent an amazing transformation and after a hesitant start, went into full gear at the start of the new year to claim seven wins in a row, including three against the top two teams.

Following a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club had to go through times of great changes as we had to part ways with our previous venue and great friends, “The Stadon” pub in Anstey. In search for a new good venue for the club, “El Presidente” Ben got in touch with the Anstey Methodist Church which appeared to be ticking a lot of boxes with its spacious layout, decent facilities, centralised popular location and the option for free parking nearby. Our chairman held our first club meeting on 5^th August and fortunately, there were enough prospect players and enthusiasts for the club nights to be held and “El Presidente” rushed to book the venue for the season. The club nights started taking place in September and in October the league started as well.

Anstey 1 vs Latimer Result: 4 – 1

The first league game for the Anstey Chess Club’s first team was against Latimer at home. It was a five board match with Ben having to borrow Hal from Oskar’s team and both of them alongside John “The Torturer”, Mick a.k.a. “Just Mick”(courtesy to Brian “The Griller”) and Mike took on the challenge. The first team went on to win decisively the game with John, Mike and Hal securing the wins while Ben and Mick drew their games.

Heathcote Arms 1 vs Anstey 1 Result: 2.5 – 1.5

The first away game was in the nice venue in Heathcote Arms which was also attended by one of the new chess enthusiasts at the time, Boris “The Toaster”. With an ice cold Guinness in his hand, Boris watched as “The Torturer”, “Just Mick”, “El Presidente” and Mike played against the strong home team. Unfortunately for our players, after three draws on the other tables, Ben found himself “in a bit of a pickle” on the king side and his solid opponent capitalised on his clear advantage to seal the deal for his team.

Anstey 1 vs Market Harborough 2 Result: 1.5 – 3.5

The next home game for the team marked the debut of one of our strongest players, “Mr. Engine” Julian who was unfortunate in this first encounter. The bad experience continued with John and Mick also losing their games, while Ben managed to draw. The first team managed to get their consolation prize with Mike defeating one of the players to watch in the future, Alistair Geear.

Anstey 1 vs Kirby Muxloe 2 Result: 6 – 2

After a couple of tough games for the first team, they finally got their confidence back against Kirby Muxloe 2 in what was a true celebration of the game of chess with 8 boards ongoing and no draws at the end. The match marked the biggest win for either Anstey team this season and saw some new faces (this league season) for the first team, including Rudy, Alan and Leo. “Mr. Engine” was the first to stand up some 20 minutes after the match started and he was followed promptly by “The Torturer”, “Just Mick”, Hal, Alan and Leo, who all won their games. Seeing what happened on the other boards, “El Presidente” in his usual style went for a very dubious tactic which cost him his game, while Rudy lost otherwise winning endgame under the pressure of all spectators watching his game whispering, huffing and puffing at the background.

Ashby 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 3 – 1

The last first team match of 2021 was against Ashby 2, Mike’s former club. A strong team consisting of John, Julian, Mick and Ben went Burton way to try and get some more points. Unfortunately for our top players, it was not their night and after “The Torturer” and “Mr. Engine” drew their games, “Just Mick” and “El Presidente” found themselves on the losing side of theirs.

Syston 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 3

And then came the new year, the new website, and “the new me” as the saying goes. The first team started playing like they are completely different players to deliver one of the best spells of form in the club’s short but colourful history. The same team who lost less than a month earlier to Ashby 2 went to John’s old club Syston and claimed an important win to turn the tide. “The Torturer” was the only one to lose his game, while Julian, Mick and Ben secured wins in their games to seal the deal for the first team. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Latimer vs Anstey 1 Result: 2 – 4

The next away game featured six boards against Latimer, with Hal and Mike rejoining the team as Ben stepped aside to make room for the new old star, “The Dark Destroyer” (because he always plays with the black pieces and always wins) Matt Connor. Hal was the only unfortunate player to lose that night while John and Mike swiftly won their games. “Mr. Engine” and “Just Mick”, confident in their teammates took quick draws, only to find themselves sweating over their decisions as Matt gave everyone a hint about his time management over the board, having as little as 10 seconds at times left on the clock (good that we have increments in this sport). The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Heathcote Arms 1 Result: 4 – 0

Two weeks after the away game in Latimer, Anstey 1 hosted one of the teams to defeat them in the first half of the season, Heathcote Arms 1. A strong team consisting of “The Torturer”, “Mr. Engine”, “Just Mick” and “The Dark Destroyer” completely demolished the away team securing four wins in the process. One of the great moments of the night included Mick converting a rook and pawn endgame to deliver a checkmate worthy of studying by any aspiring beginner chess player. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Market Harborough 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 3

With four fixtures left to play, the first team had to confront the division favourites again, with Market Harborough away fixture taking place first. After a misunderstanding first with the number of boards to play and then with the “chaffeur”-ing duties, “El Presidente” watched from the sidelines (the “Expert spot”) as Julian and Matt secured wins for their team, and after Mick and John took draws, the first team left on a long journey (always after playing Market Harborough away) with another win to make it four in a row. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Kirby Muxloe 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 4

In a great form, Anstey 1 went to Kirby with a strong team which included the players to defeat Market Harborough and Hal. The latter delivered again for the first team and alongside Matt, Julian and John secured a win. The only unfortunate player on the night was “Just Mick” who fell victim to the “touch play” rule and had to part ways with his bishop, making it difficult for him to get anything out of his position. Nevertheless, the win made it five in a row for the first team who appeared to be unbreakable at the time. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Ashby 2 Result: 3 – 1

The penultimate fixture of the season saw our first team playing Ashby’s second. The now regular first team players John, Julian, Mick and Matt faced a strong away team but showcased again great form securing two wins from “The Dark Destroyer” and “Mr. Engine” and two draws from “The Torturer” and “Just Mick”. Matt’s play was so brilliant that it left his opponent quite frustrated as they left the venue immediately after the game. At the time, our first team found themselves close to the table leaders, with Syston 2 being their last opponent. The full report from the Ashby game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Syston 2 Result: 3 – 1

Not in a position to fight for any improvement in the overall standings, our club’s top players had nothing but honour and pride to play for in their last fixture against the eventual division winners. And to their enormous credit, they played their bums off to get three wins from John, Matt and Mick, while Julian got himself in a time trouble for the first time since joining and conceded only his second loss of the season. The highlight of the evening was “The Torturer” ‘s win with Black over 2100-rated Graham Sharpe. After this game, our first team found themselves third in the table, with three wins out of four games against the teams in front of them and making a statement of where they should be next year. Full report of the game against Syston 2 can be accessed by clicking here.

Stats

The team has won 9 games from 12 and lost 3, with no draws, accounting for 75% win rate. They finish third in the division with 18 points overall, same as Market Harborough 2 and only one point less than Syston 2 at 19. The players engaged in 57 games over the board, with a win rate of 54.4% while they drew 26.3% of their games and lost only 19.3%. The best win of the season was against Kirby Muxloe 2, while the best player undoubtedly was “The Dark Destroyer” Matt Connor, who finishes his first team season with 100% win rate – 6 wins out of 6 games.