Anstey Chess Club’s second team showed tremendous improvement to challenge the leaders at the end of the season

In May the league season finished for our second team as they found themselves mid-table in Division 4 of the Leicestershire chess league following their last game against Melton Mowbray.

As mentioned in the report for the first team, the COVID-19 pandemic hit over the board (OTB) chess quite hard leading to a big pause in the league. Following the return of OTB chess, the club found itself in a new venue with plenty new faces eager to try playing the great board game we all love. The season started promptly in October and our young second team, led by the captain Oskar, went to Heathcote Arms for their opener.

Heathcote Arms 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 4 – 0

The first league game for the Anstey Chess Club’s second team was not the greatest of openers. In a four board match, our team started on the back foot after the third board was defaulted. ‘El Capitan’ Oskar, accompanied by young Hal and Alan, tried their best to gain something from the match but unfortunately found themselves on the losing side on all three boards. Suffering the decisive defeat, Oskar’s team was determined to build themselves up and over the course of the season they did just that

Anstey 2 vs Market Harborough 3 Result: 0 – 4

The first home game for our second team found them playing against Market Harborough 3 who eventually won the division. Mike, Leo, Alan and captain Oskar tried their best but did not manage to get anything our of the game again.

Ashby 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2.5 – 2.5

The first points for the team came from their visit to Ashby to face the hosts’ third team. Unfortunately, ‘El Capitan’ and Hal conceded losses in their games, while Leo drew against the always friendly Brian Wood. Mike and Alan were the heroes of the night, getting the first wins for Anstey 2 in the 2021-2022 league season.

Anstey 2 vs Loughborough 2 Result: 1.5 – 2.5

With the team seemingly starting to turn the corner and get on the front foot, our players faced a strong Loughborough team. The game marked the return of ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Matt Connor for the second team and against a strong opponent he managed to draw. Mike and Hal also drew their games, while Leo eventually lost to the away team captain Stewart Gordon.

Anstey 2 vs Wigston 4 Result: 1.5 – 2.5

Leading into Christmas, Anstey 2 were scheduled to play “the big guns” Wigston 4 at home and Braunstone 2 away. The first of the games found our players outrated by more than 1100 points in a four-board match against ‘El Presidente’ Ben’s old club. In spite of Mike and Leo’s losses, the team managed to get some positives out of the match, with Hal drawing against 1500+ opponent and Oskar defeating a 1300+ rated player.

Braunstone 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 3 – 1

The game against Braunstone saw only one point for our team from a defaulted fourth board, while outrated by more than 1300 points, Hal, Alan and Leo fought hard but eventually conceded against the strong experienced Braunstone players. The game marked the last game for Alan in the season as he had to focus on school. On the other hand, the match was the last loss Anstey 2 had to suffer this season.

Melton Mowbray 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 3

And just like with the first team in January came the new year, the new website, and “the new me” for Anstey 2. The first win for the team was achieved in the away game in Melton which also marked the debut of Boris ‘The Toaster’. In spite of starting a point down due to defaulted board, the latter and Mike managed to drew their games while Hal delivered a great display of endgame play to win against 1600+ rated opponent. Fittingly, it came down to the captains to play for the decisive points and our own ‘El Capitan’ delivered with solid active play to secure the first win of the season for Anstey 2. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Heathcote Arms 2 Result: 2.5 – 1.5

The first home win for the team came against Heathcote Arms 2 who arrived with a strong team led by 1700+ John Manger. However, ‘El Capitan’ answered the challenge by summoning ‘The Dark Destroyer’ on board 1 and the latter delivered again securing a win in the clash of the titans on the night. Hal quietly drew his game while Boris got his first win in the league. Unfortunately, Oskar conceded a loss but the team celebrated his captain’s birthday and the win. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Ashby 3 Result: 4.5 – 2.5

The next home game for the second team ended being a true celebration of chess for many reasons. Seven boards saw action on the night and the game marked the debut of our first female competitor Deepa. Unfortunately, our teammate had a tough game and along with Oskar conceded a loss. Hal managed to quietly draw again while Boris and Leo dominated their games. With the teams level after five games had finished, Mike and ‘The Dark Destroyer’ had all to play for in their games. Mike dominated his game and despite his opponent’s best efforts to stay in it, our teammate had been too many times around the block to miss the win. Which led to the most exciting moment of the night when Matt found himself with four minutes left on the clock, down material and in a bad position, only to receive a gift from his opponent who blundered a mate in one. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Market Harborough 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 2

Entering the last third of the season, Anstey had four big challenges in front of them in the face of the top four teams at the time. The sequence started with Market Harborough 3 (MH3) who were aiming to get their revenge following the battering of their second team delivered by Anstey 1 the previous evening. After the long commute (always the case with our friends at Market Harborough) Mike, Boris, Leo and Oskar faced a strong MH3 team. Mike and Boris went into solid and boring positions and both got the draws. ‘El Capitan’ was unfortunate to lose against the MH3 captain Rene while Leo was the hero on the night, managing to save a losing position and fork his opponent’s queen to win the game. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Loughborough 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 2

The next stop for our resilient second team was Loughborough where their second team hosted a decent Anstey 2 consisting of Mike, Boris, Hal, Leo and Oskar. Unfortunately, Mike and ‘The Toaster’ lost their games setting our team back, however, Hal and Leo showcased great play to win their respective games, with Leo taking his revenge against the home team captain Stewart Gordon. Eventually, it was down to ‘El Capitan’ who managed to get himself in a winning position but missed an idea from his opponent and the game was drawn leaving the team unbeaten in five. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Wigston 4 vs Anstey 2 Result: 1 – 5

After the trip north, the team made a trip south to face another one of “the big guns” in the face of Wigston 4. However, this encounter was completely different than the reversed fixture as our second team brought some higher rated reinforcements as well. ‘Just Mick’, ‘The Dark Destroyer’, Mike, Leo and Oskar all defeated their opponents, with Hal suffering the only defeat on the evening. Unfortunately, at the end the win was bitter sweet as the team saw Hal play for the last time this season. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Braunstone 2 Result: 2 – 2

In the penultimate fixture Anstey 2 faced the division favourites in a four-board match, where our players were outrated on every single board. Unmoved by this fact, Mike and Boris played strong solid games against their opponents and sealed the deal on boards two and three. Oskar was unfortunate to lose to young 400 points higher rated Daniel Wilkinson while Mick managed to find himself in a winning position, only to miss an idea from his opponent and lose the game. After the game ‘El Capitan’ even received praise from our friends at MH3 as Braunstone’s march towards the top was stalled. Full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Melton Mowbray 3 Result: 3 – 1

Fittingly, the last win for Anstey 2 in the league season came against the team they achieved their first season win against. We hosted Melton Mowbray 3 as they were looking to take their revenge, however, they managed to get only one win in a drawless match on board 2 where Boris managed to blunder his rook in almost winning position. With flawless performances from Matt, Leo and Oskar, the season for our second team finished on a high. The team demonstrated an amazing improvement in the second half of the season and we are excited to see where would the team fit in the next season. Full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Stats

Throughout the season Anstey 2 won 5 games from 14, lost 5 and drew 4, accounting for 36% win rate. They finish fourth in the division with 14 points overall, trailing the strong teams of Market Harborough 3, Braunstone 2 and Wigston 4. The players engaged in 64 games over the board, with a win rate of 39.1% while they drew 18.8% of their games and lost 42.1%. The best win of the season was against Wigston 4, while the best player for the second team was Leo Abraham, who finishes his first team season level for most wins with Oskar – 5, with Leo having slight edge in win percentage.