Despite their valiant efforts neither team could secure the win leaving the faith of the trophy in the hands of LRCA.

Anstey 1 have fought hard this summer in the Harrod cup and unsurprisingly our first team have spent a fair amount of time at the top. Nevertheless, during the battle for the most popular summer trophy, one more team managed to distinguish themselves as a serious contender for winning the cup. Ashby 2 arrived to the Anstey Methodist Church on 8^th September with a strong team hoping to overtake Anstey 1 in the standings, having won all of their previous games but being deducted a point due to breaching the rating cap in their first game. Our first team consisted of John ‘The Torturer’, Mick ‘Just Mick’, Boris ‘The Toaster’ and Leo ‘The Lion’ and deservedly hopes were high. Unfortunately for John and Boris, they did not have the best of evenings, however, their solid performances combined with the brilliant one from Mick and the great second game from Leo, left them level with their strong opposition.

John Robinson (Anstey 1) vs Andrew Wilson (Ashby 2) 0.5 – 1.5

With Matt ‘The Dark Destroyer’ on well deserved holiday, John stepped up and played top board on the night, having played only long formats in the last couple of years. With the black pieces, John met his opponent’s d4 with c5 and both players started their fight for the centre with our teammate giving a slight advantage to White in the opening. The Ashby player managed to get the bishop pair against bishop and night for John, exchanging the strategically important black dark-squared bishop for one of the white knights. The queens came off the board and with the board opening up, the two white bishops were becoming stronger by the move. Being on the back foot and slightly rusty for shorter time formats, ‘The Torturer’ found himself in time trouble which led to him playing a few inaccuracies and further let his opponent to consolidate a winning position. Eventually White started to push two very strong passed pawns. Completely focused on his attempts to find a way to survive, John ignored the timer and before long, his clock flagged.

With the white pieces, our teammate played the London system to which Black replied with the drawish ‘copycat’ approach. Having an extra tempo, ‘The Torturer’ achieved a slight advantage out of the opening but not sufficient to create anything significant on the board. Eventually all pieces got exchanged on the c-file with both players left with a knight and pawns each. Our teammate fought hard to get the win but unfortunately, with the limited resources he could not make any progress and at the end both players agreed to a draw.

Although not in his comfort zone, John showcased again that he could measure with anyone over the board, regardless of opposition skill or time control.

Mick Sandham (Anstey 1) vs Paul Gibson (Ashby 2) 2 – 0

It will not be the first time to mention that Mick has not had the best of seasons. Nevertheless, it was fitting that he would have his best performance at the very conclusion of the competition which he started with a controversial loss at the venue where Ashby 2 play their home games. Mick started with his characteristic St. George as Black and attacked the centre with c5. Always playing for a win with the black pieces, ‘Just Mick’ tried to gain the initiative but his opponent managed to exchange the queens. The players continued the battle for the domination of the board as our teammate set up a few traps for his opponent. Eventually, the pieces started getting exchanged leading to an endgame where Mick had the better position, with advanced pawns marching towards the first rank. Eventually, his pawns ended turning into queens and his opponent did not find anything else to do but to resign.

With the white pieces, Mick opened with e4 to be met by the Caro-Kann. The players engaged in the Panov-Botvinnik variation whereby Black played Bf4. Coming out of the opening, our teammate found himself with a set of doubled pawns, however, the structure could not be easily attacked and the game continued with pieces being exchanged in the middle game. With his typical sharp tactical play, ‘Just Mick’ kept on attacking which appeared to tire his opponent who eventually oversaw a tactic to lose a rook on his back rank. Understanding his desperate position and incoming mating attack, the Ashby player decided to call it a day and resigned.

Brilliant performance from ‘Just Mick’ who deservedly gets his nickname changed to ‘The Anstey Tiger’ following a post on Instagram. We hope to see him soon in action as his entertaining play is always fun to watch, regardless of result or form.

Borislav Lazarov (Anstey 1) vs Lawrence Hayden (Ashby 2) 0.5 – 1.5

Boris entered the match with low confidence as he was not feeling in form and recently had suffered several losses in bullet format online. In his first game, ‘The Toaster’ met White’s e4 with the Caro-Kann defence and the game was led into the Fantasy variation. Both players developed by the book until our teammate decided to release the pressure and give White the desired activity. Nevertheless, Boris defended solidly and kept exchanging pieces until both players ended up in a quite closed position with two rooks and seven pawns each. With the perspective of perpetual shuffling of the rooks, the players agreed to a draw.

In the second game, our website maintenance person opened up with his usual aggressive d4-setup which was met by a Semi-Slav type structure from his opponent. Black decided to take his queen out sooner and ‘The Toaster’ tried to harass the black lady with his pieces. The Ashby player activated his knight and tried to create an attack on the white king while simultaneously defending his queen. At this point our teammate entered in a longish tactical sequence to come out a piece down with no compensation. Boris tried to create complications and activate his pieces, but his opponent managed to easily consolidate and started putting pressure on White’s fragile position. Eventually, pieces were traded off and with two black pawns marching confidently towards the first rank, our teammate resigned.

A tough day in the office for ‘The Toaster’ but another great learning experience for him.

Leo Abraham (Anstey 1) vs Tom Gerrard (Ashby 2) 1 – 1

Unfortunately, the team member (Boris) writing this report could not catch Leo for his brief summary of the board 4 games, therefore, only a very short description of the games will be presented.

With Black, Leo had to face an e4 opening and the game ended up being opened up quite quickly. A tactic from the Ashby player led to our teammate losing his queen. ‘The Lion’ fought like a lion (pun intended) to survive but being such a valuable piece down, he could not hold on the attack from White and had to resign.

With White, Leo played his favourite e4 and a kingside battle arose swiftly. Our teammate managed to gain a piece, however, it seemed towards the late middle game that Black had the initiative. Eventually black put pressure on the f-file, hoping to get a mating attack, but a beautiful Qc6 move from ‘The Lion’ covered the f3 square to pick up a rook and completely deflate Black’s attempt to prise open the castled white king’s position. Acknowledging the situation on the board, the Ashby player did not even attempt to ask for a draw and gave Leo the respect he deserved.

Another great performance from young Leo who is looking to challenge the division 4 players next year as one of the top boards in the third team.

The Harrod cup campaign concluded for Anstey 1 as they have to be really proud with themselves, having won three matches and drawn two without conceding a loss over the five rounds. The performance places the team joint top place with Ashby 2, with equal stats for both teams. Regardless of the decision for the cup, our players should be really proud of their overall performance and consider themselves Harrod cup winners.