The first match of the new year begins fittingly with our last opponent of 2022: Leicester University. They don’t have too many players so it was a 4vs4 again, but Anstey bringing a much younger team than before. With the average age of about 12-13, Anstey brought out Aarav Sinha, Noor Datoo, Yuvraj “Silent Destroyer” Sadhra, and John Graham-Brown. The future of the chess club, and with huge potential lets see if they can bring down some university students.

Board 1: David Reid plays white; Aarav Sinha plays black

This board starts off with an italian game, with Aarav playing a6 and h6. Pieces are being developed as normal, and Aarav builds up a battery of his light-squared bishop and queen to aim at the h3 pawn, possibly opening up a sacrifice to open up white’s king. White offers a trade of dark-squared bishops, and Aarav says, “go on then, take it” so white obliges and Aarav has a couple of split pawns in the centre which clamp down his control on the dark-squares in the centre of the board, as well as the queen-side of the board.

White moves his king to f1 to do something, I’m not quite sure why white moved his king. Possibly to re-route his f3 knight as Aarav’s pawns are covering most of the squares where the knight can move to. Suddenly, Aarav sacs his bishop with the queen supporting the brave bishop, but he loses a lone pawn in the process as Aarav moved his knight away from c6, which leaves the pawn hanging. Fearless of black’s plans, white takes the sacrificed bishop right after taking another pawn from Aarav. Aarav’s f pawn is taken by white’s light-squared bishop, which forces Aarav to move his king. The bishop can’t be taken as white’s knight is protecting the bishop from e5.

As white takes on h3, Aarav retakes with his queen and the white king runs to e2. Aarav presses the attack and gives another check on h5, but his queen can now be taken by the same bishop that took Aarav’s f pawn. Aarav gets a bishop for the queen, but the queen is the most powerful piece on the board, meaning it’s very hard for Aarav to come back in this game. A few moves later, Aarav gets check-mated. Not one of Aarav’s best performances, but being young and still learning chess, Aarav has a lot of time to become a much better player.

Anstey 0 – Leicester Uni 1. Lets go to board 2 with Noor Datoo on the board.

Board 2: Noor Datoo plays white; Jake Howard plays black

The game opens into some sort of vienna game, with Noor bringing his knights to c3 and f3, then developing his light bishop to c4. Black brings out his bishops first, developing his dark bishop similarly to a caro-kann set up with bishop to c5 and d6. Black offers a trade of light bishops, but calmly plays d3 and allows his pawn structure to be slightly damaged. However, having great control on the light squares in the centre of the board.

Noor pushes his pawns on the queen side whilst black tries to develop, but with Noor threatening black’s bishop Jake has to keep retreating his bishop. However, Noor makes one developing move and black switches the tempo in his favour by attacking in the centre and forcing Noor to undevelop his only bishop, otherwise losing material from a pawn fork. Noor has to move his c3 knight away from black’s advanced d pawn moving to the 4th rank. Noor blockades the pawn with his queen, and carries on defending his position against black’s small attacks on the white queen-side.

Noor pushes his queenside pawns, burying them deep into black’s side of the board, but black runs from the pawn advances and swaps to a kingside attack threatening checkmate in one. Noor calmly blockades the attack with a knight and coordinates his pieces to keep a secure grip on the kingside. Noor attacks black’s queen with a knight, but this hangs a pawn and white is up material for one brief moment. However, this is a huge blunder as Noor attacks black’s king with a knight and forking the king and queen. Black is now in deep trouble as he has a pawn and knight for a queen.

Noor carries on his attack on the queenside, whilst poking and prodding black’s queenside. Eventually, Noor breaks through the queenside and gets a rook trade, as well as moving his queen right into the firing line of black’s only remaining rook. However, Noor’s queen on the 7th rank is protected by a pawn, and if black takes the queen there would be no way of stopping the pasted pawn. Black moves his rook away from Noor’s queen, so Noor moves in with a check and starts to quickly create a mating net. A couple of moves later, black resigns. A very smooth and slick victory for Noor, and an absolutely disgusting idea to sac his queen to get a pasted pawn.

Anstey 1 – Leicester Uni 1. What’s Yuvraj getting up to on board 3?

Board 3: Gnanvardh Pentakota plays white; Yuvraj Sadhra plays black

The game starts off with d4, d5 and a colle system appears on the board with white fianchettoing the dark bishop on b2, and Yuvraj playing e6 after bishop moves to f5. Both players keep developing their fortifications and improving their positions until Yuvraj plays knight to e4, supported by his bishop and d pawn. White calmly castles and Yuvraj plays queen to f6. White puts his knight on e5, supported by the bishop and d pawn. Possibly hoping for black to take with the c6 knight, so white can retake with a pawn, which will fork black’s bishop and queen. Yuvraj instead takes with the bishop, and instead of taking the pawn an pinning his knight to his queen, Yuvraj plays queen to g5 and getting pushed back to g6.

White plays rook f3 and Yuvraj immediately pins the rook to white’s queen and taking the rook immediately after white defends the pin. Both players consolidate and they start trading pieces. First, one knight from each side are traded off, then Yuvraj starts to chip at white’s centre pawns creating a mass of 3 centre pawns for himself. White then hangs a pawn and Yuvraj gets in with a check, and Yuvraj slowly brings his pieces out. White can defend his king, but Yuvraj takes a defended rook which white doesn’t retake. Instead, white gets scarred and hides his queen on g1, so Yuvraj forces a queen trade and is up by two pieces and four pawns.

White tries to make counter play, but black just has too many extra pieces and Yuvraj makes a queen by sacing his rook for white’s last remaining piece, which was defending the promotion square for black’s pawn. White now tries to go for a stalemate, but Yuvraj has more than enough time to herd the white king onto h5 and checkmate with the queen on g6. What an unbelievable game from Yuvraj, the silent destroyer.

Anstey 2 – Leicester Uni 1. The final event of the evening is John on board 4.

Board 4: John Graham-Brown plays white; Steven Cheung plays black

The game starts as an advanced french with John sacing two pawns for piece activity, and by the time both sides have castled John has got all of his pieces developed and black has got a bishop and rook on their home squares. Also, black’s queen and bishop are pressuring a knight that was pinned to the king, but now they’re not being all that useful. John starts to create space for himself and starts to poke around at black’s position and forcing black’s queen to it’s home square.

Although, John’s position is quite precarious as this pawn centre is quite weak, which black takes advantage of by attacking the centre with two knights and John struggles to defend. In a few moves John loses three of his minor pieces, losing two to a knight darting across the board, and another from black’s infiltrating queen. John tries his best to defend this position with a knight and king as black keeps on checking John in an effort to checkmate, but John is a slippery fish and very hard to catch.

Eventually, black is forced to use other pieces, as well as a knight and a queen, but John sacrifices a rook to keep himself afloat. Soon after, a knight drives John’s king forward shouting a monstrous battle cry, “you want me? Here, have me then!” Black, not knowing what to do, snatches a pawn from the a file and only now is he able to take the might John down. In a fancy sequence of moves black finally is able to take John down, but not before John gives one last swing of his sword by sacing his queen for a rook. An unfortunate game for John, but a very honourable and brave stand against an impending loss; I salute you John sir.

Anstey 2 – Leicester Uni 2.

Final Words

Another draw to Leicester University, but a draw is much better than a loss. Plus, it was a good night for some good games. After the match, the students stayed at the church a little longer, talking to the third team captain about the games, before heading off to rest for their maths exam the next morning.

This now puts Anstey 3 in 6th place on the Division 4 leader board with one win, four draws and two losses. Not a bad set of results by any means, and if we start winning we should rocket up the leader board.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today folks. Take care, and have a good one!