17 Mar 2002
Only one of Barry Chess Club’s five teams played an East Glamorgan league match last week when, having recently visited Peterston Super Ely for a delayed away leg of this season’s division 2 fixtures, Barry’s third team, the Stauntons, were again opposed by their west-of-Cardiff rivals.
The contest started reasonably well for Barry when a dubious sacrifice by Peterston’s board 1 player allowed the hosts to draw first blood but this trend did not continue as the match unfolded. Although board 4 was proving interesting, Barry were a pawn down for no compensation on boards 2, 3 and 5.
At best Barry had chances of grovelling a draw on board 3 until an oversight by Peterston allowed a very cheeky checkmate to be delivered. A similar result on board 4 due to time pressure and some bad dark square weaknesses gave the fairly surprised hosts a 3:0 lead.
Peterston pulled a point back on board 2 where a win of the exchange proved decisive and appeared spoilt for choice as to which way to finish off a totally won game on board 5. Partially out of respect but mostly out of pity, Barry players had long since stopped looking at this massacre believing their colleague’s fate to be inevitable leaving only a few Peterston sadists eagerly awaiting the coup-de-grace until a strangled cry of despair and the sound of chess pieces falling to the floor re-attracted the hosts’ attention to this board upon which Peterston’s representative was now banging his head in anguish after having left a rook en prise.
The board was duly conceded in Barry’s favour and this 4:0 victory, courtesy of a very generous helping of blind luck, has for the moment moved the slightly embarrassed Stauntons to the top of division 2 although Caerphilly Castles’ unresolved, outstanding games probably still give them an overall edge. With only three matches to play before the curtain falls on the 2001/2002 season, Barry’s third team are now nevertheless in a very strong position to gain promotion and join the Barry Bosons and the Barry Camelots in East Glamorgan’s premier division.
After their good fortune in this match, the Stauntons would be ill-advised to play any games of Monopoly in the near future as they must now surely have used up all of their ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ cards!
Barry Chess Club meets every Wednesday evening at 7:45 p.m. on the first floor of the Witchill Hotel, Barry Road while a variety of chess information including the latest club, league and cup match details can be obtained by visiting the club`s web site at www.barrychessclub.org.uk.