Newly-promoted Inverclyde got off to a perfect start in the Scottish National Chess League, winning both their opening matches. A tough opening encounter saw them take on Lanark, the reigning Lanarkshire League Champions. Inverclyde faced opponents rated over 200 ELO points above them on three of the five boards; however with fine play they were able to secure draws on all three of these boards, Andy Smith in particular successfully defending a seemingly hopeless endgame two pawns down to draw his game. This was topped by wins for both Stephen Hilton and team captain Marc Sheridan, giving Inverclyde a 3.5-1.5 victory against a very strong Lanark team. Marc's fine win is shown below.
notes: 17.Rxe7 - black possibly overlooked this move when he played 13..c4. White is now a clear pawn up with a better position
40.Ne4+ - the knight now occupies a beautiful central square from which it cannot be dislodged
44..Rc6+? - the decisive mistake; white will now pick up black's b-pawn
60.Nb6 - effectively shielding the a-pawn, which cannot now be stopped, even at the cost of the bishop, for example 60..Bh2 a6 Bb8 Kc6 Kxg4 Kb7, so black understandably resigned
Bd Grade Inverclyde (5) vs (6) Lanark Grade Comments
1 1765 Hilton, Steve H 1 - 0 Smalls, Jim A 1724 Home Win
2 1490 McGranaghan, Jim ½ - ½ McLachlan, Ian R 1698 Draw
3 1471 Curran, Andrew D ½ - ½ Brownlee, Ian G 1691 Draw
4 1467 Smith, Andy ½ - ½ Brown, Tom W B 1684 Draw
5 1395 Sheridan, Marc 1 - 0 Nicol, John B 1384 Home Win
3½ - 1½
In the second round Inverclyde faced fellow-promoted Pentland Hills. This encounter was fairly evenly matched in terms of ratings, and saw fighting draws on four out of the five boards. Andrew Curran's game had reached an endgame with a slight advantage for Andrew, when his opponent blundered away a knight and immediately resigned. Last to finish Andy Smith once again put up a battling performance to achieve a draw from a worse position, thus securing a 3-2 victory for Inverclyde. Here is Andy's game:
notes: 37..Qxe5 - 37..Qe2+ Kh3 (or Kh1) Qf1+ would have won white's bishop
45.b5 - 45.Qd4 (or Qc3) would have forced black to give perpetual check with the queen, since otherwise defending against Qh8 mate will cost black a piece
52.Bf4 - black could certainly have played on here, but perhaps discouraged by Andy's tenacious defence, a draw was agreed
Bd Grade Pentland Hills (2) vs (5) Inverclyde Grade Comments
1 1769 Begg, David ½ - ½ Hilton, Steve H 1765 Draw
2 1488 Pearson, Walter J ½ - ½ McGranaghan, Jim 1490 Draw
3 1426 Heathwood, Richard 0 - 1 Curran, Andrew D 1471 Away Win
4 1309 Wallace, Jim ½ - ½ Smith, Andy 1467 Draw
5 1308 Clark, Andrew ½ - ½ Sheridan, Marc 1395 Draw
2 - 3
The next two rounds see Inverclyde take on Oban and current league leaders Edinburgh 2.
