We traveled to the university to be met with a strong set of opponents for what was expected to be a tough match, and this turned out to be the case.
On Board 6 Aron soon established equality in a symmetrical pawn structure position. Some tacking around followed after which 18 Nd2 allowed a tactic which netted Aron a pawn and lead to considerable exchanges. He dealt with the endgame calmly to gain the win. Board 5 saw Aldrin seeking an early advantage with an advanced pawn on d6, but this turned out to be an overextension and the pawn was lost. Aldrin battled hard but there was no way back in the ending. Board 4 saw Reinhold's opponent seize an early initiative with a pawn sac gaining a lead in development with Reinhold's king stuck in the centre. The defence was difficult, maybe Qe7 was a better bet than Qb6, which allowed a decisive rook penetration on the d file; after this the queen and knight combined well whilst the black rooks were impotent to stop the attack. So 2-1 down on the lower boards.
On Board 3 Nigel was setting out his position in calm style but his opponent was having none of this and launched a pawn storm at Nigel's king. After some scary moves this was repelled with the aid of a queen check on c4.Nigel's pieces were now better developed and he was able to pick up a pawn and get the queens off. His better coordination was maintained and black's efforts at active play lead to his knight getting trapped after which the win was never in doubt. 2-2.
Steve was involved in some heavy manoeuvres on Board 1 and found it difficult to get active play around moves 20- 27. Time ran short and in seeking activity he allowed his king to become exposed. 2-3 and all on Olly on Board 2. This was a complex French Winawer, a variation which has a flavour of its own. Olly had established a strong position having got in both of the key thrusts g5 and f6 and was then able to get the queens off to reach an ending with good winning chances, but both sides short of time. White got his g pawn moving as a distracter, leading to a rook ending in which Olly's extra pawn was never going to suffice for a win despite all his efforts.
Our first defeat then, 2.5-3.5. You could say youth has triumphed but half our team was younger than any of theirs and arguably the best wins on both sides came from the oldest players. University could be the team to stop this season.