Match Report: 29/08/24
Thursday 29/08/24
Eccles 2.5 – 1.5 Swinton
E Division
Summer League
Eccles played well against these new up and coming juniors. The win was not an easy one, I must say. They are a new generation of young chess players who are regularly beating well established players.
Some of these new junior players play the unexpected and this is what makes them tricky to beat.
All in all the games were well played and everyone enjoyed them, including the players who were outwitted by their opponents.
It was a nice evening of chess round at No 6. I would like to thank the person/persons who made a healthy donation for the hospitality they received, and it’s good to hear people say it’s the best chess venue in Manchester.
Thanks guys, you can come again!
Man of the Match: Shlok Maheshwari (Swinton Player)
This was the second time I had met Shlok (pictured). The first time I saw him was a couple of years ago when I took this photo of him at a tournament. I first met him earlier this year when he played and won against Darren Stanway. Shlok is the youngest person I have had the pleasure of writing a Man of the Match report.
The second time was last night when he was going to be fielded against the very same opponent, Darren Stanway. Darren’s rating at the begining of the season was 1507 compared to Shlok’s rating of 1435, so there was not much in it really.
So when Darren knew he was going to be paired with young Shlok he psyched himself up by setting up his lucky chess pieces to bring him luck as he thought he might need it….and with that, the game began.
This is what Darren said about his game:
“Shlok focuses on his moves and rarely plays any out and out bad moves, he very much concentrates and studies the game and utilises his time very well.
“We started off with the French 1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 and his next two moves were Bd3 and Ne2 which invited some interesting game play.
“Shlok was not afraid to exchange queens early which I felt comfortable with. I was two prawns up at one point and I had a knight v his bishop, I though my knight was stronger due to its flexibility whilst his bishop X-rayed my king and at that stage with minutes left on my clock I reluctantly decided to take out his bishop.
“I personally think I could have played better as I feel I did a poor job of the end game.
“Shlok actually did very well with the limited pieces he had but he still had an eye on a checkmate.
“After playing careful moves I took his last pawn, at which point Shlok offered a draw.
“I only had one minute left on my clock and as I was feeling tired I gracefully accepted the draw.
“Shlok sounds like he’s already a good player and has a great chess future in front of him. Well played young man!!”
Next Match:
Monday 02/09/24
Eccles v Altrincham
A Division
Summer League.
Monday: Ladies & Learners in Chess
Wednesday: Chess, Chat, and Cheer with friendly or ECF rated RapidPlay games.
Thanks for reading my “Journey through Chess” by Barbara Farrar