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Kingfishers, Otters, and Beserkers
Picture borrowed from Bavi Power

Kingfishers, Otters, and Beserkers

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DavidEricAshby
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Perhaps it was a little insensitive to title my previous blog 4-0 after whitewashing our favourite competitive club the week before. Might have rubbed Crewe up the wrong way. Although they turned up wearing ordinary clothes, there was something of the Beserker army in the demeanor of the team that turned up from Crewe at Newcastle last night in hope of setting the record straight against our C-team, hoping for a white-wash. I was playing for the F-team on board 2 against Cheddleton, but our C-team's match vs Crewe was epic. At first, our boards 2 and 3 drew ahead, and Crewe were losing. Apparently being angry and hungry for revenge does not make for good logical chess play. However in a moment of attacking brilliance worthy of a mighty Viking warrior, Dave from Crewe sacrificed two pieces from a losing position for a pawn storming attack that won him the game. Crew won boards 2, 3 and 4 with just board 1 to win to reclaim bragging rights and the return white-wash. It wasn't to be however, Newcastle's board 1 Alan winning salvaged some honour for Newcastle. 

It wasn't Newcastle's night. On board 4, a student from Cheddleton meanly crushed Ed's hopes, On board 3, Andy stormed well into the lead, but fell for a check-mate trap. In my game, my opponent played slowly and defensively, so I pushed the attack, piled on the pressure and broke open the centre. My hope was that my opponent would blunder under the pressure before I did, and the plan seemed to work.

Afterwards two of our clubs top players stayed late in a head to head with an audience. Afterwards, they showed us on the board what they had been thinking, and it was obvious just how much I had missed watching the game. It was as though I had been watching the game unable to see.

After getting back from the pub, I chatted to my housemate who had just got in. He and I have the same experience with Kingfishers: when they are around, we see them, but Kingfishers move fast, and the people that we walk with often don't see them. It's a pet peeve of my wife that she never sees them when I do. A friend of his, also into wildlife went to Portugal for six months to study otters, and during those six months saw not a single otter, only otter footprints where an otter had been. Bit like me playing chess: in comparison to a strong player, I see nothing.

Please leave a comment underneath and let me know what you think.