Pete's Potential's Adventure 10/11

Here it is, the 2010-2011 adventure of the Potatoes!!!!!!!!!

We began our season playing the last years winners Yate B! We had 3 juniors and pete lined up ready to face them, but they only turned up with 3 players. So Pete stepped up, and Adi and Ilya made the trip up a board each. No change on board 1 (me!) as the potatoes looked to make a good start to the season. And what a match it turned out to be!!! My game is found in the link below this paragraph. 1st Ilya lost a very tough match, soon followed by Adi, who also had a really tough game. We were 2-1 down, with my game to go. If you;ve skipped to my game, you'd have seen the result. The team managed to draw 2-2 with Yate B!!! What a start to the season!

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-2010-match-1

Next up was Downend F, a team we had good results against last season. We had a new potato that had rapidplay come through the training ranks to make it to the squad. Pete dropped out (as the plan for the team is for 4 juniors to play) putting Adi and Ilya on boards 2 and 3 respectively. Harris the new lad went in a board 4, and myself played on board 1. First was Ilya, who lost a tough match. Then Harris followed soon after, who had played incredibly and won his first competitive match! Adi played a long game but it was to no avail as he to fell to another tough opponent. My game was a real struggle, and I'm not going to lie, I thought I was going to lose. But as seen in the link, I had managed to win and the match was once again drawn. Another good result to the Potatoes, but the highlight surely had to be Harris' extroadinary win. Well played

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-2010-2-the-swindle

Next up was our first away match of the season. We played Nailsea, a side who are very strong, so we went there with the intention of going for it. No changes to the side that played Downend F, so board 1 myself, 2 Adi, 3 Ilya and 4 Harris. First to fall was Harris, who I seem to remember was winning, but fell for a back rank, which he will now never fall for after that experience!!! Then Ilya fell, who played yet another tough player, and played sublimely well, but got outplayed in the end. Next I was to finish. I must admit, it was a very easy game, apart from the time trouble at the end. Adi was left. He was the exchange up, and both players were blitzing out the last moves. Sadly, Adi's flag was the first to fall, and the team lost 3-1. However, our tems performance against Nailsea really showed we weren't a force to be messed with. Well played again!

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/match-3-one-of-my-better-games

Next up was Hanham C, a team who we had good results against last season. A slight change to the lineup. Bds 1 and 2 were myself and adi respectively, but Harris made the trip to bd 3, and Ilya dropped to bd 4. First to finish was Ilya, who played a cracking game and outplayed his opponent. Next to finish was myself, who had an easy game in all honesty. With the score at 2-0, but seeing Adi and Harris both losing, we knew a draw was most likely, but a draw from either of the 2 would seal victory. Alas, the score was 2-2, but both players played well and put up a very good resistance. Well played and another point on the table!!!

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-2010-match-4

Our 5th match was against South Bristol C, who had played 5 won 5 matches going into this match. We knew we were going to lose, but we were told to give it our all and just go for it! No changes to the side who played Hanham, so bd 1 was myself, 2 Adi, 3 Harris and 4 Ilya! First to finish was Ilya, who yet again showed his class and won a great game on bd 4. All of us had some hope in our games (except for mine) and we thought we might be able to cause an upset. Next to finish was Harris, who played an incredible game and deserves the biggest applause in this match. We knew we had drawn the match at least, but a draw or win from either Adi or myself would seal an unexpected victory! Adi sadly lost in a valiant and solid game, but positionally he got outplayed. this left my game. If you see the game in the link, you'll understand the situation. At the point of my time trouble (when I stopped recording) Adi had finished. I knew I needed to draw. i thought I could actually win my game but offered draws every few moves in time trouble. Eventually he had to take one and that was the match!!! 2.5-1.5 to the Potted Plants, who had pulled off possibly the biggesst upset in divison 4 this season so far. Absolutely incredible guys!!!!!!

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-5-the-game-i-lose-the-plot

Match number 6. Home to Harambee B. To put it simply, they lost 4-0. They didn't turn up. The link below is a game between myself (bd 1) and Adi (bd 2), not a league match. The team is now currently mid table with a couple of games in hand on the other teams.

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-2010-no-6-bd-1-vs-bd-2

So The Bristol University were our next opponents. Our bd 2 Adi has injury worries from a nasty challenge on the Monday (sadly a broken leg). So Ilya's dad Boris makes his debut coming in on Bd 2. Here's the line up: Bd 1, me who has failed to beat a uni player in his career. Bd 2 newcomer Boris. Bd 3 is Harris, who is yet to experience what we call, students. And Ilya Bd 4, who has a very good record against the Uni. First top finish was Boris, and with his in-experience lost the match. Next Ilya fell to the wrath of students aafter a good game. Harris and I were left going into the last 20mins. 3rd to finish was myself, who had finally broken the Uni curse (see my blog). Harris' game went to the wire, but alas he got checkmated leaving a 3-1 loss to the potatoes. However, the Uni need to be reminded of some key rules. 1) If you start after the organised start time, the time taken shall be deducted from the home team's clock unless it's the away teams fault (which it wasn't). 2) There needs to be enough room to move in the venue!!! 3) Beating juniors is against the rules. :P

http://blog.chess.com/brfc/league-match-6-the-uni-curse

CHECK BACK NEXT THURSDAY WHEN WE PLAY AWAY TO UWE (the other university in the division :D )