Captain’s Report
Alexander Cup
Semi-Final
Surbiton 7 – 3 South
Last Thursday, Surbiton played in the Semi-final of the
Alexander cup at 
This means that we are in the final, probably away to either CCF or Redhill
(favourites).
On Thursday, this is how we got on individually...
1. Mike Basman 199 -- lost as black vs Yang-Fan Zhou (225). Interesting game that Mike claims
he was winning at one point. 2 bishops vs 2 knights, before the 2 knights put on 'badges' and won
the position?! 
Well,
that is how Mike Basman put it!!
2. Chris Briscoe 205 -- drew with Marcus Osbourne
(204). My opponent played sharply in the opening and won 2 pawns at the cost of
development. I was about to get them back when he offered a draw. Thinking
about it, the position was unclear, maybe slightly better for me, but could
turn. I knew my opponent likes these positions, so I accepted. This was the
first game to finish.
3. Edgar Flacker e.190-200 -- got a difficult
position against a lower graded, but strong opponent. Recovering from mixing
his 2 systems up, Edgar got short of time, and this proved to be the decisive
factor in the end, even when his position recovered. His opponent was Ronald
Harris (185).
4. Stefano Bruzzi 185 -- White, in a
'play-to-a-finish' match against a tricky junior Tariq
Oozeerally (179), Stefano showed why he is a class
act in the way he finished his opponent off. In a delicate position, he
controlled all tactics regarding his opponent’s counter-play and still left
himself able to deliver the final blow against the opponents
king. Expertly played!
5. Paul Shepherd 181-- a pawn up in a same - coloured
bishop ending, Paul kept it together on the clock and the position to come
home. A good achievement, considering he had to re-evaluate how to win a few
times during the course of the ending. His opponent was Nikul
Sanalkumar (e.160).
6. Ian Henderson 176 -- following a draw on Monday, against a strong
7. Angus James 169 -- Black against old adversary, Roy J D Reddin (160), Angus
achieved a 'double-barreled shotgun' (tripling on the a-file), well he said
something like that in the pub afterward, to put pressure on his opponent, so
he could manoeuvre his knight into a winning
position. Although his opponent didn't find the 'best' defence, it was awkward
for him. The sort of position no one likes to defend...
8. Heiko Cassens 166 -- Didn't see this, this finished quite early, as I was analyzing
with Marcus at the time. Apparently it was fairly convincing. Heiko is on
form at the moment - Well done! Opponent, Simon D Lea (151)
9. Malcolm Groom 158 -- His opponent, Martin Cath (148) swapped off a lot
of pieces, and Malcolm got an early draw. Sensible, no point going for more if
you feel it is too risky! (My Marcus game comes to mind!)
10. Rob Harrison 153 -- His opponent, Ken R chamberlain (125), was a bit of a
come-down for Rob, after Mike Singleton (175), from
Subs: Paul Durrant 145 -- didn't play, but served the club very well by turning
up, staying, and talking about the game afterward. He was particularly
impressed with Stefano's skillful finish in his game. Bought drinks in the
cap-in-hand after... !
We had a full team except for Mark Josse, and Nick Pelling and played
very well indeed in a match against a
Brian Skinner also emailed me saying that the expected score based on ratings was 6 -
4 to Surbiton and we exceeded that - so very well done to all of you who
played!
Chris Briscoe - 7
March 2011