For round 2, I played our club captain, Neill Cooper, who has over the years built up a formidable empire of teams he runs for Castles, the Surrey Junior squad, and Wilson's School, who have continued their great success in the Briant Poulter League this season at my school's expense.
I rarely enjoy playing aggressive players, and I cannot think of anyone I know who is more of an attacker; it may not be surprising to discover that I have a catalogue of horrible losses in blitz games to my name, although also a few nice wins. This was but the latest in a string of interesting games, although for once it came down to an ending:
A cynic could argue that with both players most at home with plenty of pieces on the board, this ending was a case of the blind leading the blind. Certainly, it can't be said that it was played with razor-sharp accuracy by either side. However, it was an interesting contest, and after I was outplayed on his territory in the opening, I fought back well. The main thing that I took from the endgame was the utmost importance of keeping the Rooks active. Even though I left a couple of wins on the board that weren't claimed, I was able to mount a defence because my Rook was able to keep his King out of the action, and gradually pick off his somewhat fragmented pawns. White's winning chances were down to his own Rook being strongly placed.
The next rapidplay games that I played however were not to have such a satisfactory outcome.
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