All fun and games?

"People think the 4NCL is all fun and games, but it's mostly just games."

Michael Meadows

On the Sunday, KJCA were pitted against Anglian Avengers, one of the stronger teams in our pool. Any realistic chance of getting into the promotion pool depended on a result here, but since this was always a long shot the matches against the lower teams were sure to mean more; anything else would be a bonus.

The tale of the match card was 210-215, 208-217, 182-209, 183-204, 186-198, 195-181, 177-186, 181-190, but you learn to block out gloomy thoughts beforehand - after all, look what happened the day before! On board 4 I had white against Edmund Player (204/2172), continuing a fearsomely strong run of opponents on Sundays. This game followed the pattern of my earlier losses to Shephard and Wall; after getting a perfectly acceptable game out of the opening, I played unsteadily before losing the plot near the end:

My old Downend teammate was right, you know. The social side of 4NCL is definitely an upside (and is why I went to great lengths to keep a place in a Division 2 team) and the chess feels great too when everything is on your side. But when form or the pairing gods desert you, it's really a drag. Barring a mathematical quirk which didn't (quite!) come to pass, this result ensured that I would be put through the wringer of the relegation pool for a second year on the bounce - 2½-5½ (LDLLLLWW) the final score.

I hold the Classical French in high esteem, and have always thought that the engines systematically underestimate it, not appreciating the long-term value of the d4 square. But analysing this game was a bit demoralising, for the system with 10... a6 and 11... b6 feels too absurd to be true - and yet it has become quite popular! As I always say, to play the French you have to believe you can get away with anything. Since Black gets through ...f6 he is able to force a game of his choosing, and so far I haven't been able to find anything for White. The battle of statics and dynamics is a delicate one though, and ultimately I drifted into trouble because I was unable to find any clear idea, and was too negative. Instead of indecisive attempts to foil any Black play, I should have tried to push a kingside attack that was still on the board despite the earlier pawn break. This attitude continued into the ending, where 35. Re3? gave Black time to make his knight the best piece on the board - once the blockade of e3 fell, my game wasn't far behind.

After some drab results I was glad to return to Wallington's club championship, although even that served as a reminder that I'd probably blown my best chance of competitive success this season. And anyway, when you're not on form there are no easy games...