Poulton 2 managed their first win of the season with a 3-1 win over Preston 3.
| Paul Fearnhead | 1-0 | Hambel Willow |
| Fred Okegbe | 0-1 | Becky Kerton |
| David Filmer | 1-0 | Andrew Thornley |
| Sara Khan | 1-0 | Guy McCombe |
Board 2 was first to finish, with Fred having a strong attack out of the opening, but after queens were traded, his knight was trapped and eventually lost.
On Board 3 Andrew had a strong attack, which liquidated into a better endgame. But David was able to exchange off two of Andrew’s passed pawns, and then promote his a-pawn to win.
The key moment from Board 4 is shown in the position on the left. Black has just played e4 to defend the bishop — what is best for white? (See below).
On board 1, Paul was able to get a strong knight on f4 out of the opening, and also had pressure against a backward b-pawn. This led to a won pawn. Hambel sacrificed a pawn to get counter-play, but after consolidating his position, Paul had an easily won end-game, being three pawns up.
In the position above, Sara played the winning move of 1. Rxd3, as the pawn is pinned. Some care is needed though, as after 1… Rxd3. 2. Qxd3 exd3 3. Rxe7 we reach the position on the left. Can white stop the passed pawn? Black needs to play 3… Rd8 (otherwise white has Rd7), and now white had 4. Nf3 as after 4..d2 4. Nxd2, black cannot play 4.. Rxd2 because of the back-rank mate threat of 5. Re8#. Alternatively white can play the rook back to e1 and then d1.
Poulton Chess 