Post date: Nov 16, 2012 1:48:26 PM
The first win of the Wolverhampton League Division One season came with an excellent 4.5-1.5 win at Walsall Kipping. Stafford took an early lead when, on board six, Andrew Leadbetter's opponent blundered her queen.
Ray Hyde played a nice game on board 3, building up a kingside attack based around his knight on f5. Although his opponent managed to get his own knight to f4, Ray's attack was much the quicker and he was about to land the decisive blow when his opponent lost on time.
Malcolm Armstrong had a difficult journey to the match and, conceding a half-hour deficit on the clock, sought to keep things simple. However, within 10 moves the players had castled on opposite sides and the respective attacks were underway. Malcolm's attack arrived first and he won the exchange but in doing so misjudged the strength of his opponent's passed d-pawn and, with time running short, took the safe option in accepting a draw offer.
Gerald Acey and Stephane Pedder both had solid draws with black, while Ken McNulty somehow survived a huge attack to eventually win on time and complete a most successful evening for Stafford.