Gary Weir 1 - 0 Ralph Stirrat
Calum Smith 1 - 0 George Thomson
Gonzalo Forero 1 - 0 Default
Stewart Brisbane 0.5-0.5 John Pearston
Gordon Greig 0.5-0.5 Derek McAteer
Back to back wins for Dunfermline as the team started 2020 as it finished 2019, with a home win.
Dunfermline was white on Boards 1 and 2. Cumbernauld defaulted on Board 3, as David Johnstone understood the match was due on the Wednesday. First game to finish was Board 2, where Calum got a cheap tactic to win a pawn, which also caused black's position to collapse. Post-match pub analysis showed that Calum misplayed the follow-up and George could have harassed the queen with his a-pawn and win a piece back. Board 1 was the next one to finish, where Gary got to the end game up in material, and following accurate play secured the win for the team - Not easy, near the end of the game, a stale mate via a queen sacrifice seemed a possibility as black was running out of moves. Just a threat though, and black resigned as the check mate was inevitable.
Draws on Boards 4 and 5. Special mention to the very unusual Nh8 played by Stewart. The move ,to everyone's surprise, did the work containing white's attack. There was no advantage for any of the players in the end game and a draw was agreed. On Board 5 both players exchanged "sacrifices" and with the match already decided, the game was settled with a draw.
Well done team.
Next Central League match will be on Monday, 2nd March, away to Badgers Brooks.
