2019/2020

Massive win for Nied 2

After the relegation from the Maintaunusliga, Nied 2 started into the new perimeter of Bezirksklasse A with a massive, albeit unexpectedly high 7:1 victory against Frankfurt West 2 at the Stadthalle Zeilsheim .

Right at the start Nied took the lead as Michael's opponent hadn't shown up. Helmut soon made it 2:0 by trapping his opponent's queen. Meanwhile, Franzi's bishop sacrifice had not proved as effective as hoped for - her kingside attack had come to naught. At the other board, the outcome was still open. Adam and Georg contributed two half points by making draws and then Dražen's win made it four.

In the meantime, Walter had managed to achieve a positional advantage, where his pair of knights was superior to his opponent's bishops. He eventually won two pawns, forcing his opponent to resign. Manfred then widened the gap to 6:1. Finally, Franzi first obtained drawing chances and then, with significant help by her opponent, she was even able to win, thus giving the match the finishing touch.

After just 2¾ hours the match was over. 7:1 – an excellent start into the new season that gave Nied the lead in the table and raises hopes for further success.

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Hard-fought draw for Nied 2

Our excursion to Schwalbach ended with a drawn match. The 4:4 was hard-fought, with our problems already emerging during our journey.

Because the match day was also the day of the Frankfurt Marathon, the resulting road blocks called for well organized logistics in order to get all players from their home to the venue - a challenge that was negotiated successfully. After our clear victory in the first round, expectations were high, especially as the second team was a slight favourite according the rating averages. However, the opponents absolutely proved to be on par.

The match started with two draws on boards 1 and 8, courtesy of Peter and Dražen. Following this, Franzi downright steamrolled her opponent with a mating attack and made it 2-1. Georg also contributed half a point. In the meantime, Michael and Walter tried to live up to their being the favourites, but both were encountering stubborn resistence and eventually had to settle for draws when their position had already become slighly worse. Helmut then had the chance to seal the win, but blundered a rook in a winning position and subsequently had to save himself by perpetual check.

This, at least, had secured the fourth point. At the end, Adam eventually had to resign his endgame of same-coloured bishops with two pawns down when his tenacious resistence had eventually proved futile. Result: a 4:4 draw that appears fair with regard to the perfomances of both teams. The second team now occupies the 3rd rank of the table, and the league remains open.

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Nied 2: Another 4:4 holds the position

On November 10^th 2019, we held our first home match and welcomed the second team of SVG Eppstein. It was a match between equals and for this reason, the end result of 4:4 was not a surprise.

At the top board, Peter soon agreed to a draw. Franzi fell for a surprise in the opening and subsequently was not able to save the game. Dražen then marked the equalizer at board 7. Manfred, who stood in for the missing Georg Arnold, and Adam both contributed half a point, whereas Helmut had to resign after losing material. Thus, the score after five hours was 2½:3½ – but Michael could be depended on; with queen against rook and knight he was able to increase his advantage and eventually promoted a pawn. Last but not least Walter secured the final half-point from a totally equal position for the end result of 4:4.

This has now put us in second, and even though we are trailing the leader by two points already, we are still able to muscle into the fight for promotion.

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Nied 2 tightens grip on second rank

On the first Advent Sunday, our journey led us to Hochheim, where we were privileged to compete as the favourites. Both teams had to replace two starters. In the end, the stronger substitutes decided the match in our favour.

The match began in an optimal way: Peter's opponent hadn't shown up, which gave us a 1-0 lead by default. Our new member Naren as well as Manfred contributed further points against opponents who were out of their depths. Franzi then used her advantage of two extra passed pawns to make it 4-0, giving us a comfortable lead.

Was this a walkover in the making? No, because suddenly, we began to drift. Even though Georg contributed the draw that sealed the victory, the remaining games did not yield much anymore. Michael spoiled his winning position by an oversight and had to content himself with a draw. Helmut was not able to hold his position after the loss of an exchange and had to resign. Finally, Walter had to throw in the towel as well after blundering a piece and then fighting for a draw in vain.

At the end of the day, a victory by 5-3 could be acccounted for, which thanks to the missed chances was narrower than expected. At least we are now going to spend the Christmas break on second rank. The hope for immediate re-promotion is still alive.

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Nied 2 - Expected win against Eschborn 2

The second team defeated SC Eschborn 2 by 5.5-2.5 as expected. However, given the fact that Nied went into the match as the clear favourite, its course turned out to be very laborious.

At 7 out of 8 boards, Nied's players were the DWZ favourites and on average Nied's advantage amounted to 220 DWZ - this made the upcoming match appear like a walk in the park. However, our guests put up a strong fight and refused to simply fall over.

Peter ended his game at the top board with a draw in accordance with both players' performance. Georg committed an oversight in an advantageous position and subsequently had to consent to a draw. At the ladies' board, Franzi first won an exchange and later her game, not without her opponent making her demonstrate her technique in delivering mate with queen and rook. Michael invaded his opponent's position with queen and rook and forced his opponent to resign. Naren and Manfred contributed full points as well, making it five and thus securing victory for the team. Dražen had misplayed a promising position and had to lay down his arms. Finally, Walter agreed to a draw after having a clear win during the middlegame and found himself a pawn up in an endgame that could not be won.

At the close, a 5½-2½ victory could be accounted for, which keeps the second team in contention for a promotion spot. The next round now brings an away match the undefeated first rank holders from Kelkheim. There, a more efficient performance is definitely neccessary to prevail.

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Nied 2 stays in touch

The 6^th round led the second team to Kelkheim, where they were awaited by leaders Sfr. Kelkheim 2. Even though three players of the first eight were missing, Nied 2 were slight favourites (DWZ averages 1764 - 1664), which was compensated by the fact that Nied 2 fielded only seven players.

Bernd Neudel, alloted as a substitue at board 8, had to miss out the match on short notice, so that we changed plans and left board 4 empty. The forfeit at board 4 was soon equalized by Michael, when he won his opponent's queen and thus the game. Unfortunately, Franzi missed the correct contination in a promising position and eventually had to resign because of her material disadvantage. Georg was closing in on his opponent's king following a nice bishop sacrifice at h2 but then missed the direct knock out blow, only to then suddenly lose the thread in the resulting asymmetric material distribution (rook and two pawns vs two bishops) and blunder a rook, when we already saw the match going down the drain.

Walter's position was under pressure but he managed to save a draw, bringing the score to 1.5-3.5. The last three games, which actually offered us good chances, had to decide the match. Manfred returned his extra exchange for a technically won endgame and Naren routinely won his rook endgame a pawn up. This implied high tension for the top board - not just because of the score of 3.5-3.5 but also because of the interesting and very complicated position. Here, neither player could afford to slip up. Eventually, a draw was agreed without the players having taken too many risks.

The final result of 4-4 means that we are still two points behind first place, which is unfortunate because this was a match missed chances. In addition, SVG Eppstein 2 overtook us based on board points, so that we are now sitting in third place. Nevertheless, the fight for the promotion spots remains tight.

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