Cope and Denton tee up Melton victory
Melton Chess Club's first team followed up their drawn first match against Loughborough with a hard-fought 3-2 win over close rivals Braunstone.
Early draws from Alan Jex, on board two, and Chris Knight, on board three, left Melton with everything to play for.
Sean Cope looked to be under a bit of pressure on board five until his opponent blundered, losing a knight, and from then the point was assured for Melton.
On board one, captain John Denton managed to build a promising attacking position.
With his opponent running short of time, John opened up the position with a piece sacrifice, eventually winning the material back with interest and finishing with a neat checkmating sequence. This gave Melton the necessary three points to secure the match win, and they proved vital.
On board four, Ian Farquharson had been under increasing pressure throughout the game, eventually finding himself in a lost endgame as both players ran short of time.
With his opponent having an easy technical win, Ian resigned, leaving the final score 3-2 in Melton’s favour.