January 25 marked the fourth match of the Metro Area Chess League season. Leaders Montgomery Blair High School – the only team with a perfect score through the first three rounds – faced Richard Montgomery and were held to their first drawn match, as each team won two games from their four boards. Woodrow Wilson High School and BASIS DC both won their Round 4 matches to join them on 3.5 match points, although Montgomery Blair still holds the board points tiebreaker.
Montgomery Blair High School 2 – 2 Richard Montgomery High School
Wilson High School 2.5 – 1.5 Gonzaga College High School
EL Haynes Public Charter School 1 – 3 BASIS DC
Washington International School 1 – 3 St. Anselms Abbey School
McLean High School 2 – 2 Rochambeau French Intl. School
Georgetown Preparatory School 1 – 3 Thomas J. Wootton High School
James Hubert Blake High School 1 – 3 Rockville High School
Justice High School 1.5 – 2.5 Col. Zadok Magruder High School
West Springfield High School 2 – 2 South Lakes High School
Don Bosco Cristo Rey 0 – 4 Northwest High School
The SEED Public Charter School 0 – 4 St. Albans School
| Place | School | Total Match Points | Total Board Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Montgomery Blair High School | 3.5 | 14 |
| 2nd | Woodrow Wilson High School | 3.5 | 11 |
| 3rd | BASIS DC | 3.5 | 10 |
| 4th (Tie) | Richard Montgomery High School | 3 | 11 |
| 4th (Tie) | St. Anselm's Abbey School | 3 | 11 |
| 6th | McLean High School | 2.5 | 10 |
| 7th | Gonzaga College High School | 2.5 | 9.5 |
| 8th (Tie) | South Lakes High School | 2.5 | 9 |
| 8th (Tie) | Thomas S. Wootton High School | 2.5 | 9 |
| 10th | Georgetown Preparatory School | 2.5 | 7.5 |
| 11th | Northwest High School | 2 | 9 |
| 12th | West Springfield High School | 2 | 8 |
| 13th (Tie) | Col. Zadok Magruder High School | 2 | 7 |
| 13th (Tie) | Rockville High School | 2 | 7 |
| 15th | Rochambeau, the French International School | 2 | 6.5 |
| 16th | St. Albans School | 1.5 | 6 |
| 17th | Justice High School | 1 | 6.5 |
| 18th (Tie) | James Hubert Blake High School | 1 | 5 |
| 18th (Tie) | E.L. Haynes Public Charter School | 1 | 5 |
| 20th | Washington International School | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| 21st | Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School | 0 | 2 |
| 22nd | The SEED Public Charter School | 0 | 1.5 |
This is the game from board 1 of the Richard Montgomery – Montgomery Blair match, after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 Be4 6. f3 Bh7 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 e6 9. h5 c5 10. c3 Nc6 11. Ne2 Qb6 12. f4 Rc8 13. Nd2 cxd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. Qb1 Nc2+ 16. Kf2 Ne7 17. Nf3 Nxa1 18. Qxa1 Nc6 19. a3 Na5 20. Qb1 Bxa3 21. g5 Be7 22. f5 exf5 23. Qxf5 Qe6 24. Qd3 Nc4 25. Nf4 Qd7. Up to the previous move, Black had defended well against White’s attacks, but with the last move, White has the chance to gain an advantage.
26. e6 opens up Black’s king, since now …fxe6 27. Qg6+ wins Black’s queen or mates. Instead the game continued 26….Qd6 27. exf7+ Kd8 28. Ng6 Rf8 29. Nxf8 Bxf8 30. Re1 Be7 31. Qf5 Qd7 32. f8=Q+ Bxf8 33. Qxf8+ Kc7 34. Bf4+ Kb6 35. Qb4+ Qb5 36. Re6+ Rc6 37. Qxb5+ Kxb5 38. Rxc6 Kxc6 39. gxh6 gxh6 40. Bxh6 Kd6 41. b3 Na5 42. Bf8+ Ke6 43. Ng5+ Kf5 44. h6 Nxb3 45. h7 Kxg5 46. h8=Q a5 47. Qg8+ Kf6 48. Qxd5 a4 49. Qxb7 and Black resigned. 1-0.
Board 1 in the McLean-Rochambeau match began: 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 Be7 7. Bxc4 h6 8. Bh4 cxd4 9. Qxd4 Nc6 10. Qxd8+ Bxd8 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfd1 a6 13. Rac1 b5 14. Bb3 Bb7 15. e5 Ng4 16. Bg3 b4 17. Na4 h5 18. Nc5 Bc8 giving rise to the position on the right. Can you spot an idea for White to gain an advantage?
19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Rxc6 and White will be two pawns ahead.
The game concluded 21…Re8 22. Rdd6 Ba5 23. h3 Nh6 24. Rxa6 Rxa6 25. Rxa6 Bc7 26. Nd4 Kf7 27. Nb5 Re7 28. Bh4 Rd7 29. Ra7 Nf5 30. Bg3 h4 31. Bf4 g5 32. Bxg5 Kg6 33. Nxc7 Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Kxg5 35. Nxe6+ Kg6 36. Nf4+ Kg5 37. Ne2 Re1 38. f4+ Kg6 39. Ng1 Rf1 40. Nf3 Ra1 41. a3 bxa3 42. bxa3 Rc1 43. a4 Rc4 44. a5 Rxf4 45. a6 Ra4 46. Ra8 Kf7 47. a7 Ke7 48. Rh8 1-0.
Round 5 will be held on February 8, 2022 at 7:15pm ET (7:30 games start) with matches played on https://lichess.org.
BASIS DC – Montgomery Blair High School
Richard Montgomery High School – Woodrow Wilson High School
St. Anselm’s Abbey School – McLean High School
Gonzaga College High School – South Lakes High School
Thomas J. Wootton High School – Rochambeau French Intl. School
Col. Zadok Magruder High School – West Springfield High School
Northwest High School – Rockville High School
St. Albans School – Georgetown Preparatory School
James Hubert Blake High School – E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
Washington International School – Justice High School
Don Bosco Cristo Rey – The SEED Public Charter School