The Rushall match was disappointing; we lost 0.5 to 3.5 with David Barker gaining our only points with a steady draw on board three.  Peter Evans lost quickly on board one when he played an incorrect line in the two knight’s defence.  James Topp fell behind on development and lost on board two and Boris who turned out at short notice was never able to recover his starting time deficit.

The Bushbury match was better although we eventually lost by 3-1.  Boris achieved a draw in a game where his opponent was safe but stodgy.  Peter drew on board one in a pawn and bishop ending.  James and Sumit both lost close games.  Sumit sacrificed a piece to create a passed pawn, but was unable to convert the position.  James played for a long time a piece down and eventually ran out of defensive resources; finally he was mated with only seconds left on the Bushbury board two players clock. 

It all came together against Cannock.  Peter on board one was defending against a king’s gambit and with white’s queen out of position on b3 he was able to advance on the king’s side.  White moved his knight to a bad square and Peter was able to win the knight and create a winning attack.  James on board two won his opponent’s queen for a rook and eventually he won so much material that stalemate might was a real threat.  James read this situation and we went two up.  Sumit on board 3 won a piece and when the rooks were exchanged he won an endgame with king, knight and pawn versus king.  Boris was delayed again and also was confused by the digital clock and he blundered under the time pressure to give Cannock a consolation win on board 4.

Captain Peter Evans thanks all who have played in this short season and would like to remind everyone of the final game at Brewood on Tuesday 17th.