Ouch! Evidently Richmond had learned their lesson from the heavy loss they suffered at our hands in the Thames Valley Knock-Out and wheeled in the big guns for this one.

This was just one of those days where none of us really got going to play at our best and Richmond took advantage very efficiently. They deserve a lot of credit for their play.

On Board 1 Chris was under pressure from the opening against Gavin, the IM, and unfortunately could not find sufficient resources to save the resulting endgame. Gavin played a very good technical game. Unlucky Chris.

Board 2 saw Mark come up against an unusual line and for a while he looked a bit better. However he allowed Michael to turn the tables with a timely f3 advance and Mark was then fighting to hold the draw with very little time on the clock. He managed to hold on. Well done Mark.

Nick on Board 3 had a relatively uneventful quick draw with Daniel and was actually the first to finish. Given his “two jobs” situation currently I totally understand why Nick bailed out early rather than risk making errors due to fatigue. Well done Nick.

Edgar got a small advantage in the opening on Board 4 against one of Julien’s pet lines. He then made a small inaccuracy that allowed Julien some decent play and ultimately Edgar couldn’t find sufficient resources to stir up winning chances. Well done Edgar.

Stef got into trouble quite early in his Board 5 game when facing an unusual move order in the opening. He really had to dig in and defend a difficult position with not much counterplay available. Stef showed great tenacity and managed to hold the draw. Well fought Stef!

My game on Board 6 can only be explained if one supposes that I had a lobotomy after move 19! I actually played pretty well up to that move, secured a clear opening advantage and came out the exchange up. I then proceeded to play a pointless 20^th move to give Chris some play and a really bad 21^st move that dissipated all of my advantage and gave Chris a perpetual with best play. The match situation demanded more than a draw from me so I decided to “keep the game going” and so avoided the perpetual. I ended up a rook down instead! Sorry guys!

Ian on Board 7 declined the potential to launch a kingside attack against John at a crucial moment and instead ended up with little counter-play to offset John’s gradual infiltration of the queenside. Ian resigned before the resumption. Unlucky Ian.

Angus played against an interesting opening from Richard on Board 8 which resulted in a very open position. Both players played well and a draw was a fair result. Well done Angus.

Paul Shepherd 12 January 2011