Almost a year ago, on a balmy Herfordshire evening, we headed up the A1 to the delightful Three Horseshoes in Willian, near Letchworth. A bit of déjà vu, apart from the driving rain, as we invaded the country pub. “2 pints of your weakest bitter and a diet coke, please”. We were armed for battle.
Last year we scored 3 wins. Could we repeat this feat, though outgraded (a bit) on each board? Leon rolled back the years like a timelord as he scored a win with an excellent Ruy Lopez king-side attack. Dan countered his opponent’s Grand Prix attack for a storming win. Board one saw the Modern Variation of the Alekhine. White grabbed a pawn and swapped down to a winning blitz knight and pawn ending. We had our 3 wins, again. Malcolm entered the (Sicilian) Dragon via the Benoni for a creditable half. Terry’s Benk0 Gambit Half Accepted drew (sharp eyed readers will notice there was one last year – more weird déjà vu).
Board 2 : Harris, Mark 150 1/2 Gesthuysen, Malcolm 149
Board 3 : Gardner, Phillip K 159 1/2 O’Sullivan, Terry J 131
Board 4 : Mutton, Ian 148 0-1 Marcos, Dan 130
Board 5 : Coates, Tom 138 0-1 Glouzman, Leon 126
Match Score : 1 – 4
Borehamwood Chess club 