Richmond B made the long journey west to face a strong and experienced Maidenhead team, and were delighted to come away with an excellent win.
Here are the details:
- Charles Bullock (1960) ½:½ Bertie Barlow (2006)
- Tony Milnes (1971) 0:1 Julien Shepley (1971)
- Nigel Smith (1960) ½:½ Ieuan Fenton (-)
- Nigel Dennis (1885) ½:½ Pablo Soriano (-)
- Majid Mashayekh (1855) 1:0 Roger Scowen (1681)
- William Castaneda (1728) 0:1 Rob Hunter (1540)
Which, according to my calculations, makes it 3½:2½ in our favour.
Sampson Low reports:
“While we search for a new venue interest in playing for our teams remains strong, which is good news. Captain Sampson Low was able to go to Maidenhead as a non playing reserve and watched the team claim a victory that looked unlikely at times. Julien Shepley chalked up a quick win on the white side of the French in half an hour when his opponent lost a piece. After that it looked hard going on the other five boards. Two down on material, four down on time and three in worse positions.
But as the dust settled in the final two matches Ieuan Fenton took a draw in a rook ending he was a pawn up but both players had under one minute on the clock. Rob Hunter scored the decisive result, winning on time in a game that swung wildly in the final stages and had kept every piece on the board to about move 25.”
Well played everyone, especially Julien for a quick win against an opponent with many decades’ experience with the French Defence, and Rob, for sealing the match for us against a much higher rated opponent.
Our results so far this season have been outstanding: it’s clear the players who have been honing their skills online during the pandemic are demonstrating excellent form.
Let’s hope we’ll soon be able to resume our home matches. We’re currently discussing several possible venues and will keep you in touch both here and elsewhere.
In other news, Pablo lost his adjournment in the C team match against Hounslow B, leaving the result a 3-3 draw.