Last Monday there was disappointing news for our team in the Ellery Williams Trophy, where we lost 4-0 to Wimbledon. I understand we had reasonable positions in all the games but were undone by a combination of time trouble and indifferent endgame play.

Clock handling is a vital skill in rapidplay chess, and, with faster time limits more popular, being able to play endings quickly and accurately is increasingly important at all levels. Perhaps we all need more practice during before next season starts.

1. Shahvez Ali (1728) 1:0 Otto Weidner (-)
2. Pawel Slonczuk (-) 1:0 Roger Scowen (-)
3. Martin Lake (-) 1:0 Mike Robinson-Chui (-)
4. Omar Selim (-) 1:0 Ron Bilkhu (-)

There was much better news for Richmond D the same evening though, with an excellent draw against a much higher rated Maidenhead B team.

1. Paul Janota (1855) 1:0 Alex Shard (1720)
2. Peter Tickner (1713) 0:1 Barry Sutton (1600)
3. William Castaneda (1728) 0:1 Richard Sleep (1615)
4. Martin Ginestie (-) 1:0 Dan Donohoe (1533)
5. Yuri Krylov (-) ½:½ George Dokic (1338)
6. Dariusz Sikora (-) ½:½ Ken Broadley (1075)

Great wins there from Barry and Richard, and draws from George and Ken!

Last Tuesday Richmond C entertained Harrow B in a TVL Division 3 match, scoring an important 4-2 victory.

1. Victor Bluett (-) 1:0 Richard O’Neill (1610)
2. Levente Lencses (1525) 0:1 Surjit Dhemrait (1645)
3. Mike Robinson-Chui (-) 0:1 David Stott (1513)
4. Yann Sydow (-) 1:0 Phil Humphry (1536)
5. Ron Bilkhu (-) 1:0 David Walker (1240)
6. Julian Bedale (1098) 1:0 Default

Well played Victor, Yann and especially Ron, who provided the winning point. Mike was unlucky this time, but his first win won’t be long in coming!

That result puts us level with Maidenhead B at the top of the table with three matches in hand, and the other teams some way behind. If we can keep up the good form there must be a chance of some silverware at the end of the season!

Thanks to everyone who played in last week’s matches.