Our TVA match against the runaway leaders resulted in a close match which could have gone either way, but in the end Hammersmith just managed to maintain their 100% record.

1. Gavin Wall (2284) ½:½ Thomas Bonn (2180)
2. Mike Healey (2267) 1:0 Chris Skulte (2136)
3. Maxim Dunn (1900) 0:1 Carsten Pedersen (2203)
4. Bertie Barlow (2006) 0:1 Marios Kouis (2185)
5. Raghu Kamath (1885) 0:1 Jim Stevenson (2114)
6. Maks Gajowniczek (1750) 1:0 John Abbott (-)

We took an early lead when Mike scored a quick win, followed by a draw from Gavin. Maks continued his superb form (7/8 for the season) with a victory against his unrated opponent, but Hammersmith were a bit too strong for us on the other boards, with Carsten just prevailing in a rook ending against Maxim in the decisive game. It was amusing to see Jim boldly essaying the King’s Gambit: was he aware that it’s also Raghu’s favourite opening?

Hammersmith generously admitted that they were slightly lucky to win. Our congratulations to them on fielding consistently strong teams throughout the season and winning the league.

Congratulations also to Mike and Maks on their victories and thanks to all for playing.

Our next match is in two weeks time: Tuesday 19 April at home to Surbiton – a match which will go some way to determining second place in the league.

This week also saw our Surrey Centenary Trophy team in action, making the short trip across the Thames, scoring a most creditable draw against a more highly rated Kingston B team.

1. Vladimirs Bovtranovics (1930) 0:1 Otto Weidner (-)
2. Jon Eckert (1818) 1:0 David Heaton (-)
3. John Shanley (-) 1:0 Levente Lencses (1525)
4. Ian Mason (1773) ½:½ George Milligan (-)
5. Yae Chan Yang (-) 0:1 Mike Robinson-Chui (-)
6. Jake Grubb (-) ½:½ Yann Sydow (-)

A great win for Otto against a very strong opponent: young Otto is gradually transferring his online rapid results to OTB slowplay chess, and will be a formidable player in the years to come. It’s also amazing to see Mike continuing the winning habit, and George sharing the points with a solid and experienced player in only his second game.

Finally, our Thames Valley D team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Hounslow B.

1. Calum Kinloch (1720) 1:0 Alex Shard (1720)
2. JJ Padam (1765) 1:0 Barry Sutton (1600)
3. Vibhush Pusapadi (1278) 1:0 Richard Sleep (1615)
4. Yan Alvarenga Dias (1495) ½:½ Dan Donohoe (1533)
5. Pavan Kumar Kota (1533) 1:0 George Dokic (1338)
6. Barry Fraser (1433) 1:0 Ken Broadley (1075)

Well done to Dan for helping us avoid the whitewash!