Board 1 Andrew Perkins 1-0 Guiseppe Valerio
Board 2 Michael Joseph 0-1 Gerry Nolan
Board 3 Peter Montgomery 0-1 Peter Gill
Board 4 Damien de Cruz 1-0 Nigel Staddon
Board 5 Marek Gladyz 1-0 Peter Housden
Overall 3-2
This was a tense match, with the C team seriously out-graded on average by 157 against 129. Luton look like the strongest team in the Division and are the most likely candidates for promotion this season, so it was never going to be easy.
Peter G had yet another win, leaving him undefeated so far this season. His opponent seemed to be striving to be a candidate for the fastest game of the year, consuming miniscule amounts of time. Sadly, in the process he first lost a Pawn, to a devious fork by a marauding Knight and then lost a Rook to the same cunning steed. So that was that.
Nigel had a quite a solid looking game, but then his opponent unleashed a murderous King-side attack, which Nigel was unable to fend off and the game was over.
Peter H also had a steady-looking game, but lost a Pawn in the process. There seemed to be possibilities to offset this disadvantage, but in the end there wasn’t enough to hold the game. So 2-1 to Luton.
My game was a slow affair and I managed to get myself onto the back foot, but with some counter-chances. In the end my opponent played a couple of moves which frittered away his opportunities and I was able to conclude with a nice combination to level the match.
Giuseppe had a very tight game against a very strong opponent, which came down to a Rook and multiple Pawn ending. Unfortunately there was not enough time for him to find a way through the complications to level the game and in the end his opponent was able to snatch a couple of extra pawns, which made all the difference.
Still, a good performance from the team and retaining second place in the Division!