For the first time in the season, Bedford C team’s average grading exceeded that of their opponents, though only by 117 v 112. It turned out to be a tense match.
On Board 1, I completely mis-played the opening and lost relatively quickly as a result. Fortunately Nigel Staddon had a good game on Board 3 and equalised the score in short order; then it got interesting. The remaining three boards were well balanced and Mac MacKenzie reluctantly agreed a draw in a slightly better position, but one that would have been difficult to win. Peter Gill on Board 2 also agreed a draw, again in a slightly better position, but being short of time it would not have been an easy position to succeed with.
That left the match level, with just one board to finish. Peter Housden, with 8 players watching closely, knew that his game would decide the match, one way or the other, and that added to the tension of a tricky position. He played the position really well and managed a good win to seal the victory.
So after 4 matches, the C team has registered a 50% success rate and has high hopes of improving on this as the season progresses.