4 December 2019
After last week’s forced abstinence all 4 league teams were back in action tonight. The overall result: all square, 9½ to 9½. That hides the detail, of course. 2 teams won, 2 teams lost.
In Division 1:
~ Limewood A lost at home to Pudsey A by 1½ to 3½
In Division 3:
~ Limewood B beat Alwoodley E by 4 to 1 at Alwoodley
~ Limewood C beat Rose Forgrove by 3 to 2 at Rose Forgrove
~ Limewood D lost at home to Pudsey B by 1 to 3 (both teams defaulting board 5)
Teams B and C had, on paper, the best chances of winning as they were facing two of the lowest-graded teams in the Leeds league. They duly delivered.
Up in Division 1 with the A Team, there is no such thing as an easy match. Every match is fiendishly difficult.
Team D were the fall guys for the evening. Their average grade was 66. They were facing a team whose average grade was 135 – just over double. But it was Team D that produced the shock result of the evening. Meet Man-of-the-Match Paul Smith, grade 38. He gained his first win of the season (after 3 draws from 4 matches) by beating the experienced veteran Ken Marsden (grade 91).
Paul Smith