20 October 2021
It was a rough night for the 3 Limewood league teams. In only one game out of the 15 did the Limewoody player outgrade the opponent (leaving aside those games where one of both players were ungraded or had an estimated grade).
In the circumstances the outcomes were quite pleasing: 2 players (John Grasham and Rob Lockwood) brought home a win while 3 players (Paul May, Eric Brodie, Bob Maltby and Duncan Stables) gained a draw.
The A Team was facing a very strong Harrogate team headed by boy wonder Mate Ther who is currently ranked 17th among the under 17-year-olds in the country with his rating of 2062. Harrogate’s next 3 players were all rated over 1900. Quite a challenge but our team rose to it and John Grasham‘s win and the draws from Paul May and Eric Brodie meant they brought something back from 3 of the 5 games, losing only by 2 points to 3.
Our Team B played the University’s B Team. Comparisons here are difficult as only 1 of the 5 games had confirmed ratings for both players. In that game Bob Maltby gained a draw while Rob Lockwood won against an ungraded opponent.
Team C were playing away against Rose Forgrove‘s C team. We were outgraded on the top 3 boards by an average of 420 points. With such a disparity wins were unlikely but Rob Ford (1128) fought a much more even game (against Dominic Gallagher, 1624) than the difference in rating would have predicted. Our solitary score in this match came from Duncan Stables. After a long game of 53 moves where neither side was able to make a decisive breakthrough he finally accepted a draw.
Next week’s matches (Mini and Rapid Leagues) coincide with the Festival of Diwali which symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness. Two popular Diwali greetings:
~ May every aspect of your life be as luminous and wonderful as the lights on the lamps of Diwali!
~ May Lakshmi bless you with the wealth to overcome your electric bill after the Diwali lights!