Club Championship (Conclusion)

At last I am able to conclude the report on the Club Championship. Georgina and John played their game on the next available club night. Georgina's Bishop's Opening produced a balanced position in which she gave up a piece for no real compensation. Nevertheless, she continued to press and reached the ending with John still unable to find a clear win; he offered a draw as he was low on time. That left just Julie and Rudy, who played on the evening of the B team's match against Gwyddbwyll.com (report to follow). I cannot describe this opening: the first move on each side was a Pirc, but heaven knows what the rest of it was. It didn't work out well for Julie, at any rate, as her pieces were forced back on to the first two ranks, allowing Rudy to choose his time and method of attack. This he did with some panache, breaking open the kingside with a bishop sacrifice.


So the Club Championship is completed, and we have, as reported earlier, a new champion in Mark Talbot, who finished with the excellent score of 6½/7. Rudy came second with 5½, I was third with 5, then came Julie (3½), Tony (3), John (2), Georgina (1½) and Ian (1). Once again it was a really enjoyable championship, with some good fighting games and a few upsets. The system of playing the games over a weekend, which we were only trying for the second time, works very well, and playing in spring rather than winter made it easier to keep warm! Many thanks to Tony for organizing it. The full-size pictures can be seen here.


Georgina Gray - John Basterfield ½-½< br />
Julie van Kemenade - Rudy van Kemenade 0-1