Well we're not bottom any more and one of the reasons is that we beat Nomads C at the beginning of January. It's taken me so long to write this report because I don't think I've quite recovered from the shock yet. The weather was awful on January 4th and I'd dragged an old friend of mine from school and University out to play board 1. One of the last times that I remember us playing together was in a 'Sunday Times' schools chess competition. I think Harry was playing a sixth former at King Edwards Birmingham called Chris Shepherd and I was playing somebody called A.J.Miles. Harry drew. I didn't. The other match that I can remember is from a time when we were both at University and we played a Sheffield Club called B+J ( ask Bill!) This time Harry was playing Norman Littlewood and I was playing Michael, his brother. That night we scored 1.05 points between us. Harry drew, with out difficulty against someone who was at the time an English international player and I got a point, by proving I could remember (it wouldn't happen today!) more about the Marshall counter-attack in the Ruy Lopez than someone who had a reputation as a notable poker player.
Anyway we must be getting better because on this particular evening in January, Harry found no particular difficulty in beating Geoff Frost and I finally won against Stuart Crosthwaite, on the Black end of another Milner-Barry Gambit. Here's the game.
16 moves of theory and then for a change it was my turn...He blundered and I managed to hold on. Peter Cannell played in very subtle fashion to beat Ian Barwick. Steve Moon was playing somebody currently graded about 170. He did his best but he was always under a lot of pressure. Dave Cook played well. He was unlucky not to win. Martyn Edwards ended up playing a late sub, which can be very unsettling. He did the business. Very calm.
I thought we had turned the corner, after this well-deserved victory but Clay Cross, the next week, was a different story. I don't think I've played worse since I was about ten. So I'm not going to report on this match for strictly personal reasons, though I will add Martyn Edwards managed to stop us getting absolutely whitewashed.
However help is at hand. I can hear the cavalry coming as I write. Bill has nobly volunteered to take over team management so all we have to do now is play Chess! Our fate is in our own hands. We aren't bottom and there's no reason why we can't retain our place in Division 2!
Peter Hulse
