On Monday 20th March at Actonians, Ealing B won by 3-1 against Hatch End B.

First to finish was Michael (Stern), White on board four. His Queen’s gambit was accepted and, unusually, defended. Black pawns advanced to b4 and c4, the White Knight was trapped and lost. Although play continued for a further hour, the deficit could not be contained and Michael resigned.

Tony played the Scandinavian defence on board three. He was content to allow White to capture his d- and c-pawns in exchange for an advantage in development. Opposite-side castling opened up tactical opportunities, including opening the a-file which Tony used to threaten the White King. His combination using Queen, Rook and Knight led to a successful mating attack.

Leslie, after waiting for his opponent, who arrived with three minutes to spare, opened e4 and was met by a French Defence. Having adopted a King’s Indian Attack setup, Leslie played patiently through to the middlegame before winning a pawn and developing several threats against Black’s disorganised pieces (including the poorly defended King). Using Queen, Rook, Bishop and Knight, a nice mating combination was used to deliver mate.

Simon, Black on top board, played the Caro Kann with g6 and a King-side fianchettoed Bishop. His early thrust with Queen-side pawns resulted in opening of the a-file for his doubled Rooks. Following a period of knight manoeuvres and multiple piece exchanges it appeared to me that Simon’s initiative had faded. What remained was a pawn race to promotion, with Simon one move ahead. But both players were now down to their final minute on the clocks and survival was dependent on their Fischer increments. Simon prevailed.

This result leaves us with 8/14 points from 7 matches and third in Division 2 of the Hillingdon League.