Just like last time out, the Chestrels were defeated again by the tightest of margins. However, given the grading disparities we were up against, this was a very credible score.

Despite being at a significant grading disadvantage on four of the six boards, things got off to a good start when Lee Bishop chalked up the first point of the night by soundly defeating Willy Deas on the black side of an Exchange French. Deas firstly lost time by moving his queen three times in the opening, then made the wrong recapture on move 17, allowing Bishop to win a piece with a clever tactic. From then on, the outcome was never in any doubt, and the game concluded with a windmill ensuring white’s swift demise.

Sadly, a grading difference of almost 300 points proved too much for William Falconer, whose position was gradually overwhelmed by Kevin Mayo’s strong central passed pawns to even up the match score.

Next to finish was board six, where a miscalculation by Brian Arnold had led to an extra piece in the endgame for James Browning, who duly converted.

Ally Forester had to face a sustained kingside attack, which he survived, but at the cost of entering an inferior endgame two pawns down, which Jim Mowat was able to nurse into a full point.

My game was very equal throughout, although I felt the eventual knight ending was slightly more pleasant for white, but after some to and fro it was evident there was no further progress to be made, and I offered a draw after playing my 38th move, which was accepted.

That meant it was all down to the final game to finish, Ron Whalen with white against Ed McCosh. This chaotic game, where both sides at times had winning positions, simplified into an endgame with Whalen having a queen and pawn against McCosh’s rook, knight and three pawns. Ultimately, the discoordination of the pieces and difficulty bringing the king into the game, coupled with an increasingly desperate situation on the clock, led to McCosh’s eventual downfall.

And so it was that the Chestrels went down again by that all too familiar scoreline of three and a half to two and a half. Yet again, things could have been very different but luck was not with us tonight against the strong opposition.