The match on Monday night ended in a 4-2 win for the C-team, with three wins (all with white) and two draws.

Michael Jessing's game quickly descended into the complications characteristic of his play. He sacrificed (or possibly blundered) a piece for two pawns. White held the advantage, but Michael was able to work his magic, white eventually cracking under pressure and giving back two pieces for a rook. Michael had a pleasant advantage in the endgame but with his time ticking down, elected to offer a draw instead of pressing on.

Ally Forrester played a smooth game on board five, his young opponent being unable to cope with the annoying pressure exerted by Ally's London System. First one pawn fell, then another, and Ally traded into a completely winning king and pawn endgame, securing the full point and continuing his good form this season.

Chris Hampton was in some difficulty on board six, a pawn down in a king and pawn endgame after choosing the wrong moment to play a pawn break in an advantageous position. However, his opponent was unable to find the path to victory, eventually settling for a draw by threefold repetition, which Chris eagerly claimed.

Lee Bishop was gifted a pawn and the exchange by his opponent, who had overlooked the fact that c7 was left undefended after he played Qe8. The conversion was then only a matter of time, as Lee activated his pieces and used his extra material to gradually overwhelm black's stubborn resistance. The game ended when black blundered his queen in an already hopeless position.

This took us to three points in total, thereby needing only a draw from the two top boards. Isaac Browning's game had traded into an endgame where both sides had four against two majorities on the respective wings. Isaac stood slightly better due to black's passive d8 knight, which proved surprisingly challenging to liberate effectively. Nevertheless, he had his chances to equalise, but, in time trouble, was unable to capitalise. A series of exchanges took place on f5, but black had overlooked a skewer at the end of the line, which meant he would have to lose a rook.

Bill Falconer's Sicilian faced a stern examination on board two, but he was able to emerge from the forest of complications with what appeared to be an equal endgame. However, white was able to activate his king faster, gaining him a pawn and his technique was good enough to achieve the full point.

Despite disappointment for Bill, the match victory by a score of 4-2 was still a great result for the team. It is possibly too late now to hope for any chances of promotion, but we are finishing the season strongly.