On Thursday 28th November the West London Central League team played Lewisham at the usual Pimlico venue. I didn’t see Paul’s game until right at the end, but it is fair to say that something bad happened on his kingside. Gursh had a good win, so level pegging at that stage. In my game my opponent played rather passively in a Philidor, and I ended up chasing his king from f8 to b8. 2-1 to us. Charlie drew his game after having been better at one stage. John Burke ended with a rook and two pawns against a bishop knight and three pawns. He defended valiantly for some time using the increment but eventually time pressure told and he lost his rook to a tactic. A respectable draw overall.
The match scoresheet is:| West London | Colour | Grading | Result | Lewisham | Grading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Burke | Black | 1954 | 0-1 | Mike Wood | 1758 |
| Andy Hayler | White | 1928 | 1-0 | Owen Alvares | 1723 |
| Charles Sturt | Black | 1708 | ½-½ | David Helsby | 1683 |
| Gursharanjit Gill | White | 1592 | 1-0 | Anthony Foreman | 1597 |
| Paul de Rooij | Black | 1592 | 0-1 | Matthew Helsby | 1566 |
| Average grade | 1755 | 1665 | |||
| Score | 2½-2½ |
Board 2: A.Hayler (1928) vs O.Alvares (1723)
Board 3: D.Helsby (1683) vs C.Sturt (1708)