West London played Hackney tonight, Tuesday January 14th, in the Eastman Cup competition.
Hackney were a bit weaker than I expected, missing their usual top board IM Richard Bates and a number of other strong players; they usually average around 2100 but were lower than this, though clearly they were still a strong team. I played as a reserve due to one player having to drop out on the night, showing how useful it is to have a reserve turning up in person. My game was quite complicated, so I’m afraid I didn't see much of the other games. Suffice it to say that Ameet Ghasi and Shreyas won quickly, followed by Antanas and Eldar and myself, so the match was secure with three games left.
Something went awry in Colum’s game but Lan Yao powered to victory, while John Emm's opponent played very accurately and held a draw.
We are now through to the Eastman Cup semi-finals against the strongest club in the competition, Hammersmith. The other semi-final is between University College and Imperial. The other teams eliminated at this stage were Mushrooms, Richmond and Battersea.
The scoresheet was as follows.
| West London | Colour | Grading | Result | Hackney | Grading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shreyas Royal GM | White | 2648 | 1-0 | Bob Eames FM | 2199 |
| Ameet Ghasi GM | Black | 2585 | 1-0 | Richard Britten FM | 2113 |
| Eldar Gasanov GM | White | 2543 | 1-0 | Diani Serbanescu | 2041 |
| John Emms GM | Black | 2435 | ½-½ | Salim Kriman | 1982 |
| Lan Yao WGM | White | 2335 | 1-0 | Marceli Cieselski | 1958 |
| Antanas Zapolskis IM | Black | 2252 | 1-0 | Adam Robinson | 1932 |
| Colum Jezierski | White | 1981 | 0-1 | Ben Cullen | 1920 |
| Andy Hayler | Black | 1920 | 1-0 | Michael Livesey | 1913 |
| Average grade | 2322 | 2007 | |||
| Score | 6½-1½ |
Board 8: M.Livesey (1913) vs A.Hayler (1920)