Hello all,

                       Brighton & Hove 1                                     Hastings 1

                       Julien Carron                       0.5 – 0.5              Nicolas Varley (w)

                       Callum Brewer                    0 – 1              Francis Rayner

                       Geoff James                        0.5      0.5              Ollie Willson

                       Mikolaj   Rogacewicz      0.5 – 0.5            John Sugden

                       Paul Batchelor                   0.5 – 0.5               Howard Tebbs

                                                                                2 – 3

                      Both teams had strong sides for this top of the table clash so a close match was to be expected. John had a solid draw and Francis had a nice mating attack when his opponent over-pressed, However three games were still unfinished at the time control. Ollie had a small edge throughout but we will need to look at the final position to see if there are any winning chances. I pressed hard and missed a win at one point but have adjourned in a position which the computer seems to hold despite me still having the advantage. So it is likely that Nicolas’s game will decide whether we win the match and with it the Division 1 championship. Both players have g and h pawns in a queen and pawn ending but his opponent has an additional pawn on the queenside. The additional pawn is not very far advanced so it looks to be very difficult for his opponent to make progress without allowing perpetual checks but we will have to see.

                      Would Nicolas and Ollie please provide us with copies of their positions so that can have a look.

                      Thanks again to John for driving  and eventually finding somewhere to park.

                      Regards,

                      Howard